Not The Quantity But The Quality

Local News

Written by Phyllis J. Lubin

Thursday, 04 November 2010 12:34

The author and her husband on the beach in California.

As Iâ€™m sitting in Supreme Court waiting for a hearing to begin, I ponder the fact that just one week ago today I was drinking fresh California orange juice in beautiful sunny California. Well, maybe not so sunny; in fact, rather rainy: pouring rain with thunder and lightning. Who would have predicted such weather? When planning this trip the only thing on my mind was finding hotels with beautiful swimming pools.

In case you donâ€™t recall, swimming is my choice for exercise and relaxation. Of course, all the hotels I chose had only outdoor poolsâ€”beautiful, luxurious, tranquil outdoor pools. Why would the â€œit never rains in sunny Californiaâ€ hotel need an indoor pool? And October should have been the perfect time to be here: itâ€™s typically in the 70s and sunny. Instead, we had cold 60s and rain.

To get the full effect of â€œsunnyâ€ California, I utilized every upgrade and special possible with Hertz to be able to get the thrill of driving in a convertible. We were going to be a cool, carefree couple driving with the roof down, enjoying our fun in the sun! Well, we had the convertible, and we managed to drive with the roof down at 6:15 a.m. on our way to the morning minyan at the Chabad of Huntington Beach.

What a pleasure that was! Being a part of the morning prayers in a shul without the worry of getting the children ready for school. (That had already taken place long distance at 4 a.m. California time, 7 a.m. New York time, when I called to be assured that everyone was on their way to school.) We were warmly greeted by Rabbi Berkowitz and a few of the members of the congregation who made it out to the 6:30 minyan.

Despite the uncooperative weather, for the most part we were able to appreciate the outdoors. I kept reminding my husband that although the weather might be questionable, this was still California, as proven by the beautiful palm trees lining the streets. We were there three nights, and each night was spent in a different hotel. (Spending each night in three different hotels made us feel that we were away a lot longer than only three nights.) Each hotel was beautiful and unique.

The first night, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency of Huntington Beach. When I told the public-relations executive, Kelly Castady, that we would be in the area only a short time and that we needed a refrigerator because of our dietary concerns, we were told not to worry, since every room was equipped with a refrigerator, free of charge. In addition, we received luxury treatment and were fortunate to be staying in a newly remodeled section of the hotel, with access to the Regency Lounge.

We had a lovely terrace facing the ocean, and we enjoyed our first night in California immensely. For us, the Regency Lounge was a lifesaver. We were able to partake of drinks of soda and juice at almost any moment of the day without any extra fees, and fresh fruit was always available. There was an assortment of boxed Kelloggâ€™s kosher cereals in the morning, along with more fresh fruit and drinks. And, of course, complimentary computer and Internet access was very useful for both of us.

I am happy to report that when we arrived at the hotel on Sunday evening, it was not yet raining. We were able to stroll along the beach and enjoy the beautiful tranquility of an evening along the shore.

Monday was chock-full of activities. The morning was spent visiting the Young Israel Cemetery in Norwalk, California (a short 20-minute ride from Huntington Beach). My paternal grandparents are buried there, and Iâ€™d never had the honor of visiting their final resting place. After making sure that their graves were in satisfactory order (sadly, many of their neighborsâ€™ are not, but that is a discussion for another time), we were ready to embark on our vacation.

When we returned to the Hyatt, we said good-bye to our lovely room, got a last drink of soda in the Regency Club, and then made our way to the second half of our Huntington Beach tripâ€”the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort right next door. Both hotels are beautiful. And each pool is beautiful. Despite the uncooperative weather, I made sure to swim in each hotelâ€™s pool during our stay at least one time. My 6 a.m. swims were relaxing and free of rain (maybe a drizzle, but with the nicely heated warmth of the water it did not prevent my enjoyment). At both the Hyatt and the Hilton we had beachfront terraces, and at the Hilton my husband was able to spot me from the room as I swam my laps at the pool.

While in California, we also enjoyed the unique experience of learning how to ride a Segway. Madison Fisher, the communications manager of the Huntington Beach â€œSurf City USAâ€ Marketing and Visitors Bureau, connected us with this marvelous activity. A Segway, for those not in the know, is a self-balancing motorized two-wheel personal transportation device that is controlled by the balancing technique of the rider. The speed at which it operates is completely controlled by the rider. When I first got on the Segway I wasnâ€™t sure Iâ€™d be able to operate it. My husband, on the other hand, seemed to get the hang of it almost immediately.

First we were trained on the Segway, and then we embarked on a tour of the neighborhood with a very experienced Segwayer and tour guide, who took us along the local streets of Huntington Beach and even brought us out onto the beach so we could ride along the waterâ€™s edge.

