A very special day in Agoura Hills

Kettleman City, CA has some weird water. I mean, nasty tasting water. I believe it's from too much chlorine...at least I hope that's the reason. The first inkling something was different was the two bottles of free water in the fridge of my budget hotel. It was when I took my nightly shower that I smelled it...and tasted it. Needless to say, I used the bottled water to brush my teeth.

It was about a three hour drive south to Agoura Hills for a badly needed car wash. As I've stated in previous blog entries, I love hand wash car washes. Those automatic car washes just can't clean every nook and cranny of your vehicle. I was happy to pay extra to have it done right! Afterward, my car looked great!

Next, I was ready for lunch, so I drove down to Malibu and got my seafood fix at Neptune's Net. As loyal Five for Fighting fans know, this restaurant was mentioned in the song California Justice. As the lyric goes, "I shot him with a gun behind Neptune's Net." Hmm...nothing going on today!

After eating my very tasty fried scallop basket, I headed across the street to check out County Line Beach. This favorite of surfers was also included in California Justice..."Early one morning at County Line. The swells four to six, approaching nine." The waves seemed about that height today, but there were only a handful of surfers trying their luck.  I also snapped a pic of a flight of brown pelicans skimming over the water.

I left Malibu and returned to Agoura Hills to meet up with a friend...a very famous friend! Last July when I flew to Texas to attend a Five for Fighting winery show, I told John Ondrasik that I had a special art piece that I wanted to give him. Back in 2004, he was asked by the Grammy and 7 Up folks to decorate a Grammy template which would be used to promote the awards on a series of soda cans. Afterward, some of those were framed along with the original signature and the associated pop can. I managed to get my hands of the Five for Fighting art piece, which has been hanging on my wall.

Fast forward to today...delivery day! When I was planning this year's spring road trip to Los Angeles, I told John I would be bringing the art piece with me. We made arrangements to meet today at Hugo's Restaurant in Agoura Hills this afternoon.  I got there about a half hour early and waited...and waited...and waited. Naturally, I assumed John got caught in traffic...and I was right! He got there about 45 minutes after the appointed time. I really wasn't sure what type of vehicle he would be driving, and I was impressed to see him arrive in a silver Range Rover.

After a hello hug, we went inside the restaurant, and chatted for about 45 minutes over non-alcoholic drinks. We talked about a lot of things...music, my road trip, his projects, hamburger joints. I told John how much his music has impacted my life...changed it for the better...and he said many people often find music and songs to be a catalyst for change. He brought me a small gift...a promotional Superman 45 single vinyl record that was produced when John was nominated back in 2001. He signed it with very kind sentiments.

Afterward, we went outside to my car...John liked my FFF FAN license plate...so I could present him with the art piece. John said the hand print was made by his son Johnny when he was little. I documented John receiving the art piece with an obligatory photo...and also got a pic of me with John! And, in a bit of fun, John...the UCLA Bruins alumnus...was happy to support the Pac-12 AND the Washington State Cougars by posing with the flag! Yes, I'm a Cougar! GO COUGS!!!

I had a wonderful time with my favorite musical artist, and we both got to know each other better today. John said he would send me a pic of the art piece when they put it up on my wall. Tomorrow, I'm planning to visit a museum and attend the first of three live TV show tapings while I'm in L.A. It will be hard to beat the fun I had today, but I'm pretty sure I'll be entertained.