California to California

Fast forward!

We left our desert beach and headed for the real California. First we stopped in the land of the lotus eaters, Desert Hot Springs at Sky Valley RV where we stayed last year. It ain’t great but the price was reasonable with Passport America and their hot spring fed pools are very nice. We camped on sand in an overflow area with water and electric, no sewer, for two nights. The people were pleasant as was the weather. We were vamping on our way to LA. Didn’t want to get there too soon, there is only so much big city we can stand, even with seeing Yechiel, Miriam and Azriel and Avtalyon. I had a very early flight to catch out of Long Beach for meetings and a Bat Mitzvah in NYC and we had timed our arrival to give us time to see the kids and get settled in before my departure.

The main thing we did in Desert Hot Springs was got to dinner and Billy Rieds which I enjoyed and Carol actually enjoyed far more than she expected. Getting to Dockweiler RV Park which is run by LA County Dept Beaches and Harbors is really easy once you commit to driving the freeways. However we did it, once we got to the 105 west bound we continued to the end which becomes Imperial Highway which ends, very conveniently, at the park entrance. Somehow, trying to stay on I 10 across LA did not work, we found ourselves off route on the 101. Using our mapping software and our FMCA Atlas I was able to construct a new route on the fly and we never missed a beat.

The park is both less and more than we hoped. It is essentially a large parking lot laid out with really large parking slots and all the facilities promised. I can look out my windshield at the Pacific, which is across one more row of RV’s and 50 yards of beach. If I turn the other way, inland I can see (and smell if the wind comes from the east) the second lagest waste water treatment plant in the US. Having taken care of the senses of sight and smell, we are just to the south of the southern departure runways of LAX, like a city block to the south. Planes are departing overhead every 60 to 180 seconds, the good news is that the traffic is so constant that, for the most part, we aren’t even aware of them. Neither of us has noticed any sleep deprivation.

Each day we get to the kids house and spend some time with the little ones and even have the occasional moment with the adults. Everyone has a schedule and we have fit ourselves into those schedules. The major excitement this week has been Purim. School was closed for Purim and the whole day was devoted to play. Erev Purim (the evening before, after sunset) we accompanied the family to their synagogue, which is a liberal orthodox shul, for Megillah reading. Each of us is required to hear the entire Megillah read in the evening and the next day. This reading was performed by a member of the congregation with appropriate voices and selection of melodies to keep everyone (well most everyone) listening. I recognized Ode to Joy from the 9th and the major themes from Star Wars, not to mention selections of liturgical music that were used for parody. I am sure there were many other melodies from contemporary music that I just didn’t get, oh yes there was a passage from “Walk the Line” as well. Everyone was in costume – I went as an RVer and Carol went as a tourist – the boys were royalty and I am not sure who Yechiel and Miriam went as. We made it through the first reading and were able to eat and get home in good time.

I will not replay all of our wonderings around LA. Carol and I have taken to finding new and interesting routes for our travels when we have the time to get lost or tangled in traffic. We have seen the Getty Villa, thank you to Jan Shapiro who had tickets looking for someone to use and the strength to escort us there, we took the kids to the Lebrea Pits (on Wilshire) and the Page Museum and we have tried to follow PCH route 1 from our front door to the I 10 twice, maybe we will make it the next time. We have managed to find our way around the area between the beach and Wilshire and beyond and are becoming savvy in the ways of LA traffic. There is too much of it and it is always stalled.

On Sunday morning the 19th we pulled up stakes and move about 30 miles east to the Pomona Fairplex for the next FMCA gathering. Carol will be giving her seminar on photo composition and then she is offering two critique sessions for attendees to bring images to share. I will report my perspective afterwards as we began a slow dash across the country. We leave CA on the 24th and plan to be in Rochester on April 7 with stops in Indianapolis and Cleveland.

Report from Pomona to follow almost immediately.