Tag Archives: Southern California

December Update

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Balls at LACMA

Art?

A lot of things have changed since my last post so will attempt a catch-up and update everyone!

At the moment, I am down in SoCal staying at Ryan and Les’s apartment. Mostly here to see my boys and grandboys but also it’s an attempt to miss some of the nasty weather that is happening – and will continue to happen – for the next few months.

But getting back to where I left off…

In a bizarre twist, Chris is back on the periphery of my life – as a tenant in the condo! He had agreed to quit claim it to me as he has no interest in keeping it. When I found out that I may be able to do a loan mod on it, Susan and I spent a day cleaning it up and getting it ready to rent. I took the keys to the property rental people and was getting ready for them to go through the process and find me a tenant. That day, I got a phone call from Chris, asking if I had rented the place yet. And that he was interested in taking it! Immediately! Which meant that he had been asked to move out from his last place/relationship. I was astounded and backpedaled a bit and said I would think about it for a couple of hours and immediately called Susan! We discussed it and agreed it would work – but ONLY if he paid full rent and a security deposit up front and signed a lease. Which he did!

So now both rentals are occupied with rents coming in on time. The Port Angeles house paperwork should be completed and waiting for me when I get home later this week and hopefully, progress is being made on the condo. I am making increased payments on the house on the water to catch up with payments I missed when I so unexpectedly landed up there again, and so far, have managed to do that.

End of the World Burger at Umami Hamburgers

End of the World Burger at Umami Hamburgers

All this means that I have to live extremely frugally and I really hesitated coming here but as my ultra-generous son insisted and has treated me royally while here, I am so glad I did. We have spent some wonderful time together here at the apartment and yesterday at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art and eating amazing Umami Hamburgers. Later today we will take a walk over to the Farmers Market which is just down the street. We went last week and I was amazed at the variety and quality of the produce and food. Fun!

I’ve been driving Ryan’s extra car that he is in the process of selling, and have been up to Apple Valley to see Cody, Mel and the little boys a couple of times. What little characters they have become! Oliver is four now and Everett two. He is such a cutie and all boy! I will go up there on Christmas Day.

Also went down south to Cardiff to see my dear friends, Steve and Cathy. Those people are salt of the earth and I so love seeing them. As usual, as it is now a tradition, they took me to Fidel’s restaurant where we had a lovely Mexican dinner and a nice surprise when Brynn (their daughter) and her husband Garth and their very new twins and 2-year old showed up as well. Spent the night and headed out early as Ryan and Les were expecting a delivery at the apartment at 11. I was expecting traffic but so far, on all my little forays out into the hustle and bustle, the only time I have hit the dreaded LA traffic was when I left for Cardiff and it took me 45 minutes to go a couple of miles!

I had an amazing Kangen water experience. Ryan doesn’t have a machine – yet – so I was drinking their filtered water for the first few days but I started getting headaches and not feeling so hot, tired and just out of sorts. So I checked around and found a water store not far from here and she agreed to let me have water whenever I needed it. So took a quick drive over there, filled my two 5 litre bottle/bags and my drinking bottle. Within three minutes of inhaling almost a full litre, my headache was gone! Now that is no coincidence! And I found a place close by that actually sells it for a buck a gallon so I won’t have to be without while here any more.

What a relief!

I think the best part of being here is seeing for myself that Ryan is healthy and that he is pretty much completely healed. He has such a positive attitude and has done everything he was told to do by his health professionals (not all Western medicine :) ). So that sets my mind at ease and I can go back up to the cold in a few days, knowing that when he tells me he is doing fine, I can rest assured that he is.

 

Decisions, Decisions

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Well, I certainly have had a lot of time to think about things, now that Ryan is getting over the surgery and I am getting over the stress of it all!

Seal Beach is a very cool area. Still laid back, lots of older houses that haven’t been torn down and replaced with MacMansions! The house is just two blocks to the beach and I have been walking along the sidewalk or along the beach at least once a day. The negative ions are doing me the world of good. It’s definitely a location worth looking at as a home base. Just about everything is within walking distance – grocery stores, banks, library, post office and Main Street has an eclectic collection of sidewalk cafes, stores, bars and full restaurants. It’s not the glitz of Newport Beach, still has the old beach town flavor which suits me fine.

