esrosedotblog

I am on my way to San Diego today for a view of the ocean, well the bay and a marina, and some time alone.

Not alone actually there will be other people there but I will ignore them. After decades on hotels and on my way to training events, I am great at loner-dom.

I hope all are well while I am gone but if not don't say anything until I get back on Thursday,

Labels: vacation

John is sailing the open seas today.

He will be home Thursday.

On his way to Ensenada, Catalina and back to Long Beach. Then a day of running around and home for dinner Thursday night.

Marcus and I are enjoying the space. Actually that means doing the morning walks as well as my regular evening.

A bit more walking than I am used to.

But we had fun this morning. He has many routes and no one needs to tell him which one to pick or where to go. They all end up at 55 minutes. It is crazy but then the airedale is very smart and willful. Some more than others.

I am cooking for one which means the frozen entree in the microwave.

Last night the superb Lean Cuisine Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. An old favorite of mine.

Labels: vacation

I had a great time in San Diego.

On the beach. Sort of. Actually Shelter Island across the bay from the city.

Life in the slow lane.

I have stayed at the Bay Club for years. A nice live-in hotel with a sweet dining room and views on both sides. Not only the city in front but a large marina and bay behind with a lovely hillside of homes to gaze at from my balcony.

I do not stir from my perch except for a moderately vigorous walk in the morning and another saunter in the afternoon.

I read and when I get bored with being alone, I walk across the street to a boat ramp which has people in an out all day. Mostly fishing, I think.

So I am back and happy to be so. I timed it just about right. Another day and I would be getting moldy.

We have always lived near water and I do miss it. There isn't a lot of it in the desert.

There used to be a lot of sailors. Navy people. But the base has been cut in size and there are no longer any training programs for the young men.

The Navy air base across our bay is now down to helicopters and an occasional plane landing or taking off. A shadow of its former busy self.

Times change. But the chowder in the Bay Club dining room and some of the other favorite items remain as do the nice people who sort of remember me.

Less than I remember them but they see a lot more people than I do.

Labels: life, vacation

Today was more normal than yesterday and I could not be happier.

I went to the gym, the standard workout. All cardio on Mondays.

Then to a Meeting.

Home and naps and dog walking and all the rest.

Then, not normal. John is not here for supper. It is the Palm Springs Film Festival and he has seven or eight tickets. So we are on our own for supper.

He is home tomorrow and Thursday but we will be missing him for the other suppers.

It is a good opportunity for me to work down the frozen entrees that I keep for such occasions. Mostly pasta and salad.

I watched another episode of the "new" Sherlock which I am enjoying. They are all 90 minutes and of very high quality. A movie.

I think that they are using the original stories, some of them, as a template for each show and supplying modern details. Or not. I am new to Sherlock. I never was much interested in the past.

Too formulaic. But so far these are not. Quite original it seems.

In the photo we have Benedict Cumberbatch who is the Sherlock receiving an award at the PSFestival for his work in the Alan Turning film. A nice coincidence on the photo opps. Twofer.

You might wonder, or not, why I didn't go to the film fest me being a film fan and all.

I cannot abide the people. My agoraphobia comes right out.

My last attendance was when some woman ahead of me in line wheeled around and asked what my favorite film was. An impossible question to answer. I knew then that my disinterest in small talk was more than that. I didn't want any personal attention at all. A good insight but it ruined my going to the film festival.

I know this sounds silly but not to someone who is a well structured introvert.

Labels: cooking, films, Introvert, vacation

John just called from Italy.

Syracusa. Syracuse. The boys from Syracuse.

He as Gwen are doing well and, from the sound of his voice, still into the proceedings. I would be flagging. It is a tour so he doesn't have to worry about driving and so on but still. 20 people, all crowded up. That is why I wouldn't be going on a trip like this.

But he is having a good time and that is a very good thing. It is his trip after all.

The phone calls are remarkably clear. I remember the old cable days. Static, delays, disconnections.

From the phone's viewpoint he might have been just around the corner.

Modern life.

I think that, in my time, one would get an overseas operator who would place the call for you and usually too busy to do it right away. They would call back when they had the connection. You would sit and wait next to your old style dial phone.

I am that old geezer who doles out "remember when" stories.

But I won't bore you. We had a good time on the phone and got what we mainly wanted. The sound of each other's voice.

Labels: Italy, vacation

While John is away in Italy I am going to be watching as many of our own gay DVDs as I can.

In the time allotted of course.

