Rod Run or people watching

---

We got up at 7 am and had our lattes inside by the fireplace. Ken made oatmeal, Henna cooked hashbrowns and bangers on the grill. It warmed up enough to eat outside...another beautiful day. Afterwards it was time for showers. We then drove to Lake Skinner Park to check it out. They have a campground and we want to see how the fishing is in the lake. The park is really run down and the lake is not stocked. We asked some fishermen if they caught anything and they said no, not even a nibble.

We then drove in to Temeculah Old Town. This is where the Rod Run is. Friday night was the actual 'Run' where they cruise up and down the street. Today the cars will be parked along the streets to walk by and admire. By the time we got parked and walked to the main street, we were starving. We stopped at the first place we found...it was just ok; I can't remember the name of it- but that's ok because I wouldn't recommend it. Henna and I went to the restroom and there was a young girl waiting in line, holding a newborn baby. I asked her if she wanted me to hold the baby while she went to the bathroom. She said, sure, so I held little Samantha-6 weeks old. I have no idea what she was going to do with her if I hadn't done that-lay her on the floor? I had seen her come in the restaurant with a stroller and her man so I'm not sure why he didn't hold the baby while she went to the bathroom. We got a drink and sat outside to wait for our table. There was a live band but they were on break. We got seated and ordered: Ken got tomato bisque soup/caesar salad, Me-Steak salad, Henna-Spinach salad, Larry-beef brisket sandwich. There was a little boy banging on the table with his silverware, pretending to play drums. Larry said he was a Kenny 'wannabe'. Yes, I have stopped my husband from using his utensils as musical instruments. The band came off break and the noise was so loud, you couldn't talk.

After lunch, we walked the streets looking at all of the great cars....and the people! I'm not sure which was more interesting. Does everyone have tatoos? Sometimes I think that in about 10 years, if you are young and have no tatoos, you will be a very unique individual. It was very sunny and hot and Henna and I went in to Starbucks for a cool beverage while the guys went to an outside bar for a beer. After a bit, the guys came to Starbucks and said we HAD to come back to the bar to watch the interesting people dancing on the back patio. So we walked over to the bar and they weren't going to let Henna in because she didn't have an ID. She said really? The bouncer checked my ID and I said, please let my old Scottish friend in...he did. We walked back to the back patio where the band was and the people were dancing. We were not disappointed...black leather sleeveless jackets, tight jeans, tatoos, tight shirts and my guess the average age was about 65. We tried not to laugh at them...but it was difficult. We headed out and we couldn't find Ken and Larry. We stood outside waiting for them and all of a sudden the bouncer (the big guy who wasn't going to let Henna in) started yelling at and pushing a guy out of the bar; and the guy was fighting back; he was obviously drunk. It was quite a scene, kind of scary. The guy's wife was following them and yelling too. The bouncer pushed him all the way out to the street. As we were watching, Ken and Larry showed up and we headed out. We enjoyed looking at the cars on our way back to the truck.

We got back to the park and enjoyed some wine, beer, cheese/crackers. Tonight we had planned to go out to dinner; we are all tired so we took the shuttle to the Casino next to the RV park and picked an Italian restaurant in the Casino. We were seated right away and ordered: Ken and I split caesar salad and Scallops, Larry and Henna- caesar salad and chicken. It's a pretty restaurant with a nice ambiance, nice lighting. It's pretty quiet and for some reason it's one of those nights when you observe what is going on around you. To my left, there is a party of around 30 people. Most of the chairs are occupied, with the exception of around 6 at the end of the table. And at the very end is a young guy sitting all by himself with a huge 'Happy Birthday' balloon tied to his chair. NO one is talking to him...we felt sorry for him and wondered what the story was. Everyone else was interacting and the supposedly birthday boy just sat there. He also looked like one of his hands was deformed. To Ken's left is another large table of about 16 Asian women, one guy sitting mid table and one at the very end. There is one girl who is nonstop cackling. The girls are having a fun time as the guy at the end is totally 100% unengaged. I wonder who will pick up the check (ended up being the guy at the end). Since we are all commenting on our table observations, Larry said the table of four (2 couples) behind Kenny are totally silent. We've all seen this. Did they all have a fight before they got here? They look so unhappy. It's awkward for me to turn all the way around to see them, but I did. All of a sudden, Larry said- something is happening over at the table of four-I think the guy is having a seizure. The poor guy, it was horrible. It wasn't what I have seen as far as seizures go but I know there are varying degrees of severity. He initially began hollering, became very stiff and jerked a lot but the girls with him were able to hold him in the seat and he never fell out of his chair. Within about 2 minutes he looked normal again and was served a big bowl of pasta and ate it. I was glad to see that. After we paid our bill and were getting up to leave, a group of four people sat down next to the birthday boy. He cheered up and looked like he was having a good time-what you would think should happen at your birthday celebration. It was a different kind of day-not bad- just different.

---