When I spent the time with Cody and Mel in Apple Valley, I considered moving there, even went so far as to look at Spring Valley Lake, a nice area quite close to them. But the more I think about that, the more I know it wouldn’t fit me and what I want my life to look like. I just don’t think I am a suburban grandma!

For most of my life, I have done what other people wanted me to do – except my initial running away from South Africa when I was 18. But that was because I didn’t know how to handle the situation I was in, as I pretty much had no role models to learn from. That role model deficit followed me for a long time! So I have either run from situations or done what I thought was the right thing to do, which was pretty much always what other people thought I should be doing and not what my heart, intuition, gut was telling me.

But now it’s time to do what I know is right for me, regardless of what I am hearing from other sources about what I “should” do.

I love being close to the family here. That’s why Seal Beach is good – almost equidistant from the boys. One-two hours to get to either of them, or them to me. Close but not in their pockets! Whether I can afford to find a place here is another matter, but I have simplified my life so much that all I need is a small place. I do know I won’t go into an apartment in a complex. Here in SB, as in many other small beach areas, there are one-bedroom apartments over garages behind the main house. This would suit me fine. Or, if Betsy does decide to stick around and wants to share a place, I can do that.

Of course, for years I’ve talked about living somewhere other than the U.S., but my short stay in South Africa brought home the fact that moving to a foreign country as a single person is not an easy feat. Add the fact I am a woman and “mature!” makes it more difficult. It is a dream I have not given up on and who knows what the future holds for me. I just know that at this point in my life, I need to be here.

Of course, all this hinges on ecology coming through and I am ever-hopeful.

It also means I will not go back to South Africa to stay. The main reason being the boys and their proximity.

But a huge factor in my decsion is the fact that I can’t do the traveling I want to do there, due to the lack of safety in the country. I am too independent to live there and it is not a place for a single woman, regardless of age. If there was a companion or partner in the picture who was willing to travel and explore, I would think harder about being there. But I have to face the fact that on my own, those options are non-existent.

I will miss seeing that side of the family and my friends there. And I know how important  friends, especially girl friends are! And most of mine are in Washington, where I know I will never live again! If I am based in SB, I can visit there fairly inexpensively and the girls can visit me – which I know wouldn’t happen in South Africa.

So whether ecology comes through or not, somehow I will find the ways and means to stay here. On 23rd, two days before Betsy returns, I head up to Port Townsend where Susan has a place for me, as does Mardelle. Teresa has a small truck I can use for transportation so hopefully the weather will cooperate while I am there! But it’s Washington so….

And I will see my kitties!

Today, Ryan and I are going to have a BBQ with Cody and family for Mothers’ Day and am really looking forward to that. Such a blessing to be this close.

SoCal Update

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First, a Ryan update. He is recovering well from surgery. That part has been close to miraculous! He has seen his doctors and they are pleased with his progress but his sciatica kicked in big time. He has been pretty much bed-ridden since coming home from the hospital. He’s had all kinds of painkillers etc but I think the only thing that is going to help is time – and patience! And that is not something he has inherited from me. I hope that tomorrow will find him back at work!

Daddy's goggles and boots = superman

Once Ryan was settled at home, I went up to Apple Valley in the high desert to see Cody, Mel and the little boys. They have grown so much in the three months since I saw them! Both as cute as can be and extremely active. Meaning you have to be young to be a parent and have the boundless energy to keep up with the kids!

The area is all desert, the yards decorated mostly with multicolored gravel and desert plants. With limited water, there are very few grass patches. But we went for a drive around Spring Valley Lake which is a man-made lake surrounded by typically southern California type suburban homes. It has a clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, a beach and boats and marinas. A real surprise way out there. And the bonus is, it is extremely inexpensive to rent out there. A 4 bedroom, 3 bath house is just on $1000 a month! It would take some getting used to, living in that barren sort of environment, but it would be fun to be close to the little boys and a good place for them to visit with water and beach close at hand.

Now I am staying at Betsy’s while she is away for three weeks. Getting here was a challenge and a story in itself!

