Driving

what happened

On Thursday, I dropped Latifah off at work, then took her drop-top Mercedes for a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. I stopped at a beautiful home in Malibu that had been turned into a Museum. I also stopped at a small bookstore and a vintage porn shop. We drove back to Texas on Friday and Saturday.

details

Malibu is beautiful! I ended up there by accident on Thursday. I asked Latifah to use her car for the day. I thought it would be fun to drive her Mercedes convertible in L.A. traffic. I intended to take Hanan to the science Museum, but it took the whole day for Halimah to finish tightening her dredlocks. I dropped Latifah off at her job in Santa Monica and ate breakfast at a pretty little restuarant there. I sat at the counter reading Walden and flirting with the waitress. I hoped in Latifah’s car and spent the next thirty minutes trying to figure out how to put the top down. Then I took off driving without any particular destination. I wound up on the Pacific Coast Highway. It felt great to drive fast down the winding road. The ocean was on my left and mountains were on my right. Tony Williams’ drums were louder than the ocean.

I saw a sign for the Malibu Lagoon State Beach and pulled over. I wandered around for a while and found myself on the grounds of the Adamson House. Bursts of flowers and a meticulously kept lawn surrounded the house. It was built in a Spanish Colonial style. I paid the five dollars and took the tour. The house was breathtakingly beautiful, inside and out.

Inside the Adamson House. The “rug” is actually tile.

I drove a bit further down the coast, stopping when I found a bookstore called Diesel. I found a stack of fascinating books on physics. I also found a beautiful book of tattoes. I bought Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations for ten bucks and escaped without spending any more money. I ate an overpriced quesadilla, then drove back to L.A. I tried to go the aviation museum at the Santa Monica airport, but it was closed. On my way back out to Latifah’s job, I found a cool little porn bookstore. They had hundreds of vintage Playboys and Hustlers from the sixties on. I parked in the garage on 2nd street and went over to the mall. I found out later that there were six identical parking garages on that block. I spent a half hour frantically searching for Latifah’s car when I started in the wrong garage.

I went to sleep early that night. I notice that my mood is often low at night, especially if I am tired. I went to bed thinking dark thoughts, but I woke up refreshed and happy.

Sandy and George stopped by to say goodbye. We got on the road after a stop at Auntie Janice’s house. I drove from L.A. to Pheonix. I sped the whole way, topping out at 115 mph. It was exhilarating.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. When I called Kim late Friday night, she suggested again that I stay at my parents until we got things sorted out. I agreed, begrudgingly. Mom gave Hanan a hard time about the shirt she was wearing and made her put on a jacket even thought it was a hundred degrees. I scooted over next to her while she cried in the back seat. Kim ended up picking me up anyway, we had a tense conversation before falling asleep.

this weekend I was awed by

the mountains and beach and ocean of the Pacific coast

this weekend I was intrigued by

Thoreau’s ideas about clothes and houses

the possibilities for traveling across the United States. I want to hop freight trains one day. Or ride a motorcycle across the U.S. In a few years, when Hanan gets her driving license, we plan to go on a grand road trip around the American West.

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