My previous familiarity with San Clemente was its being known as “The Western White House” during the Nixon Administration. So imagine my surprise and delight to discover a thriving beach town of charm, historic Spanish architecture and elegance, as well as magnificent Pacific sunsets that wash away for me its former association with cynicism and paranoia. Plus, it’s only about a twenty-minute drive from our house in Lake Forest. Also, Amtrak stops right at the entrance to the town’s wonderful pier! (Yes, an arrival by rail is in our future plans.)

   I forget the specific circumstances, but Carolyn once emphatically chastised me for not having any interests. I actually don’t in the conventional sense of DIY,  woodworking, fixing up cars, feeding the poor or anything to do with yard work.