From Long Beach To Los Gatos (San Jose)

I've moved on to another location. I also have to reflect on what I've left behind...

Before I left Long Beach I went out a few more times and had some fun with the family.



Just hanging out with my brother (also the rest of the family but who needs a photo of them :) We watched movies and played games as a group. My aunt also came over. It was a good night.

My mom posing for the camera and looking fabulous in red! She had an important phone call to make. If you look closely you can see my brother snuck back to his computer to play Mass Effect 2. When there was down time you'd find him playing Mass Effect 1 and then 2 once he moved on...we weren't entertaining enough for him.

One of the nights Qown (brother) and I went on a nice walk along the beach. The photos didn't turn out but we came back a few days later on a bike ride with my mother. We ended up riding for about 10 miles. It was really nice going through the ocean side of Long Beach. Along the bike ride, I almost tripped into traffic while stopping to talk to a friendly guy looking for a bike pump. He had more tat than face, but was very pleasant besides contrary to what stereotypes would have you believe.





Told my mother to stop for a photo and she decided that meant to reach out her arm!? Either way, she was having a good time and so was I.

Along the way we stopped and got some food, but we also spent a lot of energy looking for a Baja Fresh. I didn't bring my phone with me for one reason or another but we gave up the search. I had even stopped and ask someone for help locating the restaurant but they hadn't even heard of the place sadly. I knew we were close but had to give up the hunt. We settled on El Pollo Loco, which is a sad substitute but they had decent food over all. I'd eaten there once before this time earlier in the trip while I was looking for a new hoodie. After being stuffed, we rode home and settled in for the night. Not much fan fair, but my sister was disappointed we didn't bring her anything. I found out the next day we were very close. Where we had stopped for directions was the place that if we had turned off and went a few block we would have found the golden temple Baja Fresh.

   

The last thing we did as a family was play tennis at my brother's high school and went on a walk. I had never played tennis before but picked it up fairly quickly. Not an all-star or anything but I started getting the backhand down by the time we finished. If you can't tell by the photos I was also wearing jeans and boots, which left me very warm.


We wandered over to a StarBucks because my sister was very tired and needed a pick me up. She hadn't slept at all by this point because she was up doing homework like a boss. I also enjoyed a Chai Tea, my brother loves his iced mochas, and my mother with the hazelnut almond latte with extra sugar.
























The short walk we took was by a near by park. wasn't too exciting but was nice to see some green and feel a little less of the hustle that is the city. I'm sure neither my mother nor my sister will be happy with the below photos, but I enjoy the first one because of the slight motion blurring and the second one just makes me laugh! My sister said my mom looked like a movie star in it, which made my brother and I laugh at the time. Reminds me of those photos that get taken when the actress are trying to avoid photos.

   


One last one with my brother in the park. Strange at times to think of my lil' brother being taller than me, but I don't fret about it. Love him all the same...just remember who the boss is! ...yeah, not really that sort of brother anyways :)

We went to Baja Fresh after all of this and it made me happy. My brother also got food as well. My sister really loves Pho and was very upset that we didn't go for any of that. I had made a deal with her about getting Pho if she had done a certain amount of homework. The exact details are disputed but I didn't think I still had an obligation to that deal since I thought the terms hadn't been met. In any event, we went for more Pho at the place Atasha and I had first eaten Pho on a rainy day in Long Beach not long ago. Qown and I just had Bubble Tea, while my sister and mother ate. Their food smelt delicious and neither my brother or I had had our food yet. The night was very entertaining though because the place had their Karaoke setup. A table of two ladies had a braver soul than me. One of the women asked if she could sing. They only had one CD of songs in English but she belted out a few slow romances hits. My mom decided it was her turn and I decided my camera needed to be turned on and recording...no idea how that happen ;) She sung the Titanic movie (1997) theme song, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. My mother has a very good voice and it was really nice to hear her sing. She got embarrassed when she realized I was recording so the remainder of the song was nice vocals, laughter, coughing, and fished by good vocals. My siblings and I enjoyed if even if my mother didn't as much.

My sister before her, my brother, and I play video games until the below happened. I went to bed around 5 or 6 AM but my brother stayed up all night for one reason or another. He finally crashed around noon or so. I played some more games with my sister, after I finished packing things up. I woke him up before I had to go and we all rallied to play even more games! I played my quota of video games for the next 5 years!









I'll miss everyone in Long Beach (and L.A.) until next time I see everyone...love you each!

My Aunt, Uncle, and 4 cousins picked me up and whisked me away for a journey to Los Gatos, California. The trip wasn't bad. I watched The Adjustment Bureau (2011) in the van's DVD player, which was a delicious if not predictable ending. Saw first hand L.A.'s famously terrible traffic, which until then I had avoided being fully in. Seattle also has bad traffic and in comparing them it is about the same as comparing losing your left hand or your right...and being ambidextrous. They both are terrible and need fixing but probably won't happen any time in the next decade or so.

Had time to take the adjacent photo of my cousin just before we left Long Beach on a bathroom stop.

If you're used to driving yourself or even one or two other individuals around on a road trip you don't think much about stops but when you have a van loaded to a capacity of 7 you'll find yourself stopping about as much as you would in bumper to bumper traffic. It was actually nice for me because I never got very stiff or the feeling of being in a car too long. I also had the pleasure of running into a rest stop I hadn't seen since I moved my mom from Washington to Nevada. It was strange being in a place you hadn't thought about in a long time. Like revisiting a childhood memory but not knowing it until you're there.


I'm on day 2 now in Los Gatos and enjoying it thus far. I took a bike ride yesterday and you'd think in comparison I wouldn't be sore from it since it was only about 2 miles and my last one was 10 miles, which didn't leave me sore other than from the places your bum bum gets pinned too--rider sore.

On the bike ride it was myself and a younger cousin. We rode to a near by park, Oak Meadow. It was really nice. They had a small train for children (room for adults too) and a carousel ride. We settled by the playground. He played on the swings and I read by the playground. Something calming to me about screaming, running, laughing children. I also felt like I fit right in because it seemed like most of the parents let their child/en lose and went to reading, playing on their cellphone, or otherwise congregating to socialize.

Still have over a week here and I'm trying to make plans to meet up with a friend that lives near by. I'm hoping to just relax a little before I head out at this point. I'm also getting excited for learning about more people I know that are traveling in the same direction as me. I hope to meet up with as many people I know as I am able to while out and about. I want to meet new people too, but it is nice to see a familiar face in a sea of strangers.

Tip For The Day: Stretch, in the morning; stretch, in the evening; stretch, in the shower....just stretch!