Glass Beach - Originally Published 2008

If it weren’t for a hairdresser in Lake Tahoe, we would have never stumbled upon Glass Beach.  My wife was getting her hair did for our wedding and got to talking to the beautician.  She found out we were going to wander the coast and she recommended a stop in Fort Bragg, home of the Glass Beach.

Once upon a time, the locals decided to use the ocean as a garbage dump.  Apparently, they threw everything in the sea, including old car parts.  They eventually found a more proper place for their trash, but their legacy lives on.  All of the glass that had been dumped has been tumbled and returned to the shore making this one of the most unique beaches I have ever been to.

Sawdust Art Festival - Originally Published 2010

So what exactly is the Sawdust Art Festival?

There was a time when the music and antics of the Beatles were considered shocking and a threat to the well being of young people.  Then the world turned a few times.  Now, they’re an institution.  You can take a ride to your local target and pick up and infant’s onesie silk-screened with the cover art from Sergeant Pepper’s.

It seems that the difference between shocking and benign is just a little bit of time.  Take Che Guevara, for example.  He seems to have a pretty good PR guy in his court.  Keep in mind his role in history.  He was a friend of Castro and one of the fellows that helped to install a communist government in Cuba.  In case you don’t know, in the fifties that was considered a bad thing.

And so our discussion turns to the annual Sawdust Art Festival held in Laguna Beach.  Originally, this gathering of local artists was a protest against the judging in other competitions.  Forty years later, it has been embraced by the populous and serves as a place for artisans to display their wares.

Art is in the eye of the beholder.  What is for sale really runs the gamut; some of it is incredibly commercial and some of it is progressive.  The important thing about the festival is that it allows local artists to be working artists.   

Orange International Street Fair - Originally Published 2010

You’ll have to forgive me, but I peaked ahead at the end of the book.  I know how it all turns out.  I’ll keep the majority of it to myself but I will tell you this much.  In heaven, there are not restaurants.  Not a one.  Just street food.  One guy who knows how to do one thing really well and that’s all he does.

The Orange International Street Fair is an event that may give you a general idea of what heaven is like.  Set up around the intersection of Glassell and Chapman, the fair is divided into sections that all represent a cuisine from a given region.

Some nice souvlaki at Greek Street.

I have no idea what you call these things, but now I am planning to one day visit Norway.

Good tacos and ceviche over on Mexican Street.

I’m not sure what qualified it as Australian Ice Cream but it was good.

Feel free to spend lots of money there because it all goes to support local charities, schools, and sport teams.