Long Beach is absolutely fantastic. Neither Joe nor myself see us living here for the long haul though we are enjoying our time here. It has been a wonderful thing to see and hang with Kevin. Ava adores Kevin. She tells him "I love you" and hugs him often.
What "they" say about the weather in California is spot on - perfect! The mornings are cool...the sun shows her beautiful face and provides warmth between 10-11am which lasts until she sets. This is what my mother-in-law loves about California. The dismal grey of Cleveland does not exist in this section of the west coast. I will soak up the rays of the sun for her. I've also found myself ordering a martini before dinner. This too is a long tradition of my MIL. She drinks a hard core martini...I soften it up quite a bit with pomegranate or some other fruity thing. Regardless, it's bottoms up with the pre-dinner martini to celebrate life. It would be the bees knees if I could share a martini with mama on the west coast.
As far as transportation goes, we are getting by with our feet and public transportation. The little red passport bus takes us where or close to where we need to be. It'll drop us right at Kevin's corner...the aquarium...borders books...Belmont shores...even Walmart. While I've despised this store for many years my father-in-law would find great pleasure in the fact that I've actually shopped there while in LB. Ava wanted a new doll and Target is outside of the little passport limits. So, to Walmart we went. I get it. Walmart has cheap prices. You can save money if you shop there. I just plain don't like it. My experience in the electronics dept check out was one of confusion, disorder, (unacceptable for a German) and a "what the hell is going on here?" feeling. With that being said, I've been back several times for lack of a better place to find those small plastic princess dolls with rubbery changeable clothing. Those little dolls give me space to think as an adult while Ava is busy changing their outfits. I'd pay double the Walmart price.
Night has fallen here. We have a great suite at the Residence Inn thanks to an awesome assistant manager and a smooth operator of a husband. We have floor to ceiling windows which look out over Rainbow Harbor. I have a clear view of downtown LB. I see the lights on the ferris wheel blinking beyond the harbor. To the right are the lights of the great Queen Mary. The water glistens. A little bitty boat floats under the bridge that brings people to and fro. This is a nice place to be. And while Ava sleeps and Joe is at a roller derby with the biker club, I find my peace with a glass of red wine and LB at my feet.
