Category Archives: places

LAX layover

jogging, places

From Aviation and Century we climbed on the Big Blue Bus #3 and rode Lincoln St for 20 minutes. At Ocean Park Blvd. we jumped off and headed west on foot for a little over a 1/2 mile. We stumbled upon a local farmers market already in progress and had fun tasting the fresh fruit samples. Onward a few more blocks to the beach. North or South take your pick. Jogging, biking, roller blading, walking, people watching. No thongs or string bikinis. I guess that’s only Hollywood stuff. The Venice Beach / Santa Monica Ocean Walk is a bit seedy. The hippie jewelry, incense and tarot card vendors look like refugees from Nor Cal, immigrating by way of Big Sur no doubt. I half way expected to see Fletch bumming about 🙂

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SEA layover

places

Passed up the Holiday Inn buffet (w/omelet chef) because it seemed a bit pricey for a breakfast at 9.95 in lieu of a known entity: Denny’s uniform, consistent, bland, standard, generic, manufactured meal 5.99 – add orange juice 2.40 (ouch!) – for a tax and tip Grand Slam Total of 10.17 (!) Wha’ happened: Trick – The smiling hostess politely offers you coffee or juice as you are taking a seat, handing you the plastic menu and you cheerfully accept. Discovery Surprise – coffee/juice is NO longer included in the price of any of the menu fare. There are options and large was the default — for this sucker… Solution – “Naw, just a glass of water”. Better still, the Holiday 💡

Next mealtime. A hole-in-the-wall spot. Called the “Happy Hut Teriyaki” restaurant, it’s located on-site at the Jet Motel. Sound like adventure fun?

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SAN layover

jogging, places

Go left. Find famous Balboa Park. From 6th St. and Laurel St. is the Cabrillo Bridge. Stay on the grass and keep it to your side as you traverse downhill, through the Dogs and Owners Off Leash romp area. Discover a park utility road which crosses under the bridge for a nice jog route. The park is 1400 acres and I presumed that there was more than botanical gardens and old museums. Google searches turned up tease phrases like Old Bridal Trail and Florida Canyon but the route that I describe is not well marked and certainly not advertised. Local knowledge only and this is the way to see San Diego in the wild. The majority of this run parallels the old Cabrillo Highway [163] so the natural aspect is spoiled somewhat by the dull roar and din of traffic. I did cross many trail forks leading through ravines filled with flowers and Coastal Sage Scrub. ( One such diversion led me to a shanty, and not wishing to intrude, a quick 180. If the well-to-do dwellers on the rim above only knew… )

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SFO layover

jogging, places

Big city nature.

Fabulous jog this morning on the San Francisco Bay Trail, next to my layover digs…
Oyster Cove (north of SFO) is representative of the clean view.

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TPA layover

jogging, places

Safety Dinning. Settling in to a booth for a late-lunchearly-supper at the P.F. Changs I decided on Kung Pao. Chad, the waiter, makes note of my choice and then asks: any dietary requirements or allergy concerns ? [blink] Maybe Chad is gun shy? Another patron didn’t survive his meal? We live in a litigious society and must sign a release acknowledging that the coffee is really hot? Naw says I. Jazz it up. I take full responsibility for myself. and Chad dispatches my order to the kitchen. Perplexed from this interview , I realize that it’s the PEANUTS (listed in the menu description, although, a fine print disclaimer on the menu might have been more PC) Ah so! But I have an iron stomach. Those slippery buggers are a challenge with the chop sticks though. You have to position them from 12 O clock high otherwise they squirt away. Hard to nab one at a time.

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