December 7, 2019 (Fallbrook, California)

For the second year in a row, I traveled from Indio to Fallbrook using a pretty straight forward route, I 10 West, then 215 South. Ain't exactly a straight line, you go through a bunch of small towns (Hemet, Wincester, Temecula, etc.), As you travel there, you head northerly halfway there, then take a hard left. Every one of these small towns has stop lights every few blocks. If you're doing this particular route, it's best to resign yourself to the frequent delays because they will occur. It's only a hundred mile trip, but it's gonna take about two hours. Despite the able assistance of my GPS (you have to be in precisely the correct lane when entering and exiting ramps), I still missed two entrance/exits ramps on my way there! And what's weird is that they were the exact same two entrance/exits I missed the previous year :) The rain/drizzle waxed and waned throughout, stopping for brief periods here and there, constantly keeping my windshield wipers wiping. ATXBreeze Van drove like a champ.

When I arrived at Bev's 3 cottage complex it was getting dark per short fall days and gray gray skies. And I couldn't even get into the property, the parking lot was blocked. There was a car parked right in the center of the micro lot. It was like the car had rolled out of a parking spot, or a driver delivering a sub or pizza had temporarily parked the car. So I found a nearby street and eased the Breeze to a stop along the curb. I grabbed my puter, put a hat on my head (still raining) and walked into the property and to her front door. Bev saw me through the window and was waiting. Hugs! Very happy to see one another. We got the parking business sorted out, I relocated the van into a nice spot, grabbed my stuff and went inside.

Bev and I had seen each other a year ago and had kept in touch through the interwebs so there wasn't a whole lot of "deep" catching up to attend to. What we did mostly was (nostalgically) reminisce, retell stories (we both had the good manners to patiently listen to them again) Along the way, we mixed in lots and lots of things that had happened just in the last year. Best part is we get along so well, enjoy listening to one another, and do quite a bit of laughing.

We ended that first evening listening to a lot of Lucinda Williams (Bev used to be Lucinda's housemate in the 80s) while drinking and (only Bev) "smoking". Tuckered out, around 2am, we called it an evening.

December 8th

Must have been really tired, slept in well past 9a, roused up real good with lots of brewed coffee and talk talk talk. ALSO, right around then, cooked up an entire package of bacon and had some eggs with the sliced pork delicacies and boy was it good! Throughout the rest of the day I was kept steadily distracted by football scores, surfing, and updating this website. Bev, who had done a two week stretch of helping her mom just before I arrived (mom lives in Hemmit) tidied up the house real good. I found time to do a much needed load of laundry in the afternoon, and later on, snuck in a delicious nap. Fall/Winter = short days. And it got dark next thing we knew. Bev needed groceries so we took a short shopping trip in the van. First to a nearby small grocery store, then to a Walgreens, and finally to the Albertson's. It was so damn dark and humid, my van windows were fogged over making visibility challenging. And there wasn't a streetlight anywhere (Fallbrook's a small town). I couldn't tell where entrances to establishemnts were. Bev tried in vain to point them out. Frustration boiled over and we barked at each other. We got everything on the list and retuned home, discussed the spat, laughed and that was that.

Dinner and drinks and more music took up the rest of the evening, but not as late as the night before. I turned in around midnight. Bev's a night owl and stayed awake well past the witching hour.

December 9th

Today was to be a travel day. I was going to LA to visit my daughter Hannah. Bev and I had planned on taking a day trip to Oceanside, but the oppurtunity to vist Han opened up and I jumped at it. The sun had made a grand apperance, and I wanted to take advantage of good traveling conditions too (driving to LA, downtown LA, dear reader, is a challenge). I gave myself a big travel time cushion and left Fallbrook around 2p for a 6p dinner date. I tanked up on coffee, said bye to Bev, drove to an Arco and filled up. Then I punched Han's address into the GPS and got on the highway, LA bound.

