Glorious, glorious San Geronimo!

 

Here is my slightly blurry sister, Susan. She isn't always blurry but she is driving a huge yellow truck, so I will blame that and not the photographer. She and her husband Jim live in Marin County and was kind enough to let Rich and I stay with her for 5 wonderful days. This was day one, but she pretty much smiled the whole time! She has a very high tolerance for me.

So this is what happened. When I left Aptos, I headed to San Francisco International Airport to pick up my partner in crime [and parenting and house holding and any number of other things] - Rich! We had been apart for nearly three weeks so it was a tender reunion. We had to drive through the city to get up to Sue and Jim's and Rich took some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge - which is neither golden nor gated nor - if Rich's pictures are any indication - symmetrical...

I made an afghan for Susan over the winter and carried it across the country to bring to her. 

She loved it!

 

The first evening, we went to get Indian food for dinner. While we were waiting to pick up the order, we walked to see an Airstream trailer that Jim had made into a work of art. On the way there we saw these.

 

So on the way back, we PICKED ACTUAL FRUIT FROM A BUSH AND PUT IT INTO A CONTAINER AND EVENTUALLY ATE IT!! Can you believe that?? 

California is truly a magical place.

 

We had a nice dinner with Jim's niece and her gentleman friend and Maeve. Who is Maeve? I'll get to that later...

Who is this woman? No, not Maeve, I said later. Good grief... 

 

This is Ms Katie Watts of Petaluma! If you have read any comments on this blog, you will recognize her name. She even has it on the wall of her house. Which she used as part of the directions to her home. Which you can't see from the road. Alas...  

 

Anyway, Katie and I met for lunch in Petaluma and had a delightful time in spite of the fact that at the coffee shop where we met (to paraphrase Katie) apparently they had to raise the turkey for my sandwich and harvest the tea...Customer service wasn't their strong suit. Actually, they were very nice, just slow as dirt. But the conversation was sparkling! After knowing Katie for so long on the internet, it was great to get to meet her in person. She was nattily dressed (And not just in comparison to me! Actually fashionable!) We talked about travel and sons and Betsy Tacy. The time just flew by. I was meeting my family for a beer-swilling afternoon so I had to be off. But we managed to take an adorable selfie before parting ways. 

I met up with everyone at Lagunatis Brewery. They had a very warm, beer-garden where we spent a very long time sampling every single thing they brew. 

Here are Rich and I early in the process. Yes, we do find our matching hats adorable and assume you do as well...

 Here we are after some consumption. Everyone is doing just fine. Maeve took this. Who is Maeve. Soon, reader...soon...

 Here are Susan and Jim after we completed the tasting. They left those nachos completely unattended! Noobs!

OH look! It's Maeve!! Isn't she the cutest??

So Maeve is Susan's goddaughter. She is the daughter of Chris, Sue's best friend from high school. In our family we take goddaughter's pretty seriously. And it helps that they are awesome. 

Maeve is currently living in the camper that Susan and Jim provide at their house for traveling friends. I refer to it as the finishing school for hippie princesses. But I think I am the only one who does that. 

Here is the gang at Russian River Brewing Company. Rich is very excited to be here because, well, beer. Guess who was the designated driver at this point? This will be a reoccurring theme for me. Because I live to serve others. And also, I don't trust anyone's driving but mine. And Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s.

  

 

When we got home, we were too full to eat so we just goofed off. In this picture we were trying to reenact a postcard I found in their living room that just may encapsulate everything about my whole trip! I am saving it for the end of this post – because I believe it is worth waiting for.

The next day (Saturday) was all prep for the big party! Susan and Jim have a group of friends who are just amazing. Every time we visit you can count on some sort of gathering. We had a wonderful time! Did I take any pictures? Of course not. But I did get some lovely shots of things neatly stacked up in preparation and Jim manning the grill. It will have to suffice.

 Here is what we did the next day. 

 

Crab cakes + eggs benedict for breakfast.

Rich naps while nearly dabbing! This is particularly amazing because Rich knows none of the current dance moves of the young people of today, they way I do...

