My Lengthy Autumn Holiday

Yesterday, January 17, I completed the longhand journal of my eleven day Thanksgiving vacation. Right on it, Lesley. I thought a fun take would be to pick excerpts each day and share them verbatim, rather than post the whole trivial monologue:

NOV. 23: 7 Dishes, started each one on the hour – hoping to have a few breaks during the day.
10) pumpkin pie
11) sage pumpernickel stuffing with veggie bacon, crudités
12) glazed sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes
1) scalloped onions
2) hot cheese dip
3) prepare squash for sauté, dip in oven, assemble crudités
3:30) Start the fun

NOV. 24: Replaced my wiper blade, then went to Farmer’s Market and the Grove. Had a Moishe’s gyro – yum! Then off to LACMA, which was a little disappointing

NOV 25: Next up, a chocolate/chocolate chip cone from Ojai (handmade) ice cream. Worth the wait in line. I strolled around a bit more, and then feeling slightly sluggish and unmotivated – hopped back in the car for the short jaunt to Ventura.

I got a flash of inspiration and decided to pull up along the coast at Emma Wood State Beach. It was beautiful there – the ocean turning iridescent as the day waned, large shorebirds hunting for dinner beneath the sand, the sun slowly lowering next to Santa Cruz Island. I made a little nest in the back of Virgie with blankets, rolled up my sleeping bag and watched the birds and an ultralight flyer through my binocs as the sun disappeared into the Pacific.

NOV. 26: Began the day by painting my lawn chair and getting green enamel spray paint all over me! I did laundry, read the paper, more e-mail.

The show at LA's Ahmanson, (The Light in the Piazza), was very pretty. Molto formaggio. Beautifully staged and sung. Very Italian, which I really enjoyed. The actors were a little too perfect looking: botoxed and siliconed, lasered and buffed (the women).

NOV. 27: 1-shower, 2-dentist, 3-iron 4-pack, 5-turkey salad sandwich w/Mom 6- head for San Pedro.

I made it to the ship (Monarch of the Seas) in great time and got on board in less than 5 minutes: a record. Dumped stuff in my fairly well located cabin and walked the entire ship from top to bottom – forward to aft. Still a pretty ship, although not quite as fresh as when I sailed on her a year and a half ago. What were they thinking with manilla colored carpets?

Stopped in the Viking Crown Lounge for a Limontini (Bacardi Limon, Vermouth and a splash of Cranberry) After the Muster Drill, I wandered the outside decks for an hour as the ship sailed out of the harbor. Then it was time to dress for dinner and meet my tablemates. I’ll admit to feeling a bit of trepidation. No worries – Bea from Buffalo was a riot – pushing 80, with an admirable zest for life. She was sailing solo, her first time after the loss of her boyfriend of 20 years, Ken. The first thing she said was: “I’m waiting for a rich man to fill that empty seat next to me. Old, rich, handsome, and preferably with a pacemaker.”

NOV. 28: I waddled off the ship (after breakfast) and headed for San Diego's Maritime Museum, right next door. I toured five boats and saw the exhibits within. A SF Bay passenger ferry (with a cool surfing museum inside), a luxury yacht, a Russian Foxtrot sub – very fascinating. Also, the HMS Surprise (a replica used in Master and Commander) and the Star of India. Then, sticking with my pre-planned itinerary, I strolled over to Little Italy, which was also quite cool – stopped in a little Italian market and bought some Torrone for Mom and Amaretti for me. I made it back to the ship in time for a late lunch.

NOV. 29: I set out through Avalon and stopped at the Island Conservancy for a hiking pass – then walked up the canyon past the golf course toward the Botanical Gardens. It was cool and breezy, but I was listening to Chris Isaak on the Walkman, the bougainvillea was brilliant and I was happy and smug as all the cruise fatties drove by in their golf carts. The Conservancy has a neat little nature center, and I stopped there for a bit to learn about the island’s eagles. Then I continued to the Gardens and the Wrigley Memorial which has a beautiful view of Avalon.



Next, I started the mile long trudge up the dirt road that was considered a hiking trail. Since I was at sea level I barely got winded and enjoyed the ever expanding view. The stretches in in the shade were pretty cold, but the steep uphill sections kept me warm. The botanica was not quite as intriguing as I expected – to the untrained eye it was just your typical coastal scrub. The view from the top of the ridge was so worth the effort. I saw the rugged back side of Catalina for the first time and the mountains cut the wind.

NOV. 30: Since it was a beautiful morning, I plopped into a deck chair on the deserted upper deck after my two breakfasts. Wrote a bit, enjoyed the Baja view. I was unaccountably sleepy and lethargic. Certainly not due to lack of rest. I realized all the digestion was wearing me out!

After ten minutes in Ensenada, I remembered how much I dislike it there – but did a perfunctory tour; looking at overpriced junk and reading random menus. The taco place I planned to try looked good, but I was still stuffed from breakfast – so instead strolled back to the ship and waited in the long security line to get back on board.

DEC. 1: Friday morning in San Pedro was sunny and warm, which was good as I spent over two hours on deck waiting to disembark. Gotta love those cheap cabins! Finally, I returned to Virginella and headed south on Highway 1. As I neared Long Beach I realized it was the perfect opportunity to visit Aquarium of the Pacific, so I maneuvered to the downtown waterfront parking structure. The lines of school busses should haves been a tip off, but since I was there and parked, I plunked down the $20 admission fee. Big mistake. The place was overrun with kindergartners. Probably a ratio of 9 kids to 1 adult; they were poorly supervised and were running and screaming everywhere. I could bear this torture for only one hour (while the exhibits were good, they were not spectacular). I returned to my car to discover my brief stint in the parking garage cost $6.00. I left feeling very ripped off and vowed never to return.

DEC. 2: I was determined to make it to December Lights at Balboa Park in San Diego despite the rumor of an anticipated crowd of 250,000. Since I couldn’t locate the shuttle parking lots, I spent about ½ hour looking for a parking space. I wound up close to 2 miles from the event. But I was wearing good walking shoes and was dressed warmly and enjoyed the lengthy stroll to the plaza. Once there, it was mobbed. I found refuge in the “jewel box” of an art museum – which featured Hals, Rembrandt and Rubens. Since admission was free, I sprung for the audio tour and the whole experience was so much better that what I found at LACMA. I went back outside into the night air, enjoyed the festive lights against the Spanish inspired architecture and tried to avoid the masses of humanity.

DEC. 3: Next up, the short jaunt to La Jolla for my farewell to the Pacific. I parked a LONG WAY from the town center, as folks were getting set up for the annual Christmas Parade. But it was a lovely, if (once again) lengthy walk to the village and its stunning seashore. I went down some narrow stairs to a little cove where people were snorkeling and doing distance swimming. I lingered on the sand on this sunny, perfect day and regretted my return to the chilly mountain with the full of winter stretched before me. Discipline prevailed and I hiked up the hill back to town for a little window shopping and to figure out the location of the local Trader Joe’s. I headed back to Virgie just as the parade was starting and was sorry that I couldn’t stay.