Joking about being the wedding present for the bride and groom, I spent the next 4 and a bit days with them in Ventura
To understand how strange, or better yet, how unique this is - I need to tell you how the groom and I became acquainted.
In 2016 I visited Tokyo for the first time and as all good stories do, end up in a bar in a famous nightlife area called Golden Gai. The bar we ended up in was ultimately the bar where I met a bunch of travelers from the US, the groom, Adam, being one of them. Keeping in touch throughout the years via social media and him visiting me in Hong Kong a couple of times, it was only right to repay him a visit.
I did not do any homework about what Ventura or the surrounding areas had to offer, as I basically had one instruction: Do as the Romans do (i.e. do as the locals do).
In the morning, Adam and I headed into town for breakfast.
During Covid, the restaurants were barred from serving guests inside the premises, so many of the restaurants had build temporary outside seating areas (I know right?). These often encroached into the roads - forcing the town to shut down the “city-center”, inadvertently creating a car-free zone. Whilst the rules for eater have long been lifted, the outside seating remained and roads closed, creating a nice Piazza to walk through.
On the drive back, we passed a few buildings straight out of a pulp fiction-esque movie, which I was was told. was the local Bowling alley, adjacent to the Mini Golf center and roller blading rink. The local thing to do is go drinking and do all three activities, one-after-another. The “Trifecta”.
Discussing the merits of a well balanced meal before a workout
Long story short - we attempted the trifecta ourselves.
I won the minigolf round, Adam beat me at bowling 2-1.
Unfortunately, the skating rink was closed on this specific day, so it was more like a Difecta.
Trying not to sink our heads in dissapointment, we decided to head to Santa Barbara to sample the local bars and restaurants.
The first bar we entered was a Christmas pop-up bar. Kitsch as far as the eyes can see, with thematically decorated walls, tables and drinks. We also got in at the right time, as soon later the Christmas drag queen karaoke evening began, which brought the whole bar to a roar. I say right timing, because as we left we passed a long queue of people trying to get in!
Drinks drunk, we decided that sustenance was needed to continue the evening fruitfully. Santa Barbara is a quiet chic town with a lot of restaurants and fashion stores and, what’s that over there? An Axe club? Oh…OH AXE THROWING!
Turns out, in America you are free to do whatever you want, as long as you sign a waiver to absolve the store of any wrongdoing. So three tipsy soon-to-be tomahawk professionals decided to try their hand at throwing pointy instruments.
It. Was. A. Lot. Of. Fun.
Unfortunately, by the time we had finished playing cowboys and Indians, all the restaurants were about to close.
Oh well - at least we had achieved our new version of the MBA Trifecta - Minigolf, Bowling, Axes
