Lock-outs and roundabouts

Written last night:

At 8 this morning I was off to explore. But, of course, it happened again: Rosa and I couldn’t get out of the parking lot. The arm stayed down, no matter what I did — scanning my key card fast, slow, backward, etc. I glanced at the screen and it said, “Turner Locked Out.” These little things make me feel for the immigrants. Not wanted, not wanted, it wears on you, and what I’m experiencing is superficial and fixable with a phone call. Luckily, no car was directly behind me, so, heart thumping,  I backed away from the exit and drove to an empty parking spot, where I called the hotel. “Do I have to come over there to fix this?” I think I was wailing in a grown-up kind of way. “No, ma’am, no, ma’am! I’ll update your card from here,” the desk duty man promised. It’s kind of scary what computers can do without you: let me in, let me out, at someone’s whim. Anyway, it worked, so Rosa and I peeled onto the street before another glitch could stop us.

My simple plan was to follow J Street out of town. I expected to find countryside soon enough. But instead, we drove through a string of suburbs, starting with lovely old houses, then slightly smaller houses, then more suburban-type houses, then smaller suburban-type houses, then Sacramento State University,the Sacramento River; East Sacramento, Arden, Carmichael … I may have some of this slightly mixed up, but you get the idea: lots of homes and the services that surround them. I’m getting my bearings; I need those services, and maybe I’ll make friends who live in those houses. 

Back in midtown, we meandered the streets, reviewing key businesses: grocery, coffee shop, art supply store, pet store, Zing’s place. Sacramento has more stop signs, roundabouts, and one-way streets than Tallahassee. Driving on Sunday’s near-empty streets made it easier to get used to these changes.

Back at the hotel, I called my friend Susan and we had a long talk, and in the evening Keith introduced me to a great place to eat -- the Tower Restaurant, which may become my own favorite —  it has a kind of overflowing, delicious hospitality. 

Today was relaxing; not a single hotel meal! Tomorrow I’m staying out of the painters’ way at the condo; May they finish soon!