A Trip South, Part 1

Photo courtesy of vacationvariety.net

We just returned from a journey to the Southland.  It started with a middle of the night trip south and ended with a morning return trip back thru the Valley.  Many miles in a short period of time.  Along the way many thoughts and discussions took place. We took the time to see some places in the L.A. Basin that we had never seen, and were forced to see some things we had hoped to avoid in our lifetime.

The trip was to deliver our daughter to the Long Beach Airport so she could start her visit to North Carolina to see her brother and boyfriend at Fort Bragg.  LAX had been the first choice, but in what is now becoming a typical airline issue the jumping off point needed to change.  Arrival at the LB Airport at Zero Dark 30 introduced us to a small airport that looked like it could be used in an Indiana Jones movie.  The new TSA requirements meant that newer portable rooms, think portable classrooms, were used for the screening of passengers and their waiting room.  I was reminded of those places that hadn't been totally undated into the new century and the main building had an Art Deco theme of the 30's and 40's going.   In hindsight though what the place lacked in ambiance it made up for in practicality.  We got into the airport parking easily, everything was a short walk away from the parking and the overall experience was good if you discount the fear of putting a loved child on a plane in the dark of morning.

As we were early to the airport, which was atypical for a man that lives on "Garver Standard Time" which is 30 minutes late to everything, we went to an all night coffee shop for some breakfast to kill some time.  It was a normal mid-century coffee shop near the airport.  A younger couple was leaving as we walked in and we passed three women sitting in a booth talking as we seated ourselves across the room from them.  They were dolled up pretty heavily and our daughter commented that they "sure used a lot of makeup."  Soon it became evident why.  We ate our meals and were entertained by this threesome of RuPaul wannabes. We finished, drove back to the airport, said our goodbyes and started our journey back to the land of bland and normal.

While I was a poor college student I picked up the habit of window shopping. I had no money so I figured what was the harm in looking.  I spent my free time honing the skill of observation. After getting married this has evolved into looking at houses and yards as well.  I guess a poor college student isn't much different than a couple with young children.  Looking is free, which is all you can afford at times.  On our return trip we decided to take a few detours to places we hadn't seen before in L.A.  We were leaving the airport about 0545 so we knew nothing would be open and hopefully the streets would be relatively empty.  Again nowhere to spend money and looking is free, so we headed to Venice Beach.  We were planning to look at houses and yards while avoiding the normal weird of this seaside city.   The first snag was getting back on Highway 405 to get to the beach.  Our trip south had been traffic free, which given the hour was what we had hoped for.  But now, at this hour, the 405 was clogged with going to work commuters.  And at this location in the city it was mired in both directions.  Eventually we got off and meandered through Marina Del Rey and arrived at Venice.  In many ways it was a typical California beach town.  The brightly painted buildings and abundance of eateries, clothing/surf shops and bike/board rental businesses didn't seem out of place.  The movie trailers covering a parking lot was different though.

We drove around a bit then started to find our way back to the 405. For a couple of California raised people, it was a trip through a book of  TV shows and California placenames.  Any trip to Los Angeles is a continual merging of moving from one city to the next.  The trip down reminded us of that and the trip up was no different, just different names. From Venice to Santa Monica, and the more expensive cars and fancier buildings, to looking for Wilshire Boulevard while stumbling upon Colorado Boulevard.  Eventually finding Wilshire and continuing through the National Cemetery and falling into Bel Air.  All of these names we had grown up hearing and reading in the news; now we were driving through them.  Eventually we found the 405 in between Bel Air and the Getty Museum.  We thought about going, but it was only 0700 and figured they wouldn't be open. Time to head north.

0700.  Our daughter was finally in the air to see family and friend in a new place. We were heading back to an old place, but seeing it in a new way.

Book Review: See You In a Hundred Years

Maureen picked this book up after reading a review on a blog.  It seemed right up my alley after reading Growing a Farmer and Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology.  All are books about moving to a place of doing more for yourself.

