Retiring retirement and Good Times in Santa Cruz

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.

Here Comes the Sun

Thursday, February 25. At last, the sky is bright blue and everything below is rain-washed and sparkly. As usual, the morning was quiet and full of work. I'm almost caught up with my diary of the trip and I did a load of clothes so there won't be much housework while Drew and Tony are here. I went up and fixed lunch while Phil talked to people at work as he walked around the backyard.



Phil suggested we sit out in the sun on the deck to eat our lunch and Dixie came out to join us. She seems much friendlier this morning than she has before. I called Phil's aunt to confirm that we were coming over on Saturday and she seemed very happy to hear it. Dixie continued to be attentive and Phil suggested we take her with us on our after-lunch drive. To our surprise, when Phil opened the door of the Honda Fit, Dixie jumped right in and then curled up in my lap, happy and excited.



We drove south on Highway 1 to check out Pajaro Valley Golf Club. Phil's on the lookout for a driving range and was also happy to see the low greens fees are there. Then we drove over to Sunset State Beach but didn't stay because there's a $10 fee and we weren't sure dogs were allowed. We drove along a windy country road with the coastline just out of sight, which reminded me of my family's trips to beach when I was a girl before interstates and franchises. The region south of Aptos is refreshingly undeveloped and agricultural. La Selva Beach seems prosperous and not as congested as the Rio Del Mar area.



We came home and I did a little more blogging. The day was so beautiful, Phil decided to head out to golf the back nine and I took Dixie for a long walk down to Hidden Beach. She still resists me when I hook her up to the leash, but after she gets out and starts to sniff all the exhilerating doggy smells, she forgets and lets herself go. We came across a few other dog walkers, but everybody made nice with no incidents. Both Dixie and I were tuckered out by the time we got home, and it wasn't long before Phil came in and we got started on dinner--veggie burgers and oven roasted potato skins. We talked to Drew and Tony just approaching Paso Robles and decided it would be 10 pm or so before they arrived.

Dog Days

Wednesday, February 24. After heavy rain during the night, the clouds began to let up around 9 am and it was clear by the end of day. We worked around the house all morning. Dixie had a surprise for us in the morning, so I mopped the floor while Phil worked upstairs. He had an hour-long chat about Toyota recalls sponsored by the Washington Post before lunch and an article to finish writing. Housework is so much more pleasant with a book to listen to. I started the Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, a thriller based on the Salem witchcraft trials.

After lunch, we headed out for another foray north to buy a book on meditation recommended by a friend -- Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn. I've listened to CDs of yoga sequences by him so I was interested in reading it as well as Phil. First, we stopped at Capitola Book Cafe. They didn't have the book but we had some excellent coffee and a yummy apricot scone and enjoyed reading the witty quotes on posters all around the store. Next, we returned to Capitola Mall and checked a Borders, but they didn't have it either. The very helpful clerk called the "downtown store" and reserved one for us.

As we drove into the business area of Santa Cruz, I realized I had never been to this part of town before. I've walked the boardwalk plenty of times and visited the UC Santa Cruz campus, but the rest of the city is pretty unfamiliar territory. We walked down Pacific Avenue and I admired how the older buildings had been maintained in the midst of newer shops. I particularly liked how the New Leaf Market had been integrated into the old Bank of Italy building. Homeless people were apparent on the street, and many people had wild uncombed hair bringing to mind the old hippie hairstyles. I said to Phil that I hadn't seen so many men with ponytails in a long time. We happened upon a drum circle and then saw the tents of an open air Farmers Market. Lots of spring greens and citrus fruit of all kinds were a feast for the eye. We picked up the book at the big Borders store and headed for home.

Phil had another teleconference from 6 to 7 and then we had dinner. I'm enjoying having a leisurely glass of wine while I put dinner together. It's much simpler to make meals for two than for four. We watched a DVD and talked to Drew and Tony about their car trip to visit us tomorrow. Tony will have to skip a class on Friday, but hopefully he can make up the work before the end of the semester. I had the clever idea to take Dixie out to the backyard to try to encourage her to relieve herself out there instead of on the tile floor. Unfortunately, it upset and confused her and it took us almost an hour to get her settled in her crate for the night. I am gaining a lot of respect for dog owners and all the patience and perseverance they need to get through each day.

