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Published: June 11th 2009
Betty Boy
My first car!Please say 'hi' to Betty Boy. After his purchase last Wednesday, I finally brought him home from the showroom on Saturday. In good old sensible, grown-up fashion I took him in for a full service to hopefully eliminate any mechanical problems further down the line. Fingers crossed. My new boy is called Betty. He is definitely a boy. And his name is definitely Betty. Or more precisely, Betty Boy. I like a car with a nice gender identity crisis going on. I think Betty Boy and I will be happy together. I have a USMC (Marine Corps) decal on the back already, a GPS system, that little device for hooking your ipod to the radio, and three (!) cup holders in the front. All in all, this means I look patriotic, shouldn't get lost, have good music to sing along to real loud, and can have several drinks on the go at one time. Not sure what passengers in the back will do as there are no extra cup holders for the back seat. Hard times for Betty Boy's passengers.
Looking forward to retirement In the past year I received
Betty Boy
Isn't he a beauty?! a letter from the UK Government kindly reminding me that my official retirement date is January 18th, 2044.
2044! That day is obviously approaching quickly and so I have already made the executive decision to return to the States for my retirement. Last Saturday we visited Uncle Cliff's brother and family who live in an adorable retirement community in San Jose. People drive around on golf buggies! I'm telling you, that is what life is about. We went for the annual pancake breakfast (of course food was involved). It was a really great breakfast. Then on Sunday we travelled up to see Auntie Shirley's parents in their retirement facility near Santa Rosa for ... yes, you guessed it ... their champagne brunch. They have a great apartment, someone comes and changes the beds, does the laundry, prepares lunch and dinner (they have a communal dining room), takes them out on trips. On site there is a pool, an ice-cream parlour, a hairdressing salon and a beauty parlour. The cherry on the icing on the cake: Wednesday afternoon happy hour!! I almost signed up right there and then!
Into the Wilderness On a break from running errands, Auntie Shirley and
I took a trip to Sunol Regional Wilderness on Monday. We did a 3-mile hike up some pretty steep hills, watching all the time (well, I was, not sure about Auntie Shirley) for Californian rattle snakes. No-one mentioned those before I left England. This is a dangerous place. And here's me thinking the scary stuff wouldn't come until I got into Texas. I'm scared of Texas. Back to the park: although falling a little short of its description as 'little Yosemite', the park was nonetheless very pretty and made a nice change from car showrooms, shopping malls and driving on the freeway. Does that sound like I've already had enough of motorway driving?! I haven't even left town yet. Seriously, though, the novelty of being able to drive hasn't worn off yet. Some drivers - particularly on the freeway - are pretty scary, especially the ones driving trucks which are about three times as tall as me. Otherwise it's all good.
Feeding the flab As you may be aware, I enjoy food. Junk food is especially appealing. How wonderful to go to a fast food diner and have unlimited refills on soft drinks. No end to the amount of
rootbeer I can consume. Last week Auntie Shirley took me, on request, to an A&W (pronounced
ay un dub) diner. A&W is a long-time producer of rootbeer. Who knew they had their own diners?!! Getting there, I realised I was in my kind of paradise. Adding to the joy of rootbeer refills was my order of corn dog nuggets. To those not in the know, corn dogs are a hot dog on a stick covered in a cornmeal batter. I love a good corn dog. I was, however, slightly disturbed by their latest addition to the menu - deep-fried curds. I experienced a moment of sheer panic. Had the Russian invaded? Curds, or
'tvarog' as the Russians would say, is a regular feature in the Russian diet. How did it end up being promoted as 'Curd Appeal' in a fast food restaurant in California??! Ho hum. Anyway, to offset some of the monumentous eating that's been going on, on Monday evening Uncle Cliff took me out for my first run since the London marathon. It was hard-going, particularly because it is sligthly warmer and sunnier here. Still I'm really glad to have started running again.
Travel writing As this is a travel blog, I really should say something about the places I have visited, and not just ramble on indefinitely. The first ten days of my trip were spent in Milpitas, a little south east of San Francisco. In many ways Milpitas is a lot like Maidenhead in that it is one of a string of regular American towns that sort of merge into one. Without wanting to offend, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the town. It's just the kind of place where regular Americans live - there are houses, shops, drive-thrus (!), everything you could possibly want in a town. That said, it's much prettier than Maidenhead and the weather is far more pleasant!! In fact, I could quite easily have been persuaded to stay longer. Visiting with Auntie Shirley and Uncle Cliff was like being at home with my mom. I've really missed that.
Finally yesterday, with a tear in my eye, I said farewell to Auntie Shirley, Uncle Cliff and Milpitas and drove the monumental distance of about 50 miles to Santa Cruz. But that's another story, for another day. Right now I'm off to study for a while. See, I promised everyone I would. Admittedly I'll be sitting on the beach, or a beachside cafe with a beer in hand, but still I will be studying 😊
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rosie
non-member comment
nice car
Hi Jen, loving the car. it's huge. how's your parking lol. it sounds like you're having a really good time mate. think of us all working hard over here. speak soon mate xx