Labor Day Weekend edition. Orange International Street Fair and USC Game.

For the past 25 years or so, (man I am getting old) I have been going to the Orange International Street Fair.  It is always held during Labor day weekend, and the only time I have missed it was when USC travelled to Hawaii for a football game and I decided to make it a mini vacation.  It's always a lot of fun and good eatin'.
I usually save the food until Sunday when the lines are shorter...but I always make sure to get the  Loukamathes.
They are a Greek Pastry much like a doughnut hole, but with a Greek Twist.

Besides seeing old friends, this my favorite thing at the Street Fair!
Look at my face, I am elated, excited, happy, and I think if you look closely, you can see a joyful tear drop.



Irish Street, is always the busiest due to the great Irish Bands that play there, this year, The American Wake rocked the house.  I bet these two dudes in front of me loved that I took this picture of their bald spots.  The flash reflected off their heads so bright,  that I was blinded for about 5 seconds.  A swig of beer brought my sight back, o how lovely the sweet nectar!



So that was my Friday night at the fair.  Had a great time with friends, ended on a sour note.  On our way to a friend's house after the fair, my wife sprained her foot and is now on crutches.   For two weeks.

Saturday:  Got up early in anticipation of USC's first home football game of the new season.  I was worried about how much walking my wife could do but like a trooper, she braved it out even after I told her I would just give the tickets away and watch it at home.  We tried to take her to the urgent care at Kaiser, so we called ahead to see which ones would be open on this holiday weekend.  Since we had to drive to LA, we asked them to find us one up there.  They sent us to the Kaiser in East L.A.. (ORALE!)  We get there, and there is a big fat sign in the front door saying they would be closed on Labor Day Weekend.  I was sooooo pissed. We are going to switch to another health care plan as soon as possible.  That was the final straw.  I digress...

Here is the USC Band doing their thing before the game.  (from my Blackberry)

USC had a horrible first quarter.  Truth be told, it was just the offense.  Normally against a team like San Jose State (with all due respect) they would put up 28 points on them in the first quarter alone, and then ease off in the second half.  However, in the second quarter, USC scored 28 points and went on to finish the game 56-3.  Not bad, but I wanted to break 60...sometimes I get so greedy when it comes to USC touchdowns.

TOUCHDOWN USC!

Here is the extra point.

(from my Blackberry)

After the game, we always like to hit up our favorite Mexican food joint right near the USC Campus at Figueroa and 30th St.  I have been going to Chano's for over 15 years now.  Whether it was after a late night of partying or just to grab a good lunch.  My favorite dishes there are the Nacho Plate, w/ Carne Asada, Carne Asada Burrito w/ Cheese added, and their Chili Cheese Fries, which are AMAZING!!!

Here you can see the Nacho Plate with Carne Asada.
All of that food, for about $5 dollars, it can easily feed two, but I am not sharing, you gots to get your own.



                                    

                                      
The Chili Cheese Fries, may not be the prettiest looking fries, lets be honest, they would not win any Food Beauty Pageant.  But these Chili Cheese Fries, have the BEST PERSONALITY! The kind of fries that you could introduce to your mother.

Saturday Night at the Street Fair was a lot of fun.  I mostly hung out on Greek Street just people watching  until my crew arrived.  here is a picture of the scene at Greek Street.

The Crowd's popping off.
(from my BlackBerry)




I did have a bit of a scare on Saturday and my Blackberry almost lost its life.  After the party, a group of us headed over to a local bar called O' Hara's Irish Pub . The place is tiny but a lot of fun.  One of my friends was having too much fun, set his beer down on a pool table, and knocked it over right into my pocket.  Let it be known, technology and beer do not mix.  I immediately took my soaking wet money and phone out of my pocket.  I didn't care about wet money, its still good, just a little smelly.  The phone was a different story, and I held it tightly to my chest as the LCD slowly dimmed out, flickered, and then went dead.  On Sunday Morning, I performed triple bypass on it (took it apart, cleaned it, did the Atari Game blow on it action, and let it dry off...it took several hours, but is now almost at 100%. That is a testament to that product, much props to the BlackBerry people!!!

Sunday we took my wife to a Kaiser that was actually open, and she was diagnosed with a sprained foot.  They gave her some prescription strength Motrin and some crutches.  She should be back to normal in two weeks or less.  Although the Doctor would not have approved, like the trooper she is, she did not want to miss out on the last night of the Orange Street Fair.  We headed down there crutches and all!

Above you can see me taking a bite of this tasty bratwurst on Sunday at the Fair.
It was juicy and the perfect pre-game meal for the last installment of the tasty nectar known as beer!
 (from my BlackBerry) back to life!

 Here is the crowd on Irish Street watching the American Wake.







Overall, it was a great weekend, and my phone is still alive.  On Monday morning, I had remembered that my wife's bike was still at Chapman University, so I walked down there to pick it up.  Nothing makes you feel more macho than a grown man riding a Pink Bike with a basket, that says Hollywood on it.  I ran into Abraham Lincoln and asked him if he would take a picture of me on the bike.  He refused but he said I could take a picture of him with a bike...so here you have it.