Author: melisajohnson

Today was a day at rest so I went up to San Francisco, and visited the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park – a nice oasis in the midst of the city.  I also went for a walk around Fort Mason park and got some nice views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz – as the day warmed up it was interesting to see the low cloud lift.  Around by the Marina I saw a swimmer out doing his training…I don’t know how people get in water that cold!  Having seen a Starbucks Reserve while in New York I thought I’d stop in to one that I saw on Chestnut Street in what appears to be a hip up and coming neighborhood  – sadly I can’t say that I was impressed enough to notice the difference between that and a regular Starbucks. However I did get my bonuses stars for visiting a Starbucks 3 days in a row so I now get a free drink…lucky me!  On to Seattle tomorrow to see Kris, who I haven’t seen since I left high school in Orkney 27 years ago!

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So today was the day I went to court to see the fraud trial that I’ve been reading about begin. It was short but interesting as there was a deferral to September 2020 to allow the defense to analyze over 6 million pages of evidence that the prosecution have submitted.  Both sides laid out their planned approaches and opening arguments which I found interesting – biggest defendants appeared very different…one arrogant, one emotionless.  After that I took lunch in the nearby town of Palo Alto at a nice place called Coupa Cafe.  It is a quiet but affluent town and has a very nice tree lined town center – I also came across a former hotel which has converted itself into a hub for remote workers, Hanahaus.  I took the opportunity to visit the nearby Stanford University which has a beautiful campus lined with palm trees.  Finally I stumbled across a nice vineyard, Thomas Fogerty, with nice views over the valley and took myself for a brief walk up the nearby hill to take in the views in all directions.

Well I thought my first day of holiday would be an easy day but American Airlines had other plans for me! I got a nice email telling me that my flight to Los Angeles was on time and within 10 minutes of that the app notified me of a one hour delay then 15 minutes later a one hour 30 delay, in another half an hour later it was 2 1/2 hour delay and then finally by the time that I was originally due to the board it was a three hour delay – all due to air traffic control in New York for the incoming flight – so a bit of wasted time in Orlando airport which I ended up spending by checking my work emails and making a few calls which was not part of the plan!

However once things got underway the day got even more interesting! I noticed in the pre-boarding area a family of five who even before the flight was being called were trying to barge their way on board early. When I got on board the lady was sitting in my seat and didn’t even acknowledge me…so I thought no big deal that’s fine I can take the aisle instead of the window if she’s not going to be up and down. She seemed typically Californian (high maintenance and self-absorbed) and it was clear her young child who was maybe no more than two years old is in the seat in front of us next to her similarly self-absorbed husband and a nanny (or maybe it was the eldest daughter) and a daughter were sitting in the aisle across. So anyway during the flight this brat of a child, not content with having yelled and bashed his iPad, proceeded to do his business in his pants which, rather than take the child to the bathroom, the mother went around and changed the child’s diapers right there in the seat just by kneeling on the floor…so that was a lovely smell for the entire cabin! The husband seemed to just sit there and do nothing and continue watching his movie. This was a pattern repeated for most of the flight except for when lunch was served when the husband told the other family members what they needed to eat in order – bizarre as that’s the behaviour displayed that we’re trained in banking to help spot human trafficking/abuse! I buried myself for most of the flight in some series’ that I’d downloaded from Netflix.

One was so so, but another one Travellers, was quite interesting. I also caught up on episode 1 of London Spy to get me up to speed. Anyway the flight arrived in LA three hours late so I missed my original connection but was rebooked on a new flight which left at 7 PM so all things said and done it was OK (I could have been the elation behind me who was going to Albuquerque who was bumped from a cancelled DFW flight and would get in until 1am) so I headed for a bar to grab a quick bite to eat before catching the next flight and check that my luggage was following me. A short hop to San Jose, just a bit later than planned, but arrived with everything intact.

At the car rental they were short on cars so they asked if I’d be ok with a Jeep Wrangler. I’ve never driven a Jeep before so I said yes… It’s a big car so I thought no worries…but I have to say driving it is the least confident I have ever been in my ability to keep a car out of trouble! Maybe it’s the state of the roads in California but it’s the hardest I’ve had to work in a long time to keep a car moving in a straight line so was a bit disappointed.

However it is ok for a day as I’m not going far. A bit tired I got to the hotel around 8:30 and promptly went to sleep. A little bit colder here than in Orlando – it’s in the mid 60s – but it seems otherwise pleasant so look forward to the next day ahead.