California

I have had such a great summer. Summer is technically over, but my travels are not. The month of September I traveled around Virginia visiting friends- Winchester, DC, Richmond, Charlottesville, Norfolk & Virginia Beach. It was great to see friends and catch up.

I was visiting my friend Sarah in Norfolk. She was home for a month before her big move to San Francisco. She was going to drive, but decided to fly. While looking up tickets, she found a great deal- DC to San Francisco direct for only $109. I jumped on board and bought a ticket to California. I was finally going to make it to California.

October 1st, I drove from Lynchburg to Norfolk to Winchester. Not a very direct route, but I made it to Winchester and even got to see a friend’s art show gallery opening. Sarah and I flew out to San Francisco early the next morning.

San Francisco is a really cool city. Sarah and I spent a lot of time exploring the city. It is great to have another travel companion who is currently not working. We visited Ghirardelli Square, Lombard Street, the Golden gate Bridge, China Town, Japan Town, The Painted Ladies, Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf and Coit Tower. We even made it to Candlestick Park to see the 49ers play the Eagles. It was also an exciting time because the Giants were doing well in the baseball playoffs. We did not have a car so we walked around a lot, which was fun. One of my favorite things we have done so far was rent a car and drive to Napa with Sarah’s roommate Suzanne. We hit up about 5 vineyards and bought bread and cheese to enjoy along the way. Napa was beautiful and the wine tastings were great. We also went to a double feature recently- we saw the Social Network

Other than that we go to the grocery store a lot to cut down on our expenses. Much cheaper than going out to eat all of the time. The grocery stores even sell liquor, which is weird to me coming from Virginia. We mainly hit up the wine thought because we are in wine country, it is good and it is cheap. Sarah and I have gotten really good about only really buying things on sale and even looking for deals in the Cala Foods ads. It reminds me of traveling in Spain- when Liz, Caleb, Annie and I would grocery shop a lot and tell each other, “this is getting pricey” when one of us went overboard. I have such good memories from that trip. With all of the grocery shopping Sarah and I cook a lot and I enjoy it. We take turns cooking and cleaning up so it works out well.

Currently I am in Los Angeles, technically Santa Monica, visiting my cousin Mike. I flew here on Thursday, October 14th, and it has been overcast and a little cold. This has not impacted my visit here though. My cousin has been a great host showing me around the LA area. He let me borrow his car so I drove up the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Malibu. The view along the coast was incredible. He showed me around Hollywood- The Walk of Fame, The Grove including the Original Farmers Market. At There was a Barnes & Noble at The Grove where there were going to be several book signings in the coming weeks- Hillary Duff, Ricky Martin, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. I guess it was because of the area. We also went to a cool bar in Santa Monica- Bodega Wine Bar where they had great soju drinks. We have been to a lot of restaurants as well. One, The Counter, reminded me of Boylan Heights in Charlottesville- build your own burger and great sweet potato fries.

One night I wanted to see the Hollywood sign, so Mike was driving me around trying to find it. We were going all around Hollywood Hills, but could not find it. I looked it up on my phone and apparently it is not lit at night. I later went back and found it to get a few pictures. We have been to the gym a few times, watched a few movies, and had some great conversations. He always has a few apps to recommend for my phone as well as answering my tech and social media questions.

While Mike is at work I have enjoyed rollerblading along the Santa Monica boardwalk and to Venice beach. Yesterday I was rollerblading down the Venice Beach Pier and had a few observations. There was an old man pushing his wife down the pier in her wheelchair. It took him a very long time, but it showed how much he loved her that he was willing to do that. I hope that I am still that in love with my wife at that age. I better start looking harder. Secondly, I observed a homeless man reading the Bible. I stopped to talk to him and really enjoyed our conversation. He got caught up in drugs, but has been clean for the last 20 years. He has been on and off the streets, but he says that he really enjoys reading and reflecting on the beach. Rollerblading back, I went past the skate park and enjoyed watching several guys perform stunts. It was nice to not be in a rush and work my way back, but stopping along the way to observe, talk to people and just enjoy where I was. I had nowhere to be and I was in no hurry.

Finally, no trip to LA is complete without a few other things. I drive by downtown LA to see that. I also drove through Beverly Hills and saw some nice houses. I really like the Palm Tree lined streets and Rodeo Drive. I am at the beach, and while some people have a thing about cold water, I don’t and I get in the water. So I went swimming in the Pacific Ocean. It was cold and I was not in there too long, but I got in.

Tomorrow, Wednesday October 20th, I fly back to San Francisco. I will be there for another week then fly back to the East Coast. After that I am not sure yet. I have a few possibilities- cruise in the Caribbean, visiting friends in Chicago, visiting friends in Dallas, or visiting family in New England. Not knowing is all part of the fun. I will probably head home for a few days to regroup and make plans. I will be home for Thanksgiving at the end of November though. I’m going to go enjoy my last full day in Santa Monica and my last week in California. Until next time….