TRAVELS WITH ELSA (QUEEN ELSA OF DANA POINT)

 At the end of June, we took our first trip in Elsa to San Luis Obispo for the funeral Mass for Larry’s cousin’s wife. It was the first time we had gone anywhere at any distance since the beginning of the pandemic.

We charged her up the day before and stopped at the outlets in Oxnard at lunchtime. Elsa charged while we ate. Then back on the road to the Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo.

My brother- and sister-in-love had arrived the day before, so they were already in their hotel.

We haven’t been to the Apple Farm for quite a few years. Originally, it was decorated with Laura Ashley floral fabrics and charming country prints. It was one of our favorite hotels. In the interim, it has been redecorated. The beautiful floral carpets have been replaced with wood plank flooring. Makes a lot of sense for upkeep, but it isn’t as warm and cozy as it used to be.

The restaurant, another of our favorites, had been closed for many months, and was just reopening with a very limited menu for breakfast and lunch.

We met Casey and Lucy, who suggested going to Pismo Beach for dinner. They knew about a terrific restaurant, and we had a delicious meal with them. We really enjoyed spending time together as we hadn’t seen each other much during the previous year, so we treasured this time.

After breakfast at the hotel restaurant the next morning, we attended the funeral Mass for Larry’s cousin’s wife, Claudia, at the mission church. We were so glad we had decided to go. His cousin, Jim, told us we were the only relatives from his side of the family, and he appreciated the support.

We enjoyed meeting his kids and grandkids. What lovely people they all are.

I especially enjoyed the priest. He made the entire service about Claudia. He clearly knew her well. He used a lot of humor to paint a picture of what a special woman she was. Nurse, friend, neighbor, wife, mother, grandmother—in each role, she gave of herself with love.

Afterward, we went to their house for a great reception. We had more time to spend with Jim and his kids, a thoroughly delightful day.

Casey and Lucy left for home in the afternoon, and we went back to the hotel. In the evening, we drove to the Madonna Inn, where they have a charging station. Elsa charged while we ate dessert.

The next morning, we left early and stopped in Solvang. We had intended to eat breakfast, but the town was very busy, and the restaurants were packed. We found a bakery, bought pastries and coffee, and ate outside. Some of the stores were still closed, and we decided to leave for home.

We stopped at the Marriott Hotel to top off Elsa’s charge. Then back on the road home.

She is very comfortable to ride in, and Larry took advantage of the cruise control.

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A couple of weeks later, we headed to Las Vegas for the PSWA (Public Safety Writers Association) Conference. We were supposed to have gone last year, but it was cancelled.

We felt as though we were getting the hang of traveling with Elsa. We charged her at home before we left. Then, we stopped in Barstow in time for lunch. We recharged. Elsa did, too.

On toward Las Vegas, we stopped in Primm for a cold drink and a rest stop. We topped off Elsa, even though she didn't really need it.

The conference was held at the Orleans Hotel. We enjoy this one because we get to see some friends we don’t ever get to see elsewhere. We were the keynote speakers on Saturday morning, and we each took part in several panels. As always, we learned a great deal and came home with a few new books.

The night before we left, we contacted the hotel and requested they charge Elsa for our departure the next morning. They have a charging station right at the hotel. (We expect many hotels will be installing them.)

We made a stop in Yermo (near the Calico ghost town). We plugged in Elsa while we took a break.

Once again, Larry used the cruise control. He hardly had to touch the accelerator and never used the brake at all—even in stop-and-go traffic. His “driving” was mostly steering just to keep her in the lane. Elsa did the rest.

We aren’t able to listen to our iPod through the car’s speakers, but Larry hooked up a smaller speaker, so we listened to our favorite sounds during the trip. Most relaxing.

Even though Elsa has a 326-mile range, Larry follows the owners’ manual and only charges to 280 miles. (It is easier on the battery.) This proved to be no problem at all—especially since our old Fiero only had a 200-mile range. Charging stations are cropping up everywhere.

