Father's Day Weekend Spark

My Dad smiled down from heaven watching us go to Hollywood Park for Father's Day.  He loved going to the horse races.  He would bring the family along sometimes, giving Darlene and me each a twenty dollar bill for gambling.  It was on those outings that I developed my betting technique of "the best long shots to show."  Darlene developed a strategy of her own.  She put the twenty in her purse to go shopping the next day.

I distinctly remember my first trip to the races, at about age nine, riding in the backseat of Dad's Chrysler.  From reading the newspaer tip sheet, I had selected a silver horse named Hot Rodder in the first race, using fundamentally the same logic I still use, at least up to the point where I have a chance to see the horses.  My dad's friend Charlie Ullery, whom at some point I dubbed Horserace Charlie (much to my dad's delight), rode shotgun. Having heard my explanation, Charlie smiled back at me with big grins and said that sounded like a good horse for him to bet too.  We reached the parking lot, and Mom, Darlene and I did our best to keep up with the long strides of the men that ate up the parking lot.  Through the gate and to the betting window, we made it with a couple of minutes to spare, and sure enough, Hot Rodder won.  Dad and Charlie had bet to win, so they cashed bigger tickets, but I liked the idea that I would win even if the horse was beat by a nose at the wire.

On another occasion, we headed down to Del Mar.  I'm not sure when it was, but the 405 freeway had a stretch of constructed asphalt that wasn't open to the public.  Horserace Charlie directed my dad around some barriers, and the next thing I knew, we were speeding down an empty freeway instead of stopping at a series of traffic lights.  As unlikely as it seems now, we made it without getting a ticket.

Another activity Dad and I enjoyed together was NBA basketball, and I remember watching Lakers-Celtics playoff games together, eating boiled peanuts, which is something he'd stock up on at Carmack's Store on summer vacations to visit Mom's family in Alabama.  So, again he would be smiling to see Jay and I watching the NBA Playoffs, even if it was Miami vs. Oklahoma City with the Lakers taking the summer off.  I thank God I had such a wonderful father who loved my sister and me so much.




Julie and I actually kicked off Father's Day weekend festivities on Saturday with a trip to Huntington Beach to check out a chili cookoff raging on Main Street.

Because we were going to have lunch out and Julie's not a chili fan, I bought only five tastings, and I have to say few were better than any given can I might open at home. One that I won't embarrass by naming was dowright watery.  The beanless concoction from Aloha Grill tasted more like Granddaddy's Brunswick Stew than chili to me. It even appealed to Julie, but it was second best.

Duke's had a giant pot of chili stirred with an outrigger paddle that was by far the best, tasting sort of like spicy barbecued ribs gumbo, which was original and delicious. The chili cookoff also featured a lot of artist booths and some carnival games in a street fair of sorts.

A short walk away at the beach, a paddle surfing contest captured our attention. We contemplated how we would fare in waves after our one lesson in Long Beach Harbor on Mother's Day.

We planned to have lunch at Duke's, which is where we usually eat in HB (or Waikiki or Malibu) when we're there, but we decided to try Spark Woodfire Grill, perched on a balcony with a panoramic view of the beach.  Great decision!

Whereas Duke's always delivers a great meal, and their chili entrant certainly reinforced that, we usually end up waiting up to a half hour for a table. At Spark, there was no wait.

They were having a barbecue buffet on the patio, and we almost walked away, but we heard a guitarist begin to play and went back, learning we could order off the menu, too.

The fish tacos at $5.50 seemed too inexpensive to be good, but our waiter assured me they were, so I ordered them, while Julie had a pulled pork sandwich with fries for $9.95.  The draft PranQster Ale for $5 per draw turned out to be a sweet Belgian beer that was great.

With a light breeze finding its way around the glass shields, it was an incredibly comfortable place to enjoy the ocean views.  The musician, Mike Kelsen, was great, playing a terrific mix of exactly my favorite kinds of music, from "Fire and Rain" to reggae to blues to "Moondance."

As you may have noticed, I think California remains a wonderful place to visit, despite out nutty polticians, and if you're cruise embarks from Los Angeles or Long Beach, why not check out some of these great local spots like Hollywood Park and Spark before and after the cruise?

Better service leads to better trips!