Monday August 17, 2015

Tuesday August 4, 2015: travel day for AJ, Nancy and Bob. Up at 0630, put bags outside, and then walked to Panera for a quick cup of coffee. Taxi arrived early at 0930. Checked in and waited for our flight to Chicago. Flight arrived on time. Hour wait in Chicago before boarding flight to LA. Flight went off without a hitch. AJ is great to travel with. At LA picked up rental and drove to Missy's condo. AJ glad to be home and get reunited with cats. We had a light dinner. I did call my friend Tom Collins who lives in San Clemente. Tom was a close friend growing up in Alpena. He was not home so I left a voice message. Happy Birthday Tommy! Wednesday August 5: Missy still in Utah at conference. I had coffee at the Coffee Bean a short walk from the condo. AJ wants to take it easy. We did get a chance to get her out of house because Nancy promised to buy her an Anna doll. Of course you all know Anna is from Frozen. Nancy bought the doll at a Target near UCLA. We also walked to a Trader Joe's nearby to get some two buck chuck. In the afternoon we got in the rental and headed to Carson to look for a motel. We booked a week at an Extended Stay Motel. For dinner we walked to CA Pizza Kitchen. Thursday August 6: First thing I again walked to Coffee Bean for oatmeal, coffee and a chance to read WSJ. On way home bought Nancy a decaf. AJ wanted to just watch TV but we wanted her outside. Finally we drove to a nearby Park. AJ met a friend and we spent 90 minutes in park. Missy got home about 1600. At 1700 Bob and Nancy headed out to Carson. We stopped at a Panera for dinner. Friday August 7: The motel's breakfast is a joke. Walked over to a Starbuck and got a banana and coffee. Read the WSJ. Nancy wanted to visit a Talbot's in Manhattan Beach. We drove to the mall. Nancy headed out shopping and I walked around the Mall and people watched, bought nothing. We parked the car in downtown LB and walked around. We are looking for an apartment to rent this Jan/Feb. No luck. Had a Costco hot dog for lunch. On our way back to Motel we stopped a Walmart and bought some snacks. I took a short walk. Tonight we are meeting Stephen and family for dinner at EJ Malone's in the Bixby Knoll area of LB. We head out at 1730, We lucked out and found a parking place in front of the restaurant. Steve and family were already there. It was great seeing Veronica, Alessandra, Lucas and Steve. Bixby is the neighborhood where the restaurant is located and it was hopping on this Friday night. After a great dinner we walked up and down Atlantic Ave. The area was jammed. A great evening. It is now 2142 and I am sitting in the motel drinking $2 Chuck and writing this blog. Today an old employee Erick called me and said that he had recently seen a swing bridge designed by my Dad's firm. It was located in Alanson, Mi. It was great talking to Eric and see that he is doing so well. Saturday August 8: Today is my sister Helen's birthday. Happy Birthday, Helen! Today our Grandson Lucas has two soccer games in Westminster. The first game was at 1015 so we had time to have breakfast at Denny's. We got to Westminster High School to see the kick off or whatever you call the start of a soccer game. I don't understand the game but I did know that Lucas was #14 and played defense. The game ended in a 0/0 tie. The next game started at 1530 so Nancy, Alessandra, Veronica and I headed to the Cosa Mesa Mall. The girls went shopping and I walked around. The mall was really upscale. We had lunch in the mall. The second game did not go as well as the first but everyone made a great effort. Nancy and I had dinner at the Olive Garden. Sunday August 9: Lucas has an 1115 soccer game. We drove down to Westminster in time for the game. After the game we all had lunch at Lucilles. After lunch Nancy and I took a drive down the PCH to Irvine. We drove around Irvine before heading back to the motel. We stopped at Panera for dinner. We watched Ray Donovan. Nancy hated it and I thought it was pretty good. Monday August 10: For the past two days the mornings have been overcast and the sun does not break out until about noon. This morning I walked over to Starbucks for coffee and to read the WSJ. Before leaving I bought Nancy a decaf. Today we are meeting Missy and AJ at California Yacht at noon. Missy has been a member for several months. They have a great pool that AJ can use. Missy takes her computer and does her work. On our way we stopped at a Mall in Torrance. The Mall was in tough shape. We took the PCH to Marina Del Rey where the Yacht Club is located. It took about an hour. When we got to the CYC Missy was waiting to let us in. AJ spends all her time in the pool. Nancy enjoyed the pool. Missy and I had lunch at the snack bar. After lunch I took a two hour walk around the marina. It was very pleasant. We all had dinner at Jerry's Deli. I had a beer and corned beef sandwich. It is now 2132 and we are watching a show on TNT and drinking wine. Tuesday August 11: Today is Bob and Nancy's day: I have been getting up at 0600 and today was no exception. I walk next door to Starbucks for coffee and a chance to read the WSJ. The Chinese devaluate their currency and everyone goes ballistic. I read the articles on the impact of this devaluation but have not put it as one of the things I really worry about. I bring Nancy a decaf from Starbucks. About 1000 we get in the rental and head to Port Hueneme/Oxnard. Port Hueneme is the home of the Navy's Pacific Seabees. In the fall of 1961 newly commissioned Ensign Scott attended a two monty Civil Engineering Corps Officers school at Port Hueneme. I liked the area. I told Nancy that we might want to rent a place in this area for next January and February. Rents might be cheaper than the LA area but still less than 60 miles from the grandkids. The drive north was very stressful. Stop and go traffic all the