Goldie is Gone

 I finally quit procrastinating and made an ad for Goldie, the minivan.  I bought her last August with the grand plan of using her to haul the furniture to the grandkids.  And it was quite a fiasco.  The furniture did make it to the kids, but the minivan never left the cul-de-sac after I had her loaded and stopped for snacks. I was done putting good money after bad.  

I believe I learned a very valuable lesson.  Maybe more than one.  Home for an extended stay meant I had time to get rid of it.  She was just sitting out there reminding me all the time that I did not do a good deal there.  So I posted an ad last week.  Marketplace tells you how many clicks you get.  Way over 300 and yet I only had a few messages.  No clue what that means.  After a frustrating day, a guy came the next day and bought it.  He was such a liar.  Guess he thought he was getting away with something.  Me, I just wanted it gone.  He bought it for next to nothing.  After he left, I realized I needed his address for the transfer of vehicle to make sure I never pay for anything else having to do with the minivan. I texted him and he texted back with a cross street.  No address.  Stupid.  Looking it up, it is a business and no homes/apartments nearby. So, I reverse looked up his phone number and lo and behold he runs a used auto sales business.  I used that address and called it good.  Kept my plates also.  

And now my reminder is gone.  I'm happy.  It was a costly lesson, but I think I'm still ahead in the game.  And now on to the next project.  There is always a next project.  

Goal Met

 When I returned home I had signed up for a challenge to log so many miles of walking between Jan 1 and Mar 14.  The idea was to keep me walking when I was home walking by myself.  I had a walking partner most of Nov and Dec.  My goal was 250km.  That means 155 miles.  With my walking schedule, that is really not a lot.  

Today I met that goal.  After I got my badge for it, I found where I can change my goal.  So I changed it to 350km.  That one will be tight but I'm sure I can do it.  

New York, New York

 I want to go.  My little woman used to want to go.  Then anxiety came.  We talked about it.  She said she really didn't want to go.  Too many people.  I accepted that even though it meant she missed Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building. 

After she turned me down, she must have been thinking about it and it settled in her brain that she could do it.  It would just be her and I so we could be attached at the hip.  She informed me of her change in decision.  I started looking and somehow misread the vaccine mandate for NY.  So I told her we would have to postpone it till 2023.  

Well mask mandates and vaccine mandates are being lifted.  Then I discovered that I had misread what the mandate was in NY as it was an either/or mandate.  All good though.  I got online and again searched for a package.  And I found one.  We will be going at the end of May after she gets out of school.  We will spend four nights in a hotel just eight blocks off Central Park.  It looks like a really nice central location for all the things we want to do.  

Seems I am having another year of travel.  

Home for Awhile

 Reversed the airport route.  Did my daily walk at the airport.  There is a nice underground tunnel that takes you to different terminals.  Jodi and I had discovered it when we were going to Cabo.  

On the plane I was in an early boarding group. I'm sitting in my aisle seat and the window seat is taken when this woman came and put her bag in the overhead compartment.  Then she said if I wanted to scoot over, she would take the aisle seat.  Umm, no.  So, I let her in, but I'm not giving up my aisle seat. We had a lovely conversation on the ride.

And then I was home.  For those keeping track of the game, the only thing missing was most of my milk.  Why?  I still have no comprehension of people who just use other people's stuff without asking.  We live on our phones so there really is no excuse not to ask.  

While I was in LA Jodi and I decided on our next trip.  Las Vegas in March.  Jodi is feeling the need to get away.  I think she likes these quick trips also.  Three nights in Vegas will be plenty.  

Hike to the Sign

 

No easy mass transit to get to the trailhead to hike up to the Hollywood sign. I opted for a Lyft.  Amazingly it only costed $10.  My email had said to be sure to be on time or I would miss it.  It also said to be aware of LA traffic that is slow.  Thought I had good timing, but my lyft guy was early and then I was super early.  Got to play on my phone for a good 45 minutes waiting.  