Another rainy day

Tuesday, February 23, started with drizzle and went downhill from there. We hunkered down all morning. Phil had a radio interview with KNX and right in the middle of it Dixie got excited and started barking up a storm. Right in the middle of giving his expert advice, Phil had to admit that he was pet sitting but the radio announcer thought it was funny. I worked some more on blogging about the weekend and finished listening to a audio book download of People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. It's a fascinating survey of several periods of European history centered around people who had been affected by an illustrated Hebrew manuscript interwoven with a contemporary story of a book historian and archivist.

After lunch, we braved the downpour and went for a drive. First we attempted to find the entrance to the Forest of Nisene Marks, but overshot it by a quartermile and ended up on a dead end in front of a gated community. We drove around back streets for a while and finally ended up at the Aptos branch of the Santa Cruz County Library. It's a large branch and busy for a rainy day. We were impressed with the local history collection and the number of documentaries on DVDs. We stopped off at the Aptos Coffee Roasting Company again and read for awhile as we sipped our coffee. It's an interested mix of young and old customers, but the baristas do seem to have their favorites and we felt a little snubbed by their brisk treatment.

We came home to a cold house and Phil got busy building a fire in Steve's state of the art cast iron stove. By supper time we were snug and warm and enjoyed some yogurt and blueberries as we finished the National Parks DVD.

So Cool, So Soquel

Monday turned out to be relatively clear and warm after a rainy Sunday, so we promised ourselves a little outing after lunch once Phil got his teleconference meetings taken care of. I did some wash and got a list together for shopping at Trader Joe's. I've been trying to maintain a low cholesterol diet with some consistency, but it's challenging to find all the items in just one store.

We decided to avoid Highway 1 and take Soquel Drive instead, which must have been the main drag between all these little beach towns sometime in the past. Phil said it's kind of like driving around in a state park with all the tall trees and deep ravines and I know what he means. You get more of a sense of where one town starts and the other one ends, although we did get kind of turned around looking for Capitola Mall and had to backtrack from Santa Cruz. Getting sidetracked can have its advantages though. We passed a lovely art deco movie theater called the Rio that has been refurbished into a performance space and an interesting looking organic market called Staff of Life. Both Aptos and Soquel refer to areas as Aptos Village and Soquel Village and there are still some vestiges of commercial centers, but they're slowly getting eroded by the franchises and minimalls along the highway.

Once we got to Capitola, we stopped at a Goodwill to pick up some warmer clothes. I got a thermal shirt and Phil got a fleece jacket for wearing around the house. I thought I might learn something about the area from the kinds of things in the thrift store. It was very clean and well organized and had more sports brands like Nike and Adidas in good condition than I had expected, and less furniture and big ticket items than the stores around Long Beach.

The shopping trip at Trader's was a little hectic because Phil had to get back for another teleconference, but we got most of the items on the list. Later, we stopped at Aptos Coffee (Steve very generously bought us a card for 14 cups of coffee). While Phil did a little more work on his laptop, I got more stuff for the diet from the Safeway. While shopping, I noticed many students (from nearbyCabrillo College) and retired people. At the Safeway, I was struck by how many young families (four or five) were shopping together, and throughout the mall, I noticed several homeless people. With as much rain as we've been having, I don't know how they cope. Phil had yet another conference call so we hurried home as soon as I finished shopping.

I got a little blogging time in before supper. We have chicken and tomato sauce with rice and after supper some yummy chocolate cherry soy ice cream as we watched one of Steve's Netflix DVDs, an episode of the PBS series on the National Parks.

Things to Do Around Santa Cruz

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I put together a list of possible excursions for the next two weeks.

Walk to the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park – Clubhouse, Dorsey, Rio Del Mar (left), Aptos Beach Drive (right then sharp left, Spreckels Drive (right and right again), Soquel (sharp right)

Yoga Within – Intro class Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:15-8:30 pm, Sunday, Yoga for Meditation, 7-8:30, $12, 8035 Soquel Drive 831-687-0818, Aptos Village Shopping Center

Safeway – 16 Rancho Del Mar, take State Park Drive exit (near library)

Aptos Branch Library – 7695 Soquel Drive, Closed Sunday and Friday, Monday to Wednesday 11-7, Thursday and Saturday 1-5

Visit Audey – Don’t forget the rent

Goodwill – sink stopper, dish drain, mugs, shirt, sweater

Farmers Market at Cabrillo College – 6500 Soquel, Saturdays from 8 am to noon

Capitola Beach – Bus 55 (Rio Del Mar) catch bus at Rio Del Mar and Clubhouse, 17 minutes, arrive at Stockton and Capitola

