Stories from the Road

Temecula, CA.

August 20, 2019

                                       High Drama in Temecula

                                                    

The traffic was light this morning at 5:30 as I made my way north on Highway 15 toward my destination, Temecula. The Pechanga tribe has built an enormous casino complex in Temecula along with a 5-star golf course that is very challenging. I had played there last week, but I wanted to go back and do better. 

The starter put 4 of us singles together, and we teed off around 7. I parred the first hole and felt comfortable and relaxed. We were on the tee on the second hole when a Ford SUV raced through an access road and began speeding down the cart path. Suddenly the driver stopped with screeching brakes. Two women got out the back door along with various water bottles that spilled on the ground. One man tried to start the car again. The engine wouldn’t turn over. He brought out a portable generator and kept trying to get the car going. He was frantic. He was scared. His companion ran and leaped over a fence. I thought had things been different, he might have been a good high school hurdler.

The four of us were watching from maybe thirty yards away. I felt I was in a reality TV crime show. After some time, I heard sirens coming toward us. The man finally abandoned the car and made a run for it over a fence and into a field. The two women started walking along the course.

Initially, I thought the 4 Hispanic people were undocumented workers fleeing the border patrol. I decided I wouldn’t give the police any information. Then I wondered if they had stolen a car. It was hard to know. My thoughts were interrupted by two security cruisers from the tribal police and then two more Temecula police cars with sirens and flashing lights.

                                                        

A sign flashed on the screen of our golf cart telling all golfers to leave the course due to a police incident. Since we had witnessed the entire event and seen the wanted people race away from the course, we knew there was no danger, and we kept playing.

The rest of the morning was uneventful as the four of us enjoyed the course, aptly named, The Journey.

Stories from the road

Stories from the Road

Olympia, WA

July 18, 2019

Ken Lake is still this morning with no activity at this early hour. Soon swimmers will be breaking the smooth surface of the water, as they begin their workout before heading to jobs. 

The rain drove us indoors yesterday, and we saw Late Night 

starring Emma Thomson, Mindy Kaling, and John Lithgow. A late-night talk show host comes to grips with the fact that her show is stagnant due to her rigid, autocratic nature. Her newfound ability to adapt and transform carries the film to a “feel good” ending. I liked the movie and found it entertaining and meaningful. The ending may have been too formula-driven, but overall it is a movie to see and enjoy.

 

Before we came to Washington, Vicki, and I saw “Wild Rose.” Both of us like this movie very much, and I would give it a strong recommendation. If you like country music, it helps, but the movie is strong regardless of your musical tastes.

Olympia has always had a counter-culture group of young people. Some are homeless and some have entry-level jobs at local shops. Last night while walking to the car, we passed a group sitting on some steps. They said a few things, and I kept walking, but I should have stopped and chatted. They weren’t hostile, and the one guy I talked with was friendly. I was curious about them but driven to move on by fear and caution I suppose. My loss!

 

Marle, who had knee replacement surgery a few weeks ago, borrowed a machine called Polar Care which automatically brings cold water to her knee. I have been using it every day and ordered a unit from Amazon.

Zermatt: 1984

When we arrived at this carless village, and I saw that the taxis were horse-drawn sleighs, I should have known. This wasn’t going to be a burger and brewski vacation. In those days the dollar was strong, and we were in the Mt. Cervin, a five-star hotel for $100 a day for both of us. The fee included two meals, afternoon tea, and all the resources of the hotel.

The first night I went to the dining room, the maître d said I needed a sport coat to enter. What? Well, I didn’t have one. He lent me a Tyrolean jacket with leather lapels for the night. Though I thought the regional jacket had character, it was expensive, so I bought a tweed coat in a local shop.

Was the food good? Take your best guess. It was outstanding with great service. One night a week the hotel served a grand buffet with guests coming in Black Tie. I wore my new sports jacket. Breakfasts featured every kind of egg, cold cut, cheese, cereal, and juice you could imagine.

