New Year's Eve and Day

Fortunately, we awoke dry and relatively warm on Friday morning. We packed up for the journey back to San Diego. The memory of the delicious pie at the Julian Pie Company necessitated another stop as Kudzu's Mom tried to figure out how to take a whole Apple Peach Cobbler back on the plane with her. I opted for the pumpkin with about 500 calories worth of whipped cream on top.

California Sun

Back in a rainy San Diego by noon, we decided on doing something special to celebrate the demise of 2004 and mark our hopes for a fun and happy 2005. On the spur of the moment, we headed to downtown San Diego to get our first tattoos. Each thinking the other would cave at the first prick of the needle, we ended up at Funhouse Tattoos on Broadway and were incredibly impressed by the creativity and professionalism that artists Beth and Sierra provided. We both agreed afterward that they were the friendliest and most interesting people we had met in California so far. Within minutes they were able to convert our vague ideas into exactly what we were looking for and an hour later we were walking out the door proudly sporting our new works of art and discussing what and where to get tattooed next.

Compass Rose

While Kudzu slept back at the Vagabond Inn, her Mom and I rang in the new year at the very cheesy Club Marina in Point Loma drinking Coors Light and playing pool on a billiards table that had seen much better days. We didn't keep score but I easily beat her game after game!

After a week and rain and fun, Kudzu's Mom had to head back to the dreary winter of Tennessee on New Year's Day so we left her at the San Diego Airport early in the day and headed back out into the warm California sun.

Kudzu's Mom enjoying courtyard at Vagabond Inn

Kudzu's Mom, Beth, Sierra, & Me apres needle