We were in California most of that time.
Leaving Stockton we drove to Berkeley and to a circus
rehearsal was being held. Sophia and Sarah are aerialists
and do a twin act. They are really fantastic and make whirling
in air look easy. They complement each other very nicely. It
was good to see Dan and Rebecca, too. They have been having
a difficult time because Dan's father fell some time ago and
broke his neck. He has more or less recovered from that, but
undergone a series of traumas wherein he has been in/out of
the hospital many times. In addition to that Rebecca's t-cells
are low so she has reluctantly decided to go on meds. It's
been 27 years since she was infected. Amazing.
We had supper with them and then headed to San Francisco to
see Ryan. By the time we got there and checked into our
motel it was past 7 PM. Ryan hadn't eaten and was tired so
we made plans to meet for breakfast in the morning.
We were fortunate to find a motel less than a mile and a straight
shot with the bus to Ryan's house. Our motel was the Days Inn At
The Civic Center (465 Grove St, 415-864-4040) a convenient
location with on-site free parking and a double room was $109
including taxes. In the morning Ryan showed up at our motel and
we walked to a Crepe shop around the corner. Very nice breakfast
and great conversation. The best I can do to describe Ryan's
work is to say he is into a form of Genetic Engineering. He is
enjoying it, for the most part. There is always scutt work to do
that no one enjoys, but life is like that.
After breakfast we loaded our luggage, checked out and drove with
Ryan to his house and parked in his drive. A rather precarious
parking place because his drive is so short we were parked on
the sidewalk. His house is great. There are three flats in it
and he is in the middle which is the second floor. It is quite
lovely and shows all sorts of promise. I'm sure he could be
happy there for some time to come. He and his house mates are
working on sprucing up there back yard which was all concrete.
They have busted up the concrete and have arranged through a
friend of one of the house mates to borrow a dump truck to
haul it all away. Quite a project!
From Ryan's we headed north to Bodega to visit Alyssum. She
was home and happy to see us. A friend had dropped in unexpectedly
which made things a little strange. The friend seemed to be
depressed or unhappy or both. But Alyssum took us for a walk
through tall grass to the top of a hill where we were surprised
and happy to see wicker chairs so we could sit, chat and admire
the view. It was a lovely day and we had a fine time talking
about some of her future plans. She is really hoping to go
to India again to get more training in Yoga so that she may
come back and have some good credentials for teaching. Sounds
like a plan.
We all went out to dinner in Occidental at the a restaurant/bar
called Barley and Hops. Rachel perked up a bit through dinner
which was nice and we all had a good time laughing a talking.
Alyssum offered us the gypsy wagon for the night and we jumped
at it. The little wagon is truly a work of art. I hadn't
appreciated it quite so much as lying there in bed and admiring
the workmanship and the fine detail. It is really a work of
art. Alyssum was afraid we'd be cold so in addition to a
down comforter she piled on 4 more blankets...we were not cold
and removed all by the comforter and slept well.
We had picked up breakfast stuff the night before so Alyssum
fixed us a lovely breakfast which ate sitting under the trees.
Visiting there is fun; living there is work!
By now it was the 19th of May and we were due in Santa Barbara
on the 20th. That gave us a day to wander and be by ourselves
which made a nice break. I lovely company, but we like to do
things by ourselves, too.
We wandered down 101 and 1 depending on where we could get
closest to the shore and ended up at Morro Bay for the
night. The weather had been so hot in Stockton we were
grateful for the cool weather along the coast and in
SF and Bodega. Morro Bay is a tourist town and even as
early as this there were a few tourists about. We wandered
around the town and found a grill which was very informally
run..they lost my order..but everyone was friendly and we
sat at long picnic tables. The food was good and the price
was reasonable and it was a fun place to be. After dinner
we headed back to our motel to check e-mail and catch up
with the world a bit.
We got permission to check out late so had a leisurely
breakfast next door to our motel, checked out at noon
and headed toward Santa Barbara arriving around 3 PM.
I called Bud to tell him we were on schedule and left
a message. He picked up the message that evening as
we were sitting around the table in the family room.
The next day Bud took us on a tour of Santa Barbara;
the Presidio and the Tower at City Hall. He couldn't
believe we hadn't seen them when we house sat. We
didn't remind him that our stay had been cut short
or perhaps we would have. The town is restoring the
Presidio and hope to close the streets that pass through
what was the center of the Presido so that it'll be
a square with no streets running through it. It's
an ambitious plan, but should be a fine historic site
if they do that.
The next day Bud and Robert went to a country club to
have lunch with a group that Bud meets with regularly.
Robert had a great time. They were all very articulate,
educated and interesting men. I was sorry I had missed it,
but wives are not included.
Cicely and I went out to lunch and shopping. Cicely admitted
she loved to have a chance to just wander and look; Bud is
not into shopping any more than Robert is. I am not much of
a shopper, but we had a good time and a pleasant lunch.
Our last scheduled visit was with Rochelle in Los Angeles. While
we were in Santa Barbara I booked a room for us at the Claremont
Hotel near Rochelle's apartment. I liked the name and the
price ($72), but after I did that I panicked. I told Cicely
what I had done. She knows LA quite well and asked me where
it was. I said Westwood, and she said, not to worry. That
is a nice section of LA and it can't be too bad. And it
wasn't. It was Spartan, but fun. The furniture in our
room was 1930s vintage; a high boy, a dressing table with
mirror, a double bed and a night stand. One chair at the
dressing table. The bathroom was tiny! Not big enough for
a tub, but adequate and the room was very clean. I'd say
it was the cleanest room we stayed in on the trip. The
lounge was pleasant and had comfortable seats and reading
lamps and wi-fi. We were happy.
Rochelle is doing well, has a lovely apartment, but is about
to move and we saw the outside of the new one, but not the
inside.
We met her boyfriend, Patrick. A fine young man, good sense
of humor, self confident, but not cocky. A very nice person.
He was very busy editing a movie his brother was producing,
but took the time to come see us even though he could only
stay a short time. And he came to breakfast with Rochelle
in the morning. In the evening we went to "The Garden"
where Rochelle works and it was wonderful; the food was
good, but the best part was how loved Rochelle is by
everybody! I was so proud.
Breakfast was at La Soleil (sp) a French restaurant near our
hotel. That was very nice, too. We had a little chance to
find out more about Patrick and in what direction he would like
to see his life go.
Rochelle gave us a tour of the campus. It is a lovely campus
and Robert asked her if she'd been nervous when she arrived.
She said she didn't think she'd be able to find her classes,
but of course she did and now she knows her way very well.
After our tour we checked out of our hotel, said goodbye to
Rochelle and headed towards home. We made it to St. George, UT
that day and home the next, stopping briefly in New Castle, CO
to visit Betty and Jack Wilson.
We've been home almost a week...but that'll have to wait until
next time.
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