To go up to Apple Valley, I rented a car which needed to be returned in Burbank, close to Ryan’s house. Betsy’s place is in Seal Beach, a 1.5 hour (no traffic) drive. It turned out that the day I was to return the car, there was no way for me to get from the rent-a-car place to Seal Beach. Ryan not driving, Les working and Betsy already left!

So I resorted to public transportation – and THAT was an experience! A 1.5 hour trip took almost 5 hours to complete.

First of all I had to figure out the schedules. And being inter-county, coordinate two disparate bus systems. I finally – I thought – figured out. The start was right near the rent-a-car drop off so I thought I had it made! What I hadn’t factored in was you pretty much need to know the area before you try to work out where the bus stops are. So first off, I ended up at a stop going the wrong direction! I sort of got a funny feeling that I was turned around so asked someone also waiting, and sure enough, I needed to be across the intersection on the other side of the street to get the right bus!

Fortunately, I hadn’t missed the one I needed and climbed aboard. Being a “senior,” this bus only cost me .25. There weren’t a lot of people on board this leg. The announcements of which stop coming up, then approaching and then arriving became rather annoying, but at least I wasn’t going to miss my stop. At one stop, a young man in a wheelchair, with his little dog boarded and he was so stoned… he reeked of pot and he was certainly a happy chappy!

That first leg ended at the iconic Hollywood and Vine intersection. The bus trip planner said to get the Red Line to my next departure point. OK, where is the Red Line station? Not realizing that it was the subway, I was totally at a loss until I asked a little old lady where it was, and she told me in very broken, Russian-accented English that it was across the street – the Subway!

Here I was in the middle of Los Angeles, earthquake central, getting ready to go on the underground! Oh well, as they say “In for a penny, In for a pound!” Besides, if I didn’t take the leg I had mapped out, I had absolutely no clue how to get to the third leg of the trip! So I descended into the bowels of the Metro. First I had to figure out the payment system which of course didn’t want to take my quarter! When I finally managed to shove the coin in the slot, head through the gates and get to the right platform, the damn train was heading away into the tunnel.

underground

Metro station at Hollywood and Vine

The station was really attractively tiled and the ceiling covered with old film reels. It was very clean, although at this station I didn’t see any Metro personnel to ask questions.

By this time I was getting a little frazzled, with no idea which direction I was supposed to go. So again, I asked and a very helpful young man directed me to the right platform and showed me where the map of the system was. So then it was about a 10 minute wait for the next train, which whisked me off to the Blue Line station which was in the same terminal at my next stop. Fortunately, this time there was an official Metro person to direct me to the right platform.

This train, from downtown to Long Beach was packed! Standing room only. Lucky for me I managed to snag a seat, but I did see a young Hispanic man get up and offer his seat to an older lady, so chivalry is not totally dead! At one stop, an old Mexican guy got on, selling chocolate bars – 2 for $1 – I wondered how old they were and then he was off the next stop before he could be thrown off! Gotta make a buck, somehow!

Ninety-nine percent of the passengers had much darker complexions than me! The shades ranged from Nigerian blue-black to cafe au lait and everything in between. I felt like I was back in South Africa, a definite minority! Ryan had expressed concern about me taking this particular train as it goes through some very rough areas of the city;  Watts, South Central and other not so salubrious areas! Graffiti decorated the walls lining the tracks and the houses looked very rundown and tatty. But I had no problems and felt quite at ease with the whole situation. The train made at least 14 stops before we got to Long Beach, where again I ran into the issue of which way do I go! Asked again and once again, was going to head in the wrong direction!

Each of the first three legs cost me a quarter, all three being in Los Angeles County. The fourth leg was a local city bus which cost me sixty cents. The further south I went, the more the bus cost! The last leg, from Long Beach to Seal Beach, one of the shortest legs, cost $1.25 – and that was the senior fare! No wonder fewer people take public transportation down here.

But during the two train legs – not once was I asked for my ticket so wonder how many of the other passengers were actually stowaways!

For me, this trip was an experience, an adventure. Fun to do – once. But for the majority of riders, this is their only means of transportation and I can only imagine the frustration of having to deal with it every day. Waiting, changing trains/buses/tubes and dealing with the masses. We are very fortunate having our own wheels to come and go as we please.