I had thought I would start at the top of the list and work my way down it but I have already broken that with the three films of Julián Hernández. I did this mostly because I got a new one the other day and then decided to put them all together.

I know this doesn't matter much to you but it does to me in a weird compulsive I-broke-my-contract-with-myself kind of way.

There is no telling how much the serious gay film scene has changed since I became a viewer.

By this, I mean a gay film which has a serious message and is entertaining in a gay way at the same time. A real film with all the full production values. Just like good movies have always been.

In the beginning there was David Hockney who knocked out an art film about his own work. Then others began to show up in the Boston art theater circuit. This is over a period of 40 years. A lot has happened.

Today, there are a lot of gay films that are far superior to Hollywood and even the independent market.

Time marches on.

Labels: films, vacation

It is back to normal today after my five day vacation.

I skipped the gym. A long weekend. But we went food shopping.

I will have a movie later today. I am writing in the blog.

There has been some minimal Board business for the condo association. A mild dip into it.

I was ready to return. I am not too good at prolonged periods of time away.

I had been Back East and to London earlier in the summer and this one was my beach time. No one to see. No one to talk to.

I did do the internet which is mildly diverting when there is nothing else to do but easy to drop to go see the sunset or go out on the other side and go watch the fishermen return.

The other walking alone in the morning yields sunrise in a wide open sky, a lot of birds, occasional sightings of seals cavorting and other surprises. The naval air base across the way is now inactive. There were some helicopters up and down. Training? But a shadow of its former self. And not many ships this time. One very large freighter when I arrived but nothing ever came back. We were on the main entrance to San Diego Bay.

There are a lot of sightseeing boats though. Fishermen. And fish. My god what do they do with all the fish? One boat, three guys, maybe 20 two or three foot fish. I hope that they do not go to waste. They sure were photographed to a fair-thee-well.

I did a lot of watching the marina from my deck. People coming and going. Some hot to look at. The weather is shirts off. I realized that a number of people sleep on these boats. They take in food and supplies. They are obviously bedding down for the night.

I do not know if this is a boater fantasy come to life or a sign of the genteel poor. No money for a house but with the boat, a place to sleep.

San Diego Bay, at my end, is a beautiful place and as far from the desert environment as you could get.

I will go back next year for sure.

Here is half my daily walk. My place is up at the far end of the dog leg. I would walk down here and then later walk to the other side all the way up to the main highway. My feet hurt today. A good hurt. I do not do that much walking. It will be good training for the imminent dog.

Can you wonder why I love this place so much?

Labels: shelter island, vacation

I was sent back from San Diego this morning. The Bay Club Hotel and Marina.

I tried to talk them into keeping me but the only openings were for busboy at the less busy times.

In fact, most times are less busy this time of year which is a mystery to me as it is the peak of perfection for a boy from the desert.

I had virtually the same room. Second floor, mid hall. On the marina side. I watched other people's boats and some of the other people as they did what boat people do which, as far as I can tell, isn't a whole fuck of a lot sailing.

These are mostly power boats but enough sail to make it seem a little more dramatic.

On the Bay side, a lot more excitement. All the way from US Navy ships returning to the, now almost fully decommissioned, base there to the smaller, faster boats now in fashion. Kayaks. A bunch of those. Labor intensive and scrunched up. Your ass has to be within narrower bounds than a couple of people I saw.

A lot of the boats are for fishing. I watch them go out in the morning and come back at night. Some with a lot of fish. What do they do with them? Well, take a lot of photos of themselves for a start.

I got there on Sunday which is a good day to drive as most of the traffic is going the other way. It is still a little fraught at intersections of major routes but I have to remember that some people survive much worse on a daily basis.

I left this morning after the rush and the whole thing took a couple of hours without a sweat.

Home in time for a lunch and a nap and now sort of back to normal. Fortunately it is Thursday, Date Night. We are off to Al Dente. I have had no Italian cuisine on this trip. Fish, more fish and then some seafood. All fresh of course.

They have redecorated the Bay Club Hotel and it is very nice. The people are the same.

Morning walks each day before breakfast then another in the other direction while they clean my room. My legs are tired. I am not used to that much walking.

The weather was fine, not gorgeous. Cloudy at times and a little rumbly and even a few drops last night on the deck.

I am glad to be home and happy to be able to go each year to this place that has so much of a strong feeling for me. Weights go off, the air around me expands and I am close to water once more. I do not miss it until I get on the other side and can see it in the distance. Then I am right there getting filled up for another year.