Santa Cruz – shops: Bookstore Santa Cruz (1520 Pacific Avenue), Pleasure Point (shops and cafes) between Santa Cruz and Capitola (41st Avenue and Portola Drive)

Natural Bridges State Beach – take Swift Avenue west from Highway 1or follow West Cliff Drive north; view monarch butterflies from the observation deck; $10 day pass

Tai chi class

Pigeon Point Lighthouse – Tours Friday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm, 27 miles north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1

Ano Nuevo State Reserve – Elephant seals, 2 ½ hours guided walks, 8 am to 5 pm, $7, make reservations online or 1-800-444-4445, 18 miles north of Santa Cruz

Carmel Mission – 3080 Rio Road, Carmel, CA 9:30 am to 5 pm Monday-Saturday, $6.50, 38 miles south

Tor House – 26304 Ocean View Avenue, tours hourly on Friday and Saturday between 10 am and 3 pm, $7, make reservations at 831-624-1813

San Jose attractions – Winchester Mystery House -- $31, tours 9 am to 3 pm, 523 Winchester Boulevard, 36 miles away, 408-247-2101; Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, $8 (with AAA) 1664 Park Avenue

Big Sur hike, wine at Nepenthe


Hot tubs at Esalen – Open to general public by reservation only from 1 am to 3 am for $20, payable by credit card, call 831-667-3047

San Francisco – Chinese New Year Parade, Saturday, February 27 along Kearney from Sutter to Washington, begins 5:30 pm until 8:00 pm; also a Street Festival in Chinatown on Saturday and Sunday

Aptos History Museum – Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm 831-688-6961

Mission Santa Cruz – Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, 831-426-5686; and Mission Santa Cruz State Historical Park, Thursday to Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm, 831-425-5849

Neary Lagoon – 110 California Street, Santa Cruz

Soquel Village – Soquel Drive and Porter, Center Street (antique row)

Good bye vacation, hello pretirement

Sunday, February 21. Wet, wet, and more wet. After Phil prepared a wonderful breakfast of raisin bread French toast, the rain really started to pour. The plans for a long run had to be changed to a walk, and when they got back Phil and Peter were soaked and had to change before we got ready to go to the airport. While he did the finishing touches on his packing, we put together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for him.

The grey grim weather made it easier to say good bye to Peter. After all, vacations quickly become as dreary as the weather, and the weather reports warned of lots of rainy day in the future. Phil and I drove away from SFO thinking that Peter only had only about an hour to wait before his flight back to Boston, but it turned out the plane was delayed because the crew got in late from Long Beach.

We drove back in the downpour and agreed that this rain was beyond anything we were used to in Southern California. There was so much water in on the freeway, the cars created their own little cocoons of spray as they sped along. Phil pointed out a minivan with a mattress and a box spring stacked on its roof at an alarming angle and secured with just one rope. The driver cruised along with this soggy load, zipping between lanes and casually chatting with his passengers like they were on a trip to the beach in a convertible on a sunny day. We laughed but I felt relieved when he passed the minivan. Better to be in front of it if that mattress began to slip.
That crazy minivan passed us a couple more times and became funnier every time it crossed our path. With tears in my eyes from giddy laughter, I thought what better way to switch from vacation to our brief experiment with retirement than a good laugh.

Back in Aptos, we quickly settled in to a quiet Sunday afternoon. Phil got his hair clippers and went right down to the bathroom to give himself a buzz cut. Now his hair is about a quarter inch all over. After the initial shock, we decided it looked kind of European and a little military. He's decided to grow a goatee as well. I'm tempted to cut my hair short too, but don't have the nerve to do it myself. Taking an extended stay opens the door to experiment with things you might not do at home with friends around that might be puzzled or even upset by radical changes.

The rain let up in the afternoon and Phil set out with his GPS hiking device and walked part of the golf course, measuring the holes and plotting the best way to shave a few strokes off his score. I went for a short walk with Dixie and came home to think about what I was going to do with the next two weeks. We had a nice spaghetti dinner and finished up some dark chocolate left over from Peter's visit. (We discovered that we all shared a preference for extra dark chocolate.) Later, we had a long Skype conversation with Drew and Tony back in Long Beach, sharing photos of our visit with Peter and their bike ride along the Los Angeles River. I began to see how easy it would be to become a couch potato in this comfortable home.