Monday, August 13, 2007

A Post For My Family: Johanna Pics and Lemon Festival

My relatives have finally started reading my blog (Hi, Uncle John!), so this post takes a break from music for a Johanna update. We had a BBQ at my parents' house on Saturday and our friend Nickie was down for the weekend. For the record, my dad's carne asada rocks. We ended up being there so late that I couldn't motivate to hit the town on Saturday and missed the parties at Kelly's and also at Jason's, instead opting to stay in and watch HBO on demand. (Don't waste your time watching Bee Season or Angel Rodriguez, by the way. Snoozefest.) Anyway, here's Johanna day 12.



Then on Sunday, Sara and I met up with my mom, Christy, Billy, Nickie and Johanna at Chula Vista's Lemon Festival on Third Avenue. It has been a while since I've hung out on Third Avenue, and this was my first time seeing this sign:



Being there certainly brought back a lot of memories...going to the Berlin Wall and Just Java, hanging out in junior high with Alex and Oliver and whatnot. It's weird to see so many new places...like La Bella Cafe or the bars and clubs that have weekend Banda, Ranchero, and Rock en Espanol shows.

It was a typical street fair, though my little hometown is much more influenced by the large Mexican-American population and the culture. I doubt Solana Beach street fairs feature so many booths with lucha libre masks.



Or the weird Jesus art that has always been really scary to me...


But we are a colorful people, too.



And there were DEATH DOGS! (Bacon wrapped hot dogs, as featured on the streets of Tijuana and absolutely delicious after a night of dancing at Mr. Crown's or Safari back in the day)


There were obviously a ton of lemonade stands, but to me, the aguas frescas looked better.


We were really all there to see Valentina dance with her Ballet Folklorico class. Valentina is one of the children that my mom watches at her daycare, and her parents have been family friends for a long time.


There are few things cuter than watching one and two year olds try to do a choreographed routine. Valentina also danced with the older girls (I think 3-5 year old) so that's what you see above.

Of course, I had to steal my niece from my sister for a little bit...


After the Lemon Festival, we visited Sara's parents and then I headed home. It was a full day and it was fun to be with friends and family in my hometown that I visit so infrequently. Anyway, here's Johanna (day 13) wondering why there's always a camera in her face.

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