Jambalaya Diaries: Tuesday, February 12th

Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel prize in literature (1872-1970) 

Left Demming at 6:29am. Car doors were frozen shut, thick ice coated windshield, (Thought I was back in Winnipeg as I had the defrost setting on high!), light snow covered countryside, heavy frost in other places. Although freeway was clear and dry, many hills were dusted with white icing powder. Arrived in Valley Glen at 4:05pm, (almost bang on the estimate/prediction I'd made leaving our motel), not overly much traffic on the highways and byways between Palm Springs and Pasadena/Glendale, listening all the while to the live news coverage of the incidents surrounding the  sighting of fugitive, ex-cop Christopher Dorner, the ensuing firefight and then the eventual standoff in the mountain cabin where authorities believed he had barricaded himself. We learned later that whoever was inside never emerged as the home went up in flames. A single gunshot was heard from within and a charred body was found once the site had cooled sufficiently to allow the grim work of investigation/identification to begin. (At least this was latest version of events, at the time!)

All of this was unfolding near Big Bear Lake, not all that far from our route, just to the north in the San Bernadino National Forest. I realize that this was an extraordinary manhunt but listening to the media coverage one could not but help think that the response by the media and the law enforcement agencies, at least once Dorner was holed up in the cabin, was ridiculous in the extreme. Two snippets: The owner of a restaurant a few miles from the cabin, when interviewed, said that there were over 80 police cars in his parking lot. An NBC reporter, outside the home of Dorner's mother, seemed puzzled that she apparently phoned the police every time one reporter of another knocked on her door wanting an interview!

 Ventura Fwy, (134), to Victory Blvd was a piece of cake, so all in all, fairly easy motoring in spite of the long day. Only incident of note was somewhere in New Mexico/Arizona where we came along a huge piece of re-tread right in the middle of the freeway, (No other vehicles behind or beside me at the time so I had room to swerve around it. Very good thing as it would not have been something one would have wanted to collide with at 75mph, let me assure you, Dear Reader!), followed by another, not much smaller piece on the shoulder. A few seconds later we came past a semi, parked by the roadside, orange safety cones alerting/warning passing motorists of its presence. As we thundered past we both noted the right front wheel of the trailer was nowt but an empty rim, shreds of tire hanging forlornly from it! Have never ever seen the vehicle from which such roadside debris emanates and had always wondered what the offending wheel might look like. 

Arrived on 6210 Woodman to park around the corner on Erwin. Ayn has her cell phone linked to the apartment directory and when we buzzed her she answered, on the second try, informing us she was but a minute away. By the time I was back in my car and in the driveway leading to the underground parking space she was behind me and "Open Sesame" I was inside. She helped us carry up some of our bags and then she and Cora Lee took off to run a few errands. I returned to bring my bike upstairs and after I had locked it to the balcony railing I took a quick shower. 

 Tina, of Tina & Trevor, from Adelaide, had flown into town on Monday. Trevor flew to Vancouver on January 18th and then right on to Sun Peaks and has been skiing there ever since.) Pierre and Tina had taken the Orange Line Bus, just down Woodman, to North Hollywood and then, from there, the subway to Hollywood to spend the day sightseeing, (Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Homes Tour, open-air, modified van seating 12 people), so I re-arranged some of our bags to accommodate the influx of visitors. As well, Pierre has re-nested with Ayn until June when he will move into the apartment he had been sharing with a number of other friends. Quite a complicated story but the long and short of it is that Pierre gave up his room so that his best friend, Jonathon, could live there until his wedding on May 25th. He and Francia, his betrothed, are both Catholics so co-habitation is not an option, I gather. Furthermore, Pierre is saving up for a car, (Subsidized rent helps!), and until he has wheels of his own, he needs Ayn's vehicle, at times, to get to and from his late night work for the Muse Group which handles celebrity and club security.

By the time luggage was rearranged The Goils were back and I opened a Wine Sisterhood, (Yes, specifically bought by Ayn for The Sisterhood!), Savvy Chardonnay, NV,13%, Napa, rather pleasing, even though a non-vintage offering, with crisp acidity and bright flavours of peach and melon. Settled in to watch Obama deliver The State of the Union address. The sightseers returned a few minutes after 7:00pm and we toasted Tina's arrival and Pierre's 24th birthday, (day before), and chatted about our trip and Tina's time in LA. Around 8:00pm we left for one of Ayn's favourite spots, Caravan, a Lebanese restaurant, in Sherman Oaks, right on Woodman, but a five minute car ride away. Great place and Ayn  knows most of the friendly, hard-working waitresses and owner. Corkage so I had brought along two Coffaros, a 2006 Tannat and a 2010 Terre Mealnge, and they went rather well with a starter of green olives, pickled turnip and sliced tomatoes/cukes, the Combination Appetizer Plate: humos, baba ghanoug, tabbouli, and salad topped with falafel balls; the Tuesday Special: Lamb Shank, braised lamb shank meat bone, baked with fresh vegetables and rice; Kibbeh Roll, fried rolls of kibbeh, stuffed with meat and nuts; and Beef Kabab: two skewers of beef charbroiled with grilled peppers and pita bread, all shared among the five of us. really a grand time with wonderful company and truly delicious food.

 
We thanked our delightful servers, paid our bill and made for home. I was pretty bushed by this time as although it was only 10:30pm, local time, it was really 11:30pm for the weary travelers from Demming. Brushed and flossed, said goodnight to The Babes and Xavierino and plunked myself down in the alcove to drift off within seconds of having my head hit the pillow, visions of the magnificent boulder strewn landscape after crossing the Colorado River somewhere between Ehrenberg, Az, and Blythe, Ca, I believe, running through my mind.