Finally, the Journey to the West series is coming to an end. To wrap it up, I’ll end this journey with three unexpected places we encountered along the way.
Ec Gallery
One evening after dinner, we were wandering around when we happened to pass by a gallery. Through the transparent display window, we saw the two paintings below, and I was immediately drawn in.
Schroeder playing and piano and Woodstock playing the violinAfter chatting with the staff, we learned that the artist is Tom Everhart. He is actually a close friend of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. Before Schulz passed away, he entrusted Everhart with the copyrights, with only one condition: Everhart could not repeat Schulz’s style. He had to paint a Snoopy that was truly his own.
A photo of Schulz and Everhart together
Other Snoopy works by EverhartI really love Everhart’s style—dreamy, a little mischievous, and warm at the same time. I never knew Snoopy could be this colorful.
The Shout! House
One night, we had dinner with Sam’s coworkers. During the meal, someone mentioned wanting to go to a piano bar afterward. Everyone was intrigued, so we decided to go together. There’s no cover charge, though they do check IDs and bags at the entrance. We ordered drinks and waited for the show to start at eight.
On stage were Courtney, Eric, and Tom, taking turns performing. Most of the time, two of them played on stage while one took a break. It was usually dual pianos, though occasionally one of them would switch to drums or guitar. Honestly, after listening for the whole night, I was deeply impressed by each musician’s massive song repertoire, their playing and singing skills, and especially their improvisation ability.
Each table had note paper and pencils, so guests could write down song requests and bring them up to place on the piano. Requests for birthday wishes and those with tips usually got priority. How many songs do they have to know to pull this off? Incredible.
(This song is called All My Ex’s Live in Texas. The lyrics are hilarious.)And live music really does have an irreplaceable vitality. During the performance, they actively hyped up the crowd and even invited people who made requests to come on stage and dance. The very hyped guy below and his friend were one such pair.
The music and atmosphere were both amazing. If I ever visit San Diego again, I’d love to come back for another show.
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
One evening, Sam and I were walking past The Rady Shell when we heard music and got curious. We walked over and realized it seemed like a rehearsal for some kind of musical.
The stage lighting was stunning, and the dialogue between the two actors was really funny—probably some sort of absurd comedy.
We looked it up and found out it was a Christmas production hosted by Awaken Church nearby. What? Not only was there acting, but also aerial performers? What? Not only aerial performers, but fireworks too? We were very tempted to buy tickets, but the price was quite steep. After some thought, we decided to pass, telling ourselves that getting to see part of the rehearsal for free was already nice.
A few days later, on a Saturday afternoon, after wandering around Little Italy, we somehow decided not to take the trolley and instead walk slowly back to the hotel. Along the waterfront path, we saw a guy who seemed to be promoting something. Somehow, despite being introverts, we didn’t avoid him.
He said, “There’s a show tonight! It’s really awesome. You should come check it out!”
He paused for a moment, then added, “The ticket price is a bit high, but if you really want to come, you can tell the ticket booth staff, ‘Esther invited us,’ and it’ll be free.”
And just like that, we got tickets. Once inside, I discovered that our seats were right at the front, in the rocking zone.
Faced with a series of events piled up from so many “somehows,” with such an improbably low chance of happening, I can only describe it as God’s grace. When God gives a gift, it’s delivered right in front of you—and not sparingly, but generously, with front-row seats.
The entire production told the story of Jesus’ birth. By the end, I felt deeply moved. This church is truly full of talent—the band, singers, aerial performers, actors, and all the behind-the-scenes staff were completely devoted, making the whole show highly professional and spectacular.
After entering the venue, we also ran into the promoter again and chatted for a bit. We learned that his name was Pedro.
Thank you, Pedro, for your hard work serving under the sun and for giving us the chance to experience this performance.
Closing
At last, Journey to the West is finished. I never planned to write this much at the beginning, but as I kept going, the series ended up surpassing 4,000 words (it feels like I’m about to turn into a travel-and-food blogger, lol). Did any part of these posts resonate with you? Feel free to write to me and share your thoughts!
NB: This article was first published in Chinese on 12/18/25. It was later translated with assistance from AI tools, edited by me, and published in English on 01/08/26.