Kicking Back

Friday, March 5. I slept deeply but had a hard time getting out of bed. I coaxed myself to get up by turning on the MP3 player and listening to The Poisonwood Bible. It has taken a tragic turn, so I got caught up and sat down to listen after I'd finished dressing. I didn't even hear Phil upstairs talking to his mother on a Skype call. I hurried up to say goodbye to her and fixed eggs and bagels for breakfast. We're running low on ground coffee so we had instant. We watched the Edmunds.com "Cadillac meeting" via an Internet feed. Wow! Technology is pretty mindblowing! We covered thousands of miles with just a few clicks

After breakfast, we took Dixie for a long walk. The blue sky is a pleasant surprise, but the temperature's still pretty chilly. Back at Steve's, I got clothes together for a wash and listened to the MP3 while Phil went to work. We had soup and sandwiches for lunch and one of Steve's grapefruit. It occurs to me that having a lot of citrus in this cold, wet climate not only wards off colds. It's cheery and sweet on a cloudy day. Phil had another good way to warm up. He rides Steve's exer-cycle.

About 3 pm, we hopped in the car, and drove to Gayle's Bakery. It's a good thing I didn't check out this place earlier in the visit. I would have gained mega-poundage. The sandwiches and wraps look scrumptious, but the dessert counter is even more irresistable. Phil said, "The sky's the limit," so I ordered a Delice (mini chocolate mousse with chocolate coating and crusted hazelnuts AND a cherry cream cheese danish (which I saved for later). Phil got a downtowner (light almost crispy muffin with cinnamon sugar garnish) and a bear claw). We had coffee and sampled some of the treats before we headed out for a walk. I resolved to surf the web when I got home to try and find a bakery approaching Gayle's caliber in the Long Beach area.

It took Phil's sharp eye to find the entrance to the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. It is sort of a poor stepchild as state parks go with little signage and narrow roads rutted with pot holes. It's obscurity makes for limited visitors, so we enjoyed the quiet of the tall trees with a few joggers and one determined mountain biker. We walked up the unpaved road for a while and then veered off up the Buggy Trail. The mosses and ferns seemed to swallow up all outside noise except the babbling stream one hundred feet below us. Several homes and farms are grandfathered into the park's boundaries. We talked about what it would be like to work from home in such a serene, but remote setting.

Back at home, Dixie welcomed us enthusiastically. She really seems to have accepted us at long last. We tried to prolong the serenity of our forest walk by having a meditation session, which spooked Dixie a little bit. Phil got a fire going and then we fixed tortellini with a souped up marinara sauce and salad and bread sticks. Dixie had her dinner as we ate in front of the TV, watching the Colbert Report for the first time in months. After taking Dixie for a short walk, we settled down on pillows in front of the TV to watch another Hitchcock classic, The Birds. It is always fascinating to see how he manipulates expectation for the maximum of suspense and surprise. The California locations were also fun to watch. Phil brought Dixie's box back upstairs and she seemed happy to be back in Steve's room. Step by step, we're getting ready for her master's return.

Old Dog Tricked Out a New Way

Friday afternoon, February 19. Although they faced some showers, Phil and Peter soldiered through all 18 holes at nearby Seascape Golf Club. Phil had brought enough clubs for both of them so Peter didn't have to lug his on the plane. When Phil set a tee time in the pro shop, the attendant pulled up his record from Phil's local Parks & Rec membership, saving a lot of time. They also saved money by playing twilight rates, about $30 apiece. Neither of them was familiar with the course; it was hillier and narrower than they were used to and the ground was saturated. The towering eucalyptus trees that frame nearly every hole don't help either. But Phil felt good about transplanting his favorite pastime into his new location, and got in some quality time with his brother who he hasn't seen since last summer. Phil hopes to play the course again before we leave and maybe meet some local golfers with advice on Seascape and other courses in the area. It may be the same old dog, but playing with new people in a new location, tricks it out in a new way.

TIP: Play sports you're familiar with from home. It's easier to meet people and gives perspective on the new area.

When they got home. Phil called his (and Peter's) aunt who lives in Santa Cruz. We ordered some take out sandwiches and fries from one of our cousin's favorite restaurants, Carpo's. It's located in Soquel, a little town between Aptos and Santa Cruz, which made picking up the food convenient, even though we were running a little late after the post golf showers and dressing. It didn't make it any better that the Tomtom GPS didn't give directions once we were inside the rather large trailer park where Phil's aunt lives. After a couple or wrong turns we finally located her.

TIP: Don't depend on GPS if you're traveling in the dark to a place you're unfamiliar with. Bring a map or get directions online before you leave as a back-up.

Phil and Peter had a great time talking about old times with their aunt, and I had a few memories of the family too. Peter hadn't seen her since 1980 so he had a lot of catching up to do, and we all had a good time joking about other people getting older while we all stayed the same.

TIP: Be sure to look up family and friends of the family early on in your trip. Bringing food to their place can be an easy way to visit a residential area you would never visit otherwise without imposing on your host or hostess.

That night we used Skype to talk to our sons back in Long Beach. The online telephone service which incorporates a visual link through video cameras attached to the computer is a great way to stay in contact with friends or family you leave behind during a long trip. Peter talks to his son in Japan using Skype, and we hope to set up a call between Phil's aunt and his mother using Skype, allowing two sisters over 80 who haven't seen each other in over a year and don't expect to make any more cross country flights to share some face-to-face conversation. You can even share screen images (like a photo slide show) between your computers.