The hotel had its own ski shop and storage place. In the evenings the Italian girls tuned down our beds and secretly left Swiss chocolates on our pillows. In the mornings you may wonder if we took the sleigh to the main lift, which was a distance from our hotel. What would you have done?

Big Mallard and Options

The Salmon River in Central Idaho was running fully in 1994. I had read about Big Mallard for many years, and soon I would meet the biggest rapid on the Salmon. I had been paddling pretty well with a few roles but no swims. As we approached the rapid, I heard it before I saw it. The sound of whitewater has an anxiety-laden excitement to it.

Our guides motioned us to pull over before the rapid for scouting and strategy. The established route would be along the left side of the river which had big rolling waves but no rocks or submerged trees.  The guide's words were ominous: River right is not an option!

As I started down the wave train on the left, I suddenly flipped when a big wave blindsided me. With an unrealistic fear of being washed to the right side of the river, I rolled “with haste” and finished my run. 

Coffee

A cup of Joe, java, cappuccino, espresso, draw one, and so forth. It all means the same thing: a cup of coffee, a drink that is consumed worldwide. An acquired taste for most of us, coffee is a pick me up but a lot more.

Think about it for a minute. Coffee serves an important function besides its intrinsic value as a drink. Coffee break is a term dear to the hearts of an entire workforce. What business meeting works well without a cup of java? Espresso stands are busy and lively in Italy though the portions served are minuscule. 

Like an evening martini, coffee is a symbol. It conveys a time to ease up, relax, and be social. How many first dates have taken place over, “coffee”? Starbucks Company makes a fortune each year serving coffee. There are drive-in stands that do well also. You don’t see any places featuring coca-cola or ginger ale. 

Coffee making at home has become an art. Stores like Williams and Sonoma sell many different kinds of coffee makers. You can brew it, press it, or drip it. Many like to grind their own beans and others even roast their own coffee. I am not sure what the world spends a year on coffee and related products, but it must be a lot.

As I am writing this piece, I looked down, and guess what I saw? If you guessed a cup of coffee in my personal cup, you would be spot on

Luciano Pavarotti

I saw Ron Howard’s new documentary, Luciano Pavarotti,this afternoon. I enjoyed the movie from the moment it began to the final credits. 

Pavarotti liked to present himself as a simple man who enjoyed singing, pasta, and people. These characteristics certainly described him, but they don’t go far enough. As a child, he witnessed the atrocities of war in Italy and later suffered a serious illness that left him in a coma for two weeks. 

A hard worker, he struggled to master his craft to become the most famous tenor of his time. One of the few people who could regularly hit a high C, he was the rock star of La Scala, Vienna, and the Met. He was determined to bring opera to the “people” and true to his word, he performed all over the world from Brazil to Beijing.

After joining with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo to form the highly successful Three Tenors, he began singing with popular artists like Bono and Sting. Towards the end of his career, he raised large sums of money for many charities.

His divorce from his wife and marriage to a younger woman was controversial in Catholic Italy. He was married only a short time when he developed pancreatic cancer. 

The movie captures his music, his charisma, and his path to fame. A man not without flaws, he filled the concert halls with glorious music and goodwill, with laughter and tears, and humbleness which fame never diminished. A man with a good heart, he lived fully.

Power: The Best Opiate of All

Some people stay grounded and handle power well. Obama never let it go to his head. He was an authentic person in an important job who used his power but didn’t think he was “grand” or “special”.  In addition to being a cloaked racial slur, the Republicans didn’t like his tan suit because they thought it didn’t project power.

The deceased Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, apparently cared about his people until he visited the dictator of North Korea. He came home, closed the borders, and built a 1000 room home, called “The Peoples’ Palace” for him and his wife. What happened?

Insecure people are vulnerable to the elixir of power. The first rush is like a heroin jolt, and addiction is just around the corner.  Power, like a drug, needs continual usage and particularly during times of stress. 45 keeps going back to rallies in places that are reassuring and supportive. The adulation he receives from his fans reinforces his delusions of greatness. His rule by executive order reflects not only his inability to work with others but also his love of exercising power. Does he get a power high? Take a guess.

