BaldBrady’s Blog

We have been in the USA for 12 days—time enough to be over jet lag, and time enough to assess my reaction to coming back after an 8-year absence.

I expected more changes—the OC was pretty much how I remembered it. A few businesses are gone, but most are intact. The biggest change was all the new construction that has completely altered the campus of my former employer, Cal State Fullerton. I literally got lost on campus! One comforting, still-intact feature: the old escalators in McCarthy Hall—and fittingly, they weren’t working.

While there, I was reminded of SoCal’s greatest attraction: the friendly people. I had forgotten what it was like to wander around Albertsons at 7:30 am and have everyone I pass (customers and staff alike) wish me a good morning. Likewise, passing someone on the sidewalk often led to a short conversation. All that sunshine makes for a friendly population—that is something I do miss.

Sticker shock hit me fast. Dinner for two at my favorite old taco stand, Q-Tortas, was $50+! We’re talking a walk-up window here, not a sit-down, tablecloths place. Granted, I ordered like my 30-year-old self, and we had enough food for two meals, but still! And gas! The cheapest we saw was $4.99 per gallon; the most expensive was at a lonely gas station in the middle of the Mojave off I-40—nearly $11 per gallon, complete with a sign warning customers not to complain about the high prices! We left without making a purchase.

We had a great time catching up with friends and former students while in Fullerton/Placentia. It was good to see I am not the only one who has aged over the last eight years!

Oh yeah…the birding was pretty good at Bolsa Chica. Nearly every bird was a lifer! Pics will be posted on FB.

After a few days, we moved across the desert to Sedona (with a quick stop at Rainbow Basin to show Jane where I spent so many days). She was mildly impressed. On the other hand, we were both quite disappointed in Sedona. Yes, the scenery is nice (maybe I am a bit jaded, and Jane is not a huge fan of desert landscapes), but one of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Sedona for a few days was the large number of fine restaurants to try. Ha! We ended up eating four out of five nights at our Airbnb with Safeway ready-to-eat food.

On night one, we arrived too late (too late in Sedona is 8 pm, when most restaurants close!). Night two, we had an early burger and beer at a nearby casual restaurant. Then, for the next three nights, I tried to make dinner reservations—EVERY restaurant was completely booked, many of them for the next week or even month! Sure, we could have gotten a table at 3 pm two days later…we chose Safeway.

On our last night, based on ChatGPT recommendations, we drove up to Airport Mesa to watch the sunset. Holy crap—so did 5,000 other people! Huge parking lot, no views without people in the way. Some had 10-foot-long selfie sticks to get above the crowd. The sunset was a dud—no clouds, just an orange ball dipping below a distant butte. We left early to beat the traffic and drove to 3–4 restaurants (ones that don’t take reservations). They either had huge lines or the kitchen was already closed (7:45 pm). Back to Safeway.

We have been in the USA for 12 days – time enough to be over jet lag, and time enough to assess my reaction to coming back after an 8 year absence.

I expected more changes – the OC was pretty much how I remembered it. A few businesses are gone, but most are intact. The biggest change was all the new construction that completely changed the campus of my former employer, Cal State Fullerton. I literally got lost on campus! One comforting still-intact feature: the old escalators in McCarthy Hall – and fittingly they weren’t working.

While there I was reminded about SoCal’s greatest attraction: the friendly people. I forgot what it was like to wander around Albertson’s at 7:30 am and have everyone one I pass (customer and staff alike) wish me a good morning. Likewise, passing someone on the sidewalk elicited a short conversation. All that sunshine makes for a friendly population – that is something I do miss.

Sticker shock hit me fast. Dinner for two at my favorite old taco stand, Q-Tortas was $50+!. We are talking a walk-up window here, not a sit-down table-cloths place. Granted, I ordered like my 30 year-old self, and we had enough food for 2 meals, but still! And gas! Cheapest we saw was $4.99 per gallon – most expensive was at a lonely gas station in the middle of the Mojave off I-40 – nearly $11 per gallon, and complete with a sign warning customers not to complain about the high prices! We left without making a purchase.

We had a great time catching up with friends and former students while in Fullerton/Placentia. It was good to see I am not the only one who has aged over the last 8 year!

Oh yea….the birding was pretty good at Bolsa Chica. Nearly every bird was a lifer! Pics will be posted on FB.

After a few days, we moved across the desert to Sedona (with a quick stop at Rainbow Basin to show Jane where I spent so many days). She was mildly impressed. On the other hand we were both quite disappointed in Sedona. Yes, the scenery is nice (maybe I am a bit jaded, and Jane is not a huge fan of desert landscapes), but one of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Sedona for a few days was the large number of fine restaurants to try. Ha! We ended up eating 4 out of 5 nights at our airBnB from Safeway ready-to-eat food. On night number 1, we arrived too late (too late in Sedona is 8 pm when most restaurants close!). Night two we had an early burger and beer at a nearby casual restaurant. Then for the next 3 nights, I tried to make reservations for dinner. EVERY restaurant was completely booked – many of them for the next week or even month! Ok, we could have gotten a table at 3 pm for 2 days in the future….we chose Safeway. On our last night, based on ChatGPT recommendations we drove up to Airport Mesa to watch the sunset. Holy crap! So did 5000 other people! Huge parking lot, no views without people in the way. People had 10 ft long selfie sticks to get up above the crowd. The sunset was a dud, no clouds, just an orange ball dipping below a distant butte. We left early to beat the traffic and drove to 3-4 restaurants (ones that do not take reservations), they were either huge long lines, or the kitchen was already closed (7:45 pm). Back to Safeway.

Sedona wasn’t all bad. We loved our big Airbnb house in a deathly quiet neighborhood—it had a nice yard and was well equipped. I did discover that one of their coffee mugs was decidedly not microwaveable—I have two large blisters on my fingers to prove it. The other nice surprise was the Sedona waste disposal site. Yes, you read that right. Its actual name is the Sedona Wetlands Preserve. The city of Sedona teamed up with the National Audubon Society to create a man-made series of marshes and ponds. Great birding locality with numerous waterfowl and passerine species. I spent two fun mornings there.

We also spent a day driving up to the South Rim. For me, the Grand Canyon from the rim is just a big hole. Jane was likewise only mildly impressed. It did bring back memories of the numerous backpacking trips I did there in my youth, and the raft trip I did with my son and 20 colleagues 20-odd years ago. It makes me think about doing another raft trip—anyone want to go?

We are off to Vegas today. I’ve heard about big changes there too (and high prices). I’ll tell you about it later!