My trip in San Diego as the Champion of the Steemit Music League - Season 1

It's been a while since I hanged out with ya'll on this extraordinary platform, and I'm back with an interesting story that some of you might already expect. Well...I've got a lot to report, since the last time we've seen each other, and I decided to tell you about my first trip ever to the US of America at my dear friend Erika, which is pretty much unknown on Steemit as @IamErika.

Not long ago, I won a round trip to San Diego as @beatseb here on Steemit, and a while ago I reintroduced myself as @beat5e8 , due to my irredeemable action of losing a master key for @beatseb. Just dopey. So you probably do wanna know, how did the winning trip of the Steemit Music League and Beat Battle League, ran by the legendary @chiefmappster went, and how did the champion of the first season spent his time in San Diego / California? Today I'm gonna let you know all about it. From the lunge to the tongue. Let's get to it.

I took off on the 8th of June from the Frankfurt Airport 8:45 am in order to land in Zürich / Switzerland 9:40 am, for a stopover that took 4h 25 minutes. The official departure from Zürich to San Diego was planed for 2:05 pm, but it actually took place an hour later, due to the technical difficulties with the plane. I wasn't thinking is that bad, until the announcement over the intercom stated, that one of the turbines apparently needed to get replaced. FTW?! The entire turbine? Replaced?

Thousands of thoughts was going in and out of my mind, since I was only filtering the positive ones, and exactly those, was fading to scarceness, while the wait was dragging into oblivion. I seriously thought this was going be the last flight of my life, and strange enough, I wasn't even close, wanting to give up and cancel the whole trip. My desire to spend 3 weeks of my life in California, was stronger then my fear of a 12 hours flight, with a brand new replaced turbine that might, or might not function midway through. So I waited calm and patient in the waiting room of the Gate E23, until the apology of a nice sounding air hostess, rang through the intercom as a long awaited remedy. The error was corrected.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding”. “Swiss Air and Edelweiss Air wishes you a pleasant flight”.

As we finally got boarded, for my surprise, I had to find out that my seat was all the way on the back of the plane, and two of the sits next to me wasn't occupied. YAY! That was a perfect arrangement I was thinking, cause I could lay down and sleep during the long flight if I wanted to, and get more or less comfortable, which actually wasn't the case at all. Instead, my 17 inch gamer notebook, with all the music and graphic software on it, was laying down on one of the seats, and my camera was occupying the next one. Perfect tools for getting creative, high above the clouds, all up in the sky, followed by occasional light turbulence, and beautiful air hostesses from Switzerland taking care of my well being.

The only thing I disliked, was the smudgy window I was sitting next to. The stains was scattered all across of it, which made it hard to take pictures from a desired angle. But the beauty of it was, depending on the area we flow above, the smudge would grow bigger or totally disappear. Condensation would slowly appear on the windows surface to create unique shapes and forms, which would later convert to frozen crystals as we were flying over Greenland. The condensation forming was created in the low pressure zone, since I was sitting way above the wing of the aircraft, and it was happening due to the adiabatic expansion. Interesting shapes would appear, and I was completely forgetting my surrounding by the beauty of those shapes, while clicking and clacking on my camera. At the same time, I was working on a track in Cubase I recently started, and was switching back and fort, between Photoshop, Cubase and the extraordinary images that was attracting my lens, guided by my eye.

Looks like someone was practicing a lot and failed at proving that crops are man made.☺

This is 9 minutes before I landed and this view made me fell like we were flying over Encinitas. Or maybe not?

It took me a while to recognize that everyone else was a sleep, most of the window shutters was pulled down in order to create the night effect for the passengers, since the whole flight was an eternal daylight. Surreal. My window shutter wasn't once touched, and I was awake and full of life the entire time, which later proved to be unwise. The clicking and clacking continued till I landed after 12h 25 min. in San Diego Airport at 5:30 pm on Friday the 8th of June.

It was a total duration of 21 hours 58 minutes from being on my feet. Including 20 minutes ride to the train station, 2h 53 min. train ride to Frankfurt Airport, the 4h 25 min. stopover in Zürich, and that 1 hour delay in Zürich Airport.

As I arrived in San Diego Airport, and passed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), quicker then the security check in Frankfurt Airport, I was surprised that this was even possible, and relieved, since the last point was checked. My thoughts was on my dear friend Erika, and her 3 beautiful daughters, of whom I only met one in real life. Anna, when she was only 2 and ½ years young, which of course, I wouldn't expect her to remember. They were coming to the airport to pick me up, so my excitement and enthusiasm was only getting accelerated.

At that moment, I felt the exhaustion sneaking into my perception, but my mind was absorbing every detail of my surroundings like a newborn that just discovered the power of it's eyes. The exhaustion had to wait. While I was walking with my 2 piece luggage following the exit signs, I had to stop sometimes, so I could continue the clicking and clacking with one hand, but this time on my phone. I was trying to activate the airports open WiFi and use hangouts to call Erika, or my homeboy Nate, and let them know I landed. The connection was weak, so I kept moving forward to reach the sweet spot, till I've reached the exit door. I left my luggage lightheartedly next to the door inside, and stepped outside to hunt my WiFi connection, while looking like a pokémon go contestant in the front of the building.

