Author: Blueadmin

Today we went to visit Claremont just outside of Pomona. A magical place if I may say so. Small unique boutiques everywhere, calm and friendly atmosphere and inspiration to find in every corner. The local mall had a children’s art gallery starring paintings of candy landscapes, exactly like the ones I sing about in one of my original tunes “Garden of Unicorns”. It was the first day I found things I really wanted to buy. A polka dot dress and a striped short, blue and white cardigan I found in a cozy thrift shop. A waist belt and gorgeous brand new converse also became mine after a bit more browsing. We also found a Folk Music store with a little stage so we stayed and jammed for a while, using a twelve string guitar!

  

After visiting a few boutiques I was so inspired a song began to take form in my head. I wrote down the lyrics as we were browsing the stores. As soon as we got home I picked up my guitar. I finished the song in just a little while. “Knitting My Peace” has been born. Those moments of flow are just amazing!

The food of the day spelled “Eureka” and offered the tastiest hamburger so far. Organic products like fig marmalade, bacon and goat cheese made the meat taste like heaven. It was served together with honey and cinnamon sweet potato. What a meal! I was full about 24 hours after that 🙂

Today I had an unreal experience. We went to the Homecoming festival at Michael’s college to  enjoy the festivities and also watch Andy Grammer, the guy behind the song “Keep your head up”. We get there and watch Andy Grammer giving an awesome performance. One of Michael’s friends, have a friend who worked backstage at the festival. He went up and talked to him, then brought me over. His friend had heard my music and asked if I had my guitar with me. I did, and he asked me if I’d be up for performing after Andy. They needed music to cover the gap in schedule. I said: Let’s do it! I got up and played a few original songs and then two covers. One of the songs I played was one of my original Swedish songs “Vaken”, which surprisingly was much appreciated. Apparently they like to hear other languages in the states. There were a lot of people waiting to get photographed together with Andy so there was a crowd listening to me. I got to give out some business cards and felt really happy with my performance. Afterwards I felt drained after all the spontaneous excitement, but wow, it was worth every bit! I can now say that Andy Grammer has opened for me 😀

   

Later that evening, we walked around the Artwalk of Pomona and browsed some cool boutiques and galleries. We also did a bit of street performing. What a day!

This week I visited my friend’s university, Cal Poly in Pomona, and took in the celebrations they set up for the Chinese New Year. I tried traditional foods, said hello to a dragon and got my face painted. It was really nice. I really liked the red chocolate fondue that was offered in one of the booths.

Cal Poly University truly is an Amazing campus, with architecturally interesting buildings and houses made from old stables. Kellogg’s, the owner of the famous cereals, owned a large amount of land where Cal Poly is situated. He donated the land and his much valued horses to the University in agreement that they would take care of his horses. Cal Poly’s mascot is of course a horse, Bronco.

 

We’ve been jamming a lot the last few days and on Wednesday we went to karaoke at the local bar. I sang Allstar by Smashmouth and my now old favorite Pumped Up Kicks. It was a blast! It seems like they have some Open Micks going on in the area so hopefully I’ll be participating in that soon.

My week has already had an unexpected highlight and I’m now one of the happiest people in the world. Me and my friends went shopping, first at a thrift shop were I found a new pair of aviator sunglasses, such luck! Then we moved on to a military surplus store in the area and there I found what I’ve been looking for forever basically. A hard officer hat without any symbols on it. I’m now the proud owner of an original United States Marine Corps hat.

Today I was picked up by my friend Michael in Apple Valley and we headed off to a Super Bowl party his neighbor was throwing. A lovely buffet of Mexican food and then chocolate cake and cake pops for desert. Yumyum! The game did not go very well for the Broncos, the favored team, but ended up being the first time the Seahawks won. The Super Bowl party ended in the perfect way. There was a raffle and Michael put my name in. Guess what? I won 50 dollars 🙂 For sure a welcomed surprise to my budget!

Now I have arrived in Pomona where I will be staying with Michael and his 8 roommates for the next week. Looking forward to exploring downtown Pomona before I make my way to LA.

During the last few days I’ve been chilling in Apple Valley. The high desert of California offers a calm and peaceful environment. I’ve been taking a break from a more hectic schedule and taken the time to sleep in. It’s really beautiful here. Different, but beautiful.

My friend Briana and I have been jamming a lot, she’s a singer too and we’ve taken turns at playing the guitar. We’ve also tried a lot of different foods around here, Thai, Mexican and sushi later tonight. Yesterday, we tried some delicious caramel apples. We just had to, being in Apple Valley and all. Mine was called rocky road and was so sweet I was afraid I’d instantly get diabetes. Of course it tasted delicious, but it was a bit too heavy. Two bites were enough for me.

Today we felt a bit adventurous, and went to drive around the desert. Me being the designated driver. Bumpy roads and sandy fields offered a great place to practice driving. And I’m proud to say: I’ve driven an automatic and a stick shift car in the US.

Our trip continued and took us further south in California. After a short stay in Santa Barbara to eat at McDonalds we continued to Malibu. There we met a couple of Johan’s friends and truly had a blast. First we went over to Santa Monica and had dinner at Bubba Gump’s. Shrimps and pear and berry salad. Yummy! Everything there was Forrest Gump themed and the staff came up in the middle of our meal to quiz us about the movie. Different for sure 😛

 

We then moved on to Johan’s friend’s house in the Malibu hills. It was a scary drive in the dark for sure, we were so close to the edge the whole time! The view from the house was marvelous. One would not want to be afraid of heights. We had a late night kick back with lots of games and laughs. It was a blast!

On Saturday we chilled for half the day at the house and visited the chicken coop, which had such a cute chicken, but oh so scary (I don’t really like birds). Later we had some excellent sushi downtown and then we went to get my first real Doughnut in the states. Finally! 😀