It is not surprising that a number of cabinet positions are open and that many people have left 45’s administration. John Kennedy exercised power by demanding honest feedback from his cabinet, weighing their opinions, and then deciding. He was humble enough to realize that he couldn’t know everything. He was smart, confident, and knowledgeable, but he knew his limits. 45 is threatened by differing opinions. Why? Because differences threaten his weak self-esteem and expose his lack of knowledge. He doesn’t want skilled, articulate people around him. His psychological well-being is more important to him than the fate of the United States.

Entitlements

Mitch:    The free ride is over. The New Deal is dead. No more free lunches under my watch! Goodbye Medicare, Social Security, and welfare!

Mrs.:       My investments earned $270,000 thousand last month. How about a new Mercedes? You would look sharp driving up the Senate in those wheels!   

Mitch:     Thanks Babe, but I was kind of thinking about a Bentley

The danger of Highway 5

After a pleasant lunch at Caesarina in Pt. Loma with two friends, Vicki and I began the journey back to North County. Highway 5 was busy, as I negotiated our Cross Trek through different lanes of traffic. At first, I thought the bumpy feel to the car was due to the highway, but eventually, I realized our tire was going flat. I tried to make the balboa exit but no luck. 

We called triple-A while we stood away from the breakdown lane. It was a little bit like being on the Le Mans track. After 20-30 minutes a policeman showed up. Then triple-A came. The driver didn’t want to change the tire due to the heavy traffic so he loaded our car on a flatbed and drove us to a tire store. 

We bought a new tire and were on our way to meet friends for Happy Hour.

Stories from the road

May 8, 2019

At 30,000 feet

 

The flight from Vienna to Paris has been smooth so far with the exception of my spilling a glass of mineral water on myself. I have been listening to great speeches of the past. I listened to JFK’s great inauguration speech in addition to his speech after the fall of the Berlin Wall. And of course, I listened to Martin Luther King’s wonderful “ I have a dream speech” in Washington, D.C. I resonated with them all along with Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic Convention in Boston in 2004. His performance there launched him onto the national political stage. 

We are now somewhere over the Atlantic on our way to Boston. Dennis was taken off the plane in Paris for a random search. Luckily they let him back on. Our dinner was chicken, which wasn’t too bad. The best part was the camembert cheese.

I was reflecting back on my week with AMA Waterways. Both Vicki and I enjoyed ourselves. As I can’t do the active vacations I formerly did, the river cruise was a nice alternative. Most of the people on our cruise were seniors. There were a few people in their 30’s but they seemed out of place. Our room was the least expensive, but it was fine. It was small but designed well and comfortable. Each room had an Apple Computer, a mini bar, and plenty of storage space. Our shower worked well, and the staff cleaned our suite a couple of times a day. 

The food on our boat was excellent with multiple choices always available. The staff was friendly and helpful. Most days multiple excursions, free of charge, were planned. Knowledgeable guides accompanied us passengers on shore trips whether on foot, by bus, or on a bike. There were separate groups for fast walkers and slow walkers. There was always the option of staying on the boat. There was entertainment in the evenings, though I usually turned in early.

The. Cruise line managed all transfers to and from the airport. Everything went smoothly. We did pre and post-trip extensions which were well organized and interesting. I would definitely consider doing another trip.

We got to know a number of people on board during the week. Dennis, Phyllis, Vicki, and I became very friendly with two other couples with whom we ate dinner every evening. Judi, Ed, Margaret, and Barry were gracious, kind, fun, and interesting. My hope is that we will do another cruise together.

Aspen: Go there or Not?

1.   What’s the drive to Aspen like?  Once you get beyond Las Vegas it is a beautiful drive. Southern Utah is scenic, and I always find the drive across the high desert on highway 70 interesting and exciting. I have never encountered much snow until I get within a few miles of Aspen.

