Gina and Emma returned with Laszlo in their rented deluxe stretch mini-van with Texas plates, one that would have been the ideal Chevy Chase ordered and should have received off the lot in "National Lampoon's Vacation."
This roomy Chrysler Town & Country with leather seats had been a free upgrade because --- to our good fortune --- no economy cars were available at LAX when he picked it up earlier in the week.
As Laszlo observed, noting the Texas license plates, "Everything's big in Texas."
It was like a private UberLUX with the friendliest driver ever. Perched in comfortable captain's seats, we made the drive up to Brentwood to have lunch with Jay and Sasha.
We had planned to do lunch in Redondo Beach, but Sasha, who as a fundraiser for UCLA Health receives an abundance of information about the dangers of COVID-19, was understandably concerned about spending an extended time in our admittedly small condo. As I like to say, it is small in comparison to a grand manor for family gatherings, but it would be a spacious suite on a cruise ship.
The outdoor patio by our condo complex pool --- where Julie and I regularly read books and nap while basking in natural conversion of cholesterol to Vitamin D like the Beach Boys sing about --- unfortunately does not allow dogs, and Jay and Sasha's baby JoJo is technically a dog. It turned out the park by our house is also dog-free, as are many restaurants in these COVID-19 ravaged wastelands.
We decided the path of least resistance would be the 405 leading to the dog park within their gated condo grounds in West Los Angeles.
JoJo had grown seven inches --- well, maybe not quite that much --- since we last saw her in Montana.
I had intended to take pictures of everyone, but after I snapped a couple, Emma avoided being photographed without her hair brushed and Julie said to instead get a nice group photo later. Suffice it to say I only have two photos, neither of which turned out particularly good. I don't have a picture of the featured attraction, a surprisingly delicious, very non-traditional-ingredients, homemade lasagna.
In any case, in the morning before making the drive, Julie and Emma made gluten-free, vegan lasagna.
For those of you who don't know --- I definitely would have been in that group before a couple of years ago when our family experienced a serious outbreak of veganism --- dairy cheese is not vegan. Ergo, when Julie and I shopped for vegan ricotta, we came up empty at our usual grocery store haunts Smart & Final, Von's, Ralph's, Target and Trader Joe's. We found only a bag of vegan mozarella made out of potatoes, but we bought it as a substitute unlikely to fool anyone.
However, we also have the hallowed aisles of Whole Foods in our neighborhood, a store so expensive that you must show an American Express Platinum Card just to enter. We managed to sneak benath the raised nose of the distracted doorman in our less than chic attire, but that turned out to be a mistake.
We had started our quest seeking ricotta made of cashews, and while we never found that, I asked tuxedo-clad concierge --- well, she didn't actually wear a tuxedo, but she was quite dignified --- if she knew of such a product on their refrigerated shelves, since we had not found it in the cheese section where I had left Julie as I expanded of our quest beyond mere dairy.
She put a finger in the air and deftly floated toward the end of a chilled aisle, moved aside a secret sliding partition --- actually, glass door in alternative chilled foods area --- and pointed at a petite version of the five gallon container of real ricotta which might have been available at Costco for the same price.
It was made of almonds instead of cashews, but YES!
This was a vegan product. A real-live, vegan ricotta cheese, the kind that seemed to have been hidden along with that Lost Chord for which the Moody Blues have searched for over fifty years!
"Eureka!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, as the store roof opened like Century Field's dome on a sunny day in Seattle, and angels appeared from the clouds blowing trumpets.
Julie ran over carrying the additional bag of potato mozzarella, which on sale cost 20 cents less than the one we had bought at one of those more mundane stores.
We danced jubilantly, attracting the disapproving stares of more than a few elegant produce procurers.
Rather than becoming a spectacle that might embarrass our children when the inevitable facebook meme emerged, we proceeded to the check-out stand.
Waiting patiently in the properly socially-distanced line, somehow appropriate and yet totally inappropriate in such a relatively empty store, and we finally had our turn at the gilded cash register. I reached for my wallet in my front pocket....not there. Back pockets. Not there! Other front pocket, not there. Cargo pants pocket...not there.
I realized to my horror that I had left my wallet in a secret hiding space when Emma and I had gone to the beach the previous weekend and not used it since then.
As I had four years earlier on my way to an early morning flight, I regretted not having gone through my usual ritual of touching my keys, cell phone and wallet before leaving the house.
In my own defense, with the addition of mask to the already extensive list of hat, sunglasses, grocery bags and shopping list, I'm not even sure a genius like Joe Biden could have kept track of it all without a staff of dozens. At least I was wearing pants.
We were forced to make the walk of shame past the disgusted doorman without our groceries.
However, fortunately we only live about twenty minutes away by foot, so I was able to return, get those cheese substitutes plus some conflict-free bananas that cost only 49 cents per pound...and here I thought I think I get a deal every time I pay 59 cents per pound at Smart & Final for conflicted bananas.