I was very happy to get off the last bus at almost 7pm, walk the last couple of blocks and pop a bottle of wine. Sleep came easily and early.

Snow… and more

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snow

This is why my flight is changed

Car sold – check

Money in the bank – check

Loan mod papers signed and notarized – check

Kangen machine packed – check

Tickets are booked – checked

Winter storm – check – oh damn!

Today is/was departure day from here and wouldn’t you know it, a huge winter storm, the first (very late) storm of the season blew in last night. Seatac airport is not closed, but they have brought in extra blankets, food etc in case it shuts down and people are stranded.

So…

I was able to change my ticket, courtesy Alaska Air, til tomorrow when the storm will have blown through. Same time, different day. I was even able to change it with no fare increase which is a blessing as I bought one of their special $40 fares during a sale and they honored that. Great airline, good customer service! And I got almost the last seat!

The shuttle service I planned to use to the airport is arranging for a pickup tomorrow but it will be earlier than this one today, which is ok – I’ll just sit at the airport and wait. Better than getting snowed in here again.

Packing is a bitch; of course I have too much stuff but now I have an extra day to pare it down a bit. Glad I poured a few gallons of Kangen water into a big jug last night and there is food in the house so just hunker down for the day.

Far South

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Decision made.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks deciding what the best move would be, for me.

A couple of deciding factors. One, it’s high season in Panama and I am concerned that once there, I wouldn’t be able to find a rental. And as I will have, by then, sold my car, everything here, I really would have nothing to come back to. It would be like starting all over and it is way too expensive to do that here.

The other factor is the comfort zone as far as working goes. My work at ecology.com is expanding, which of course means more hours. If I was in a new country, I would be so tempted to be out and about more, exploring, instead of working. In South Africa, I won’t have that pressure on me. I need to work and make the money. I don’t have the luxury of being retired. But I don’t plan on spending all my time working. All work, no play etc etc! No more dull days and years for this girl!

And of course, going to SA is going home for me. As I am giving up my home here in the States, it feels like a safer stepping stone for me. Once there, I can also adjust to the heat which I have to find out if I can still handle. Supposedly one of the issues with my supposed affliction - inability to handle heat. That would be a real shame!

Once I have settled into the idea of being a rolling stone again, probably towards the middle of next year, I will decide where to go.

The time frame is still October. I am planning to go to SoCal and spend time with Ryan and Cody and family before heading out. I also would like to meet the people I am working with in Carpinteria so hope I can do that too.

So I have really started to get my stuff together, discarding and packing for storage the few things I will save, like my beautiful woven baskets, all my photos from eons ago. Things I just cannot give up. Sorting through the things I need to take with me, like the small “world phone” I had when I went to New Zealand and important papers. Most of the really important ones I will leave with Ryan.

Not sure which route to take. Depends on the fares, but I prefer to fly Malaysia Air. That way I can break my flight in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully they still have the same setup, where the layover is something like 18 hours and they put you up in an hotel so you can get some sleep, a shower etc. Makes a huge difference. I don’t think I will take the four day detour to Langkawi, though that would be fun!

Oh, and mymixednuts is dead. Sad. I am selling off all the inventory this Saturday and Sunday. The lease on the warehouse is up next week so it is done. A relief but sad because I put so much of myself into it.

Second Half, SoCal Trip

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Well, here I am back in Washington and today the outlook is typically gloomy and drizzly. But fortunately the first couple of days back were clear and warm, so the transition wasn’t too traumatic.

Susan and I had such a good time down there at the Straitiff’s house. Mel brought Oliver over a lot and the little family came over for Friday dinner before we left. Such an incentive to be near them all. I was just sad that Ryan wasn’t around (he was in New York filming a pilot show and comes back today, I think) but at least I got to see him once on the way down.
On Thursday, we went up to Newport to see Betsy, and took the coast route, from San Clemente all the way through Laguna and up to the boat yard. Although it is very crowded, lots of traffic and fancy cars and posturing Newport-ites, SoCal is still a good place to be. There are ways around freeways and places to duck away to, to avoid the masses. And, believe it or not, prices are quite often less than here. Most rentals are higher but not that much more unless you go into the super ritzy areas, and food is way cheaper! And there are Trader Joes everywhere!!!!!

