Slow Smoking To Mission Viejo

[sablebrush52]

I made a date with my Ex to drive down to Mission Viejo for the day, see how her new house is shaping up, and to hang out. I stopped by Zankou Chicken, which she loves, and picked up one of their family meals, plus a few extras, like tri-tip shwarma, tabouli, etc. My pipe was a 1956 Barling sandblasted acorn shape, a pretty rare shape not consistently offered. I loaded her up with St Bruno, fired her up, and hit the freeway for the drive. It was a beautiful day for the trip, warm, but not excessively so, and a lot of people were on the road, so traffic was sometimes stop and go. There was one major surprise on the way, an accident that all but sut down the 101, so I got off and navigated several miles through downtown neighborhoods before regaining the freeway just North of downtown proper and continued on my way south into Orange County.

All the time I was enjoying my pipe, slow smoking, just barely simmering, and enjoying the flavors. The pipe smoked like a champ, just simmering the whole way with no need for a relight. An hour and 40 after I'd lit up, I pulled into her driveway, the pipe still going strong and about half the bowl still left.

We had a delightful day together, walked around the retirement community that she had moved into, watched a few episodes of Upstart Crow on Britbox, and got caught up on happenings.

Later that evening I made the return trip, watching the fireworks flying over Disneyland as I made my way back up the five, slow smoking another bowl of St Bruno in that Barling, enjoying the flavors, no muss, no fuss, no relights.

Nice day.

 

[JOHN72]

What a beautiful story. Enjoy tobacco slowly and delicately. I identify with his philosophy of life...........We only ask that they let us smoke in peace.............

 

[Grangerous]

Sable
You lost me at “I made a date with my Ex”. ? —- But that must be one helluva pipe to last an hour and 40 with half a bowl to go! Sounds like a memorable smoke and day!

I know if I visited my Ex, there would be a disturbance in the Force that Obi-Wan Kenobi would have to sit down to register.

 

[dochowl]

Sounds like a great day. Perfect socal weather day.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sounds fantastic! I love meandering through new-to-me little towns.

 

[STP]

Sometimes the best days are those unplanned

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

Bruno is a well behaved backseat driver

 

[danimalia]

Sounds like a wonderful day! I will have to add Zankou Chicken to my list of places to try when I'm next in the area.

As for Ex's, I guess I am fairly practical. Neither party owns or belongs to the other, and if/when the relationship runs its course for whatever reason, I really do prefer to remain friends, if possible. Maybe I have just gotten lucky in terms of avoiding the really dramatic or unstable partners....

 

[mso489]

Isn't life funny? That's a song lyric of course. The people you care about are still the people you care about.

 

[kcghost]

Unfortunately might ex is the she-devil herself. Her mother is the sweetest person in the world but her daughter is something else.

 

[sablebrush52]

Sounds like a wonderful day! I will have to add Zankou Chicken to my list of places to try when I'm next in the area.

As for Ex's, I guess I am fairly practical. Neither party owns or belongs to the other, and if/when the relationship runs its course for whatever reason, I really do prefer to remain friends, if possible. Maybe I have just gotten lucky in terms of avoiding the really dramatic or unstable partners....

I'm friends with all the EX's. "Marriage" got in the way of friendship, so with the "Marriage" removed, the friendships have been restored. Some people feel the need to become "different" in a marriage, like you're supposed to "act married", or add a different "something" to how you are because you're now "married". For some people the fact of marriage is a form of pressure. In any event, once the "marriage" was over, we got back to being friends. Marriage isn't for everybody.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

My theory is you enjoyed the time with your ex most of all which made the drive and smoke even more enjoyable. Sounds like a great day for you.

 

[anotherbob]

I'm friends with all the EX's. "Marriage" got in the way of friendship, so with the "Marriage" removed, the friendships have been restored. Some people feel the need to become "different" in a marriage, like you're supposed to "act married", or add a different "something" to how you are because you're now "married". For some people the fact of marriage is a form of pressure. In any event, once the "marriage" was over, we got back to being friends. Marriage isn't for everybody.