And then up we went.  My group was five paying customers and the guide.  I was quite happy to be in the smaller group.  Another group went up at the same time and it was about 15 people. Let me tell you to never believe the review that says you won't even know you are walking uphill.  It honestly makes no difference how many good tales the guide tells.  You still know you are walking uphill.  It was a bit of a challenge.  I was not, however, the last member of our group to reach the top.  I was the last one down.  And that is all right.  I had no place I had to be.  It takes an hour to walk up the trail which is mostly kind of paved (like a long time ago).  You can't actually get to the sign as it is surrounded by fence and monitored 24/7 by LAPD. 

The story of the sign is it was originally for a new neighborhood.  And then it became just Hollywood. The original sign became quite dilapidated.  Hugh Hefner went to the city and asked them to replace the sign since it had become iconic.  The city, naturally, said they had no money for that.  So Mr. Hefner raised the money himself and the sign was replaced.  Just as crooked as it originally was.  

The view is extraordinary.  LA goes on and on and on.  You can see to the ocean.  It was an accomplishment for me to make the journey and the climb.  And yes, I took another nap.  What else would I do on vacations?

Walking on the Beach

 

Again, I was up with the sun and on my way.  A little bit longer of a trip today.  A bus and two trains to get to Santa Monica Pier.  Walking up to the pier you get a huge look in both directions of the beach.  Since I was early and it was midweek there wasn't a lot of people on the beach.  But there was a tractor raking the sand.  I bet that happens every morning. There were a lot of people doing exercises on the beach and at the parks along the beach.  

I walked from Santa Monice pier along the beach down to Venice Beach.  Again, I'm too early for much.  But I did get to see all the artists setting up their spaces.  And honestly there was some fantastic art there.  I saw a catering company set up for some kind of movie thing.  I met a lady who breeds fluffy Frenchies. I was in shock when she told me Frenchies are now going for ten grand. Apollo, her grandson's frogdog was just the best though.  

After I had walked four miles it was time to head back to Santa Monica and catch my first train back. Eight miles of walking on the beach.  It was fabulous.  Check out the trippy sidewalk that looks like it has ripples in it. Total optical illusion as it is perfectly level.  And then I just loved the crosswalk in Chinatown.  

I was back to the hotel in time to take a nap before dinner.  

 

Hollywood

 

I still have not acclimated back to my own sleep schedule. That means I'm still on the little woman's schedule.  So I'm awake early.  Even here.  So I'm up and out by 8 heading to Hollywood.  Now remember to go anywhere it is a bus and a train and in reverse to get back.  

Got off the rail at Hollywood and Vine.  Walked along looking at all the stars.  Waited for the tour company to open up so I had coffee in a little shop.  I was able to ride on the first tour.  We went up into Beverly Hills to see star homes.  Now honestly, you don't really see star homes.  You see their fences, shrubs, chimneys and a roof if you are lucky.  But the stories were funny.  From there we got a trip down Rodeo Drive and nobody buys things on Rodeo Drive.  The shops there are basically for status for the shop owners.  

Now me being me, I didn't think about that drive up Mulholland Drive.  It is very winding.  About half way up I remembered that I had bonine in my purse.  Took it, but it didn't help much by that point.  I was quite happy to be done when the tour was over.  Reversed my going back and took a nap.  

It still was an interesting day and an adventure. 

Safari Inn

Today was an adventure.  Took a plane and flew to LA.  There was no way I was going to rent a car in LA.  So I had to figure out how to mass transit from the LA airport to my hotel in Burbank.  If I ever did it again and stayed in Burbank, I would just fly to Burbank.  

So from the airport I caught a bus for $9.75 that took me to Union Station.  I had already purchased my seven day pass for rail and normal busses for $12.50.  Took the rail to Universal City Station and then caught a bus to the hotel.  Took me two hours and I was a bit tired at that point.  And hungry.  Had a nice dinner at the restaurant next door.  

What a day.  And I'm right where I want to be.  It's just the right level of warm here.