Friday, February 26. Drew and Tony made it to Aptos safe and sound at about 9:30 Thursday night and we celebrated with some chocolate cherry soy ice cream. We discovered the flavor because Steve had half a carton in the freezer, and then we bought another so we had plenty to go around. Friday morning was cloudy and the weather forecast promised rain. We walked Dixie and then the four of us walked down to the Seascape clubhouse for a nice breakfast. The place was practically deserted because of the storms brewing.
Back at Steve's house, we kind of settled in. Drew and Tony decided to take the bus to Santa Cruz, and we promised to drive in and meet them for coffee later. The weather held for another hour or so, and Phil and I thought they'd made it to the bus by the time the rains came, but they missed the one they'd planned on getting and took shelter in a grocery store before making a run for the bus in a downpour.
Phil had an interview to transcribe, but I found myself at loose ends. It occurred to me that this kind of down time is something I'd need to get accustomed to as a retired person. No one waiting for you to call the shots, no one really affected one way or the other what you do or don't do. A humbling thought, but hey a little humility deepens one's perspective. I did a Sudoku, listened to my recorded book, and then curled up under Steve's cream puff of a down comforter and listened to the raindrops clatter against the bedroom window. Doing nothing can be just the ticket on a rainy day, even if it does cramp the ego just a little bit.
By the time we set out for Santa Cruz at 4 pm, the rain had just about let up. We had to circle the downtown area to get to the one way section of Pacific Avenue where Bookshop Santa Cruz is located. Undaunted by the rain, Drew and Tony had visited the Santa Cruz Mission and a few shops before they settled in for a good read at this exceptionally well stocked independent book store. We headed over to Lulu's at the Octagon. The building, on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, was built in 1882 and served as the county hall of records into the 1960s, and yes, it is a perfect octagon made of bricks. Now the shape makes for a cozy coffeehouse and the vacuum press coffee is dee-lish if somewhat expensive.
After the coffee, we headed over to Carpo's to pick up some sandwiches to take to Phil's aunt's house for supper. We had a good time joking about their hamburgers being so good that everything else on the menu tasted like burgers too. Very silly and very fun. Drew and Tony hadn't visited her for almost a year, so there was lots to talk about and lots of joking too. We were happy to see that Sammy the cat was not too shy around us and shared stories about our remarkable cat Fuzz and her unquenchable curiosity.
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