The flight arrived on time on a brilliant day, the sun sparkling in the sapphire Pacific. The
Uber ride to the hotel, unfortunately, took rather longer when the driver missed an exit, and
the U-turn far down the road converted a twenty-minute ride into an hour and five.

One last box remained to check, per the travel guides: Manly Beach, a quick twenty-minute
ferry ride I could have done without. I had carried a mental image of a rugged shore —
towering cliffs, towering trees guarding pristine coves. Instead, it was another beach town of
the Southern California persuasion, a busy tourist trap. Well, you have to see it to know it.

I squeezed in a quick forty-five-minute workout this morning, and now it is time to hail the
Uber one last time. Then binge television and some wine across a fourteen-hour flight —
looking forward to a bit of levity and libations.

Bakersfield, here I come back.

– brij