July 20, 2015, Lomita, CA-  I bid farewell to my back-to-work son, around 8:15 this morning, and went back on the road apiece.  We agreed that my main focus, over at least the next five years, has to be my staying closer to base and building my stock back up. The rest of the world will be there, when I am 70, and beyond. Others have concurred with that, while acknowledging that jaunts around North America, and over to Europe, were a good thing for my soul.

I made my usual visit to Orange County, stopping in San Clemente, for time with a longtime friend, J.  We go for a short walk, take lunch and engage in about an hour’s worth of detailed conversation.  Today’s pier walk offered some good views of big waves, brought to SoCal by Hurricane Dolores, which also gave us two days of rain.

The waves, of course, attracted surfers, of various skill levels, up and down the coast.

You see, above, the progressions of three waves, as they crest and break.

My friend and I went to lunch at Fisherman’s, on the pier’s edge, and each enjoyed salmon and chips.  Our server, R, was keeping a game face and tending to us very well, given the humidity.  We were inside, and I noticed the poor ladies out on the patio, looking as if they were about to keel over.  Tip your servers well, in this hot oven of a summer.

The bougainvillea, off to the north, added some festivity to the scene.  SoCal will surely enjoy at least a brief respite from July & August brownery, with the just passed storm.

Bidding my friend farewell, I headed up the 405, past Long Beach, to the Pacific Coast Highway.  The Palos Verdes Peninsula was next on the agenda.  My friend, M, who lives not far away, calls this “his” peninsula. He and I had a long phone conversation, afterwards, though he was indisposed for a visit.

Anyway, the headlands are a natural preserve.  One may enjoy the view from above, and/or go down a formidable series of steps, to the beach itself.  As I had to call M, before he turned in, the upper view sufficed.

A lovely day overall was capped by a gyro sandwich & rice, at Mr. Soulis, a Greek establishment, a bit up the road from Royal Inn, Lomita, where I was staying the night.  Another wonderful soul tended the counter and lit up the room with her smile and graceful demeanor.

Things are going well, and I must remain responsible.