Goodbye, again … to Carolyn
And so our last day (for this trip anyhow) in Yorba Linda dawned, and the first part of the morning was spent packing, before Carolyn reminded us that we hadn’t yet been to Daiso, a Japanese $1.50 store (like their 100 yen stores in Japan). Of course, we like to check out the range of cultural offerings and so off we went to Daiso, which advertises itself as “Japanese quality since 1972”. My, did it remind us of Japan with its packets of Pocky, cute paper products and specialty items like “arm covers” (like leg-warmers but for the arms to protect them from the sun!) The things you can learn just from visiting a shop!
We then repaired to a sentimental favourite for lunch, Chili’s, though the food didn’t seem quite as flavourful as it had in the past. This could be due to the fact that we both chose “light” lunch options. My chicken was, however, very nicely cooked even if a bit plain.
Then, really, it was time to say goodbye, to drive to Redondo Beach in readiness for catching up with friends Trudy and Carter the next day. We knew Trudy wasn’t going to be free until the afternoon, but Len wanted to get the freeway drive over and be rested by the time we saw our friends. As it turned out, the freeway trip was not too bad, but it was still fast and furious, with lane-changing galore, so it was a good decision.
But, of course, it was a sad decision too, because it meant farewelling Carolyn whose friendship we value and who had been such a kind and caring host. We had a great time, with a perfect mix of sightseeing, relaxing, updating ourselves on the culture and, of course, socialising. We’ll be back (whether she likes it or not)!
Arriving in South Bay
The end of the day was quiet. We even decided to just eat in the hotel restaurant, which was perfectly pleasant, if not particularly exciting or adventurous. (Still, the service was lovely, my Ahi tuna was cooked medium rare, just as I asked, and Len found his chicken sandwich tasty.)
Oh, but I’ve forgotten the big news. Before we’d gone shopping in the morning, we’d heard of the firing of yet another White House Staffer, one who had only been there for 11 days, Scaramucci or “the mooch”. (With this being the – I’ve lost count – dismissal from the White House, the word “implosion” did pop into my mind.) What we wondered would Monday night’s satirists do with this? A lot as it turned out, but I’ll only share a couple of quotes:
- From a News program (PBS I think): “We’ve gone from No drama Obama to Captain Chaos”.
- From Trevor Noah: “the White House is suffering from severe retention deficit disorder”.
I do enjoy this sort of word-play.
Today’s images
Still
Moving
The ‘silent’ San Diego Freeway I-405 (from our double-glazed hotel room)
So the freeway speed limit has increased from the 55mph of the 1980s?
Yes, it has Ian! That was a comment I made to Carolyn. I think it was still 55mph in the early 90s but had certainly changed by our visits in the 2000s. I particularly noticed the speed in 2014.
We actually had a discussion about freeway speeds on the day of Sue and Len’s departure. One of the things they noticed was the faster freeway speeds. I’m often stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the LA freeways so it rarely seems faster to me, but, yes, the limit increased from 55 to 70 quite a while ago. This means that actual speeds creep up to 75 and 80+ MPH, though I stick to around 73 MPH to avoid speeding tickets. In Arizona the limit is now 75 MPH and cars routinely go much faster than that.
Oh Sue and Len, please come back anytime.
Thanks Carolyn. I replied to Ian before I saw you had. Much better to hear from the horse’s mouth as it were. Funnily, I said to Mum and Dad at lunch that the freeways were either “clogged” or terrifyingly fast. Rarely in between.
As for our coming back, be careful for what you wish for!!