I take a poncho selfie, because my poncho is awesome.

We sit on the deck and talk.

Have I mentioned the deck? It overlooks a little stream where I have seen actual salmon. (although not this trip) 

It is so lovely I have panoramed it.

Sunday afternoon we went to Terrapin Crossroads and saw some great music. Bluegrass first with Scott Law, there was a banjo - expertly played, I thought - and Jim is no fan of the banjo. And yet he loves bluegrass. This amuses me to no end... Then a blessedly banjo-free set from Kate Gaffney and Jeff Miller. It was wonderful. Did I take any pictures? Of course not...

I did go outside and brave the blistering heat (northern California is not supposed to have this, but northern California was being a butt, weather-wise) to hear Phil Lesh and the Camp Terrapin Family Band. I took a little video and here is a screenshot, so at least I have some visual!

That's Phil there on the right. This is the second closest I have ever been to a member of the Grateful Dead. If you ever run in to me in person feel free to ask about the night I saved Jerry Garcia from almost certain embarrassment. I love to tell that story...

On Monday we went to Sonoma to visit some wineries. This is Rich's favorite thing. I can't remember the names of the ones we visited, but they all had some kind of water in the name - pond, river, puddle - what have you...

Here are my artsy pictures with no people in them -

Here are the people ones...

Here are Rich and Susan going into the first place - we'll call it Roaring River...

Here are Rich and Sue (and a little photo-bomb-y Jim) at the second place. We'll call it Rushing Tributary.

They are really quite photogenic. 

Due to my responsibilities as D.D., I was able to take these very nice pictures. 

We didn't take pictures of the third place, because it was pretty much a shack. But the guy who poured was very knowledgable and friendly. And there were a lot of local people there, which seemed like a good sign. And the wine was delightful. (I had, like, 4 tiny sips!) We will call it Beginning-to-Regret-Being-Designated-Driver Creek.

 

Look at the pretty eyes on this guy! The last place we went was fancier than the others and had a beautiful outdoor tasting area. There was a guy playing classical guitar, but playing 80's classics on it. It was fun to play “Name that Tune” as he began each new song. Who knew “The Boys are Back in Town” could have such graceful emotional heft?

The wine was good (I hear) and I got to eat some olives. So it was a win for everyone!

 Two panorams in one post?? How do I keep up the pace??

 That evening, I was reading some old magazines that Jim collects and he noticed that I gave Maeve a new head!

That same evening, Susan gave Rich a 50th birthday gift. 

It is a wine decanter that we had in the house growing up. It is a family heirloom! Susan adores that thing and would not give it up lightly. Rich was honored to have been given it and drinks wine from it frequently. And he remembers this amazing vacation and his wonderful sister-in-law every time he does. 

I have it on good authority!

And I leave you with this - 

 

Next time, I pick up a new travel companion and face the desert again.

Now with even more mountains!!

Grover Beach and Aptos

How long has it been?? I had only planned to document my route 66 trip on this blog, but it has been so much fun to see the whole thing plotted out here, I decided to write up the rest of the trip. This is going to horrify my travel companion Annika who hates having her picture taken more than sin, but she is going to have to live with it. Sorry, Bananaka...

But before she makes her appearance, I will commence with leaving L.A.

Leaving L.A. SUCKED! Not because I loved the city so much, it was interesting, but I didn't mind leaving. It was the freeway. The traffic is insane. And it was hot as can be. And I just wanted to get to Groovey Grover Beach. Some parts were just beautiful, but there were some bumps.

So I got on the 101 – I assumed I was going to stay on this all the way up. But the 154 is shorter according to Drunk Canadian Siri* so I took that. It was kind of beautiful, but it also was twisty and mountainy and took me by surprise. I was not yet used to the fact that there are a bunch of mountains in the west and sometimes they would sneak up on me. (More on that when we get from California to Nevada...)

