It’s Easter weekend, a time when the real hunt is for something to do that doesn’t involve brunch. But, before we go off on that quest, let’s go ahead and discuss brunch. Would you rather enjoy your only meal of the holiday at some twee restaurant or on board a battleship that once shelled Pacific island beachheads prior to U.S. Marine invasions in Dubya-Dubya Two.
If you answered in a patriotically correct manner, you’ll find yourself on Easter aboard the USS Iowa where they’ll be dishing up hearty sailors’ breakfast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For $50 ($35 for kids 6-14), you get that, plus a tour of the ship, kids’ games and an Easter scavenger hunt. Call 877-446-9261, Ext. 711.
Keeping things nice and cozily martial for your Easter enjoyment, why don’t you sashay up the airstairs into a bomber — B-17 Flying Fortress or B-24 Liberator — and take a 30-minute flight over Long Beach?
The Wings of Freedom Tour is back in town at Signature Flight Support at 3333 E. Spring St. at Long Beach Airport. The tour offers flights aboard the bombers for $450. For a wilder ride, grab some stick time aboard the sportier fighter plane, the dual-control P-51 Mustang, which you can experience for $2,200 for a half-hour and $3,200 for an hour.
The tour lands in town this afternoon and stays through 5 p.m. on Easter Sunday.
If you merely want to experience the planes on the ground, walk-through tours are open from 2 to 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Those tours are $12 for adults and $6 for kids 12 and under.
For flight reservations, call 978-562-9182.
If you want to turbo-start your Easter weekend, you’ve no choice but to grab the wheel tonight and drive down the coast a bit to Don the Beachcomber at 16278 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach to catch a twin bill of awesomeness amid a Tiki-Islander atmosphere.
For openers (and, for that matter, closers), you get the newly reinvented Greg Carroll Band, featuring our man Greg on vocals and the best harmonica-playing in the world. Carroll’s band is crazy-great with the mighty Mike Malone on keys and the Blasters’ Johnny Bazz on bass.
Headlining the show, though you could’ve flipped a coin to determine which group got the honor, is Rick Vito and his band. Guitarist Vito has played with about a hundred acts including Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall and Bonnie Raitt.
Carroll’s band plays at 8; Vito plays at 10 and Carroll plays another set afterward.
Tickets are $10 and $20.
For seats, call 714-434-2579.
FRIDAY PLAYLIST: Hmm. Easter’s always a tough one. Here’s the best we could do:
1. “White Rabbit,” Jefferson Airplane
2. “Palm Sunday,” Grateful Dead
3. “I Am the Walrus,” Beatles
4. “Easter Parade,” Blue Nile
5. “East at Easter,” Simple Minds
6. “Easter Parade,” Oscar Peterson
7. “Jesus,” Queen
8. “Jesus Was a Cross Maker,” Warren Zevon
9. “Easter,” Patti Smith
10. “Alive,” Pearl Jam
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