Sunday, February 6, 2011

California Upkeep


You can tell a good chamber maid by the bedskirt.
If the bedskirt is always straight and true, no matter how complicated the design of the coverings - you can be sure the rest of the room will follow suit.  Many of these ladies are Mexican and we're impressed. Here in California, these people are just what is needed right now.  Along the coast, in Carmel-by-the Sea, Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs inland, many hotels and restaurants have been around for a long long time. And what makes them work is the exquisite upkeep they get.  Even though the bathroom from another era may lack counter space and the shower has seen a better day, the whole room is spotless and shining - every tile scrubbed and polished, taps gush hot water, toilets flush with exuberance, and you feel cared for and pampered.  The carpet looks freshly laundered, the old bedroom furniture oiled and wiped to fairly glisten. And this culture continues everywhere. The restaurants, shops on main street, museums  - all of them are constantly surrounded by small business technicians and workmen - carefully fixing this and that, making sure that all is well. 

We search for a good food store and are delighted. The produce department looks like an art show, the meat and fish are so tantalizing we have trouble choosing, and their massive aisles of better-than-average products makes the whole shopping trip a great deal of fun.  Because we'd been intent on the task at hand with the first visit, we laughed when we returned the second time to discover that the outside looked old and badly in need of a re-do.  It's obvious their large clientele could care less, and that the store had decided to put their money into products and service. But it's another indication that many places are in danger of becoming beyond their "best date".  A lot of these properties are in prime locations. Taxes must be horrendous. The landlords have to balance the budget.  They deserve full marks for working hard to keep from throwing out the baby with the bathwater. They preserve the important things - service, product and cleanliness - and impress us mightily with charm and integrity.  Good choices.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Away from home


I'm a home body.  I never want to be away from home.
But when it's time to golf, and to drive, and to see what's out there, we get in our little sports car and head down the road.
And when we get there, I like it.  Not right away, but when the rain stops and the cold stops, and we turn a corner to find sunshine forever, I like it.
And I'm good with it right away.  We find a place that's liveable, and different, and has 2 burners, and a frig, so we can stay home of an evening and cook a steak or lamb chops or salmon fillets, or an omelet and next morning have some really good toast with really good peanut butter.  It doesn't take a lot, you know, for happiness.  It doesn't take a lot.  Just a friendly room where hot water flows when you need it, and the bed is big and soft, and a little fireplace burns brightly for cocktail time, and we can get those burners going and we're in charge.  We love doing lunch, though.  We like to go out for lunch. Here's my favorite lunch.  A good restaurant.  A good menu.  And places to see before lunch and shopping to do after lunch - fun shopping in neat little spots not seen before.  
I miss the things we all love about home.  I miss my own bathroom.  My bedroom.  My piano.  My walks on the ocean.  My favorite fish and chip place.  My dance exercise routines.  My birds.  My views that change from day to day - all the things that make a home a home.  But there's a lot to be said for a little journey now and then.  And every time we leave home, we come back with a sense of awe about the world and all that's out there.