Tower of Power Tribute

Pelican

We kicked off our last full day in Southern California with an early morning stroll on the beach in San Clemente. Our afternoon/evening plans called for a trip south to San Marcos and San Diego, so we wanted to be sure to get a few quiet moments on the beach before we started our trek. After a quick rinse to get the sand off our legs we jumped in the car and drove down I-5. We parked in Oceanside and strolled out on the pier, encountering this pelican sitting on the railing. This was just one of the 5 pelicans we saw resting on the pier.

Pelicans are incredibly interesting to watch. Not so much while they’re sitting on the pier, but when they are flying low and slow over the breaking waves. It appears that they are using the updraft created by the rolling wave as a power source for their flight, often gliding so low that it appears their wing tips just barely touch the water.

After a short walk around Oceanside’s downtown (taking in a wide array of shops devoted to serving the military personnel who live just up the road at Camp Pendleton), we drove inland to San Marcos to meet up with Anna’s cousin Chuck. We shared a tasty meal with Chuck and his wife Tipper and their daughter Pearl before hopping in the car again to drive to San Diego to hear Chuck and his pals play at Humphrey’s. The band is named Soul Persuaders and they cover a bunch of gems by Earth Wind and Fire, Chicago, and one of our all time favorite bands of the genre, Tower of Power. When Anna and I arrived the lead singer announced that there were guests from Oakland in the house and that they were going treat us to a couple of tunes, kicking off with one of TOP’s biggest hits: You’re Still a Young Man from the album Bump City.

It was a great evening, and a perfect way to cap our mini honeymoon. Thursday morning we’ll be up early—hopefully early enough to beat the LA rush hour traffic—and on the road, back to Oakland.

Wednesday February 17, 2010 — Mark —


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