At the very same moment, a white Ford SUV pulled up close to the sidewalk, and I could already see Erika's smiling face behind the wheel, waving at me through the open and empty passenger seat window. I went back inside the building, and grabbed my luggage quickly, while her beautiful daughter Anna, meanwhile 17, got out of the car and walked towards me attending to help me with the luggage, which I proudly refused. So after a short “Heéy” and a heart warming smile, I quickly placed my luggage on the back of the SUV and set down on the passengers seat, with 3 beautiful young ladies sitting behind me bemused by my humbled appearance.

This is America
@IamErika

“That was a perfect timing huh?” Smiled Erika and quickly drove away from the visitors parking lot, which couldn't be occupied furthermore. “Yeah it was” I responded smiling gladly. After I greeted the girls and failed at guessing who's who, I just set back, relaxed, and watched the fast riding style of Erika, while chit-chatting with her in Palatine German dialect, and for my part, in American “I'm from the streets” English, back and fort. At one point while observing the traffic and the area, I said: “So this is America, don't catch you slippin' now, look how I'm livin' now, Police been trippin' now”. Only Anna got what I was saying and smiled quickly, while Erika responded inadequately: “You smell like luggage” My Eyebrows raised quickly followed by my wide open eyes, and I immediately forgot about Gambinos reference. “Do I?” My discomfort was on the fast lane now. “Yeah. You smell like the entire luggage from that plain you flew.” I always dug Erika's sincerity, and yet I felt like, I needed to justify this: “OK, alright, I got it from here” Tyrone Biggums was talking out of me, but that wouldn't stop Erika saying: “You need to take a shower” Them girls was awkwardly quiet back there, and I was awkwardly incommodious and less talkative: “Yeah, I know” while thinking “No shit Sherlock”.

As we drove, chit-chatted and reminisced about the past, the last thing I was feeling is being hungry, cause my oppressed exhaustion was craving for rest and recuperation. The girls was hungry and mentioned Mexican food, which activated my taste buds immediately, so we agreed to stop at a Mexican Restaurant in Encinitas. After they went to get the food, me and Erika sparked up a dooby outside the huge and almost empty parking lot, with a grocery store across the lot, among other buildings scattered between huge spaces. Huge. Everything seemed to be huge and bright here. I'd to put a million dollar smile on my face as we lighted the spliff out in the open, cause this freedom act is a distant dream where I come from, plus the last time I got zoody with Erika was 11 years ago. The herbs taste was intense, although I prefer to smoke pure, but one could tell, this was something else whoay, since my dedication to puffin' is internalized anyways and those small hits got me going...mmmh, mmh, mh. Tasty taste.

Of course, what else?☺☻

Home-girl just thought about it, that she actually needs trash bags from that grocery store, and we walked slowly from that uncrowded parking lot towards the entry, with me still puffin' on that lala like there was no tomorrow. “Come on, let's go.” She said nonchalantly. “It's alright, almost everyone around here is high” I was giving her that certain questioning look, from which she'd already gave me the answer. So I turned the stub off, and we got inside the store. I took charge of that shopping cart, which for my surprise it was inside the store. So as we started the supposedly short stroll, there was immediately this perception and comparison, to the German grocery stores I was being used to. The isles of articles started to fish me in, and I couldn't classify the order at all. It started with flowers, then disposable tableware followed by soft toys, then fruits and vegetables, spirits and flip flops, souvenirs and greeting cards, and it even went stranger the further we strolled. I was confused, but heavily flashed and giggling most of the time, which happen to be contagious, so Erika joined the giggle. I'm not sure if it was the weed, my exhaustion, or both, but I felt like I was in the grocery wonderland, looking for Alice between them article - luring - isles.

I actually found out afterwards, it was a 99 cent store, and not really a grocery store, although the big sign wasn't suppose to be overseen. Them herbs we puffed, was the bomb dot com babe. ☻

As we got out, the girls were already back from the Mexican Restaurant with them orders, and waited for us in the front of the SUV. We drove straight to Erika's house in Encinitas, and it only took 5 minutes ride from there. Her cute little house was in a community yard next to a driving road, with couple of houses scattered over the yard. They all looked like Robinson Crusoe's shacks with an advanced touch to it, charming and ready to be inhabited.

This is Ramona, which I called Romana for the next 3 weeks. I think she dug it.

Palms, Cactus's and a Magnolia tree adorned the yard. It looked exotic and beautiful.

The sunlight ratio was pretty bright, but yet not intrusive. It had that pleasant clarity where one doesn't has to strain his eyes at all. I loved it immediately.

The temperature was around 22° and my awareness was sensing a paradisiacal condition for the next three weeks of my abidance. At this moment, my exhaustion climbed over me, and I really hopped for a recuperation soon, through that late and beautiful afternoon, but instead...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thanks for reading, and stick around for the next part of this blog. This are some of the images you will expect to see.