The Market.

It was a work day for both of us and I had to go into Newport to do some banking and grocery shopping. It was clear that something was up when I had to wait for ten cars to go past before I could pull out of our driveway. Once on the road there were even more cars, not enough to slow the speed of traffic, just more company on the road than we're used to. Then I saw the signs. The Newport Seafood and Wine Festival started today. As I pulled into town there were flashing signs warning of congestion ahead, though no traffic jam materialized. After banking I went to the market. The parking lot was two-thirds full! Once inside I had to share isles with other people and even had to wait for another customer to finish checking out before it was my turn - in spite of the fact that there were four checkers working! When I was finished the girl who had bagged my gorceries insisted on walking my cart out to the car and loading the bags inside. She explained that the owners of the market were insistent upon good customer service, that this was "part of my job." This, in spite of the sudden swell in population for the weekend. If we drive around enough we may actually have to wait for more than one cycle of traffic lights! On the practical side though, it gives us a taste of what these coastal towns are like in the summer: more crowded for sure, but still nothing like standard Southern CA traffic.