Elsa performed well, and we really enjoyed her. We look forward to more travels in the future.

Why Travel?

This blog should come with a disclaimer: Travel is addictive.

We began making trips early in our marriage, first to places in the US and later farther afield.

Our first major trip, in 1979, was a three-week vacation to Hawaii. I worked for a year to pay for it. We planned with a travel agent and created our own itinerary. Five islands, eight flights, thirteen hotels later, we still hadn’t seen everything. It’s why we keep going back.

We have returned to Hawaii often, several times with good friends. Our last trip was in March of this year for a writing conference.

In 1980, we took a Caribbean cruise at the recommendation of friends. This was not our favorite vacation. I spent the whole week feeling queasy. However, we were one of the last cruise ships to dock in Haiti. This was the most severe poverty I had ever observed. One of the benefits of visiting foreign lands is the reminder of just how blessed we are.

In December of 1984, we had the joy of accompanying Kimberly’s high school choir when they sang in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. Afterward, we toured Israel for a week with the group. I recently posted the link to the short video we made of the trip. It is fuzzy, and the sound isn’t perfect, but it still brings back special memories:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlBcCUQXREw&feature=share

In 1993, our friend, Bob Schwenck, did a pulpit exchange in Scotland. Larry was reluctant to take time off work for a trip to visit there, but I finally negotiated for ten days. We visited with the Schwencks for a couple of days, and then split the remainder with my family and traveling a bit. As we boarded the plane for the return flight, Larry said, “We should have stayed longer.” Can you say annoyed?

We learned our lesson. We now take whatever time is required.

Between 1998 and 2001, we lived in Japan and received an in-depth education in the Japanese people and the country. While we were there, we tried to visit a different location each weekend. One of my Japanese coworkers said she thought we’d seen more of the country than she had.

During one holiday weekend in 2001, we had decided to travel to the northern island of Hokkaido. My friend contacted travel agencies and made inquiries. Even though we would only be gone three days, the cost was outrageous. (Earlier, we had made a trip to Okinawa to visit a friend, and it was also expensive.)

As we were investigating the options, the head of HR asked if we would like to take a trip to Beijing. It would be for a week, and it cost less than the trip we had been considering. Of course, we decided to go.

In 2003, right after I learned I was losing my job, an opportunity for a trip to Italy came to us. Rather than my normal caution, this time I decided we were going, no matter what. This country had been on my bucket list for many years. So, we went, and I never regretted a minute!

The following year, we went to Ireland with the same group. What a terrific experience. The highlight was a visit with my mother’s distant cousin, Jean, who invited the entire group to her home for tea.

We have traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and many other places, with several more on the bucket list. In 2014, I checked off another when we traveled to France. The country was everything I had imagined and so much more!

When we retired in 2011, we went to San Mateo to visit my aunt and uncle. When we told them we were retiring, each of them said the same thing: “Travel.”

Where have you visited? What was your favorite place?

NYC Part III - Bus Tour

Last week, I continued the story of our NYC adventure. This week, I share our few hours of free time in the city.

We woke early in hopes of seeing Kim before she and her group left for the day. Their choir group (over 230 members) was divided into “family groups”’ of about twelve. For some reason, we were assigned to a different group than Kim. (At the time, it felt like a mistake, but subsequent events proved we were exactly where we belonged. Why am I still surprised when these things happen?)

When I texted Kim, we found she and her friend, Maribeth, were at a nearby restaurant eating breakfast. We decided to get oatmeal at the Starbucks in the hotel lobby so we wouldn’t miss her when she returned.

On her way in, she picked up our envelopes with all our credentials and tickets for the following two days. (Since we missed the meet-and-greet the previous evening, we hadn’t received ours.) Thank goodness, she knew who had them, so we were finally “official.”

