Tuesday: Coda
This afternoon, SaraRules and I decided to check out a few comic shops near her aunt and uncle’s. We had three stops on the agenda. Thanks to GoogleMaps, we had a circuit planned that would take us from one shop to another and then to the third and bring us back home, jiggity-jig. Map in hand, we got under way.

The first place was what I expect most non-comics fans would anticipate a comic shop to look like: Jam-packed, floor to ceiling, with comics, statues, toys and whatever else they could get away with. It was a claustrophobic hole-in-the-wall. There was some sense of order to things in there, but damned if I could figure it out in the ten minutes we were there.

We hit the second shop… after discovering that GoogleMaps had apparently gone on a coffee break when we asked it for directions. We figured out where we were supposed to be going and found the store. It was a satellite of a store that I visited the last time that I was in L.A.  I liked the original store quite a bit; this one left a bit to be desired, though. It was laid out decently, but the stock was, by comparison, quite lacking.

We literally stumbled over what wound up being the “third” store. I saw it as we were driving past the strip center in which it was located. It was part-comic shop…. and part-fabric store. O,o ?!? Explain that one, if you can. I think that we were there for five minutes, tops. Definitely an entry for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file.

On the way to the now-fourth store, we discovered that GoogleMaps screwed the pooch again. A few course corrections later, we wound up at Galaxy of Comics. It’s a new store (opened on 04 Feb 09), but it was clean, well-organized and inviting.  Dana, the associate on-duty, was friendly and helpful. I found a few pieces of plastic crack (which I was looking for) and a graphic novel (which I wasn’t looking for, but looked interesting).  Of the comic shops we visited today, Galaxy of Comics was the best shop, hands-down. I’ll be stopping here again, when I’m back in town. If you’re in the San Fernando Valley – and more specifically, in the Van Nuys area – you should check it out.

This evening, we went to dinner at Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill. I had a combination of the Beef Ribs and Babyback Ribs, with Incredible Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli… and a Guinness to wash it down, naturally.  SaraRules had the Tri-Tip, with the mashed potatoes and Mac and Cheese. The food was delicious and the service was great. Unfortunately, there is no Wood Ranch in the Land Behind the Zion Curtan nor back home in NC or MD.  BAH!

We hit the road back to SLC tomorning.

And that, as they say, is that.

Namaste.