Personally I think marriage is kind of messed up, except for the property aspects. As in makes more sense if you look at it not as a romantic gesture but signing contracts saying that the relationship is at a point where the property is not mine or hers but shared. The idea of signing a contract to be with someone because you love them is about as sensical as signing a contract about how the weather will always be nice or something like that. It's a contract about something completely outside of your control, i.e. you can't make yourself love someone or continue loving someone.
I've seen more then a few relationships fall apart after the marriage. I knew one couple that while still together last I heard, got married and divorced a few times to each other. Basically they said the same thing.
It puts a lot of pressure on people to have that title.
Personally I am never going to do it. Or if I do it's going to be about paper work and not ceremony.

 

[winton]

My Bride and I will celebrate 30 years, next spring.

I don't smoke in the car, since she is asthmatic and allergic to smoke,

 

[johnnyreb]

First we had
"All My Exes Live in Texas"

Then came
"All My Exes Wear Rolexes"

Now we have
"All My Exes Changed Their Sexes"

My how times change

 

[peteguy]

Happy for you - good times and good pipes, life can be wonderful.

Is this the ex you are referring to?

 

[sablebrush52]

My theory is you enjoyed the time with your ex most of all which made the drive and smoke even more enjoyable. Sounds like a great day for you.

Oh, absolutely!

 

[Servant King]

I made a date with my Ex to drive down to Mission Viejo for the day, see how her new house is shaping up, and to hang out. I stopped by Zankou Chicken, which she loves, and picked up one of their family meals, plus a few extras, like tri-tip shwarma, tabouli, etc. My pipe was a 1956 Barling sandblasted acorn shape, a pretty rare shape not consistently offered. I loaded her up with St Bruno, fired her up, and hit the freeway for the drive. It was a beautiful day for the trip, warm, but not excessively so, and a lot of people were on the road, so traffic was sometimes stop and go. There was one major surprise on the way, an accident that all but sut down the 101, so I got off and navigated several miles through downtown neighborhoods before regaining the freeway just North of downtown proper and continued on my way south into Orange County.

All the time I was enjoying my pipe, slow smoking, just barely simmering, and enjoying the flavors. The pipe smoked like a champ, just simmering the whole way with no need for a relight. An hour and 40 after I'd lit up, I pulled into her driveway, the pipe still going strong and about half the bowl still left.

We had a delightful day together, walked around the retirement community that she had moved into, watched a few episodes of Upstart Crow on Britbox, and got caught up on happenings.

Later that evening I made the return trip, watching the fireworks flying over Disneyland as I made my way back up the five, slow smoking another bowl of St Bruno in that Barling, enjoying the flavors, no muss, no fuss, no relights.

Nice day.

An accident on the 101? Surely you jest!

 

[sablebrush52]

Personally I think marriage is kind of messed up, except for the property aspects. As in makes more sense if you look at it not as a romantic gesture but signing contracts saying that the relationship is at a point where the property is not mine or hers but shared. The idea of signing a contract to be with someone because you love them is about as sensical as signing a contract about how the weather will always be nice or something like that. It's a contract about something completely outside of your control, i.e. you can't make yourself love someone or continue loving someone.
I've seen more then a few relationships fall apart after the marriage. I knew one couple that while still together last I heard, got married and divorced a few times to each other. Basically they said the same thing.
It puts a lot of pressure on people to have that title.
Personally I am never going to do it. Or if I do it's going to be about paper work and not ceremony.

If one is be believe what a lot of people say to pollsters, a high percentage of long term marriages exist due to financial considerations, long after the emotional component has faded away. People stay together because the financial fallout of a divorce is too much to absorb.

I've known a few couples with extraordinarily rewarding marriages, where everything deepened as time went on, but not many. Human beings are just too damned complicated.

 

[jaygreen55]

I'm friends with all the EX's. "Marriage" got in the way of friendship, so with the "Marriage" removed, the friendships have been restored. Some people feel the need to become "different" in a marriage, like you're supposed to "act married", or add a different "something" to how you are because you're now "married". For some people the fact of marriage is a form of pressure. In any event, once the "marriage" was over, we got back to being friends. Marriage isn't for everybody.

There's an old saying. The best way to kill a good romance is to get married. I'm still with my wife after 35 years but I'm afraid to say there's not much romance but there is friendship and a shared life for better or worse