Each family group was assigned a mission project before they left Texas. When we signed up, we decided to pass up this opportunity in order to do a few hours of sightseeing. (To be honest, the nature of the projects wasn’t described, and I was afraid of straining my bad knee if too much walking was required.)

After we bid farewell to Kim and the others, we went to the concierge desk to inquire about a bus tour of the city. With limited time, this seemed the best option.

When we got there, another group was busy with their plans, so we had to wait. Within a couple of minutes, we were joined by another guest. I nearly always talk to people when standing in line (to Larry’s eternal embarrassment). So, I struck up a conversation. This fellow bore a striking resemblance to one of our colleagues from Universal Studios, now sadly passed away.

I don’t remember exactly how the conversation drifted to Japan—possibly because of the USJ logo on the back of our jackets. It turned out this man had spent his earliest years in Takarazuka where we lived while in Japan. His family had moved to Chiba where one of our Japanese students lived. He worked for a steel company and now lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Our time in line passed quickly thanks to Nose (pronounced “no-say”). We always enjoy talking about our time as expats, and he was most interested.

When the concierge was finally available, we booked tickets on the hop-on-hop-off Big Bus tour of the city.

Most people aren’t aware of what an architecture junkie I am. Had I not been an English major, I might have studied the subject in college. Manhattan has one of the most amazing arrays of styles anywhere on the planet. And I was in heaven.

As we reached the stop, a new bus arrived. We were able to get the very front seats on the upper deck. All glass in front of us afforded an unobstructed view of the city. Even though the day was a bit overcast, we still had a great view.

I nearly had to pinch myself as we drove the streets and passed famous landmarks. A couple of blocks from the bus stop, I looked down to see the marquee of the Knickerbocker Hotel. I’d read stories of this place, and now we were there.

I have always loved deco style, and directly ahead of the bus, stood the Chrysler Building, every bit as beautiful as its photos.

I recognized landmarks, like the Empire State Building and the Flatiron Building, long before our tour guide identified them. He gave us a wonderful overview of the city and its history. For a couple of history buffs, his enthusiasm and knowledge were most welcome.

We traveled through Chinatown, the neighborhood of iron buildings with their ornate railings (reminiscent of those we had seen in New Orleans and Melbourne, Australia), Times Square, Wall Street, and all the other famous areas of the city. I was actually there, after all the years of wanting to visit! And we had met more friendly, smart, and welcoming New Yorkers.

Next week: standing on Holy Ground.

Welcome to New York City

New York City has been on my bucket list for a long time. Larry has been there on business several times. His first visit was in 1957 as part of the Boy Scout Jamboree held at Valley Forge. But I’d never been there.

Late last year, our daughter, Kim, told us about the invitation her church choir (Prestonwood Baptist) had received to sing at Carnegie Hall accompanying Michael W. Smith. She knew we were in because 1) he is one of my favorite Christian composers and performers, and 2) NYC was already on my list. We signed up to attend as non-singers as soon as we were able.

Before we left home, we checked the weather. Wednesday had been sixty degrees and clear. A huge blizzard blew in on Thursday, bringing between nine and fourteen inches of snow. LaGuardia shut down for most of the day.

We checked the status of our flight on Thursday night, and it still showed on schedule. So we got up at 3:30 a.m. (after an excited sleepless night), showered, dressed, and picked up our friend at five. She had agreed to drive us to the airport before she went to work. Our car would remain at her house until she picked us up on Monday night.

Our 6:55 flight still showed on schedule on the Departure board when we arrived. Thank goodness, we have TSA Pre-Check. We have always had it since it started, probably because we are old and have done a lot of flying.

After an uneventful flight, with a stop in Chicago, we arrived at four-thirty p.m.—a half hour early. Since we were scheduled to attend a welcome get-together with the group at eight, we were certain we’d have lots of time to get there. WRONG!

Before we left the baggage claim area, we donned our Universal Studios Japan all-weather coats. These were issued to the team shortly after we arrived in Osaka. I guess they knew as Californians, most of us wouldn’t have suitable clothing for winter in Osaka. And were they ever right! We debated packing them for NYC, but decided to take them. So glad we did! They also provided great conversation starters.

