A restful day, so far -- UDATE!

I left the motel fairly early and drove the city streets over to Dr. Bergman's clinic.  There were just 3 turns to make, or a total of 3 streets.  The traffic lights and the distance (about 6 or 7 miles), plus not being sure where I was going, made it take longer than I expected.  There is a river that runs between Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach, and not many streets have a bridge to cross the river, which is why the GPS routes the way on one of the freeways.

When I got back I plugged the address from the motel into the GPS and it shows only entering the freeway and then getting off on a different street just a few hundred feet later.  I think I'll try it when I go for my appointment tomorrow morning.  Mapquest offers three options, all of which are complex and not to my liking.

I picked up the form that I need to fill out and turn in at my appointment, so I'm all set now.  I have to be there at 7:30 am and the receptionist said I should allow at least half an hour at that time of the morning.  To be safe I'll allow 45 minutes!

I sat out by the pool for a while as the cleaners were tidying up my room, and I almost wish I had brought my swim suit.  I haven't worn it in at least 15 years, so one of the first things I'll do when I get back is to try it on.  My friend Rita swears by the value of exercising in a pool - just moving in water builds strength that other exercise doesn't provide.  There is a pool at the gym, but it depends on what I look like in the suit whether or not I'll be seen in public with it on.

I took care of some business today, including resuming service on my TV and internet.  I'd hate to get home and not have internet for a few days.  I also called to get an appointment with my regular hairdresser to see if she can fix this horrible haircut I got in NY.  It probably isn't all that bad a cut, but it isn't what I asked for or wanted, and I can't style it to look right.  I may go a bit shorter this time because of the hot weather ahead, although with this dumb curl in parts of my hair I can only guess at what it will look like.  If my hair had to turn curly or wavy, why couldn't it have been the same all over my head?

In one way I'm enjoying not having to cook for myself (and clean up), but on the other hand I'm not big on restaurant food.  I had breakfast at Denny's this morning and it was good, and I guess healthy enough if I don't do it all the time.  I'm eating two large meals a day and skipping the normal dinner time.

I mentioned that the motel I stayed in at Indio, CA, the City Center Motel, had beautiful hand painted murals on the ceilings and walls of each room plus in the office.  They are stunning, and the owner told me they are painted by an older Mexican gentleman who does them for large as well as small businesses.  Here are some photos from my room that don't begin to show the true beauty of these murals, or of the artist's beautiful soul.   The detail in the trees is just exquisite! (Click a photo to enlarge.)

There are some places you just get a delightful feeling being in, and this certainly was one of those places.  The owners take much pride in the business and it is obvious.

I'm so excited just thinking about being home in two days.  I've about decided to leave really early, at daybreak which is at approx. 5:45 am, and then just take all the freeways the GPS comes up with.  I'll take I-5, up the Grapevine, and maybe cut over to Hwy. 99 closer to Sacramento.  It will bring me into the city much nearer to where I live and I won't have to deal with downtown Sac. freeway traffic.  It seems like I've been gone for so long and I'm sure my house will show it.

Note to those who are unfamiliar with "The Grapevine", and maybe some Southern Californians can comment with more detail.  The Grapevine is a huge, long, hill on I-5 that ends at the town of Grapevine.  My first experience with it was my first cross country drive towing my 5th wheel, and since I stayed in the truck lane at 55 mph, I had no trouble at all.  Cars in the other lanes zoom around each other - I think it's sort of a ballet to many drivers.  They will pass a car in the middle lane on the right, then pass the next car on the left, and so on weaving in and out of traffic.  It almost looks graceful, but I hate driving in that kind of traffic, and I've never seen it anywhere except California.  

UPDATE! 
I just turned the TV on to find there is a brush fire in Santa Clarita, which is right in the path of I-5.  It may be out by Friday, but with the heat and wind in that area, I doubt that it will.  I'm picking out an alternate route that is going to add quite a few miles to my trip.  I don't know if I can, or want to, drive 500 miles in a day any more.