So we watched an Antrim 40 arrive at Basin Marine. The boat is spacy – like an Open 50 but
smaller. It was built for the all-women team, Nauti Chicas, that Betsy sails with, although she won’t be sailing with them for a while as she is going to Antarctica to sail there! I know, you are going “Whatever for?” She will be crewing on an expedition boat down there for the season and is busy buying heavy duty polar fleece underwear!!!!
Friday, I picked Mel and Oliver up and they spent the day with us, and Cody came over after work for pizza – which I made and were yummy! What fun to have them all there. Cathy will definitely need to baby proof her house when her grandbaby arrives next year. There were chairs blocking access to things, cookie cutters strewn all over the place, spatulas and bowls strategically placed for his entertainment! The day went by way too fast.
On Saturday morning, we went to see Steve and Cathy’s boat in

Chula Vista. A Cal 246 that he has brought back to life and is the perfect cruising boat! I was ready to move on board and take off! That is a lifestyle I really love and would do it again in a heartbeat if there was someone I trusted and who had lots of experience invited me.
Cooked dinner for Straitiffs, had wonderful chats with them, and loaded the little Honda Fit and headed north on Sunday. Two days driving, trading off, 650 miles each day got us home Monday evening. Hinckley and Buddy were sitting in the driveway, almost as if they knew I was on the way. Neither of them pouted, both were really happy to see me and both slept on the bed that night.
I did find out on the trip, that I do have some limitations, which is very frustrating for me as I have always thought I can do anything. Tiredness impacts me. I find that if I go full bore for a few days, suddenly I am so tired I can’t do anything, so I have to learn to limit myself (hard to do) and rest. But if this is all I have to deal with, then I am very fortunate.
So now it is all about getting things done to move south, pacing myself.

SoCal Trip September 2007

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I spent a fun 7 days down in Southern California with the boys. I wanted to get warm and boy, did I ever! I hit it right when they were have a heat wave and it was hot! Really hot! So hot they were keeping libraries and community centers open so people could get into the air conditioning.
I rented a car and drove down to Vista to Cody’s new house. Flying into Long Beach was good – it’s a small airport so I got out of quickly, and surprisingly, hit no traffic even though it was 4pm. It was wonderful to see them both, and the new kitty.
Cody has his shop set up in the garage and was very busy with a big project. But we took time to head to the beach early so he could surf at Oceanside. That has always been one of my most favorite things to do, so it was a real treat.
On Saturday we went to the local Farmers Market in Vista. A lot different from the one in Port Townsend, with all the warm weather veges and lots of tropical fruit. We found granadillas and cape gooseberries and I bought a plant for them to grow down in the orchard. Cody remembered the taste from South Africa. Lots of goodies and we bought stuff for dinner – the fresh salmon was less expensive than here in Washington.
Vista is a great area, still fairly rural in parts, like where Cody and Mel live. Their neighbor is an Arabian Horse Ranch and most of the lots around them are more than an acre. And there are lots of small – and not so small – farms around. If I ever move back to California, I think that is where I would like to be.
Ryan and his friend Garrett came down on Sunday and we all piled in his M5 BMW and went to San Diego to a cool Thai restaurant for dinner. Rama is in the gas light district and you enter through a long passage, passing the lounge. The dining area is a large room but so beautifully decorated with sheer fabric falling in cascades from the high ceilings, separating each table. Very effective. And the back wall is one big waterfall! And the food was great too! On the trip down there, Cody drove and we went 115 mph – the fastest I have ever been – and I was in the front seat!!!
Ryan headed back to LA after dinner and I headed up there the next day. Again, I missed a lot of the traffic and managed to find his place in Studio City. I cooked dinner for them – quite a treat as they eat out most of the time. I also got a tour of the Big Brother house – how bizarre – walking around on the outside of it, looking in on the people. The can’t see you through the glass but still, it really is voyeurism at it’s best (or worst).
On Tuesday Ryan had to work but I went shopping for something to wear to go to the Pantages to see Wicked! That was a real treat! The theatre is amazing, so ornate and old but beautifully maintained. The theatre was packed so it was difficult to see all the artistry of the building but definitely fun.
Next day, it was up early and off to the airport and back here to the gray.
Pix are here