Hello from Long Beach, California! We hadn’t seen Jeff and Meg, my brother and sister-in-law, since we first left for Korea two years ago, so it’s very good to spend some time together. It’s a short visit, but we’re packing in some great experiences. We arrived on Friday afternoon and went out to dinner at Ruby’s Diner at the end of a pier on Huntington Beach. What better way to reorient ourselves to American culture than with burgers, cheese fries, root beer and chocolate malts?
We spent yesterday, mostly on foot, exploring Jeff and Meg’s Long Beach neighborhood (they live two blocks from the beach) and cool village area called Belmont shores. We started with a community pancake breakfast at a park with a group called “I (heart) Long Beach”. I do heart Long Beach. It’s a beautiful, sunny, beachy, arty, relaxed and diverse city. At the breakfast, we met a really warm older couple, and the husband fought in the Korean war, stationed just north of Seoul. We shared lots of stories and compared our experiences. In the afternoon, Adam and Jeff happened upon a convention of pirates (or at least pirate enthusiasts) who took siege of the pier.
In the evening, after a delicious home-cooked meal (thanks, Meg!), we wandered to Retro Row and visited the openings of a few hip shops and saw a live band playing surfer music in a surf shop. We missed the poetry reading that we were headed for at the Open cafe (in fact, they were closed), but we still had a great conversation with the shop owners.
Today was an especially fun day. We went to church in the morning, and after the service, I helped Meg out with the 2-year-olds class. It was so much fun! The weather was great, and we went out to the playground. I got tackled by energetic little, beachy blond tykes. Then we went inside to sing songs and color pictures. Meg was really good with the kids. I think I had as much fun as them.
After church, we had lunch with some of Jeff and Meg’s good friends. I’ve met some of their friends on my previous visits, and I know their friends Tom and Meredith from back in Illinois. They have an adorable son, my new buddy Charlie from the 2-year-old class who was having a clumsy day and was sporting new scrapes on his nose from playtime. It was nice to see Jeff and Meg’s friends again and eat pizza in the sun.
This afternoon, we headed with Jeff and Meg to the new Broad Gallery at the LA County Museum of Art and saw some cool contemporary art. After we explored the museum, we brought our picnic dinner next door to the La Brea Tar Pits where there are active pits bubbling up tar all throughout the park. In the middle of LA. Wild. We found a grassy spot, laid out a blanket, and had delicious sandwiches with sparkling cider. The weather was perrrrrfect. Then we drove down the road to the Farmer’s Market which was closing as we arrived, but we still got to meander a little and window shop. What a great day!
We’ve had a full few days, and each has ended with Adam and me falling asleep in the back of the car on the ride home, like sated children.
One more full day here, then on Tuesday morning, we head to Illinois! See you soon!
-Jessica