2.   Is it a friendly place?  Yes! The people who work there are nice, and since most tourists are skiing, hiking, and enjoying the climate, they seem to be in good moods. It is hard to be a curmudgeon, when you are having fun.

3.   Do you need a car?  You don’t need one in the winter, but it helps in the summer, since your activities most likely will be more spread out. I don’t like to wait for public transportation, so I take my car

4.   Isn’t it easier to go to Mammoth?Yes, it is. January is the off season in Aspen. You don’t find day skiers from Denver there, since the four hour drives sends people to nearer resorts like Winter Park, Vail, and Copper Mountain. The snow is good in January, and there are few people. If you need people around, don’t go, as you may be lonely on the slopes! Other reasons to go to Aspen are the wonderful amenities, forgiving climate, and fabulous dry snow.

5.   Do you see movie stars there?  Once in a while I will see a celebrity. Personal sightings have included Goldie Hawn, George Hamilton, Maria Navratilova and Robert McNamara. 

6.   Where do I get information on the ski areas there?  Go to www.aspensnowmass.com.

7.   Isn’t Aspen expensive?It can be, but if you plan carefully people often make it work for their budget. For example drive there, don’t fly. Don’t eat lunch on the mountain: it costs a fortune. Buy food at the local market and make a lunch. Search carefully, and you can still find some accommodations that are reasonable.

A Country Walk: The Cotswolds

                                                                                

In South Central England not far from London lies one of the most beautiful places found anywhere. The Cotswolds, a group of rolling hills across four counties, contain picturesque villages built over and around scenic spots. Many of the villages once were the estates of rich noblemen with surrounding domiciles belonging to their workers. Now affluent people still own the manor homes, but the surrounding homes have been bought about by rich Londoners looking for an escape from the city.

The Cotswolds are hills, not mountains, and they are perfect for walking. In England, you are permitted to walk across private lands as long as you don't harm property. There are special gates for entering a field as walking is a popular activity in the UK.

                                                                            

So the question is, how do you set up a walking tour in the Cotswolds?

The logistics are complex so it is hard to do on one's own. Most people sign on with a company that arranges the logistics and proves transportation to and from the trails. Many trampers use American Companies like Backroads or Vermont Bike Tours (they have walking trips), but I would suggest using a local company. They are less expensive and very competent. We used Cotswolds Walks, which did a great job! Here is how it went.

Andrew Guppy, the founder and head of Cotswold Walksarranged for a car to pick up in London and drive us to Chipping Camden, the first town on our itinerary. We set up our trip so that we wouldn't be moving every night but rather would spend several days in the same location. From our local hotels, we either did circular walks or walked to a site and then were ferried back to our hotel by a cab arranged by the Company. One advantage of Andrew's company is that it will customize your walk and accompanying logistics to your desires.

                                                                                

The first two days we did full hikes of 7-9 miles. Andrew helped us download a map into my phone which had an arrow that was controlled by a GPS. The arrow let you know if you were on the trail. In addition, we had written directions. Even with these aids at times, it was hard to find the way since trails were infrequent. More often we walked across fields and meadows. 

By day three my hip was acting up, and we shortened our hikes to accommodate my injury. This proved easy to do with a few phone calls, and Andrew and his crew of drivers were very helpful.

Our lodging was at local Inns or country Hotels and always included breakfast. The dinners were very good and the settings of the accommodations were serene and bucolic. It was fun to talk with the local help and other walkers from different parts of the world. 

                                                                                

The buildings in the Cotswolds are not surprisingly old. Many of the old estates have been broken up and much of the land has been sold off to affluent Londoners wanting a second home in the country. There still are some grand manor homes. Overall one feels like he or she is walking back through another era.

                                                                                

You might consider a walking trip in the Cotswolds if you want an active vacation in a beautiful setting with good food and nice people. It is easy to arrange and the trip can be made sweeter by spending a few days in London either pre or post-trip.

Pakistan