DAY TWO – 18 November 2014
One of
the advantages of having breakfast on-site is that I can come down in my
sweat-pants and eat before I shower and brush my teeth. And it’s a
chance to people-watch the others who might’ve stayed at the same place as
me. Most were business travelers, which I surmised from the number of
people who came down in suits with laptop bags in tow. Breakfast had a
good selection of fruit and bread items, but the “skillet grill” had a very
limited quantity of protein. There were some egg & muffin
combinations, but they were more muffin than egg. Besides that, the
selection was good. I wonder if the “skillet grill” would have some variation
on egg items each day of the week (like the Hampton ’s I’ve previously stayed at, and
would be doing so again).
After I
was cleaned up, packed up, and checked out, I headed for my first visit of the
day. It was a short distance to the east, and ride over here last month
was done in fog, so I didn’t get to see much of the terrain. This time it
was nice and sunny when I arrived in Moreno
Valley
I took a
break here and there to wander around, and take some pictures from
outside. There were mountains off to the northwest (Box Springs
Mountains) and the Upland Game Hunting Area to the south, but beyond that no
real mountain ranges. Certainly not enough for me to consider this a
“valley.” Perhaps this area should’ve been called “Moreno Plains”
instead.
I was
told that on the other side of the Hunting Area was the Perris Reservoir, which
had a huge recreation area attached to it. If I time on a future trip, it
might worth just to drive around the area to see what it’s like. Also
nearby was March Air Reserve Base. As I’m told it contains an SR-71,
that’s certainly something I’d want to explore when I had some time.
As I only
have four dealers in this region (the “Inland Empire ”),
and I’d visited the two I planned to hit this time. I figured since I was
going to be driving towards the beach cities, I’d stop by one of the two
“central” ones on the way through. I had them on the list for Thursday
morning as an “either or” situation, but it made more sense to swing by one as
I was passing through the area. I opted for the one in Santa Ana . Since I was driving the
route during the middle of the day, I made pretty good time. Once I was
off the highway, and on the street which my dealership was on, I started
looking for a lunch destination. I saw a place Claim Jumper, and debated
going there, until I saw a better opportunity on the same side of the road I
was on.
A large
pink building with a sign reading “Home of the World’s Best Hamburger Since
1957” was worth checking out. I haven’t had a decent burger on any of my
trips out here, so I’m always game to give a new place a shot. I whipped
into the parking lot, and saw no less than three different police vehicles
there. Figured if the cops come here for lunch, it can’t be too bad.
Knowlwood
looked like a converted service station, which it probably was, but the
decorations inside really gave it some flair. It had the feel of a 1940s
joint with all the metal signs, photos, and advertisements of the era.
Each of the seating areas had a different theme. After I placed my order,
I went to the WWII aviation themed section, because there was no one else there
(as it would allow me to take some pictures). Oh, the cops were on the
other side, in the “Hometown USA ”
portion which looked more like Mayberry than Glens Falls .
There had
previously been an air force base in Santa
Ana during the war, so a lot of the mementos were from
there. It’s great to look at the pictures of the flight crews while I was
waiting for my order, although I didn’t recognize any of the names or
planes. I’d gotten a cheeseburger and soda. There was no reason to
get fries, as I don’t usually care for the taste of them anyway.
One thing
which was nice was the burger automatically came with Thousand Island dressing,
as opposed to ketchup, mustard, mayo, or some other crap. That gave the
burger a different taste, and I very much enjoyed it. While I was eating,
some people had come in to sit in the section I was in. I very much
appreciated them taking a picture of me in the area. I always take
pictures of my food so I can write the Trip Advisor reviews, but I sometimes
like to have shots of myself to show I was really there. Besides, I suck
at taking selfies.
After I’d
gotten to my dealership in Santa Ana ,
had my meeting with my contact, and set up my laptop in a spare office, then I
was able to get some work done. I did wander out to the show room at one
point simply to look at the 1934 sedan sitting out there. I had to
chuckle that they had a “display only, not for sale” sign on it. If sure
if someone wanted to buy, they should pay what the sticker price was when the
vehicle was new, just adjusted for current inflation.
Since I
was there to work, I didn’t want to take a lot of pictures of the location,
unless I could get a nice terrain shot. Where I was, there wasn’t
anything really identifiable in the area except the water tower. The damn
street light was in the way, so I had to move to a place where I could reduce
its obtrusiveness as much as possible.
