A much wiser friend of mine once told me that you need to travel, and see different places because you don’t want to regret not traveling when you get older. I knew where he was coming from, but now I understand exactly what he meant. I’ve been to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas before, but it was at a younger age. Traveling with friends, and being in your 20s is a very different experience than traveling with your parents, and being in the 8th grade. To say this trip was crazy as fuck would be an understatement, but the people that were there know what I’m talking about.

We stuffed the rental car with our luggage, and left Seattle on Thursday night. I was worried about the drive through Oregon, but we passed through Oregon pretty quick. The best part of the drive was driving through the plains of northern California while the sun was rising. Everyone was sleeping in the car, and I just had time to relax, and get a lot of bullshit out of my mind.

After driving through the night, we finally made it to San Francisco. It was during morning rush hour traffic, but I remember seeing downtown San Francisco in the distance, and knowing that we finally made it. We arrived at Ian’s place, and planned on passing out right when we walked in, but that didn’t happen. We ended up walking to Haight St. to check out the shops, the vibe, the people, and the art. That then turned into a full day of walking around the city. We went from Upper Haight to Lower Haight to Downtown to China Town to Panhandle Park, and anywhere else in between.

Nightfall hit. Kingston, Jacob, and the rest of the guys decided to goto this house party. D, and I hopped on the bus and rode down to the Mission District to meet up with Hippo, and Jireh. We walked from spot to spot, and caught up on things like music, friends back home, and other random shit. By the time we were on our way home, I was officially a zombie.

The second day in San Francisco was really nice, and somewhat more relaxing. We went to Sunset Beach which was amazing. I really liked the vibe of that area in the city because it was more laid back. After spending a big portion of the day at Sunset Beach, we made our way back towards the city to goto the Blue Sky Black Death show. The show was very dope, and Kingston, Ian, Yes, and the rest of the band killed it. Everyone went back to Ian’s after the show, and that is where we decided to end our San Francisco trip. We packed up everything, and took off to Los Angeles in the middle of the night.

After the most difficult drive of of my life, we ended up at Bruce Leroy’s door around 9 AM. It was good to see the homie, and I could tell that he was happy that some Washington people came down to visit him. After a very needed nap, we all hit the city. Hollywood was cool, some other areas were OK, but once we got to Venice Beach it was an entire different trip. Venice Beach is dope, really dope.

After saving D thousands of dollars, we decided to goto Santa Monica on the second day. Santa Monica was probably my favorite part of the trip. After Santa Monica we went back to Venice Beach to kick it, and explore the area more. Santa Monica is a place where you want to live, and Venice Beach is a place where you want to hang out. We arrived back at Bruce Leroy’s place at night, and had our last meal in Los Angeles from the taco truck down the street. If you have been following the news then you know of the fires they are having down there. Bruce Leroy lives maybe 20 miles away from the hills where the fires were burning, and it had an Armageddon feel in LA as we were leaving.

Do not let that sign above fool you. Las Vegas is a dirty city. I don’t gamble, I don’t like hookers, I don’t like annoying drunk people, and I don’t like 100 degree weather. I don’t want to complain, but Las Vegas just isn’t my type of city. Now even though it is the most depressing place I’ve been to, I still had a good time with my friends.

The trade shows were good, and it was nice to see some of the up coming seasons of certain brands that I like. As I was walking around the Magic Trade Show I spotted Busta Rhymes, and as I was turning I look over, and I see DJ Kool Herc. I don’t think people realized that the Godfather was right there. There would be none of this if it wasn’t for him, and it was a crazy feeling seeing him in person. We also stopped by another trade show called Project. As we were leaving Project, I’m walking down the hall, and I notice a big chunk of the color red in my peripheral vision. I look up, and it’s Suge fuckin’ Knight. Red shirt, cuban cigar, sun glasses, and no record label. After Vegas I was ready to hop on that plane, and come home. The flight was nothing, and it made me realize how much time I’ve wasted with having a fear of flying. I lose.

Home is where the heart is. Even though I had an amazing time in all of these places, it also made me realize how much I love Washington. It made me really appreciate the things in Washington that other places don’t have. I know I will be traveling more often now, but damn it feels good to be home.

Leaving Seattle

Coming into San Francisco.

Thanks Ian for letting us crash at your spot.

The view from the rooftop.

Kingston & Jacob

Jacob The Jeweler

Chillin’ on Haight Street.

True

Stussy

I was losing my mind.

SF streets

Revolt piece

BBQ at the park. The owner of the restaurant has a sister who lives in Tacoma.

Blue Sky Black Death

This is how Kingston travels.

Kingston & Jacob

China Town

It was good, but don’t believe the hype.

Sunset Beach

Golden Gate Bridge

Damn, that is a nice view.

Wait, doesn’t that house look familiar?

Oh shit, it’s Uncle Jesse!

The flier for Blue Sky Black Death’s show.

Blue Sky Black Death

A packed house.

The Sunset Crooks store.

Probably the best yogurt I’ve had. In 100 degree weather it was perfect.

Jimmy

Venice Beach

Walked right into an And 1 game.

Jacob & the ocean.

Darnel & Abby

A Venice street show.

Late night dinner from an LA taco truck.

Designer dining room table.

Washington beer in California.

Kingston

Santa Monica

Jacob The Jeweler, Bruce Leroy, and Kingston.

Jacob & Bruce Leroy

The Santa Monica Pier

What the fuck is Jean Claude doing in there?

Venice Beach

The Venice Beach Pier

Jacob at Muscle Beach in Venice letting them know.

We had to go say what’s up to Nipsey.

Picking up D.

Lost Angels. LA was burning down.

The view from our room.

The Capsule Trade Show

Free fruit to help the hang over.

Some whatever.

The Clipse/Play Cloths hotel suite.

Six days of chaos will do this to you.

I told you I would get on a plane.