See You in a Hundred Years is about a New York couple with a two year old son that sell all, buy a Virginia farm and start a "social experiment" to live for a year as if it is 1900.  Personally I like the idea of these types of trials, and I've read a few books about people that have done various undertakings like this.  At first some of the plan seems nothing more than an idea so that a book can be written. That turned me off a bit.  My personal agenda of trying to gather information so that I may live a better life ran smack into a book about someone trying to make money in the long run.  Eventually I came to see that the Wards were trying to create something similar to what I am seeking.  They seem sincere in this effort and this was their jumping off point.

I realized that some of the choices they made, puling the electric pump from the well, were made to keep the 1900 intact.  I enjoy turning on the faucet and having water come out.  I could hand pump water, but at this time choose not to do that. because of their rules they had no option.  Eventually I enjoyed hearing of the changes they made and how they adapted.  I won't give away all of their choices, but it was interesting to read how their lives changed with the loss of different modern conveniences.

One choice I was really interested in hearing about is the loss of their car and the purchase of a draft horse and wagon.  We have a friend with draft horses and are somewhat familiar with the workings. I have romantically thought of getting a horse and using it for farm work and a bit of transportation.  I know it won't be as I imagine necessarily and the sections of this book about Belle the horse reminded me of this.  It did help to further the dream though.

This is a good book. It is written in a pleasing way and is enjoyable to read. I enjoyed Growing a Farmer better because of the tone of the writer and there was more practical advice. But that shouldn't stop anyone from reading See You in a Hundred Years.  It is worth the time.

A Little Bit 'o This and That

10 games in a bit over two weeks. Our baseball season opens with two tournaments that overlap. We get to play games when other schools are practicing.  I think it should make us better.  The good news is we are 8-2.  More good news is we won a tournament and lost in extra innings in the championship game of the other.  The bad news is we've lost the last two games, including the opening game of our league season.

Our sports governing body has rearranged our contests and changed the priorities somewhat.  We now have in many ways three seasons in high school athletics.  We have a preseason with games  to prepare us, and also count in our overall record.  We have the league season, but leagues are arranged by distance as a priority to save transportation costs.  This creates unbalanced leagues of big and small school.  Some schools have a very difficult time competing in league with little chance of a league championship because of the arrangement of schools.And the third season is the playoffs.  Except in the playoffs anyone can enter.  You don't have to be a league champion, or even a runner up.  This has always seem to me to negate some of the meaning of a league and the value of the championship.  Not my call though, I just have to learn to play by the new format and try to make it work for us.

Yesterday we had a "lockdown" at school. Turns out there has been an undercover narcotics officer on campus from the beginning of school. 11 students were arrested for selling various drugs on campus.  Eight were from our school and three more from the continuation school.  It was a strange feeling of apprehension and uncertainty.  Doors were to be locked and curtains drawn.  No one was to leave their rooms.  I happened to be in another classroom and had to stay there for the remainder of the hour plus. To many it was quite a shock to see a classmate walked out of class with their hands behind them by a sheriff officer.  I had in class five of the students and one was currently playing baseball for us.

One of the negative and difficult outcomes of coaching so many games at this time of the year is I get little time at home.  With tournaments on Saturdays, Sunday become the only full day to help in the garden.  And with the planting and preparing going on that means the bulk falls to Maureen. And it means Sundays becomes a workday.  We have been rearranging the backyard and creating more garden space. We officially have no grass growing anywhere in the yard.  Secret;y I have joked that it would be fun to get to this, and now that we have it will be interesting how it plays out.  The dogs will have to make the biggest changes.  Trying to change their bathroom will be the toughest.

The new yard layout is nice though.  We will have a wine barrel orchard of fruit trees and berries. The chickens will get a revamped pen, and there will be more planting areas for vegi's.  A collateral benefit of the changes is some of the mess has been replaced with order and there is a calmness to walking out into the back now.   Not that it was missing in a great way before.  It just is different now.

Our school survived its accreditation, at least we weren't closed.  Now the big question becomes how will the findings be applied by the administration.

Easter break is coming.  Some kids will be home.  Family will be visiting and more fun and work wil be had by all.