Living in a Movie

I woke up on Thursday (July 3rd) and decided that I wanted to do something with my day. I had spent the past two days chilling at the beach and taking in the sun. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with a day like that, it was actually quite refreshing, I was intensely feeling the need to go see something new. After all, the past two times I had gone out, it had been a great time.

I had seen "Visit Old Town San Diego" on a couple of tourist tip websites and it was close enough to the Ocean Beach park, that I figured it was the perfect spur of the moment find. On top of that, my friend, Nick Wegman, had suggested I check out the Kansas City BBQ in downtown San Diego-more on that later- so I added it to the itenerary. With an adventurous ambition and a plan in mind, I set off!

For those of you that aren't familiar, Old Town San Diego is essentially an open air museum that preserved and recreated many of the original buildings from the 1800s San Diego township. Exploring the preserved town is completely free, and if you're lucky, you can catch the 11 am tour for free, too!

Admiring a pioneer's carriage that has been decorated for the 4th of July celebration

Once I arrived at my first destination, I was quickly blown away by the authenticity and splendor of the state park. The park included a town square with plenty of buildings, stores, and restaurants to check out!

1800's mini plaza re-creation

At the start of my journey, I was greeted by a re-creation of a Old Town San Diego mini plaza. It was oddly surreal, but I couldn't for the life of me why there was a random straw hut between the two buildings. Much to my surprise, I would later learn the reasoning behind it's placement.

1800s dinner space

Throughout my trip, I not only learned a lot and saw a lot, but I also got the unique feeling of being a wild west cowboy who was checking out the town for the first time. The only thing that could make my adventure more surreal was if I was decked out in cowboy attire with a film crew capturing my every move.

1800s kitchen

Me pointing at San Diego on a giant wall painting of the Spanish trading network

After checking out the cigar shop and many old civilian houses, I ultimately stumbled into the courthouse, which happened to be the first court house established in San Diego. It was quite small for a courthouse, but felt grand nonetheless.

Painting and desk of the first San Diego judge

As I traveled through to the back of the courthouse building, I actually got to meet the former Sheriff, Andrew Kriss (pictured below). He wasn't much for conversation, as I did all the talking, but it was nice to talk to someone who was so good at listening. To be honest, I think that man could listen for hours. Now that I mention it, he sure didn't move a lot at all. Maybe he just had a really comfortable chair.

Taking a picture with my new friend, sheriff Andrew Kriss

I then proceeded to check out the rest of the park for about 30 minutes. I was having a good time, but as I walked past the schoolhouse, my heart dropped. Nailed to the side of the building was this poster (pictured below).

Wanted poster for the Sheriff Kriss murderers

It seemed that in the 30 minutes after I had left his office, Andrew Kriss had been killed by a band of thieves. However, there was a typo on the poster that left me quite confused. The poster said that Sheriff Kriss had been killed in Mexico, but there was no way he had ridden all the way to Mexico in the 30 minutes after out meeting.

Right as I was pondering this mistake, two men dressed like sheriffs told me I was under arrest and dragged me to the old jail behind the courthouse. They said that I was the last person who had talked to Sheriff Kriss and would be taken for questioning

Old Town San Diego Sheriff Jail

Mentally preparing to spend the night in jail

Fortunately, after a little questioning, the sheriffs realized I had nothing to do with the murder of Sheriff Kriss and I was let go. However, the sheriffs felt bad for their mistake, so the town arranged to give me a free tour. Coincidentally, it happened to be 11 am.

Holding a stare-off with an 1800s Vaquero (Mexican cowboy)

The 11 am tour was absolutely worth the time (and money). I not only learned a lot about the history of Old Town San Diego, but I also got to go through a couple of buildings that were closed to other visitors, like the schoolhouse and the mansion in the center of the town square. I learned that the Kumeyaay were the ancient natives that had first lived in the San Diego area. They were a nomadic people, and thus they never stayed in one place for a very long time. In the 1500s, the Spanish discovered California and began to slowly develop the San Diego area. However, they mainly used it as a midway point for trade with Asia, so they left most of the California area unsettled. A little later, the Mexicans came in and further developed the township of Old Town San Diego. Finally, during westward expansion in the 1800s, American pioneers came in and settled the area.

Wall painting of the Kumeyaay people and the San Diego coast

Overall, my trip to Old Town San Diego was absolutely worth it! I got a super unique experience and learned a ton about the history of the area. I ultimately learned that the straw hut in the mini plaza (pictured again below) was actually a Kumeyaay hut. Although they likely never built their huts in the town square, the hut in the mini plaza re-creation serves as a subtle tribute to their existence.

(Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell, I wasn't actually arrested and I've never met Sheriff Kriss. The above story is an extremely dramatic re-telling of my pretty normal walk through the Old Town San Diego state park)

Now if you were wondering what the big deal behind eating at Kansas City BBQ is, that was by my design. If you've spent any extended period of time with me, you know I am a HUGE Top Gun fan. Not only do I wear avaitor sunglasses everywhere, and super cool leather jackets, but the original 1986 movie is my favorite film of all time, and the sequel-Top Gun: Maverick- is easily one of the best sequels ever.

If you've ever seen the movie, I'll remind you that there are a couple of scenes where Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Goose (Anthony Edwards) sing together by a piano in a bar (pictured below). The very bar that those scenes were filmed in is the Kansas City BBQ... And you best believe I took a lot of photos.

Maverick and Goose sing "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lewis together at Kansas City BBQ

As a huge fan of the movie and this very scene, I was determined to recreate it myself. Unfortunately, I'm riding solo on my trip around the states, and I didn't have a Goose to accompany me in my modern re-creation of the scene, so I had to play both Maverick and Goose.

Recreating Maverick's pose during the piano scene

Recreating Goose's pose during the piano scene

Unfortunately, I don't have access to Photoshop, but when I do, I plan on merging the two photos together.

Regardless, the rest of my stay was spent eating food and taking pictures with all the memorabilia. I had a great time!

Ribs with toast, French fries, and onion rings

On the whole, my food was actually pretty good. The ribs were really tasty, but they were also pretty skimpy-as I had expected. When you run a tourist magnet like Kansas Cty BBQ, you ultimately end up cutting corners somewhereThe meal was pretty expensive at $20, but it was worth it for the experience.

Picture of me in front of the Top Gun memory wall

Sitting at the bar and having a great time!

Taking a photo with the legendary piano that Goose played

Scene of Tom Cruise at the bar (notice the jukebox)

It may not be the same jukebox, but it still feels special

All said and done, I had a great day on Thursday! I got to recreate my favorite scenes from my favorite movie and I got to see what living in San Diego was like hundreds of years ago! The entire day had a running theme of "Living in a Movie". Whether it be a western, or an 80's action movie