Labels: vacation

Some might ask, "why does a retired person need a vacation?".

And it is a good question. The answer I think lies in the word "retire". This means that there is much less stimulation in life in general. No work problems, no change of scenes (unless you are chained to a desk). No wide variety of problems and, most of all, people. One's geography shrinks. The psyche shrivels.

I have done pretty well to keep busy and do stuff I always wanted but work interceded. I am on the Board of my condo association. I do this blog. I am in touch with people a lot in my Program of recovery. I sponsor some, hang out a bit with others.

But it gets stale. The summertime is also endlessly hot which is OK but keeps us inside much as a New England winter will. Middays mostly. But I will take the hot summer, thanks very much.

So, I go away.

This year I have two vacations. The first is done but it was a working vacation. A trip to Boston, London and Toronto all to visit with friends and virtually no down time.

This up-coming trip will have down down down time. Not that I will be sitting on my ass all the while. In fact, there will be more physical activity than normal and it will be good for me.

For example, my walking chops are not in the best shape. The absence of a dog to walk has led to a bit more indolence. When Booker died, I did not continue the nightly walk by myself. I tried but it was too hard emotionally. People would want to talk about him. It would come up over and over. "Where is Booker"? And I have not gone back.

We will be getting another dog soon after these summer trips are concluded. The plans are in the works. So that part of the problem will be eliminated. In the meantime, this trip will provide the walking I need and the new sights I crave.

Let me orient you a little. Shelter Island is a man made peninsula in a dog leg shape.

I am down at the "calf", the building with the large white roof, the marina across with a square mooring area. Humphrey's concert venue is the next building toward us on the right side of the island. It is huge and runs all the way to the end of the lower leg. It is brown so it is hard to see. Neo Hawaiian which is the Island theme for all buildings (though not for the BayClub where I am staying).

At the bend, the 90 degree corner, is a large military facility, Naval, which does some kind of arcane detector work. It is not highly guarded but you can't see anything. The round building all the way toward us on the near end is a big fancy restaurant which I have eaten at but not often. It is nice enough. But where I stay is just the kind of thing I want and it is right under my room. I get plenty of walking in as it is.

Look how clear the water is. I don't know if it is "clean" but it sure looks it. People do swim at the beach right next to the boat ramp on the inner bay. It looks cold to me as all the Pacific is. Swimming in these waters is more for the young and brave.

Labels: vacation

I am off for my annual jaunt to the sea today.

I will be going to San Diego, Shelter Island staying at the Bay Club and Marina as I have every year since, well, I don't know how long.

I used to work at this place, training trainers, and it was a favorite location. A few photos will tell anyone why this is so.

Water on both sides, there is a nice marina, quiet with boats and a look into the Humphrey's concert venue next door.

Across the way there is the San Diego Bay with the Naval Air Base beyond the water and the city off to the left way down there in the mist.

There are birds (lots of pelicans, yeah) and plenty of marines and navy guys jogging. More yeah!

I don't vary my routine much. Surprise, surprise.

I get up early although not quite as early as home. Meditate. Then do a long walk to the west, toward the bay entrance, the big water. There are a lot of things to see. Boats and more boats, a huge huge bell you ring with a timber, a gift from Hawaii, the police station. Seals barking. No planes at this hour. Very little traffic. To the end and back is about ¾ hour.

Then, if I time it right, it will be breakfast, a buffet, sit out on the water.

Back to the room. Sit, read, on the deck. Clear out when the housecleaner comes around nine and walk the other way. West. Up the Island, around the bend to the main avenue (Rosecrans) where I turned in. And back.

By that time, the room is done, I sit and read some more. Perhaps go and walk around some more. Then before I know it will be lunch. I do not go out to eat. The restaurant is great. All I need. Sit on the deck again.

Afternoon the same with a nap. Another little walk.

Then, dinner, early, and another goodnight walk out to see the boats.

The boat viewing is the highlight on all walks. In the early morning people are going out of the large marina mostly to fish. All private boats brought in on trailer. Some moorings. Not many. At night, they are all coming back. With fish and not. The pelicans and seals gather around. It is a spectacle I never get tired watching. People, animals, birds, in close harmony. There is not a spec of fish guts or anything else when they are done. Maybe a slight oil slick but not much of that. I have the impression that boats are not near the polluters they once were. Granted I don't get down into the water to see.

The people watching part is grand. There are runners, mostly navy and marine personnel at nearby bases. There are the fishermen. Both in the boats and standing watching their lines hang in the water. Lots of dogs, well behaved. It is busy but not crowded.

