Pregled posta

Marketing

Further along route 1 is San Simeon, where the Hurst Castle is. I had planned to call in, as it one of the highlights on the coast. However, as the full parking lot showed, almost everyone else in California thought coming here would be a good idea. I parked up; and in the lobby; I found that it cost $24 plus tax to go round; and it was a guided tour; it also looked like I would not get on a tour for quite some time. In the past few weeks, I had seen many rich men’s playthings, and I had enough of it; let alone go round the richest of the lot to see what gaudy bangles this man had acquired; the fact that Citizen Kane was based on him was neither here nor there. It was already three in the afternoon, and I had a way to go before I found somewhere to stay. I bought three postcards, and was charged nearly $3, I asked if she had made a mistake; apparently not.
I drove on to the town of Cambria, where I wanted to find a post office so I could send some of my stuff back home. I found the post office, though the teller was not helpful; I could not use the box I wanted as it was for use in the US only; but she produced a box from behind the counter I could have for free; though I had to buy a roll of tape to seal it with. She read out a list of posting options; and she thought I should choose surface mail, which would get it there by Christmas; no, sorry the end of September. So, I lied on the customs form about how much it was worth to avoid tax when it got to Britain.
South of Cambria, route 1 ran pretty straight; and the weather perked up. I dropped the roof at the post office more in hope than that the weather was ok. But soon I was driving through rolling hills, the grass turned brown by months of constant sunshine.
Soon, the road rejoined 101, and headed south a six lane freeway. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a motel; it looked grand enough, and big enough to suggest they might have rooms. I turned off the highway and headed towards the motel; little was I to suspect that this was going to be an experience. The Madonna Motel has a long history; apparently, it was John Wayne’s favourite place, as the steaks were supposed to the best in California. And then there was the decor; but more of that later. Do a Google search for it, and see the horror of the decor for yourselves; it is made of stone, and in most places made to look like a grotto. And then there are the rooms; each one has a theme, and in reception you are presented with a list of free rooms, and a board with pictures of said rooms and you pick the one you like most. By this point, I really did not care, and chose the first room they had free. I drove over to the block where my room was, parked up, and opened the door; it was the golf room. But, the only thing that made it the golf room were the prints on the wall. I got my case, and then had to try and work out how to get all my stuff in the case before Saturday morning.
I laid on my bed and watched some TV, mainly baseball.
Later on, once it was dark, I thought I would go and have a drink, and a good meal. Once in the main building, I found my way to the bar; it was fine, and quiet. What I did not realise that the crowds from the Hurst castle were dining here tonight, and I should have booked a table. The decor was really shocking, kitsch is the word; tasteless might be another. I had a couple of beers, and then thought I would go into the restaurant to see about some food; only to be told there would be a wait of an hour; oh well, aback to the bar. At some point, nature called; and I followed the signs to the stairs and went to the basement. The fact there was a fountain at the bottom of the stairs I did not think unusual; but the giant clam shells that were the basins in the restrooms were a little unusual. Even more unusual was the waterfall that doubled as a urinal; honestly. And once my table was free, I was greeted by the horror that was the steakhouse. To put it into words is tough; red plush velvet seating, dark red flowery carpet, mirrored walls, gold leaf everywhere, fake plastic trees everywhere and alabaster cherubs hanging from the ceiling. It was really too much to take in. I sat down and thought some sausage starter looked quite good; but when the waitress brought some vegetables and dip, so much that any thought of starter was forgotten. As I ordered steak, I got a free salad as usual; the upshot was that by the time the main course arrived, I was really full.

One of the problems we have is the kitchen tables were always too long, and you were always bumping into it trying to get around to go down the hall to the other side of the house.

So I sold the set on Craig's List, then found this round table that has a drop leaf on each side. So it snugs up to the wall, but isn't as wide. So now you can get around the table and go down the hallway without any obstruction. The table has four matching chairs, so we can pull it from the wall if we want to seat four people in the kitchen.