This trip marks a very special occasion, our “baby” is celebrating her 30th birthday this week! Hard to believe…
We’ve always been a “beach” family, as you might have gathered if you’ve read any of my earlier posts, but Monterey has ALWAYS been our daughter’s favorite. While my wife and I grew up haunting the Santa Cruz Soquel and Capitola areas, if we ever asked the kid where she wanted to go, it was always Monterey.
This time around we stayed at the Portola Hotel and Spa, and it was really nice. Beyond expectations even. We had booked weeks ago and much to our surprise and delight, they gave us an unexpected “upgrade” to one of the Presidential Suites. No kidding. The room was bonkers.
I haven’t stayed in a room this nice since the 90’s when I was lucky enough to be on the road crew with Dogstar in Australia and New Zealand. It was off the charts for a hotel room, certainly bigger than our apartment!!
The trip was pretty mild and rather uneventful, in a good way. Mostly, we ate really fancy foods in nice restaurants (Jack’s & Schooner’s amongst others) and just hung out. We also hit the touristy spots – Fisherman’s Wharf and the Monterey Bay Aquarium – too. They were nothing new as we’ve been to both more times than we can count, but it was a good time nonetheless. The Aquarium is truly spectacular. If you’ve never been and you enjoy wildlife, you should definitely check it out once in your life.
All in all, it was a really nice time. The forecast had called for rain, all day, every day for the time we were there, but luckily the weather people were waaay off and we had really mild weather. Very little rain and even a touch of sun. As a bonus, the weather kept the crowds down to a level that didn’t drive me out of my skin!
Still coming to grips with our daughter turning 30, but this nice, mellow weekend sure helped keep smiles on our faces! And we can’t help be feel grateful that our kid still likes to hang out with us! We must have done something right along the way…
So much sweetness!!The night view from our room.A fine lunch was had here!
NYE was a busy day! Got up and hit the gym, came home and whipped up some healthy smoothies, then set about doing some chorin’ around the house, including taking down the Christmas tree. Then it was packing bags, feeding the critters, gassing up the ride and hitting the road 2 hours north to Napa.
Our first stop was the hotel. We stayed at the Westin Verasa this time around. Swanky place, let me tell ya! Check-in was super smooth and afterwards we met up with our daughter and her fiance, who’d arrived about an hour prior, to grab a bite. We stumbled into a place called Gott’s Roadside and had a great dinner – the gents dined on bacon cheeseburgers, while the ladies went for the poke tacos, and we split some sweet potato fries and onion rings. Healthy eating? Not today, my friends!
Gott’s Roadside. Delicious!
We then walked back to the hotel and split up to our different rooms so the ladies could get ready for the night’s festivities.
The main event took place at the Uptown Theater – a NYE celebration with Dogstar. Yes, I know, this is the 5th Dogstar show in 13 months, it may seem I’m a bit obsessed. But this was a chance to spend NYE with my lovely wife, and the kids and my best friend AND it’s the last show of the tour and who knows when/if they’ll ever play a live show in these parts again? Get while the gettin’s good as my Pops likes to say.
Archer Oh was the opening act- you may remember my raving about them in my review of the Menlo Park show this past summer. Well, once again, the band brought their A-game and left it all on stage! I’m still incredibly impressed with these guys, particularly their lead guitarist. He’s a stellar talent with a very unique style. Which is not to diminish the rest of the band, far from it! They are one of those bands that I believe is far greater than the sum of their parts. Their chemistry as a BAND just works and it’s delightful to experience them live!
Dogstar hit the stage to a nearly sold-out audience and played a longer then normal set, which included a couple older songs from previous records that I hadn’t heard them play on the tour, as well as a couple cover tunes – something they don’t usually do. When they charged into “Just like Heaven”, the mid 90’s gem by The Cure, the crowd was on their feet and going wild!
The band’s signature beer, with the Mrs’ “formal sneakers” in the background!
A little later in the set they tackled the Ramones classic “I Wanna be Sedated” which was a super fun flashback for many of us old geezers in the crowd!
Bret’s playing was on fire – even better than just a few weeks ago in SF. It just goes to show how much practice and playing shows can improve one’s craft. It was really a standout performance, no question. I cant help but to think back on the days in his mother’s living room when we were all of 14-15 years old, trying to figure all this rock band stuff out. To see how far he’s come as an artist is really special and inspiring.
Bret, delivering the performance of a lifetime!
The other thing that really grabbed my attention was that Keanu actually seemed to be HAVING FUN on stage! Generally he looks very serious and he’s “all business”, but that night, his sense of joy was palpable. It was an absolutely perfect way to end the tour and I’m grateful that I got to experience it with my family in tow.
Keanu, loving every minute of it!
After the show there was quite the gathering backstage, all friends and family of the band(s) and crew(s) and we had a really. nice time chatting with folks. We shared a New Year’s toast with Keanu, and I got to talk to 3 of the 4 members of Archer Oh, which was cool. Very nice young men. Humble and grateful for the opportunity to do this tour. I wish them nothing but continued success!
After the After Show party, it was back to the hotel around 2am… A couple light snacks and it was lights out for the Mrs. and I.
Before we knew it, the next morning was upon us. Time for showering, packing up, checking out and meeting up with the kids for brunch a few miles away at Olive & Hay.
This place? WOW!!!
Brunch was terrific. I ordered French Toast with berries which was delicious, and everyone else was equally pleased with their selections. This is most definitely a place to return to!
After brunch it was back on the road to home. Talk about a whirlwind trip! Less than 24 hours and we combined outstanding food, excellent entertainment, catching up with old friends AND celebrating the rolling in of the New Year!
As I look back on 2023, mostly I see a dark and grim year, but for all it’s doom and gloom, Dogstar stands out as a shining point of brightness. They had a great year in 2023, and I hope they can keep that train rolling throughout 2024 and into their European summer tour that is already in the works.
All in all, this was an exceptional New Year celebration for us and I’m thrilled that the new year is off to a great start.
Yes, I’m old fashioned and I still celebrate and appreciate a traditional Christmas. To the rest of you that only acknowledge “the holidays” well Happy Holidays to y’all as well.
I wish my readers well, and appreciate you spending your time with me here. Gonna be winding down over the next few days, spending time with the family and just enjoying some calm and quiet.
