Not Even a Bomb Threat Could Ruin Our Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying your holiday with loved ones – or away from loved ones if that’s your thing! I kid. I kid.

It is blissful having some time off. The hubs and I went back and forth on what to do for Thanksgiving and finally decided we’d ride up to Santa Monica. The plan was to make a stop in San Pedro on what used to be Ft. MacArthur Air Force Base so we could hang out and I could walk down memory lane. My dad was stationed there when I was a kid. We’d ride up the coast, take in the sights and have a beautiful day. And we’d leave by 0900 hours, at the very latest (9am).

Well, yesterday hubby got himself an early holiday gift. A new windshield trim for the Road Glide:

It looks pretty awesome if I do say so myself. It took him a little longer than anticipated to install it on the bike since you need a microscope to find the screws! He came upstairs, obviously, not happy with those minuscule screws.

After putting his tools away and changing his shirt, (finally) we took off. It was 1030. Oops.

It was colder than anticipated. And traffic was not so great. There were about five accidents on the highway according to my GPS. Once we got off of the coast and onto the highway, traffic was stopped. We were hungry and cold. We just wanted to get somewhere. At this pace it would be dark by the time we got to San Pedro. So…

…we decided to get off in San Clemente two and a half hours later – a drive that normally takes about an hour. We rode around a bit and I could feel the sun finally starting to warm me. Once we got off the highway, it was actually great to take in the view. I’ve always liked San Clemente. It wasn’t a bad place to spend a Thanksgiving afternoon:

Our first dining choice was closed and so I went to my trusty Open Table app and found a little place called Rocco’s Restaurant. We were hungry and, frankly, desperate. The reviews on Yelp looked good so I held my breath (more so that they’d actually be open than the food would be decent) and made the reservation.

We rode up, parked and were greeted by a lovely staff. I immediately ordered hot tea and poured it down my throat with a vengeance! When it came to the menu, I went with the traditional Thanksgiving meal and the hubs ordered a salmon pasta:

 

 Both were great and I may have mentioned that those green beans were even better than the ones I make! We finished off with pumpkin cheesecake and tiramisu. Not very traditional, but delicious all the same!

We decided to try a “warmer” route; go north and take Highway 74 East to the 15 South and home. San Pedro and Santa Monica can wait until another day. With less traffic. That would be the ticket. We’d make it home and just have a quiet, relaxing afternoon and evening! Wonderful!

As soon as we got on the I-5 traffic was backed up. Oy vey! We finally reached the 74 and what an awesome ride through the Cleveland National Forest! Except for the near miss accident which almost took place right in front of us. And for the cold we were trying to avoid!

We made it to the 15 South, stopped for gas and I was hoping to find a Starbucks – or any place – that would be open and offering hot tea or hot chocolate. A minute or so down the road in Old Town Temecula, there was a Starbucks according to Yelp. Glory, glory Hallelujah! We drove a very long minute and alas my hopes were dashed. How dare Starbucks observe Thanksgiving?! /sarcasm They were closed.

We hit the road and hubby meant business. He was making awesome time. I was getting so excited on the back of the bike knowing we’d make it home by 1600 hours (4:00pm).

And then this happened:

Traffic came to a complete halt. ALL lanes were being diverted off the highway. Luckily we were on the motorcycle. Lane splitting in California is legal and believe me when I tell you that we avoid it anyway. But today was an exception. We carefully weaved our way through traffic and got off the highway. At the time we had no idea what was going on. The hubs saw the bomb squad. I thought it was an escaped criminal. Turns out a guy was playing a (stupid and horrible) joke on his sister, disguised his voice, called her and told her there was a bomb in her car. She called 911 and, well, click here to read the rest. Sufficed to say, the guy is in jail tonight and there are a lot of pissed off people in San Diego.

It was a collection of things gone wrong, but after about 175 miles:

Today marks our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. It didn’t go as planned, pretty much, at all. But it didn’t matter. Cue the corny music: We were together. We made the best of it and when one person wasn’t feeling like Miss or Mister Sally/Sam Sunshine, the other person stepped up and made the best of things.

We are now lounging on our great sofa, in our warm home sipping wine. It is a so quiet and peaceful. We have so much to be grateful for. I’m really happy to focus on that and each other.

So from our home to yours, have a beautiful night and Happy Thanksgiving.