I love it. And I am on my way.

I will not post while I am gone. I think. Time off for that too.

Labels: vacation

We had a nice time in Big Bear.

And we came home a day early.

The lake is beautiful. The ride to the Lake is stupendous. The resort area is kind of strung out so there is not a dense buildup around.

The construction around the lake is mostly modest newer homes which keep their distance from mother nature.

We arrived mid afternoon and had a nice walk along the lake shore. Our room faced the water and it was very low profile. Mid-range quality, a little dank.

We had a nap. Sat and stared at the water which is quite beautiful. The far shore is all woods and any visual intrusion by construction is minimal.

There was a small beach and a series of barbecues on the beach and we got to watch two families and their kids have a quiet good time.

We went out to dinner and had a good meal at a better restaurant. There were no other people. As expected we were off season and off weekend and so we had things pretty much to ourselves.

We went home, stared at the lake some more and went to bed.

This morning, both of us arrived at the same conclusion and that is that we had enough of Big Bear and were ready to go home.

So we did.

I am happy that we have always been able to be in synch about this kind of thing.

The ride back was equally if not even better than the ride up. The morning sun has an advantage of angle on the landscape. All downhill, rollie coaster, a great ride.

I am the designated hill driver because John is the more intense watcher of the scene and I am not a very good rider in the copilot position.

We will probably not go back. Who knows?

As intended, it was a nice day from the heat. A change of scene. A good time alone together. We have still not finished the conversation after all these 39 years.

Labels: California, vacation

I drove over the mountain this morning from San Diego.

It was beautiful. The sky was very clear and, for the first time this "fall", I saw Orion rising in the east.

It was about 5AM.

I had left at about 3AM. No matter what I do or how I do it, the drive takes three full hours.

Today, I stopped once to get a coffee at a Jack (the new name of Jack in the Box) for an iced coffee then once more in Anza at a K to take a pee. I should have done both at one spot but I didn't have to pee when I wanted the iced coffee.

Fast Food iced coffee is pre-made with a whitener and sweetener. Take it or leave it. I asked to take the whitener shit out (nicer than that) and they did. She told me it was very strong that way. She had that right. I was flying over the hills to Anza where I dumped it and made my own at the K. Where, incidentally, they have no public toilet but I used my charm to get into the employees lousy, dirty facility. Some employee relations. Some public relations. But it was Anza. Population 1000 and maybe that is big.

There was a guy in there who qualified as the resident geezer and we talked a little about life and the coffee and Anza. He was pretty good to bs with for a few minutes. Like a lot of older guys when I grew up. Resident wits in a half wit town. Didn't get out, had to stay, ironic and funny in a healthy way. I could be that guy.

I had a very good time at San Diego. Shelter Island. BayClub Hotel.

I got a room sort of over the pool so I could ogle nicely and still have a good balcony with some sun. If I really craned out to the right I could see the city skyline.

The place is the same under new ownership. Some corners have been cut. Nothing serious. Portion control at the buffet breakfast which used to be included with the room. It is a big layout. Now, I notice that it has become "complimentary". Next year I may have to pay. I now pay for the parking. Five bucks not bad.

The seal and the pelicans were still there along with the guys putting their boats in the water. A lot of lookers.

I also discovered the ice cream machine at the boat ramp. They have the old "nutty buddy" for two dollars. If you put in five dollars you get dollar coins out. They are small now. Worth the fun.

I got up and walked to one end of the island every day by 5AM, back for the "complimentary breakfast" by 630, a shower, into my room until the early makeup when I went for a walk up the other side of the island. It is a lot more walking than I am used to and I take it at a good clip. I have the shin splints some by the third day of it. Back to the bike tomorrow.

The show next door at the outside concert place was The Monkees on Monday. Keerist. The Monkees. I know for a fact that one of them is dead. The seventies.

I am in bed before the concerts start and the place is great for it. Pull the slider, pull the heavy curtains and I use ear plugs anyway and I never hear it.

I do listen to the sound check in the afternoon which is very interesting. In the Monkees case, the band running through the arrangements, one or two, without the singers. It is quite something. Stirring in a way. "Last train to Clarksville" with a really jazzy arrrangment. The pauses for the verses are there and so it goes and then stops and goes again. I first heard this with the band for Hall and Oates years ago and learned to listen closely. It is very good stuff, this music. And these musicians.

