Hubby and I decided to meander down to Ortega Highway, Route 74, and meander over the mountains down into San Juan Capistrano then to San Clemente to have dinner on the pier.

Near the top of Ortega Highway sits the tiny village of El Cariso. We stopped at the one restaurant, Hell’s Kitchen to split a sandwich, enjoy the funky dive (hey, where else can you gather your condiments for your plate from a custom cold-table made out of a enamel-red coffin? The lid is hydraulically operated via a lit-skull joystick) and people watch.

The locals have their own outlook on the election results —