Yesterday was a mix of good and not-so-good.
The drive around LA to get to Orange County was awful (typical) with tons of traffic, stop and go, accidents, fire along freeway, etc. I finally got to a highway that runs thru the lower hills south to where I was headed. Everything was so green! It was nice to see that after years of brown all over! Took 2 1/2 hours to get to my destination in Trabuco Canyon. Beautiful area with old oak trees and windy roads with horse farms tucked in here and there.
Gloria, the lady I am going to be staying with is very nice! I got to watch her demonstrate some carving techniques. My little gourd I found at home to use will be the perfect size for the class next week. Got some great tips from her. The only thing I discovered later is that the dust from carving the gourd is very irritating to my eyes! My eyes were itchy, watery, blurry and puffy all day! Will definitely need to pack my goggles!
After leaving there, I drove to a nearby town to have lunch at Epic Wings, my favorite place! We don't have any in the valley so when I find one, I always stop! Yum!
After that, I got checked into my motel room which is very nice. I decided then to go down to the beach and get some sunset photos, especially at the Victoria Tower which was built in the early 1900's by a resident that has a spiral staircase inside to get down to the beach from their home. It isn't used anymore but is very cool to look at.
Anyway, that is when everything went south on me
. I got hopelessly lost! I got turned around on the wrong highway and then finally had to turn around. I then found a road that I thought was the one that went down to Laguna Beach. When I got to the Coast Hwy, I turned left thinking I was north of Laguna Beach. After about 15 minutes I found myself coming into Dana Point!
Way off course and way south of LB! By this time I am racing to get ahead of the sunset! I turned around and headed back north. By the time I got near LB, the sun had already set!
Then the traffic in town was absolutely horrendous! I got turned around on the downtown streets after thinking I could actually find a parking spot. Took me 20 minutes to get back to the Coast Hwy! Then I finally found the highway east to go back to my motel. At the intersection for that turn, the traffic was at a standstill. I waited 10 minutes and no cars ever moved. Luckily, I was still at the intersection waiting to turn right, so I decided to head straight, north on the Coast Hwy and find another way. The only road east off that highway wasn't until I got all the way up to Newport Beach!
Got on that and then back tracked on a freeway back to the motel! This all took me 2 1/2 hours! What should have taken me 15 minutes to get from the motel to Laguna Beach! By the time I got back to the motel I was a wreck, both physically and emotionally! I have never gotten that lost and confused before.
I was on and off at toll road about 4 times during that wild goose chase (besides twice on the way to Trabuco Canyon), so I can only imagine the bill I am going to have for that when I get home!
So, today I am not looking forward to the drive back home. I was going to go back to Laguna Beach but I am sure the traffic will be bad again and I am already exhausted. I might try to go to the Victoria Tower and see if I can get a place to park around there. I am definitely NOT driving back thru LA! I will go the south route that is less traffic and more familiar to me. It will take a little longer because of the mountain passes but less stressful.
At least I slept good! My eyes are still sore and tired from the driving and carving dust. So I will take my time heading home and stop when I need to. I sure hope the trip next week goes better than this one!