Wednesday night was Lyle Lovett who has a big band with him this year and has switched to a kind of straight on jazz band kind of pieces. The band was really great with a hot trumpeter. Lyle himself tried the stage out later and he was pretty good. He is so weird looking that somehow his artistry gets diverted. For me.

It was a good trip. I am really glad that I do this and I am glad that it is over.

Labels: travel, vacation

But, I hope, not forgotten.

I am off to my five days in San Diego.

Somewhere down below it tells all about it.

I plan to return on Thursday.

Labels: vacation

In a week, I will be off for my five days at the Bay Club Hotel in San Diego.

Same place I go every year. They have a new website design. You might want to take a look.

As you can see, it is hardly roughing it.

I will be in a place that I have been going to regularly for many years. Twenty? Thirty maybe?

I used to train trainers there. I don't think I ever ran a big training at that location.

We started down the street actually at the Kona Kai which has been rehabbed and condominiumized to within an inch of its life. Too bad. The original decor, consistent with the theme of Shelter Island, the area that it belongs to, was Hawaiian or a state's siders fantasy of it.

Shelter Island is directly across from downtown San Diego. Beautiful.

It is basically and artificial island built in the 50s and 60s to accommodate yachting of all kinds and levels.

The America's Cup was headquartered there at one time.

My routine is the same year to year.

I arrive, park the car, go to a great room that looks out on the marina side and stay put.

The car leaves when I do at the end of my stay.

In the meantime, I hang out in the room, out on the boat ramp across the street (a huge one) and I walk the bay side in the morning, half before the room gets cleaned up and half while they are at it, first thing.

I eat only at the hotel restaurant which has great food. A huge buffet breakfast goes with the room. I try everything.

Lunch, just a sandwich and some fruit. Dinner from the menu. There are always great specials. And, there is the chowder. New England style ironically and some of the best I have anywhere.

I almost always get a bit of a tan. More than happens in the desert. Because I am outside so much. And then reading on the balcony. Until sunset.

There is a life in the marina which is part of the ambience. Always something happening on or to the hundreds of boats anchored there. Well, maybe two hundred. I should count.

The place is right next to Humphrey's a concert venue which is almost viewable from the balcony if I am down on one end where they usually put me, the type of room I order up. It is loud but if I am not interested in ear participation, I can shut the slider, pull the drapes and the sound is almost completely cancelled. They have become expert and dealing with this sound thing which could be a nuisance or a treat.

I have heard some pretty good artists here.

I am ready. It is not just a get-away from the desert heat. Actually, this year the desert weather has been pretty good. It is a place where I have nothing to do but read, meditate (which I catch up on every year) and gawk at the people (mostly men) at the boat ramp, the boats, the one or two seals that hang out there and the ever present pelicans. The sea air. The quiet. The utter total difference from my normal life.

I will arrive on Sunday the 11th and by Thursday I will be ready to get back home and back to a great life which really does not need a break but since I will have had one, seems all the better.

Labels: vacation

GETTIN' READY

I made my reservations for my August "vacation" today.

As usual, I will be going to Shelter Island across from Downtown San Diego for four days.

Just me. Alone.

I have been doing this for a number of years. The Bay Club and Marina.

I used to work here giving trainer seminars and occasionally I would stay over to just veg out.

There are two sides to the place, like most small hotels. But few small hotels have this view or ambience.

A room on the city side has a view of the big bay, the boat channel, the naval air base and the much much closer boat ramp where people go out to and return from fishing trips.

On the other side is a huge marina. Closeup. The sounds are totally lulling. Water, creaking, masts singing.

There is life in the marina, in fact some people live on their boats but not too many to make it a pain.

I prefer this side.

There is a medium size concert venue next door, Humphreys. A lot of B acts. Well, some stars. Under the stars. If one has a room on this side then the concert is free or, as I usually do, you can shut the slider, pull the drapes and the room is virtually soundproof.

The food. Great little restaurant. A "free" breakfast, meaning you get charged whether you use it or not, includes a whole array of hot dishes and the usual cold.

Lunch? Great sandwiches and such.

The evening meal is really worth the stay. Great cooking and a nice choice.

I never leave the property.

Well, I do go for two long walks in the morning. One before breakfast and another when they come to make up my room.

And there is the boat ramp on the other side. There is great people watching. And at least one seal taking on the returning boats leavings. A huge flock of pelicans too. This requires three or four visits a day.

August is the hottest month in the year. I drive up the big mountain and over the top, the back way, and then some on the Interstate.

Easy.

Labels: vacation