way. We walked the beach at Port Hueneme and drove around the area. Downtown Oxnard had a nice small town feel. However the drive back to LA was worse than the drive up. The bad drive has convinced us that we must eliminate Pt Hueneme. We cleaned up at the motel and then headed out for dinner. We planned to eat at an Applebee's near the motel. I got Applebee's confused with Chili's. So we decided to turn back. I made a wrong turn and we ended up at the rail yard that supports the Ports of LA and LB. Miles and miles of RR container cars were parked on the tracks. We ended up in LB and had dinner at a breakfast place in the Bixby Knoll area of LB. We had a great dinner. Got home about 2100 and went to bed. Wednesday August 12: Today we are meeting AJ and Missy at the CA Yacht Club about 1300. I do the Starbuck routine until 0930. We went shopping to fill our diminished larder. We got to the CYC at 1300. Nancy went swimming and I took a walk. I walked to Venice Beach. It was a great day for a walk, sunny and warm. When I got to the beach I walked along the edge of the surf and the bike path. I walked the boardwalk at Venice Beach. If you like to see a real eclectic mix of folks Venice Beach is the place. I walked about 2.5 hours or six miles. We had an early dinner at the CYC. I had a hamburg and it was good. We got back to the motel about 1930. It is now 2128 and I am drinking wine and writing this blog. The TV is off, Nancy is reading and I will soon join her. I have a good book downloaded on the minipad. Thursday August 13, 2015: Today we are spending time with Alessandra and Lucas. We got up at 0600 and headed to Polly's for breakfast. Steve dropped the kids off and then headed off to work. We all ate a big breakfast. After breakfast we headed to a kids play park in Torrance. It was called Mulligan's Fun Center. The place opened at 1000 and we were the first folks through the door. The first thing Lucas did was head for the Go-Karts. He was the only driver so he got to drive the kart for several sessions. Alessandra was too short for the karts but she could drive the bumper cars. She also got to ride for several sessions. Our next game was miniature golf. All four of us played and Nancy was the winner. Lucas spent some time in the batting cage. Both kids played several sessions of Lazer tag. They also returned to the Go-Karts and Bumper cars. It was very hot so they played some arcade games in an air conditioned room. The Grandkids liked Mulligans but Nancy and I gave only a C. We left at 1330 and headed to the Lakewood Mall. We had lunch at the Red Robin. After lunch we spent some time in a book store before heading to Lucas's soccer practice. The practice started at 1700. At 1730 Veronica picked up Alessandra and took her to a soccer team pizza party. Lucas's practice ended at 1830 and we drove him to Alessandra's party. The two kids keep Steve and Veronica hopping. Steve is now the LB Parks and Recreation Department main man. It is budget season so he has had evening meetings for the past two weeks. The LB Parks and Recreation Dept has a $55,000,000 annual budget and 800 employees. A really big job. Way to go Steve! Friday August 14, 2015: Travel day for Bob and Nancy, we spent the morning packing and getting squared away. At 1100 we head to LAX to return our rental and check in. The return and check in went without a hitch. The flight to Denver was on time but we were late getting into Denver. I was worried we might miss the flight . I had packed my pills in the checked suitcase. I really don't know what would happen if I missed a pill. Any way United held the plane for us. We arrived in GR a little over midnight and grabbed a taxi home. Saturday August 15, 2015: Today is a dedicated easy day. We slept in and I walked to Panera for oatmeal and Nancy stayed home and did the laundry. As would happen we had a minor drain backup. Called the plumber but he did not call back. Petunia returned home about 1700 and at 1800 we drove to Jack Lensink's home on College for his 75th birthday party. It was an enjoyable affair and Jack looked good. Sunday August 16, 2015: We are starting to return to normal. Went swimming at MVP and then shopped at Meijer's. Gas today was $2.94. We loaded up on fresh fruits. Nancy's friend called about 1200 and invited us over for a swim and dinner. Since the temp was 90 with high humidity we said ok. Took and short nap and then at 1530 we drove the Kathi's. Both Nancy and I went swimming. Kathi fixed chicken breasts and corn on the cob. Nancy brought a great potato dish and a neighbor brought a great Michigan wine. We had a very pleasant afternoon. We got home about 2030. Since we left GR on August 4 we have had great weather, blue skies and warm temps with no rain. Our kids and grandkids are doing fine. Debbie is on a trip to Australia and Japan for Apple. Missy explained all her businesses to us and she is doing well. Steve has his new job as Parks Director in LB. Monday August 17, 2015: Yesterday Kathi told us about a property dispute she is having with her neighbor. She needed a survey and I gave her several names. This morning I called three surveyors and finally got hold of my old friend Chuck Fricke. Chuck is still working and agreed to do Kathi's survey tomorrow. We turned the AC on last night and it did not work. This morning I called Bel Aire and they are coming out this PM to fix the AC. I took a short bike ride and then showered and walked to Panera. Nancy headed out early to MVP for her class. About 1300 I drove to Costco for some supplies. Bought wine, cheese, dried plums and paper towels. Also bought a fall sweater. Bel Aire arrived about 1430 and found out we needed a $109 part. The AC is now working. Today Nancy and I are paying our Fed and Township taxes. It is now 1539 and I am sitting at the kitchen finishing this blog. I got my 30 in today, did you?