Monday morning I drive to Matt’s house where we meet with Nancy. After we have enjoyed a cup of Matt’s delicious home-made coldbrew coffee we drive to Disneyland which is only about 15 minutes from his house. Perhaps because it’s Monday or that it’s a cloudy day, it’s not so busy today. Walking around in Disneyland is a lot of fun, even before we get on the rides. Everything is so beautiful, it really makes you feel like you’re in a different world. We have a lot of fun and times flies by. We go on many rides. Some of my favorites are Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a rollercoaster that goes through a mountain, Carsland, where you’re in a car and take a race against another car, and Mickey’s Toontown, a fun place that makes you feel like you’re in a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Before I know it, it’s evening and around 10pm the park closes. We drive back to Matt’s house where I can stay for the coming days, so that’s nice.
In the morning Matt and I drive to one of his favorite coffee places where we work for a while on our laptops before he has to go to the office. On my way to the coffee place my car gives a warning that one of my tires is low on air and so I decide to drive to the local Firestone car repair place.
I’m being helped by a friendly guy named Joseph, but he warns me that it can take a while because Hertz usually is not so fast with approving repairs. I leave the car, walk to a nearby Denny’s restaurant and enjoy a nice American breakfast. After about an hour I walk back the the garage and he tells me it still takes longer and so I walk to a Starbucks to do some work. A few hours later I go back to the garage to hear that he’s still waiting on the approval. It’s getting a bit annoying now. I call Melisa at Hertz in San Diego and she offers to help from her side. On one hand I’m glad that the problem with the tire happened now that I’m here in a big city, but on the other hand it’s a bit disappointing to have to wait a whole day for my tires to get replaced. Finally halfway the afternoon I get the good news that the tire replacement is approved and they can work on the car. Not much later my car is good to go again. They also checked the whole car, so that’s comforting to know that I’m good to go on a long roadtrip.
I’m happy that my car is fixed and drive to Huntington Beach, because I got a message from my friend Dawn who lives in Idaho that she’s also in California for a few days with her sister Debbie who is a friend from Amsterdam. They’re at a cool restaurant right at the beach when I walk up there. It’s very nice to see them again after a few years. We have a late lunch together and then walk the pier and the streets for a bit. Then I have to drive back, before traffic gets too bad. In the evening I’m back at Matt’s house and he comes up with the idea to go to a local brewery. I like that, because there are many great microbreweries in California. This one is located at some industrial area and they have a lot of beers. We have a fun night of enjoying the local flavors and good talks. My plan is to start with the roadtrip tomorrow.
