Our time in California was winding down. We had two full days left in the Golden State and my photographer was going out with a bang – Tom was scheduled to meet former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley on Thursday August 9, 2018 in Solana Beach. When the alarm went off at 7:00am, my camera guy shot out of bed like he had springs in his butt. By nine o’clock, Tom had his platform shoe and camera gear packed and we were headed south. Vicki was behind the wheel of the Mustang, the top was down, and life was great.
Roughly an hour into the trip, we made a detour into Oceanside where Vicki parked the Mustang alongside a wooden single-story house that was situated behind a fence. A green tarp had been put in place to help keep the building hidden, but it appeared someone had intentionally pulled the tarp down in front of the house. The windows were boarded up and the place looked as though its better days were long gone. But for some reason, the blue dilapidated structure looked familiar. It wasn’t until I was carried to the front of the building when I realized where I had seen the house before – it was Charlie’s house from the 1986 movie ‘Top Gun’. There was no doubt the ramshackled place was where Pete “Maverick” Mitchell had dinner with Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood; and the ‘Top Gun’ poster that had been affixed to a front window had confirmed my suspicions. As my photographer and his wife admired the famous house from a variety of angles, it was as though I could hear ‘Sitting on the dock of the bay’ quietly playing from deep within the walls.
After they had admired the house from ‘Top Gun’, my photographer and his wife walked down to Oceanside City Beach where they spent about a half-hour watching sunbathers and surfers. When I was carried back to the Mustang, I heard Tom mention that our ‘Top Gun’ movie locations were not finished. With my photographer spitting out directions, we made our way to West Laurel Street in San Diego where Vicki parked our car in a very famous place in the movie. Our Mustang was situated alongside a large palm tree at the top of a hill, and it was the exact place where Charlie drove and caught Maverick to tell him she was “falling” for him. It was arguably the most romantic scene in the film; one that I roll my painted resin eyes as I wait for another F-14 Tomcat scene. As my photographer took some time to capture images of the area, it was as though I could hear Maverick as he shouted at Charlie: “Jesus. And you call me reckless? When I fly, my crew and my plane come first.”
After their breath was taken away, my photographer and his wife made their way two miles to the south where their hunger would be taken away as well. Once Vicki had the Mustang parked about two blocks from the small eatery, I was carried in the camera case to the Kansas City Barbeque – even though we were over 1,500 miles from Kansas City. Upon first glance, the restaurant appeared out-of-place and didn’t possess any curb appeal; that was until I found out it was used for the bar scene in the movie ‘Top Gun’. And when we were seated at our table, the atmosphere became even better – we sat next to the piano that Goose and Maverick used when they sang “Great Balls of Fire” in the movie. It was as though I could hear Meg Ryan’s character Carole Bradshaw say to her hubby: “Hey Goose, you big stuuuud – take me to bed or lose me forever.”
After they had finished their lunch, my photographer walked around the restaurant like a kid patrolling a candy store. Not only was ‘Top Gun’ one of my camera man’s favorite movies, I found out that Meg Ryan was one of his favorite actresses as well. When we left the Kansas City Barbeque, we were finished with ‘Top Gun’ film locations – especially with no chance of touring Miramar, the former Naval Base used in the movie. However, my photographer did the next best thing – he took us for a close-up look at the aircraft carrier USS Midway that was moored alongside its neighboring museum in San Diego Bay. As we stood near the rear of the mammoth ship, I envisioned F-14 Tomcats as they launched from its flight deck. Although the USS Enterprise was the actual carrier used in the movie, I found the Midway to be a respectable substitute.
Finished in San Diego, we headed 23 miles north; it was a few minutes past 2:00pm when we arrived at the Sand Pebbles Resort motel in Solana Beach. My photographer and his wife chose that motel due to its proximity to the Belly Up Tavern where Ace Frehley was slated to perform later that evening. Even though the doors of the premier club didn’t open until 7:00pm for the eight o’clock show, Tom was insistent on being first in line which would likely ensure his spot in front of the stage. After my camera man and his wife got cleaned up and dressed for the concert, we headed to the Mustang at 4:45pm for the seven tenths of a mile drive. And as planned, my “proud as a peacock” photographer was first in line at the entrance door to the Belly Up Tavern. Within fifteen minutes, however, two more fans arrived – getting help from Tom as they maneuvered their large truck into a tight parking spot directly in front of the door. Jon Kibbe, as it turned out, was a huge KISS fan and my camera man and him hit if off immediately. Jon’s friend and Tom’s wife just rolled their eyes as the pair shared story after story about KISS; and before we knew it, the doors opened at exactly 7:00pm.
Once the doors had opened and we were through security, it was a mad dash to the front of the stage. Tom had me and his camera in the small case; and he also had his KISS platform shoe stuffed in another bag that he wanted Ace to sign after the show. While my photographer and Jon staked-out their territory in front of the center microphone, Vicki and Jon’s friend made their way to the seating section off to the side of the stage. That worked out well as the two of them protected all of Tom and Jon’s memorabilia, which made it easier for the two “big guys” to hold their positions at the stage – which at times wasn’t easy.
A group known as The Blitz Brothers played for about 45 minutes before Ace Frehley’s band hit the stage around 9:15pm. Accompanying the former KISS ‘Spaceman’ on stage was guitarist Richie Scarlet, bassist Chris Wyse, and drummer Scot Coogan – and the quartet rocked the Belly Up Tavern for about 90 minutes. From my position inside the camera bag alongside Vicki’s leg, I was worried that the extremely loud music would crack my legs worse than they already were. I began to wonder how my photographer was handling the deafening music from the front row – his ears had to have been bleeding. While Frehley’s band played a small handful of KISS songs, Ace didn’t sing any of them – which didn’t surprise my photographer or me. While Ace Frehley is an accomplished guitarist, he doesn’t possess golden pipes and he left the KISS songs to the voice of Coogan. The highlight of the show for me, and likely for most in attendance, was when The Spaceman broke into his signature KISS solo tune called ‘New York Groove’ – and let me tell you the small venue was rockin’!
