August 2 [Sunday]
We went to Newport Beach for pancakes and crepes this morning. It was a near aborted mission on account of forgotten masks. But we had stashed away emergency masks in the vehicle’s trunk weeks ago for just such an occasion. They were inelegant, the emergency masks, but fulfilled the requirement. Steffi ordered breakfast by phone while en route, upon arrival I walked in for its retrieval, and we ate outside safely distanced from other patrons and pedestrians. And then, a walk on the cloudy wonderfully overcast day at the beach, an almost chilly morning for a gracious break from the inland heat.
August 3 [Monday] [Covid Summer vacation week – Day 1]
We went to the Safehouse [my parents’ abode] for swimming, while my people are away on vacation [Pacific Grove]. We brought lunch from Café Bravo in Glendale and ate by the pool. In addition to swimming I also took down two ice cream desserts from the garage freezer with no regrets. Kelly was unhappy because she’d rather have stayed home Minecrafting virtually with her friend. Meanwhile, Cade did stay home reveling in self-styled reclusion under the privilege of choice because he is of autonomous age [over 18].
August 4 [Tuesday] [Covid Summer vacation week – Day 2]
The four of us [including Cade, the autonomous one] took a day trip, a drive to coastal San Diego to visit the Cabrillo National Monument. A beautiful location overlooking the ocean, appropriate to honor a guy who arrived from across the ocean, in 1542 says the ledger of history. It was nicely overcast and lightly populated on this weekday. We were able to look down on the ocean hundreds of feet below from the monument and see dolphins, no joke. There’s been lots of statue toppling this summer. Cabrillo remains, at least of today.
Stop two was a tasty lunch break in La Jolla. More precisely, breakfast for lunch. Cade took the opportunity to reaffirm that he ‘hates breakfast.’ I suggested that’s harsh for breakfast, but he proved his point by ordering a burger while the remaining three dined luxuriously on breakfast entrees. We ate in the car due to insufficient socially distanced outdoor seating.
Ghost dog spent the day in doggy jail, Pet Smart. Dog jail Covid restrictions disallow him from being stowed away with his own dog toys. So, he bravely entered his cell with no possessions from home and endured.
A favorable review of Shelter In Place, if I may be so allowed. Quarantine dating back to March 16 has worked absolute wonders for southern California traffic! We made the drive each way in under two hours, easily a three-hour drive each way under normal pre-Covid traffic patterns.
August 5 [Wednesday] [Covid Summer vacation week – Day 3]
Day 3 of stay-at-home vacation week is a scheduled day of rest. So, I occupied myself with a bicycle ride this morning. In the afternoon I made a batch of 15 waffles! 15! I added cinnamon to the batter and they smell delightful. That’ll keep me flush with breakfasts through next week. [I freeze them off and toast ‘em up each morning.] They constitute my base breakfast entrée to which I add accessories, the details of which I won’t trouble you. . . Well, all right, my daily breakfast accessories are a 6 oz. tub of yogurt, a cup of cereal to add to the yogurt for texture, banana, and a breakfast dessert [sometimes a single Pop-Tart, or a cookie . . . or two]. I’m enjoying vacation.
August 6 [Thursday] [Covid Summer vacation week – Day 4]
We went to Lotusland today, a beautiful 37-acre garden in Montecito. But I’ll call it Santa Barbara because it conjures images of my collegiate experience at UCSB those decades ago. Steffi says Lotusland has been proclaimed the 9thmost beautiful garden in the world! That is decidedly impressive! Personally, I don’t know about all that, mostly because I’m no horticulturalist, but I liked the place. I also liked the blueberry pancakes I got from the Sunshine Café on State St. in Santa Barbra for lunch before the two-hour drive home. [Covid note: again about the drastically lightened traffic. The 100+ miles was covered in under two hours! Inconceivable pre-Covid for this coastal stretch of the 101 also bisecting the 405 and 5 freeways.]
August 7 [Friday] [Covid Summer vacation week – Day 5]
Vacation week comes to a close with the Huntington Botanical Gardens in Pasadena. [It’s actually Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, but the library was closed. And besides, who wants to visit a crummy library when on vacation, right?] The Covid precautions were to be expected: a temperature reading at the entrance by means of a hand-held contact-free devise aimed at the forehead, one-way walking paths to minimize pedestrian interaction allowing for social distancing, plus, of course, masks required despite being an outdoor venue. But I didn’t complain. A nice day.
August 11 [Tuesday]
Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden selected California Senator Kamala Harris as his Vice President teammate. Finally, voters have been awaiting the announced VP for too long. Steffi and I are very much looking forward to the presidential debates. Our diverging politics make for lively, but mostly respectful, discussion.
The two Presidential choices are frustrating. I explain this way. President Trump would not be welcome to Sunday dinner, yet I agree with most of the Trump Administration’s positions. Candidate Biden, on the other hand, would definitely be welcome to Sunday dinner, yet I find the bulk of his political positions disagreeable. So, onward to the debates with the utmost haste, please.
August 14 [Friday]
I took our secondary car for a seven-mile spin this morning. We’ve been doing much less driving since Shelter In Place and our primary vehicle gets almost all those miles. I’ve been taking the secondary vehicle, plus the company car, for weekly spins including five miles on the freeway to get their ‘hearts pumping.’ I’d rather take them for the occasional drive instead of letting them sit too long and possibly incur maintenance needs from inactivity.
-klem
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