From the heart of downtown LA, and I mean almost the exact center of downtown (Spring St. and 7th), I pulled out of the parking lot. Precisely guided by the GPS suctioned to my windshield, I got back on the highway and headed back to Fallbrook. I probably traversed five or six seperate highways (merging from one freeway to another at regular intervals). Traffic was not bad! Everyone on the road, of course, was hauling ass. When I was about a thrid of the way home, the van odometer hit the 2000 mile road trip mark, and the oil light on the dash began to flash. It would remain on very briefly, but only when I tapped the brakes. First chance I got I exited the highway. I pulled into an Arco and parked. In the travel container that sits on top of my van I had spare motor oil (and all kinds of other supplies and emergency stuff). I grabbed the five gallon container of 5W-30, my funnel, poured some oil in, and got the oil fluid back to full. In a jiffy I was right back on the highway. An hour after that, I was pulling into Bev's parking lot.

Bev was awake and waiting. Over drinks and some knoshing, I told her all about my terrific dinner and visit with Han. Then she told me about her day. Then came stories back-and-forth and finally I began to yawn from fatigue. Long day. Four hours on the LA highway. The comedown over a great visit. I headed for bed aruond ten. It was cold out which made for a very good sleep.

December 10 day trip

After a leisurely mid-morn wake up time and easy-does-it breakfast, we headed for Oceanside for a day trip. We got there in a jiffy (30 minutes!). Pulled directly into a temp area where all the day trippers pull in and took a few snapshots. A friendly local volunteered and snapped a few of me and Bev. Also gave us advice on free parking and good places for eats. Directly found some street parking and walked just a few blocks to main tousit attraction there at Oceanside - The Pier. Weather was great. A week day helped with crowd control - there were just the right amount of visitors out and about. We got on the really big pier with everyone else and sauntered all the way to the end. We stopped lots of times to take picutures of ourselves, the beach, the surfers, the gulls and pelicans. Hey, when I'm a tourist, I behave like one.

We hit the restaurnt at the end of the pier, Rubys, where I bought a pretty good cup of coffee from a very friendly staff (3 bucks!). Sauntered all the way back to the pier entrance. Bev found a place to sit for a while and I walked to the beach, all the way to the lapping, waves. I felt for the warm pacific waters, and even tasted the salty sea, but just barely. I wished I'd been wearing a bathing suit and had a towel and had all the time in the world. It shore was brief, but I still felt satisfired. (entire Oceanside visit, btw, lasted about 2 hours)

I found Bev at a bench, and we headed for the van which I half expected (incorrectly) to have a parking ticket. Before we got to the van, a homeless kid approached me for the second time and I told him nope but before he could get too far I called him back and gave him all the change I had in my pocket, maybe two bucks. Inside the van, I lowered the windows and Bev lit a cigarette and we relaxed before heading home. A woman in a wheelchair was rollling by. She asked Bev for cigarette and Bev gave her the one she had just lit. And she told us Merry Christmas and we reciprocated, in stereo. Then we drove the short distance home.

The trip was short, the visit had not been taxing, after we got home, we used our energy stores to do lots of left over visiting, the last stuff on the topic list. I would be leaving in the morning.

Bev consistently expressed her desire to return to Austin while at the same time acknowledging her excellent domestic situration (great little slice of paradise place at a terrific rate). She does not like living in California, she just misses Austin. Din, drinks, music here and there, a discussion of all the stuff we didn't get to. I knew I'd be traveling tomorrow and got to bed on the early side, comparitively. Midnight.

December 11

I was up early, for me anyway, 7A. Took a shower because I wasn't gonna get the chance to take one in my next destination, Indio. That done, I prepared a coffee quick, and while Bev slowly roused herself, got semi-travel-gathered. Soon, I was one large cup of coffee down and getting nearly ready to start moving my stuff to the van. Slowed down and got mindful about the last part of this trip, the departure portion of leaving a city, saying goodbye to a friend. And it was a warm adieu, with all the regular goodbye sayings but satisfying just the same. As as I pulled out of her property, we waved goodbye. See you next year, Bev!