Day #44 - 4/25/2011 - Santa Monica

My legs were killing me from my run yesterday, my first long run in three months…but I had to do it again.  I took an ibuprofen (800mg, I never leave home without them), strapped on my iPhone, queued up my Pandora station (Eclectricity...check it out), and retraced my 5.25 mile route from yesterday. Again, I was slow, was passed by many, but finished without stopping or incident.  Running on the beach/bike path is the best...would I ever tire of it?  Would you?

Turning from one Santa Monica pleasure (running on the beach) to another (eating at favorite places)  I wanted another Tommy's chili-cheeseburger for breakfast followed by a Donut King chocolate chip bar, but Lani insisted on another Santa Monica favorite, Izzy’s Deli.  I like Izzy’s…the atmosphere is special and the food is good, though overpriced.  Izzy's is one of those long-standing institutions that has framed (usually signed) photographs of all the celebrities that have eaten there over the decades, posed next to Izzy in the Deli of Izzy.

We split a bagel/lox plate…then off to the Donut King.

Nestled in the strip mall around Tommy's, Donut King is operated by a Cambodian family.

I take food - even junk food - very seriously.

Even though I live in Gainesville, I've been to Donut King so often that when I stepped in there one day in February, the woman behind the counter said "We're out of your favorite."  I was honored.

And then, with bellies tight, we took off for Six Flags-Magic Mountain, our favorite place for fast rides.  Magic Mountain had been a family tradition for years- even after we left California in 1995 - making an annual pilgrimage on 12/24, a day when the crowds are light. Our children grew up on the fastest coasters they were allowed to ride.  A few years had passed since we were last there and Lani was anxious to go.  I was, too. 

The park opened at 10:30am that morning and we were mostly on-time. I had purchased, as well, their “Flash Pass”, allowing us to essentially walk right onto any ride at anytime

The oldest amusement park in the world (opened 1583) is Bakken, at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. In the United States, world's fairs and expositions were another influence on development of the amusement park industry.

Six Flags pioneered the currently popular "pay one price" format, rather than pay as you go.  This allowed families to budget their trip more effectively.

Magic Mountain’s newest ride is X-2, the latest in a series of extreme roller coasters.  The ride is short, but incredibly intense, thrilling from start to finish.  I laughed nearly continually, but did feel a little wobbly at the end.

Remember when all you had to do in a coaster was sit down? 

We continued to Déjà vu, another intense coaster and walked right on…as expected, it was a blast, but now I was feeling a little nauseous.   The third coaster totally did me in, ready to become a one-man barforama.  I was done for the day.  Then I remembered: I was supposed to pre-medicate with Dramamine (for nausea) and ibuprofen (for headache). 

Superman-The Ride launches at 100mph.

Lani, on the other hand, had a great time, taking in one coaster after the next with virtually no waiting time.  By 3:30pm, she was satiated and we took off.

After being launched at 100mph, you eventually come to a gentle stop...then fall down backwards.  Pretty cool.

My nausea slowly fading, we headed back towards Santa Monica, stopping in Culver City at the Sam Johnson's Bookshop.

By this time, we had found that bookshops in small towns offered a greater chance of finding something interesting.

Lani looked around with interest, but found nothing.

Just as well that she didn't find anything  because, by this time, we had about 30 pounds of books to ship back.

By the time my Six Flags-induced nausea had abated, I had heard again from Steve Lerner-one of my great friends from internship-through his wife, Lisa: he should be able to meet us for dinner at 9pm (a typically late day for him).

I don't think any get-together with Steve has been without good food, good wine and great times.

We met at NY&C Pizza in Santa Monica.  No one I know has a better knowledge of where to eat than Steve.

We've been wearing the same clothing for 6 weeks.

When we stayed in a Rome apartment in early 2009, our landlord recommended Pizza Baffeto as the best pizza in the city (a powerful statement in Rome).  I've been obsessed since then with thin crust pizza and sometimes make it 5x/week.  I think I've got it down.  What's really made the difference is using a pizza stone on the grill and covering the grill cover with fiberglass insulation, raising the temperature to the 600°-700° range; the pizza cooks in 2-3 minutes and gets a nice char on the crust.

A little more cheese than I prefer, the pizza was good, but the company fantastic.

It was great to spend another evening with Lisa and Steve.  The 90 minutes passed quickly.

With restaurants serving, in general, a hypercaloric meal, Lani and I split virtually all of our meals and desserts.

Even though Steve and I were going strong, by 10:30pm, Lani and Lisa were ready to call it an evening, so we did.

Not knowing when I would see them again, it was sad to see evening come to an end.

...and another great day in Santa Monica came to and end.