Pacifica 2009, Day 3

Today is my last day in beautiful Pacifica. I get up a little early, buy coffee and a pastry, and head to the beach to eat my breakfast. It's a gorgeous day. I don't stay out too long, because I want to get some sewing done before I have to check out.

Square in a Square blocks for the southwest quilt

Mock-up and a couple of views of a tic-tac-toe block
(I did a mock-up in blues and yellows, too, but forgot to take a pic.)

I sew as long as I can, but have to quit to get packed up and checked out by 11:00. As in the past, the manager agrees to hold my suitcase for a while, since I didn't bring a car. I appreciate that.

I sit by the ocean a little while, then walk out to the highway to catch Bus 112 to Serramonte Shopping Center, where I plan to have lunch and do some window shopping. I want to eat Mongolian BBQ and check out the Naturalizer shoe store.

On the bus, I double check with the bus driver that he stops at Rockaway on the return trip. Yeah (as in duh). This only my second time on this bus, and the first time was by accident. I don't want to get stranded or have to walk half a mile out of my way.

After a short ride, the bus pulls into Serramonte Shopping Center. The food court is close by and I survey it for the Mongolian BBQ. Not finding it, I check out the mall map. The restaurant should be near the doors where I came in. I check again. Still nothing. Weird. I look at the map again, then back to the food court. Then I see it...a walled off area where a restaurant should be. Oh... Posted on the wall is an eviction notice. That doesn't sound good. Okay, guess I won't be having Mongolian BBQ today. Darn it!

Nothing else in the food court really gets me excited, so it's out to the mall map, again, to see what other possibilities there are. Elephant Bar sounds really good, with its Asian-style cuisine. There's one close to my house, and I've been there several times. I order Shanghai Cashew Chicken. Man, is it good.

After lunch I find the Naturalizer store. I don't try on any shoes, but I know where the place is now, and I can stop on another trip to Pacifica.

I need to get back to Rockaway and collect my luggage. I catch Bus 112, and when I get a couple of blocks away from the bus stop, I pull the string to let the bus driver know I want to get off. Amazingly, he passes the stop. What the heck?? I look at him and he looks at me. At the next stop, I walk to the front of the bus and ask if he stops at Rockaway. He says yes but I waited too long, and he couldn't stop in time. Bullpuckey. There's no way I can walk back from the transportation center, which is the next major stop. It's half a mile, and over a big, steep hill. I ask if I can ride back with him (reading between the lines, without paying again). He says, sure, but there's a 20 minute layover. That's fine with me.

I wait at the bus shelter, and when Bus 112 pulls up for boarding, there's a different bus driver. I ask if there's another Bus 112 and he says no. I don't want to pay another $1.75 for a half mile ride, and I explain my situation to the new driver. He lets me on, but he's not very happy.

A short ride later and I'm off at Rockaway. I pick up my suitcase from the motel office and sit at the beach one last time. All too soon it's time to head toward the highway for the bus. I use the public restroom, because it's the last time I'll see a decent bathroom for the next hour and a half. Then I stop at Hoffmann's wine and snack shop to see owner Alice, who I met on last year's quilting trip. I chat with her for a few minutes, then out to bus 110. Bus, BART, then an hour's drive home.

Bye-bye, Pacifica! See you again soon.