We walked out to the taxi line. The temperature was below freezing (30 degrees). The line snaked back and forth a few times, but it didn’t appear daunting. We moved very slowly for over an hour until we reached the street. We thought this was the end of the line. However, we were wrong.

We crossed the street to find another, even longer, line. This one went down about three blocks, made a turn and then doubled back, and it barely moved. In fact, we stood in one spot for over half an hour. When we finally made the turn, we saw what the problem was: no taxis. None. Traffic, inbound and outbound, was at a standstill. Only one cab came by every five minutes or so.

After three hours standing in below freezing temperatures and driving wind (the temp dropped as we stood in line), taxis began to arrive, two or three at a time. Even the airport staff said they had never seen traffic this bad. (When we got to the hotel, the news was full of the LaGuardia mess.)

We finally settled into a cab, frozen and exhausted, at close to eight p.m. We watched the driver’s GPS as it redirected him from route to route. The bridges around the airport were blocked. He apologized for the detours. We actually had a nice conversation on the way to the hotel. Our first encounter with a NY cab driver, and he was polite and accommodating. Another stereotype blown away, happily.

During the ride, we thawed our extremities. We have never been so happy to see a hotel!

Next week, our New York adventure continues.

Traveling in the Car

By Larry Collins, Guest Blogger

One of the many highlights of our daughter Kimberly’s visit last month for me included singing in the car on the way to Disneyland.

As we approached the parking structure, Kim, now in her forties, and I (I’m seventy) were happily singing the duet “Love is an Open Door” from the movie Frozen. And yes, I’ve seen the YouTube videos. In my opinion, we were just as good.

Singing comes naturally to our family. My dad and his three brothers harmonized around the piano at many family gatherings when I was growing up. Lorna’s grandfather was a semi-professional lyric tenor, and her mother both played and taught piano. Her aunts, mother, and grandmother sang hymns in parts while doing the dishes each night.

For many years, beginning when Kim was little, our family spent several hours driving between our home and our parents’ place at the beach where we spent each weekend. To pass the time, our trio would sing. After working through the latest radio songs and “Doe a Deer” from The Sound of Music, we would begin one of our other current favorites.

A special one was a round recorded by Spanky and Our Gang. The actual title is “Pedagogical Round #2. It is one of the most difficult songs to learn, but one of the most fun to sing. It was also a good teaching tool to learn the scale, as each number in the song corresponds to a musical note. For each repetition, we increased the tempo until either someone faltered, or we broke into spontaneous laughter.

I have included the link to the YouTube video above so you can hear it for yourself. It went like this:

One, Three, Five, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four,

Three, Five, Two, Three, Four, sharp Five.

And the Eight is the same as the One, but an octave apart

Try to learn it by heart.

Another was Don Mc Lean’s “By the Waters of Babylon.” We liked this one so much we taught it and sang it at church.

We’d sometimes take hikes into Big Santa Anita Canyon. On those trips, we sang Art Garfunkel’s “Woyaya” from his album, Angel Clare in harmony. Some of the girls from Kim’s Girl Scout troop may remember this one.

In addition, we read on those long journeys. Whoever wasn’t driving read to Kim. We went through all the Little House books, including the biographies, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Stewart Little, Charlotte’s Web, etc.

All of us have wonderful memories of those long trips and the fun we had on our travels.

Did any of you have special rituals for fighting the boredom of a long ride? We’d love to hear about them.

A Wonderful Reunion

Today we fly home from Washington State after an eleven-day trip to attend the 2014 Rick Steves’ Tour Reunion. This event is held every January so those who shared a tour during the previous year can meet again in Edmonds. Many of the tour guides from Europe attend as well. This year, the little town of Edmonds hosted over 3000 people for this event!

Before the reunion last weekend, however, we visited with several of our friends who live in the area.