*Have I told the story of Drunk Canadian Siri yet?  A few years ago I decided to change the voice on my phone to the Canadian Man voice. He sounds a bit like Jarvis. He pronounces boulevard as booo-leh-vahd. How can you not love that? Well, my nephew John was in the car with me and Siri gave me some bad driving advice and John said, "Go home Canadian Siri, you're drunk!" and it occurred to me that he might have a bit of a substance abuse problem (Siri, not John) because of some of the routes he has urged me to take. (More on that when we get from California to Nevada...) So the name Drunk Canadian Siri (or DCS) has stuck.

Anyway from sweating in traffic from the heat to sweating from fear on the 154, I was a mess when I got to Cathy's house. She made me feel at home right away!

I met Cathy at a Betsy Tacy convention back in 2002 and we have been internet friends for years. I had never met her husband Todd, but in true BTSO fashion (that's Betsy-Tacy Significant Other) he was lovely.

They wined and dined me - delicious scallop appetizers with champagne followed by a company dinner of chicken and local wine. 

It was a lovely visit. I also got to meet Leroy, the amazing rescue cat. He has trained Cathy and Todd using bells, that feline is a genius! He had a vet appointment nice and early the next morning. So, in spite of my not quite being 100% (see champagne and wine above) I got an early start the next morning!

The drive from Grover Beach to Aptos was more forgiving than the previous day's ride. I drove through the Salinas Valley and thought of Steinbeck some more. For someone I haven't read in ages, I thought about that guy a lot this trip!
 
I saw some farm workers and I am not sure if it is disrespectful to take pictures of people (rather than scenery) from the car window, but I wanted to remember them.

I read ESPERANZA RISING in Oklahoma which tells the story of a girl who emigrates from Mexico to the Valley. (Read it now. It is magnificent!) 

And my Grandpa Frank's dad emigrated here as a farm worker. He paid for Baba and Uncle Jim to come here by working in the sugar beet fields. Ask me about that story sometime! I am just two generations removed from this kind of work and when I try to imagine myself working that hard it is difficult. It makes me feel very lucky.

Oh look! I'm almost there! 

Aptos (pronounced APP-toss NOT ap-toes or you will be mocked by teenagers) is a nice place just outside Santa Cruz- land of beach, meth and skateboards. 

I dragged myself into town (seriously, not my best morning) by 10 am. Before getting to Maureen's house I had to stop at Starbucks. This will become a theme from this point forward.

I met Maureen in 1990 when I was going to live overseas for awhile. She was a new friend of Cameron who was a pal of mine. Our first interaction? She MOCKED ME for misspelling Belguim (or maybe Belgium) on the "please write to me when I'm gone" note I put on the fridge of what was later our apartment. We became roommates when I returned. I was maid of horror when she and Cam got married. And most importantly - I am godmother to her spectacular children Cailin, Ben and Annika.

These are them. 

Actually, this one makes them look less like lunatics. 

But not much less like lunatics.

So what did I do when I finally got to see my dear old friend and her spawn? Well, I made them rub my sore, sore head and then I took a nap. 

But after that we had adventures! I went to see Mo's college - very beautiful and California-y. And we went to Safeway. Every time I go to Aptos we go to Safeway. I secretly believe that Maureen is legally obligated to visit Safeway at least once a day. That woman loves a grocery store.

However, the final product of our Safeway visit was insanely good. Michael, Mo's husband and a seriously nice man, is also a chef. The man can cook! And when I asked what I could do to help get the meal ready he said my very favorite thing, "Get the hell out of my kitchen!" Which is what I always secretly  want to hear when I ask if I can help. And he looks like Mal from FIREFLY (google it if you're not geeky enough to know) which is quite pleasant to be around. 

 The other guy is Jorge, the musical genius son of Maureen's heart who is SO THOUGHTFUL that he offered to drive Annika to San Francisco on his day off to meet up with me. Kind and talented, what a crazy combination!

I had a lovely visit. I got to go to Safeway, I got to see Cam - Ben has just moved in with him in his very cool house (which I should have taken a picture of) - I got to play hearts with Cailin and Mo, and it was especially sweet because I knew that I was going to get to spend 2 weeks with Annika later in the month!

But first a few days in paradise! Stay tuned...