Tuesday With Pools But No Sunscreen

We woke late on East Coast time and early for locals. With earlier wakings at various appropriate East Coast times, but a roll-over on a West Coast clock. Deborah’s conference was a long day, with an early start at 7:30 for breakfast and classes running throughout the day, and lunch provided. We would meet at 4ish for a snack and a late dinner to-go at WaBa Grill. We like WaBa’s food in Long Beach and found it excellent here. The price point is also outstanding.

We rose and did the usual things to start the day, with me out of the room with Deborah at 7:45ish. Deborah was in classes, while I tried Coco’s Bakery for breakfast. It is less than a block away and appears to have seen better days. As I got closer and the parking lot was empty, and I entered to find no customers, I was concerned.

The place was not dirty, but not as clean as I like. The carpet recorded decades of food spills. The wood on the table was sticky as the finish had melted and was now tacky. Ugh. The prices were not high, and the staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, but they seemed a bit bored. There were two waiters for three tables (including mine) that filled in for the late breakfast rush.

The food was good, but not exceptional compared to other breakfast places. The bacon was industrial. The breakfast potatoes were from a bag, but at least they were seasoned and cooked with onions. The French toast was made with thin slices of white bread and industrial syrup, slightly warmed. It was nothing that said, “return,” it was great. The torn seats and stained carpet told me to find another place. Breakfast was good, and I would get it to go next time.

I wrote the blog at the table for breakfast with extra napkins on the wood so the finishing would not stick to me. I returned to the hotel and found a table by the pool. The hedge was being cut, and later a staffer would rake up and then blow the remaining tiny bits away with a lot of noise. I finished the blog there and eyed the pool. I started my new solo game, Cold War: Restless in Peace, by Worthington. This is a book game where you write in the book pages to play the game. I have a dice roller set to one six-sided die to play. There are several pages of directions, but I soon learned the process. I was lucky, and I think I misplayed part of the game (4 AP to improve World Opinion, not 3 — there is a misprint). Still, it was interesting and not without careful decisions. For example, Latin America and Africa were easy to use for military operations. A failed military operation moves the clock towards Nuclear War. Still, it was cheaper than diplomatic operations, which often had a higher chance of succeeding and did not have dire consequences for failure.  Additionally, I had to use up all my AP points, which meant often two military and two diplomatic operations (six AP cost).

The USSR (CCCP) was represented by a die roll and a set of charts. I would say I got lucky often with these rolls and was able to stay just ahead of the BOT. I crushed in my first game, but I think I got both lucky and undercharged for the World Opinion purchases.

I am looking forward to trying it again with a 4 AP cost to improve World Opinion for the player (representing a USA-centric West).

I took the laptop and book to the room, changed to swimming trunks, and returned to the North Tower pool. I swam and walked around in the pool. I then dried off and red in the sun (mistake). The mornings are cool, and then they heat up when the clouds burn off around noon. The pool was closing for a private event (Deborah would be at that party later). I moved to the South Tower pool on the third floor. The sun was baking now, and the cement (I hadn’t brought flip-flops) was burning hot. I managed to swim for a bit in the smaller and shallower pool. I sat and read for a bit (another mistake) and soon headed back to the room to shower off the pool water and prepare for a meeting.

I met Deborah at the hotel bar, where we shared an appetizer and a few drinks. She had a social event at the North Tower pool until 7, as I mentioned.

The First United Methodist Church Council met via Zoom at 6:30. I joined and within a record-breaking short meeting of less than an hour, we agreed on some staff updates, and reviewed a refresh of the entranceway and fireside room at the church. I presented the plan. There were no objections, but one follow-up item did surface later.

With that done, Deborah checked in with folks in Michigan, and then we walked to WaBa Grill. We enjoyed dinner in our room and then spent the rest of the evening catching up. It got late faster than we were ready and soon I was nodding off while reading.

I discovered I was pink and sunburned. It took a few hours for my skin to show its displeasure with the hot, sunny California weather.

Thanks for reading!