Once the show was over, my photographer had several souvenirs in hand – three Ace Frehley guitar picks and a stage-used Fiji water bottle that Ace had drank from and tossed to him. But the night wasn’t over – we still had the ‘Meet and Greet’ to attend. While Vicki waited outside of the building, Tom stood patiently in line for his turn to meet the Spaceman in a room behind the stage. Finally, it was our turn; we walked into the area where Ace Frehley was seated at a table and Tom began to hand the former KISS guitarist items for him to autograph. I had wished that he would’ve let Ace hold me for a photo, but that wasn’t going to happen. Time was precious, but my photographer had a game plan. While Ace was signing Tom’s items, including his left platform shoe that matched the other shoe signed by the current KISS band, he fired-off a question that he’d rehearsed for weeks: “Ace, when you played at the Surf Ballroom back in 2015 and stood on that stage, did you think about Buddy Holly since it was the last stage he played before he was killed in the plane crash?” Frehley never looked up and answered with a quick “No”. I could tell that his answer disappointed my cameraman; and quite frankly it gave me the impression that Ace didn’t have many brain cells to rub together and likely didn’t know who Buddy Holly was. But his two body guards did; which was confirmed when one asked: “Ace played the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly played in Clear Lake, Iowa?” The other replied: “Yes, it was the most amazing place and so full of rock and roll history.” Once the items were signed, Tom handed his camera to one of the body guards who snapped a couple of images of the two as they posed at the table. By his expression, Ace definitely didn’t look thrilled to be there – which once again disappointed my photographer. I thought to myself as I stood inside the camera bag and peered out through a small opening: “If you don’t want to engage with the fans who shelled out the money to meet you, then don’t sell tickets to a ‘Meet and Greet’. It’s not supposed to be a ‘Sit there with a dumb look on your face and don’t say a word’; but that’s exactly what Ace Frehley did. No wonder Gene and Paul gave him the boot years ago – he just doesn’t get it!”
My photographer wanted to say goodbye to Jon Kibbe, but he had already left the ‘Meet and Greet’ and was nowhere to be found when we exited the club and rendezvoused with Vicki. It was late, my companions were hungry, and the only thing they found open was a Taco Bell. It was roughly 12:15am when the pair sat on the bed and munched-down a handful of tacos. I was placed next to the television set where I had the chance to think about Ace Frehley the entire night. What could have been a memorable evening turned out to be a mediocre experience thanks to the Spaceman’s demeanor. The music was loud, and the show was great, but the star’s ‘Meet and Greet’ was lackluster to say the least. The highlight of the night for the three of us was meeting KISS super fan Jon Kibbe; which was far more special than the few minutes we had wasted with Ace.
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My companions woke up around 8:30am on Friday August 10, 2018 and the first thing I heard my photographer say was he still couldn’t hear very well. As a matter of fact, the television set was on and Tom asked his wife why she had the sound muted. His lack of hearing also might have factored into why we headed south when we left the motel instead of driving north towards Tustin. Four miles into the drive, I heard my photographer yell out: “Wait a minute, the ocean should be on our left; not our right. We’re heading in the wrong direction.” I had to laugh to myself because I think Tom couldn’t hear Siri’s directions very well and he guessed at which way to go. In the end, however, the miscue did give us a great view of Torrey Pines State Beach where we saw a group of surfers in action.
While our final full day in California got off on the wrong foot, that quickly changed when we arrived back in Oceanside for a last look at the ‘Top Gun’ house. Once there, however, we soon learned that there was something going on at the beach that was far better than looking at that run-down shack again. It turned out that there was a surfing competition that was in progress near the Oceanside Pier. Before I knew it, I was carried in the camera case onto the pier where we were afforded a closeup look at ‘Surfin’ USA’; not to mention some pretty skimpy swim wear.
We watched the surfers for over an hour before my photographer decided it was time to head north. When we arrived at the Currier’s house in Tustin after the 50-mile ride, Tom surprised Mr. Plumber with an autographed Ace Frehley poster and one of his three “Spaceman” guitar picks. The rest of that day was spent chatting with Tom and Rhonda; and by seven o’clock the Plumber had fired up the grill and barbecued some steaks for dinner. It was the perfect ending to a most wonderful California trip. We saw a ton of great sights, but more importantly, my photographer and his wife met a lot of amazing people.
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When the alarm in our room went off at 7:00am on Saturday August 11, 2018, it didn’t take long before Tom and Vicki began to pack the Mustang for the six-mile drive to John Wayne International Airport. As the three of us said our ‘goodbyes’ to the Curriers, I was sad; mainly because I had grown fond of Mr. Plumber. Not because he’s interested in reading about my Presidential visits, because he’s not. It’s due to the fact that we share something in common – both of us have a ponytail that we are very proud of. I had wondered if Tom’s hair was held onto his head with Gorilla Glue like mine was.
The Delta Flight back to Detroit was painfully long; especially with a lay-over in Salt Lake City, Utah. But once we got home late on that Saturday afternoon, I had plenty of time to rest. I was placed onto the shelf with some of my Presidential bobble head friends and I stood there for the remainder of the year. I couldn’t complain – 2018 had been good to me as I was taken to some very cool sights. But when I overheard my photographer as he discussed some of his trip ideas for 2019, it would undoubtedly be a year like none other.