We started our visit with our dear friend Rev. Serena Sullivan in Tacoma. She had stayed with us in Dana Point for a few days last year, so we loved seeing her once again. We’d never been to this lovely city before, so we enjoyed exploring, and she was a great guide. Our friend is now retired, so she had discretionary time to spend with us.

We enjoyed the Glass Museum as well as the Natural History Museum. She drove us on a scenic tour of the area, and we wandered through the cute little shops in some of the charming areas of town. We even went to the show one evening to see “Into the Woods” in a charming old theater. Oh, and we ate in several wonderful restaurants.

While based in Tacoma, we drove to Woodinville o spend a day with our friends, the Newtons. We hadn’t seen them since about 1991, and really enjoyed catching up. We talked all day and still had lots and lots to share.

After several days in Tacoma, we checked into our hotel in Edmonds. While there, we went to Mukilteo to meet another friend from Whidbey Island for lunch. We hadn’t seen her in years, either. The Newtons surprised her by joining us. We all attended the same church many years ago, so once again, we had lots to catch up on. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn’t too busy because we occupied a large booth for well over three hours, and they allowed us to stay!

A couple of days later, we drove to Bellevue to spend the day with our friends, the Donovans. They are more former members of the same church family. They moved to Washington in the 1980s, and we have stayed in touch through the years. We visited them when we were in WA in 1991, but we haven’t been together since.

We were invited for lunch, but when asked to stay for dinner, too, we happily agreed. Another seven hours with still more conversation left for the future!

On Saturday morning, the day of the reunion, another tour member from our group, Mas, met us at the hotel, and we all drove together to the Edmonds Conference Center for the formal event.

What a great time! Nine of us (nearly half of our 21 tour members) showed up. One couple came all the way from Ohio! We laughed and talked and shared memories and caught up. Our guide, Virginie, had come from France, and we enjoyed seeing her again.

We were the group which had the most members present, and we won the prize—Gummy Bears!

We also had our photo taken with Rick, Unfortunately, Larry had run back to the car, and Dick took the photo, so both of them were missing. (We don’t have the copy of the photo yet.)

One Rick Steves’ tour requirement is for each person in the group to select a stranger to be their ‘buddy’ throughout the trip. When the group reunited at the bus or to start a new adventure, we did a ‘buddy check’ to make sure everyone was present. Mas was my buddy. Larry’s buddy, Dick, also attended. The relationships we had formed over the two weeks of our trip remained strong.

On Sunday, the company presented events for anyone interested in a future trip to ‘test drive a tour guide.’ Throughout the day, in three different locations, tour guides showed slides and described their tours. Then, if anyone was interested, the guides made themselves available for questions at the Conference Center.

We’d talked about going to Spain, so we attended the early presentation on the basic tour of Spain’s major cities. Since another presentation about a different tour of Spain was scheduled after one on Italy, we decided to sit in on that one as well. Rick himself provided the narration. We really enjoyed being reminded of all the great memories of our own Italian trip.

After the second Spain presentation, we decided to go to lunch, and who did we run into? Our friend Mas! We all ate lunch together, enjoying one last chance to connect.

After lunch, our tour guide, Virginie, took part in the presentation on the trip we had enjoyed. So we attended that one to give her support. She did a wonderful job! If we hadn’t done it already last year, we’d have been ready to sign up.

We took the opportunity to say goodbye to her once more before returning to the hotel late in the afternoon.

During the night, we had a six-hour power outage. When we woke in the morning, the power was back on, but some parts of the area were still in the dark. The wind and hard rain the night before had caused several severe outages.

After breakfast, we packed and drove to the hotel near the airport for our last night in Seattle—careful to avoid the traffic for the football game! (Seattle won, and the city went crazy!)

We checked in and then returned the rental car.

So today,we’re headed home, ready to get back after a terrific trip filled with visits with old friends and new ones, including those with whom we experienced the glory of France.