Tomorrow I begin my journey from the Philippines, my adopted country since 2012, back to my original hometown of Hermosa Beach, California. I will be staying with my younger brother and nephew in the same house I grew up in, less than a mile from the beach. Hermosa Beach, a long-time surfing hub and at one time a family-oriented town, is now home to big time volleyball tournaments, fiestas, and trendy eateries and clubs.
After seeing family and a few friends, during the July 4 weekend I will take a side trip with another friend to the remote plains of Eastern Arizona, and stay in a small trailer with no amenities (water, electricity, or bathroom!). I am looking forward to solitude, and catching up on reading on my Kindle.)
The next weekend I will take another side trip in which I pick up one friend in San Jose and we journey to a buddy’s house to the small town of Isleton in the Sacramento Delta area. (I see these same two guys every November for a week in Puerto Vallarta at a luxurious time share.) I have a feeling not many people know about the Sacramento Delta.
It has many waterways, bridges, marinas, and restaurants set on marinas. It also contains the town of Locke, a historic Chinese-American rural community, now designated a National Historic Landmark District. The Ryde Hotel, with its own interesting history and style, is located in this area. Supposedly once owned by Lon Chaney, it was frequented by the movie elite and politicians, (Herbert Hoover stayed there in 1928), underwent some scandal, and even turned into a ‘swingers palace’ in the 1970’s.
Another feature in the area, for those into very tall structures, is the KXTV/KOVR television mast, 2049 feet tall which makes it 57 feet taller than the Freedom Tower in New York City!
All of this paves the way for the major side venture of the greater trip—heading to Europe starting July 15! The Europe trip will include:
- Meeting a couple and staying 4 days in Berlin.
- Going with that couple and seeing their son’s wedding in Helsinki, Finland.
- Visiting a different couple in Milan, Italy.
- Finally, visiting my brother’s first wife in Greece.
Only Greece have I been to before. I promise a post each from each Europe locale.
Thanks for reading!
Writing, Reading, and More 
Nice read. Looking forward to hearing your dispatches from overseas, Steve. It would be interesting to hear your impressions on what catches your eye that that’s distinctively different from American life . Also, if you can talk to locals overseas and see what they think about the U.S., it’s people, political leaders and contenders, I’d love to read dispatches.
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Thank you William. I recently viewed the 1940 Hitchcock movie “Foreign Correspondent” with Joel McCray and Lorraine Day. I intend to be part foreign correspondent on the trip—and send as you say “dispatches”!
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