Without Lifting A Finger

Parked at Joe's because of the flat rate: $6. Old time garage where you keep your lights on and honk every few seconds, so you don't run into anyone coming from the opposite direction. Felt like the least little shaker would've put my car under a ton of bricks. The whole area was a wonderful admix of old and new. Lots of youngsters/hipsters/what-have-sters with a sprinkling of homeless. I had coffee at Philz (smaller and funkier than my Philz), walked around for an hour, stumbled on a hidden park amid the jungle of highrises and concrete, met a couple of friends at IHOP for a "real" breakfast. *

Clouds like smoke, and Saddleback on the horizon. PHILZ. Amos Oz. T S Eliot and "cultural conservatism." Went down 2nd, down Granada, past St. Bart's, around the lagoon and home. *

Peet's on 2nd shut down at the end of January -- too bad. There was a faithful following but, of course, it didn't get the draw like the Bucks on the opposite side of the street. I had been exploring the new PHILZ when I heard the news. Last time I was at Peet's was a week or two before it closed, because I went to PHILZ late in the morning and there wasn't a seat in the house. * A competitive shopping street: 2nd. Coffee shops come and go. A shame. Peet's had let a few things slide, but they were trying to fit in. They even recently converted the Boys' and Girls' Rooms to All Gender. Oh, well. * What's coming to that corner next? I remember Chipotle before Peet's and Johnny Rockets before that, but all that shops-come-and-go-biz was ages ago. *

Caught a great sunrise @ Lagoon. Tried out the new PHILZ on 2nd Street for coffee. Great coffee but a bit pricey. Finished the Thistle = Hadji Murad and have moved on to Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Ilyich . Walked to the Belmont Pier and along the beach. Passed Danny on the walking path. *