January 5th – 6th, 2008
Farmer’s Market
So what is a Hachiya persimmon, we asked? It’s much softer than regular persimmons, we heard. It’s very rich in flavor, and delicious. It must be eaten soft. If it’s eaten hard, it’s like stuffing your mouth with cotton and sucking on a lemon – it just dries the mouth right up. To eat it soft, take the persimmon, pinch off the top, and suck the contents right out, said the vendor as he handed me a moist paper towel and a soft Hachiya persimmon.
And so went the adventures during our morning at the Farmer’s Market in Torrance CA. Sparsely attended because of the big storms hitting the area, it was nonetheless a complete treat in terms of diversity, food and education. We ate pupusas from an El Salvadorian booth – a sort of pancake filled with chicken, beef or pork, vegetables or cheese, or everything. We drank a limonada (lemonade) from the El Salvadorian booth – it had all natural juices, along with whole grapes and pieces of mango. We saw Peruvian food; a variety of Asian foods; Hawaiian donuts; tamales; and a Hawaiian/Samoan barbeque booth.
We agonized over whether to get freshly baked ‘everything’ bagels, or a 6-grain/flax seed bread; and we tasted at least 5 varieties before settling finally on a small bowl each of roasted red pepper and artichoke hummus. We checked out all the fruits and vegetables and flowers, and splurged on a small bag of kiwis and a grapefruit radish. (The grapefruit radish looks like a turnip on the outside and, you guessed it, like a red grapefruit on the inside; it must be peeled – the skin isn’t eaten, and it has a much milder flavor than an ordinary radish).
While we shopped the stalls, we listened to a guitar player singing all the old traveling/country/rock classics – he had quite a good voice, ands sang for an impossibly long time before taking a break. We intermingled with whites, blacks, and Asians and Central and South Americans from a wide variety of countries. We tasted any number of foods – every booth was delighted to give a taste of whatever was for sale.
Checking out Redondo Beach
We weren’t quite ready to quit adventuring after such a great morning at the Farmer’s Market, so we cruised slowly back towards home in the mini-van that Steve and Kathy had so graciously loaned us for the day. Steve had already stopped with us and showed us the Wilderness Park where we had been headed when they “intercepted” us a few days earlier. It was a very nice little park – and would have made an awesome stop on a pleasant day. We were chagrined to find out that the park is closed for camping on Wednesdays, and we wouldn’t have been able to stay there anyway!
As we headed down Pacific Coast Highway looking for Trader Joes and Whole Foods, we spotted a Mexican fast food place advertising burritos with rice and beans and a drink for only $4.50. Still hungry, and knowing we could have Taco Bell anytime, we headed back to it. If the prices and quantity hadn’t caught our eye, the line-up of people in front would have cinched the deal. And it more than lived up to its expectations. We found out later that our ‘find’, El Burrito Jr., is a local institution.
California is different
Sated from our rice and beans and chili relleno burritos, we watched as small boy, perhaps 18 mos. old, not yet talking, wandered around among the outdoor seating. He stopped to point out some small scratches on a bench before he moved on – they appeared to be from someone’s metal pants buttons scraping on the seat – while his mother clucked disapprovingly at his discovery. “That’s graffiti, Philip!”, she told the 18 month old, very seriously. “Can you say, ‘graffiti’, Philip?” We thought – only in California!
We love how civilized the drivers are here, compared to Florida and many other states. People are courteous, they follow the rules, they’re not out trying to prove manhood or vent rage. We also love the incredible variety of ethnic food places. The quality is generally amazing, and the prices are really affordable. We have found this to be true all up and down the coast, from Seattle (which is a tad more expensive), to Los Olivos and Santa Ynez, to Carpinteria, Santa Monica, and on down to Redondo Beach. We hope it keeps up until we hit Mexico!
We did finally find Whole Foods, and it felt like truly being home again, sharing a coffee and sitting quietly in their indoor seating area, watching people and talking things over. Whole Foods pointed out another facet of life we’ve seen here that we don’t see in South Florida – there was only one bathroom, and each time a new person lined up and realized there was a waiting line, invariably the first person in line said “Do you really have to go? Is it an emergency? Because I can wait!” We loved it!
Taking care of business
After Whole Foods, we ventured really far a field – a whole 6 miles down the road to an Office Depot. We’ve been out of business cards for several months, and we are meeting at least 6 people a day that we want to give cards to – but we’ve not had card stock and haven’t been anywhere near a place to get it. We’ve also wanted to copy our passports and drivers licenses so that in case the originals are (heaven forbid) lost or stolen, we will know the information on them, and can shorten the process of getting new ones. We are leaving a copy with Alex and another copy with close friends so we are covered no matter what. We are now the happy owners of the copies we wanted, and we have new business cards printed out.
Weather
The storm that was supposed to be so terrible didn’t materialize here very much. We had a few hours in the middle of the night Friday with serious wind and rain, but yesterday was quiet and overcast, with the sun actually making a faint appearance at times. Today has been much darker and colder, and we’ve had more rain, but it’s still been nothing like what we anticipated. Chelsea and I have continued doing our computer work, and have gotten organized with the food. So, barring outright rain, which isn’t predicted right now, we’ll be on our way to Laguna Beach tomorrow morning early. We are anticipating about a 7 to 8 hour trip.
Heroes of the Week
We will really miss Kathy and Steve and their kids. We have had a wonderful time being here. From watching Dave play with Duke (the labradoodle) with a laser dot, to having the parakeet practice its rappelling skills up my leg while I type, to playing Old Maid with the family, life hasn’t been dull for a moment. They’ve included us in their family meals, and made us feel incredibly welcome. A big Hero of the Week to our guardian angels!
Signing off from Redondo Beach, CA