Interestingly...okay, not really, but I thought I'd throw in this scene anyway, because like the rest of this article, that's just how my brain works...I was wearing my John Lennon baseball cap that Jay gave me a while back, and the twenty-something guy at the check-out stand had "Lennon" on his name tag.
"Were you named after John Lennon?"
"Yes. I see you have his picture on your hat."
I've heard that a little fascinating banter moves the narrative forward, so I hope you're impressed.
Anyway, as I was saying long ago, in a land far away, Julie and Emma had assembled the lasagna, using organic leaf spinach, fresh cut zucchini, ground Beyond Meat, carefully selected pasta sauce to meet all dietary standards and, of course, gluten-free lasagna pasta which must have been made with fairy dust and Lucky Charms, because it was magically delicious despite having no real Italian Durum Wheat Semolina.
In these COVID-19 times, the freeways are pleasantly uncrowded, so we had an easy drive north. Upon debarking our stretch limo, we were met by Jay, who put the lasagna in the oven. We proceeded to play croquet on a challenging field of moguls and hummucks as the meal cooked. I must say field conditions were a bit of a letdown compared to those at the World Championships in Bermuda.
However, that does not take away from my dazzling lead-from-the-opening-sticky-wicket-without-negatively-sending-anybody victory in our first game. In the second game, Emma had a startling come-from-behind win that astonished socially-distanced but enthusiastic observers in the stands.
I must say, we were suprised to have such a large crowd in attendance, but it was a rare opportunity to view live sports at its finest.
JoJo had a home field advantage in the puppy wars, where she greeted another puppy, though the new puppy looks destined to grow considerably in the coming months, at which time the diminutive JoJo might seem bite-sized. For now, JoJo held her own.
Anyway, we had a nice socially-distanced visit. As testamament to delciousness, there was no left-over lasagna.
Laszlo only stayed with us for the weekend, needing back to his tech support position at Drexel, which like many univerisities has remote classes again this fall. That obviously makes tech demands greater than ever.
He said he nonetheless felt he'd enjoyed a full vacation during his week in California by the time he left Sunday morning. Laszlo and Emma had a lot of fun splashing around in the bigger waves during his stay.
One morning, Laszlo and I shared a stroll on the sandy beach early in the morning, during which we enjoyed a long talk on varied subjects.
The prior weekend, Gina and I had taken our cups of coffee to the sand to get our feet wet in the surf in the early morning, something a friend from grammar school, Sheila Turnage, had mentioned on her facebook page as being "all she wanted." I had seen that post a couple of years ago after Sheila had returned from a dream trip to Greece and thought at the time I could do that.
Well, we finally did it, and it was awesome. So awesome that, as I said, Laszlo and I repeated the experience, though Laszlo manages to wake up without drinking coffee in the morning, so he skipped that part.
We also played lots of games during his stay and after Laszlo returned home. We played many games of Monopoly, Life, Tripoly and poker. Julie managed to win our final game of Monopoly, which I'll mention here because it may never happen again if our kids or granddaughter are playing (which is the only time Julie would be likely to consider playing).
Emma showed us the roller derby skating techniques her Aunt Amy has been teaching her. She wore the golden skates Great-Aunt Darlene gave her and safety padding that had been a gift from Amy. The skates and skater received kudos from sundry young ladies we passed.
Emma also learned a couple of chords on the guitar from me, after she listened to me play one afternoon, a rare appreciative audience for my performances. She and her mommy even applauded a few times.
Another highlight was a birthday dinner for Julie at R10, a "Farm-to Table" restaurant we've often walked past on our morning walks but never tried.
Gina doesn't eat after lunch, and she'd already stretched her usual limits by having a glass of wine by the pool with our good friends Karen and Randy, who we met for a birthday happy hour where they gave Julie a beautifully wrapped gift, but she's always delightful company.
I ordered "The Codmother" --- delicious fish and chips --- but I had been sorely tempted by "Chicken and Waffles." When I smelled someone else's order going to their tables while eating, I decided we must return to have that, but my dinner was delicious.
Emma dined on a more sophisticated and healthy seafood selection, "Fresh Catch Bowl,"which is grilled fish, jasmine rice, baby bok choy, bell pepper, red onion, cilantro and sesame soy–ginger glaze. She said her meal was delicious too, but as normal, I think perhaps she liked my French fries best. They're always better off someone else's plate.
Emma had too much to finish, but she enjoyed the leftovers as lunch for two more days.
As par for the course, the guest of honor Julie went with "Chicken Fingers for Kids of All Ages," which suited her teen-aged tastebuds on her birthday that demographically places her a few years outside the target market.
We all enjoyed a great vacation, even if Julie and I hadn't traveled far from home.
It's so wonderful to be able to spend time together with loved ones.
No comments:
Post a Comment