When I
was done for the day, I cruised along Route 22 to get to the hotel where I’d be
staying the rest of the week. At one point I did pass my dealership in Garden Grove , which
wasn’t on my list to visit this time around. Since I’d chatted earlier in
the day with my old co-worker Kate (back from the Tribune Media days), she
referred to this area mockingly as “Garbage Grove.” Kate left Glens Falls and went to Tribune’s Los
Angeles office around the same time I left NY for Texas .
Route 22
combines with the 405 for a short period, and it was near there where I needed
to get off. Since I’d stayed in this area back during the September
visit, there was a familiarity to place. Not too far after getting off
the highway, I passed this twenty-foot-high globe out in front of a place
called Leisure World. It was getting dusk, so I wasn’t going to have the
appropriate light to get a proper shot. I didn’t really know what it was
for, or what “Leisure World” was, but I wanted the picture for the amusement
value. And with a name like “Leisure World,” it sounded a little
suggestive to me. I did find out later that it’s the name of the
retirement community here. I got to get my mind out of the gutter.
I arrived
at the Hampton Inn at Seal Beach, got checked in, and took a couple
establishing shots for the Trip Advisor article I’d write once I got back
home. I chose to stay here again, not because it’s pretty much equal
distance from my dealers here, but because they had a good free
breakfast. I loved the location of where I stayed in Sunset Beach Westminster and Seal Beach Blvd.
After I
changed out of my suit into some casual clothes, I headed out to look for
dinner. From information I’d looked at, I’d narrowed it down to four
choices: Beachwood BBQ, Yucatan Grill, The Abbey, and The Hangout.
Mind you, I really enjoyed O’Malley’s when I was here in September, but since I
only have limited time, I want to try as many different establishments as I
could. That was the only reason why O’Malley’s wasn’t back on my
list. In the same feel, since I had other choices here (close to where
I’m staying), I wasn’t going to drive back down to Sunset Beach
Heading
down Main Street
on Seal Beach ,
I took the first available space I could, and happened to park in front of
California Seashell Company. That was the place where we’d purchased
post-cards for the team the last time we were here, so I decided to go back
inside. I really looked at buying a conch shell as a souvenir, as I
wasn’t able to bring one home from St. Croix
the last time, but declined doing so. I didn’t need it, and the energy
isn’t the same of buying it versus finding it on the beach. I did pick up
some shells for the team. Since I get to go out in the field, and they
stay chained to their desks, I want to bring back something small and
inexpensive on each visit.
I took a
quick walk to the Seal Beach Pier, and snapped some shots of the veteran’s
monument there. I spent too much time in the store, so I wasn’t able to
see my sunset, so I’ll make sure to come here earlier tomorrow. Heading
back up the street, I looked inside the window for Beachwood, and wasn’t
impressed at what I saw. The food might be good, but I want to get
something filling, and the last BBQ joint I ate it didn’t do that.
Some
places have their menu posted on the street, which I like because it gives an
idea of what they have and the price range. Strictly from menu reading, I
decided to try Thai on Main . Yeah, it
wasn’t one of the places I planned on checking out. The interior space
was small, and the tables equally as so. There was an acoustic guitar
player in there doing James Taylor covers, which added to the atmosphere.
From the design of the place, and the richer-classed patrons, this felt more
like a wine bar with food as an afterthought. The ginger chicken I was a
small portion, but it was still good. I was wondering what was on the
dessert menu when the server brought my bill.
I ended
up going down to the ice cream shop on the corner to get a peanut butter banana
milkshake. That was very good. The employees there had a tip jar
with a note on saying they’d sing a tune for each dollar put in. Just for
the amusement value I put in a few, just so these high school-aged kids could
sing to me.
I headed
back to the hotel in order to get a report or two run before the end of the
evening. I’d used the Garmin to get me down to Main Street just so I wouldn’t miss a
turn, and I was using it coming back for the same reason. I knew my way
around, but I was used to seeing it in the daytime when it’s easier to spot
landmarks. Garmin gave me some funky directions which would take me far
west of where I wanted to go, as I knew I needed to go east on PCH to get back
to Seal Beach Blvd.
I stuck with the area which I knew, and enjoyed hearing the navigation unit
telling me I’m going in the wrong direction, and then recalculating the
route. I get humor out of the strangest things.
For more information on the places visited or mentioned:
Upland
Game Hunting Area: http://alltrails.com/parks/us/california/upland-game-hunting-area
March Air
Reserve Base: http://www.march.afrc.af.mil/
Claim
Jumper: http://www.claimjumper.com/
Knowlwood: http://www.knowlwoodrestaurants.com/
Leisure
World: http://www.lwsb.com/lwsbmaster/
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