After our Segway experience, the dayâ€™s activities were not yet over. Viewing the next dayâ€™s weather report (thunderstorms), we wanted to make sure to chap in as much activity as possible. Although it had rained briefly in the morning, the rest of the day seemed to clear up, giving us time to enjoy the great outdoors. When we arrived back at the Hilton, we quickly took out bikes for a jaunt along the boardwalk.

Monday night we dined on our sandwiches purchased at the Irvine JCC, where, by the way, we physically refreshed ourselves after visiting the cemetery. My grandparents lived for a number of years in Irvine, but this beautiful JCC came into being after they were no longer residents. The cafÃ© is more of a collection of boxed sandwiches and salads, but it served our purposes for the day. We feasted on egg salad and tuna fish sandwiches, and took two extra for dinner.

Tuesday morning was spent meeting with Jennifer McLaughlin, the public-relations person at the Hilton, along with Madison Fisher from Surf City USA/Huntington Beach. They both gave us some insight into this very popular vacation hot spot along with some interesting tidbits about the Hyatt Regency and the Hilton Beach Resort. In a few weeks they would be hosting Leave it to Beaver star Jerry Matherâ€™s wedding. I grew up on reruns of Leave it to Beaver, so the fact that they â€œrubbed nosesâ€ with many of the stars of my youth was quite exciting to me! In fact, they relayed that many television sitcoms had been taped at these hotels, specifically by the famous pool of the Hyatt Regency (notably, 90210â€™s beach-club scenes).

We were sad to leave the tranquility of Huntington Beach but excited about our foray to the Los Angeles area. We checked into the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and were glad to see that we were again in a Regency Room and had access to the Regency Lounge (thank you, Cathy Scott from the Hyatt). The drinks and fresh fruit were plentiful, and access to computers and the Internet was again very helpful and convenient. Our terrace looked out onto the lights of Los Angeles. And I was very grateful to see that although this hotel was in a more urban area, the pool was in a very tranquil yard and, again, nicely heated.

We zipped over to a neighborhood pizza store, and then made our way over to view the taping of one of our favorite game shows, Jeopardy. It was exciting to see the set and Alex Trebek in the flesh, and to hear his answers to the studio audienceâ€™s questions during the various breaks in taping. We were able to see two exciting shows, which were actually the culmination of a series of college finals (no, I canâ€™t tell you the outcomeâ€”we were sworn to secrecy).

Tuesday evening was spent at Patâ€™s restaurant, which I elaborated on in last weekâ€™s column. For those of you who might have missed it, we were very entertained and refreshed by the experience.

Wednesday morning, as I swam my laps at the hotel pool between the raindrops, my husband joined the minyan at the Beth Jacob Congregation. We had plans to meet up afterward with the shulâ€™s associate rabbi, Manis Mandel, my husbandâ€™s childhood friend. After drying off from my morning exercise, I got a call from Lenny that we were invited to a morning breakfast networking meeting of the Frum Business Network of Los Angeles being held at the shul that morning.

This way we could get a taste of life in L.A. while bonding with Rabbi Mandel over some bagels, cream cheese, and (of course) lox. It was certainly a lovely experience and rounded out our trip to the area, giving us a feel for the Jewish community there and possible opportunities to network in the future.

It was nice to reconnect with Manny after having not seen him in quite some time, while it was also nice to see Rabbi Topp, who recently relocated there from the Young Israel of Woodmere, where my parents daven. The interesting thing we noticed about Los Angeles is that although it has a suburban feel (an abundance of kosher shopping and beautiful suburban-style homes), it has the benefit of being in a city, with all the conveniences of city life. When hosting a simcha, you do not need to house your guests at your neighborâ€™s houseâ€”there is always a hotel available within walking distance!

Our trip to California culminated with a visit to Universal Studios. Although we did not spot any famous actors, we got a feel for how movies are made, and we even got to see the sets of various movies and TV shows. Yes, it was drizzling on and off, but most of the attractions are indoors, and we enjoyed our visit.

And so, we are back home and life is â€œback to normal.â€ We were away only a few nights, but the experiences that we had packed into this short trip will last a lifetime. Much thanks to my in-laws, parents, and children Naftali, Rivka, and Rochel, who made sure that all of Yussieâ€™s and Leaâ€™s needs were met and the house was in one piece when we returned. Without their constant attention and caring this trip wouldnâ€™t have been possible!

Phyllis Joy Lubin is an attorney with Rosenfeld & Maidenbaum, LLP, who resides in Cedarhurst with her husband Leonard and six children: Naftali, Shoshana, Rivka, Rochel, Yosef, and Lea. She welcomes your questions and comments at MothersMusings@gmail.com.