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Making an early start - in the car and away before 7am! - might feel more impressive if I hadn't been awake since 3.30. Something in me is stuck on Greenwich Very Mean Time; I am uncovering whole new strata of sleeplessness, withered by a second wind of jetlag. Jetstreamlag.
Whatever. We got in the car and drove. Karen drove, that first leg, being wise in the ways of America: between her and Cynthia Sat-Nav we manoeuvred our way all around Los Angeles without taint or traffic. And then we stopped for breakfast.
Oh, breakfast...
Thing is, we have been talking about various American fudz which we Brits just don't understand, even after they have been explained to us. The depth of my not-understanding is exemplified by the fact that I hadn't anticipated finding them on a breakfast menu.
In consequence, and at Karen's positive urging, I had chicken fried steak for breakfast, with biscuits and gravy. Oh, and eggs and potatoes and such. She was ... not complimentary about the biscuits, but at least I now know what they are. Tho' I don't yet understand why a sort of cobbler scone covered with a white sauce would be listed among the toasts and breads.
Also, there were cinnamon buns bigger than Mark's head. I like cinnamon buns as a rule, but I would have felt as though I were eating Mark's head. Which would be bad.
So. Back in the car, and on to San Diego. Where Cynthia guided us more or less to Mysterious Galaxy (she shows signs of faltering at the very last, telling us we've arrived when we just haven't quite), for the first event of ChazCon proper.
Which was ... small, but fun. I read my favourite bit from Jade Man's Skin (which my posse is going to be very tired of hearing before C'Con is over, for lo, it is my favourite bit to read), and personalised half a dozen books, and signed stacks more. Note to USians: Mysterious Galaxy has lots'n'lots of signed copies of Dragon in Chains and Jade Man's Skin, which they would be very happy to sell to you!
Also, there was a guy there who turned out to be a big fan of the Outremer books - but hadn't known that I Daniel Fox was him Chaz Brenchley what wrote them. So that was nice. Even if I couldn't remember the titles of the series. (Note to self: memorise American titles!)
And then - heh! - we were free and footloose in San Diego, and could go play tourist. So we thought we'd go to the zoo. Only by the time Cynthia got us there, it was only a couple of hours before closing, and we figured we'd need longer than that. So we left it till the next day, and walked down through Balboa Park to the air and space museum for their Aliens exhibition (actually, I suspect it's Aliens! with a shriek).
It must, surely to God it must be possible to put together an exhibition that caters to adults as well as to children? I understand the need for bringing in the little people, and they are most welcome - but I increasingly resent the way everything gets pitched at that level. I love museums, and am starting to feel excluded. Grr.
And when we came out it was raining, like hard. And getting colder. This was all my fault: they had told me that the weather would be better in southern California, and I had believed them. I had taken the fur collar off my leather jacket. Fool that I am!
So we got wet, and drove to the Gaslamp district and dived into a restaurant that claimed to serve tapas, and did not. Inside it was a very smart fishhouse (tho' I can't remember the name - something beginning with O? Ostretia? Something on that order), and I ate crabcake and halibut and lobster mash and creme brulee. Om nom.
And today we have all day in San Diego, and will try the zoo again, I think: but it has been bucketing down all my hours of consciousness, and I'm not sure how much fun a zoo is in the rain. I haven't been to a zoo since I was a kid...
Whatever. We got in the car and drove. Karen drove, that first leg, being wise in the ways of America: between her and Cynthia Sat-Nav we manoeuvred our way all around Los Angeles without taint or traffic. And then we stopped for breakfast.
Oh, breakfast...
Thing is, we have been talking about various American fudz which we Brits just don't understand, even after they have been explained to us. The depth of my not-understanding is exemplified by the fact that I hadn't anticipated finding them on a breakfast menu.
In consequence, and at Karen's positive urging, I had chicken fried steak for breakfast, with biscuits and gravy. Oh, and eggs and potatoes and such. She was ... not complimentary about the biscuits, but at least I now know what they are. Tho' I don't yet understand why a sort of cobbler scone covered with a white sauce would be listed among the toasts and breads.
Also, there were cinnamon buns bigger than Mark's head. I like cinnamon buns as a rule, but I would have felt as though I were eating Mark's head. Which would be bad.
So. Back in the car, and on to San Diego. Where Cynthia guided us more or less to Mysterious Galaxy (she shows signs of faltering at the very last, telling us we've arrived when we just haven't quite), for the first event of ChazCon proper.
Which was ... small, but fun. I read my favourite bit from Jade Man's Skin (which my posse is going to be very tired of hearing before C'Con is over, for lo, it is my favourite bit to read), and personalised half a dozen books, and signed stacks more. Note to USians: Mysterious Galaxy has lots'n'lots of signed copies of Dragon in Chains and Jade Man's Skin, which they would be very happy to sell to you!
Also, there was a guy there who turned out to be a big fan of the Outremer books - but hadn't known that I Daniel Fox was him Chaz Brenchley what wrote them. So that was nice. Even if I couldn't remember the titles of the series. (Note to self: memorise American titles!)
And then - heh! - we were free and footloose in San Diego, and could go play tourist. So we thought we'd go to the zoo. Only by the time Cynthia got us there, it was only a couple of hours before closing, and we figured we'd need longer than that. So we left it till the next day, and walked down through Balboa Park to the air and space museum for their Aliens exhibition (actually, I suspect it's Aliens! with a shriek).
It must, surely to God it must be possible to put together an exhibition that caters to adults as well as to children? I understand the need for bringing in the little people, and they are most welcome - but I increasingly resent the way everything gets pitched at that level. I love museums, and am starting to feel excluded. Grr.
And when we came out it was raining, like hard. And getting colder. This was all my fault: they had told me that the weather would be better in southern California, and I had believed them. I had taken the fur collar off my leather jacket. Fool that I am!
So we got wet, and drove to the Gaslamp district and dived into a restaurant that claimed to serve tapas, and did not. Inside it was a very smart fishhouse (tho' I can't remember the name - something beginning with O? Ostretia? Something on that order), and I ate crabcake and halibut and lobster mash and creme brulee. Om nom.
And today we have all day in San Diego, and will try the zoo again, I think: but it has been bucketing down all my hours of consciousness, and I'm not sure how much fun a zoo is in the rain. I haven't been to a zoo since I was a kid...