Journey 4: Fiddlers and Footsteps ...

Round trip distance --- 245 miles

Cap'n Baldy here!  

   Squished between Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach, the little city of Hermosa Beach is only 15 blocks wide. Well known as a hub for partying and beach volleyball, Hermosa Beach might seem a most improbable location to find a couple of fusty old-timers like us!
   What may not be as well-known is the fact that Hermosa Beach is a regular venue for wildly popular concerts by the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles. Our daughter, Sue, is a new member of the celebrated band! It's been said that several of her friends, military veteran clients and occupational therapy interns will be around to assist in ticket sales and collection! So, let's roll on up the coast and see what's to see and hear what's to hear ...

  

    As we headed up I-5, I had ample opportunity to reflect that driving on a Los Angeles freeway is not for the faint of heart ... 75 to 80 miles an hour is pretty much an average city speed with some jacked-up individuals whipping past at 90! Obviously, the driving situation hereabouts is sometimes psychotic ... we learn to deal with it because we have to, y'all know what ah'm sayin'? These are occasions for very strong black coffee and Stevie Ray Vaughan's "When the House is A - Rockin', Don't Bother Knockin" on the sound system at high volume ...

   Ah, the colorful scene at Hermosa Beach doesn't disappoint! Salt air, mellow surfer dudes, beach entrepreneurs ... that casual atmosphere we love so much ...

   Rows of beach volleyball courts that stretch for miles, seriously gorgeous sand, Hennessey's Tavern for a cool afternoon brew ... ah yes, just like when the Beach Boys were rockin' ...

                                                My gorgeous Beach Babe...hot as ever ...

    Goldilocks was thinking back to her youth when she did stuff like this ... I was thinking the kid's crazy  and will bust his neck ...

 

   Get it right this time, Humans! You PEOPLE do NOT own this beach ... I DO!

 



   The 40-or-so members of the Scottish Fiddlers DO know how to make an entrance! They don't individually shamble on stage ... they MARCH grandly into the hall as a group, led by an expert Scottish bagpiper! We LOVE the music ... I do hope that fact shows through  in my narrative since there is simply no way to capture that music or our experience of it! The sound just rolls on and on, with wildly tapping feet, capturing one's central nervous system. Featured in this concert were airs and dances played in New Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada ... many of these songs originated back in Scotland in the 1700's! There were sounds from other locales as well ...Errdigen y Pybydd Coch  and Ymdaith Gwyr Dyfnaint ... got that straight? These tunes are from Wales a few centuries back!

Sue marches off-stage during the recessional!

 

    We connected after the concert and spoke with gracious friends of Susan's...

      As the picture shows, Sue's been playing classical guitar for quite some time ... she's was about 10 when this picture was taken!

 

    Miles of inviting hiking trails on a brilliant, windy Sunday on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, just south of Hermosa Beach ... an outstanding "family time" with Sue ...

   The headlands near the Point Vicente lighthouse have spectacular ocean views ...

Our first geocache score on the Palos Verdes Peninsula!

    Sue now lives on the Peninsula in a beautiful condo owned by the Japanese health corporation she works for ... she lives in the easy company of two rescued rabbits named Nigel and Prudence...they had been abandoned as babies on the center divider of a busy highway. Sue also cares for two rescued parakeets named Alhambra and Tika. Her place is an island of peace and sanctuary. Goldilocks and I will be spending more time here, taking care of these animal friends while Sue travels for her work...a very good thing, indeed!!

 

   Beloveds, 'tis a joy to have you travel with us!

 

   Until the next time, stay well and prosper!

 

   Affectionately,

   Baldy

 

                                                                 Forever Dude!!