Dave's Thoughts of the Day: August 25th

All right, here it is.   I saw the giant rubber duckie this weekend!  It was impressive my friends.  Over 100 feet tall, maybe over 200 feet tall and roughly 70 feet long.  What a wonderful inflated facimile!  It was gorgeous my friends.  Driving down to San Pedro to see it was worth the time and effort, and it was a lot of time and effort to be sure.  Freeway traffic was no big deal, but parking and waiting around for shuttles took quite a while.  There were so many people here that overflow parking lots were set up down the street for miles with a shuttle to take tourists back and forth.  The shuttles got packed.  It was quite a scene.

Awww... but isn't it worth it for this big guy?  It's so cute!

The duckie was parked at Port of Los Angeles for the "Tall Ships Festival."   I didn't even check if they had "tall ships" there.  Nobody did!  Everybody went down there and flooded the harbor walkways for the duckie.  

On the way home I looked up fried chicken... I was in the mood and I was on the Freeway by the airport at the time.  Then, as I drove towards it, I saw, on the other side of the street, Phillip's #2 Barbecue restaurant.  You'd suspect as much for a building with tons of smoke coming out of the roof.  Both of these were straddling the corner of Centinela and Beach Ave.  For me it's the "Magnificent Corner."   At Phillips, great barbecued meats, ribs, and the famous rib tips.   At Louisiana Fried Chicken, the best fried chicken I've had in town.  My goodness it was GOOD.  They use seasoning salt, not sure which kind, and fry that batter just right.  It's fresh, it's hot, it's juicy, it's simply remarkable.  The fries that they serve there are equally good, using that same seasoning salt.

One of the best parts of the "Magnificent Corner" is it's easier to get to from the freeway than I thought.  You just take 405 south to La Tijera and get off there, head east and make the right on Centinela.  If you were the kind of joker that would want to take chicken or ribs to go to your home in, iono, the coast of Santa Monica, you can do it!  The food keeps well...stays hot.  It's a dream.

There happens to be a Smart and Final wholesale grocery store next to the Phillip's... if one were to posit the idea for a party, they could head to the Magnificent Corner, and get all the food they need for one phenomenal night.   Ribs, a HUGE order of Fried Chicken, maybe some barbecued beef, then Smart and Final for the plates, forks, knives, napkins, chips, and sodas.  Picture that party!  Maybe grab a few cases of beer too.

I'm ready for a fun week.  Enjoy your Monday!