Although we actually have been in California since we pulled into Senator Wash on February 1, we are in a very different place since we arrived on the coast on the 9th, 5 days ago. Here is a recap of the situation in Los Angeles. Our son, Yechiel, is in Massachusetts for training at his company’s home office. Dan and family are headed to Los Angeles this week on Wednesday and Yechiel will return on Friday. We came in to spend time with Miriam and the boys so she would not have a full week of coping alone. We will all be together from Friday through Monday, Presidents Day. We will disperse shortly thereafter.
For the moment we are camping at Burbank Elks Lodge #1497 not far from Bob Hope Airport. As I stare out the windshield I am looking at Yahoo headquarters just across the commuter rail tracks less than a block away. This IS California and the lodge is nonsmoking, unlike the previous ones we have visited. It also has a nice fitness room and decent showers so the lack of sanitary sewer where we are parked is not a problem. I was concerned because they only have connections for three coaches and I assumed there would be a high demand for space. Not so. There is another coach that arrived after us and there has been an empty slot right along. Who knew!
We have spent much of our time with Miriam and the boys. Sunday we all went to Santa Monica Pier to play in the sand and take in the activities on the pier. As we got out of the car in the sunshine looking out at the Pacific a fog bank rolled in obscuring the ocean and the pier from view. We ate our lunch on the sand, but the damp chill soon drove us and most of the beach goers to find an alternate place to play. We went on to the pier. I invited the boys to ride the Roller Coaster with me and Avtalyon agreed so off I went to buy tickets. As we approached the line to board he decided the “brakes are too loud” and refused to take another step in the direction of the line. Carol and I got to ride together, something that seldom happens as she generally finds the whipping motion too hard on her neck, this is a “gentle” coaster and we both enjoyed the ride.
Last night we went to dinner at the Hillcrest Country Club on Pico with our friends from the JDC Board Etty and Claude Arnall. We are blessed to meet so many people in so many different ways and find wonderful friends along the way.
When we were at the Northeast Regional FMCA Rally in Vermont 18 months ago we met the Braunsteins and they gave us an audio book they were done with (12th Card – Deaver). We sent along a thank you when we finished the book and now it looks like we may be joining them In Ashland Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival at the end of March. The calendar fills even though we resist making plans too far ahead. Somehow if you want to do some of these things it is necessary to actually commit way ahead. Not real happy about having a schedule, but it it the only way we seem to get to some of things we want to do and some of the people we want to see.
To wrap up this post, today we went to the Huntington Library and Art Collection. OMG!!! We had four hours there and barely scratched the surface. We will get back on future trips to the left coast. Glad the kids are here so we HAVE to get here.