Check out my 9/4/2018 interview on The Writers Corner Live Show in which I share advice and insights on becoming a published writer, literary agents, book marketing, and the writing life. On The Beaches
...to a restaurant in nearby Hermosa Beach,
...where dogs are welcome and have their own menu.
...well, some of us walked, ...through the neighborhoods, ...to Hermosa Beach. We walked the rest of the way along the Strand, ...as the 22-mile walkway along the Los Angeles South Bay beaches is called,
...and we had quite a long wait, ...however Pinky was patient, ...and eventually we were seated.
...and my daughter especially liked her Vegan Power Salad. Alas, Pinky's parents decided not to order him any brunch, recalling that last time they ordered him a doggie meal from Good Stuff he nibbled the meat off the top and left all the healthy rice (See post from 12/7/2017). The following day, Sunday, was Tom's and my last day in Los Angeles, and so my daughter suggested that we spend the afternoon at the San Pedro tide pools, which we'd visited last year on Thanksgiving day (see post from 12/4/2017). And so we drove out to San Pedro, which is about 20 miles South of Manhattan Beach, stopping for lunch at a little place we found near the beach.
...while my daughter ordered a burger ingeniously tucked into lettuce instead of a bun (must file this idea away for future reference).
An actual Philly cheese steak (See post from 6/2/2018).
By good fortune there was a small empty table nestled in a corner behind our booth where the girls were able to sit by themselves and pretend to be grown-ups while enjoying their hot dogs.
....which was at the bottom of a sunken canyon. Though it turned out that we'd come at low tide, when the pools would be at their driest and emptiest, ...still there were plenty of tide poolers out in the shallow spots of sea water scattered among the stones,* ...looking for glimpses of sea treasures,
...or this star fish in his habitat.*
...or with the stones,
...or to stroll around taking in the beautiful vistas. By the end of the day some folks were pretty tired out, ...though I was fine. Then suddenly the week was over, and Monday morning we were back in the L.A. airport,
...where we again could be "One of Us!" (See posts from 4/29/2018 and 4/30/2018)
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"Equal and Opposite Reactions" By Patti Liszkay Buy it on Amazon http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa Back to school ...Continued from yesterday: The following day was the first day of the new school year, always rather a bitter sweet day for all parents - and any grandparents who happen to be lucky enough to be around - and sometimes for younger siblings, too, who have to stay behind for the time, as did our younger grand daughter, who none the less did manage to get in one farewell game of Uno with her big sister before it was time to leave for school. Happily, the school is close by so we could all walk together,
...follow them to their classrooms,
...then hang around for a little while with the other parents, all trying to make the moment last a little longer, ...before heading off to start their own days. Her big sister back in school, we tried to keep our younger grand daughter from getting lonely or bored. She taught me how to play Battleship, ...and Uno. We went to an ingenious play space called Adventureplex,
...and which the girls enjoyed while they played another round of Uno. That evening after the girls' jiu jitsu class we went out to California pizza kitchen for a celebratory back-to-school dinner. ...where I had The Shanghai Power Bowl made with shrimp, rice and vegetables, the most interesting of which was the watermelon radish: this is a radish that looks like tiny slices of watermelon. It was quite a tasty dish. For the next few days, after walking our older grand daughter to school each day, Tom and I would endeavor to keep our younger grand daughter busy with various activities and occupations, such as helping with the shopping,
(reminding Grandpa to buy corn on the cob so she and her sister could help peel it for dinner)
...and make pizza,
...and walking to school at the end of the day to pick up her sister. Finally Friday afternoon rolled around, every Friday being PTA ice-cream social day.
...the girls found some treasures in the trash.
...from where we walked down to the beach.
...where the décor was laid back, ...but the New York-style pie excellent, ...as was the salad. After dinner we walked around the town for a little while, then called it a day.
...Continued from yesterday: The Los Angeles school year started the second day after my daughter and her family returned home, with us in tow, from Columbus. Though they'd done all the necessary school clothes shopping in Columbus, my daughter and son-in-law had yet to tackle the required school supply list. Tom and I said, no worries, we knew how to handle a school supply list. Or so we figured.
...with our grand daughters, ...who were not necessarily focused on procuring school supplies. ...and where we found ourselves among the hoards of mothers and helpful grandparents like ourselves, competing for the decimated remains of the school supplies left on the shelves. "I can't find any of this stuff," huffed a frustrated lady who looked to be around my age, "and I told my daughter that I did the school shopping for my kids and I shouldn't have to be doing it again for my grand kids." "Different times," I replied sympathetically. At least we were able to find the crayons. After trolling and re-trolling the aisles extensively with only moderate success we decided to put the mission on hold and have some lunch. We headed over to one of our favorite L.A. eateries, a little mom-and-pop place called Mandy's,
...not to mention that they give lollipops to good children who finish their lunch. After lunch we sought out a Target in a different quadrant of town, .that was fortunately a little better stocked, at least with the things we still lacked, and offered a hopscotch board in the bargain. ...though we never did find the Eraser - Hi Polymer - White - Pentel, the Composition Book- Wide-ruled - Black Marble - 100 Ct, or the Envelope - Poly - Velcro - Top-Closure - letter-Size - Asst. Colors. In truth I had no idea what the Envelope - Poly - Velcro - Top-Closure - letter-Size - Asst. Colors was, nor did the saleslady who I asked. Still, I hoped my grand daughter would be sufficiently supplied to make it though school until such time as we or her parents would be able to locate the elusive items. After we'd procured what supplies we could we headed back home for some down time for the girls after our busy day of shopping, ...while I fixed dinner. After dinner we celebrated the last day of summer vacation and a semi-successful back-to-school supplies shopping mission with another show. |
"Tropical Depression"
by Patti Liszkay Buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTPN7NYY "Equal And Opposite Reactions"
by Patti Liszkay Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa or from The Book Loft of German Village, Columbus, Ohio Or check it out at the Columbus Metropolitan Library
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