(Sometimes) Sunny California

I've spent most of the last two weeks in California. I miss my apartment.

Flew out here (Orange County) Monday for a client visit. Came back Thursday night and went straight to volleyball and then some beer & wings at Zipps, and then straight to bed. The next morning I went to work for my usual 7AM Friday meeting (ouch), worked all day and went straight to Enotria for another evening of sophisticated debauchery. (Can't decide which of those teo last words is more filled with irony...)

Saturday morning I flew out to LA with two of my wine buddies for a Bordeaux tasting at the Hyatt. It was an incredible event. During three hours I tasted 99(!) different wines - all of them from 2005 or 2006; most of them red, a handful of whites, and about 20 dessert wines. And, I actually skipped about half of the wines.

After the event we went to Manhattan Beach for a nice dinner at Mangiano's. We didn't have a reservation and they were fully booked but my friend managed to somehow sweet-talk the hostess into a table. We shared a great tuna tartare as an appetizer. The main course was less memorable - I can't even remember what I had. When we were there it was too dark out to see it, but we could smell the ocean and I later learned we were merely steps away from it: Google StreetView

Sunday I explored Long Beach. There's a nice, but touristy, area called Shoreline Village with some restaurants and shops overlooking the small-boat harbor. You also get a good view of the RMS Queen Mary - the retired ocean liner, now turned into a museum and hotel.

Then, I've been back at work in Irvine this week and am looking forward to going home tomorrow. Yeah, I miss my apartment. And my bed.

So, sunny California? Well, sometimes. We've had a lot of overcast weather and this week has been downright chilly. Last week was nice and in the 70s (20C+) every day, but this week we only hit 50s (10C+) and I totally wasn't dressed for that. And, having made the flight here from Arizona many times now, it seems like at least half the time it's clear to the ground until we cross the mountains and after that it's a thick cloud cover as far as the eye can see. On the other hand, they have green plants here. And mudslides, earthquakes and enormous annual wildfires. It's a tradeoff.