Another part of LA initiation

First thing this morning, I did laundry. Fascinating, I know. Fact is I couldn't go anywhere until I did because most of my clothes were dirty, including all my underwear. Finally, about 10, Remy and I took a walk to Sunset and along it till we came to a recommended breakfast (other meals, too, I believe) place called Trois Familia. The dish I had was -- crispy hash brown chilaquiles, sunny side up egg, cotija, salsa macho and avocado. It wasn't very big, and it was fairly expensive, but I was quite replete when finished, and it was marvelously delicious. They had many intriguing items on the menu.

I had jotted down the address of a nearby bike shop, mostly because the reviews of it reminded me of how I feel about the Freewheeler in Grand Rapids, so I wanted to go there. Their cheapest bike was about the price I paid for mine, and it didn't have any gears. If I want a new bike, I believe I'll have to wait till I get to a community where the cost of living is not as high -- maybe Oklahoma City.

I've seen a lot of bits of communities in LA now. I like it that there are so many small businesses. I know there are malls with the ubiquitous chain stores, but it's easy to avoid them if you want to. I have passed many juice bars, coffee shops, and restaurants. I'm sure many come and go each year, but the ones that people really love thrive. 

The other part of initiation to LA, of course, is the downside -- the theft of my bike from the back of my car on Tuesday, and today, a parking ticket. I may take the time to protest it. I put money in the meter, and the readout on the meter told me to be back at 3:39. I went off to do my thing, taking note of the time. When we (Alice's friend, Jess, and I) returned to the car at 3:35, there was already a ticket, and it was time-stamped 3:32. I think it requires some sort of protest. And as long as I'm at the police station, perhaps I'll file that report about the bike. I thought I was going to file on line today, but apparently the City of LA doesn't have that capability yet.

After Remy and I walked the mile back to Joan's and had a bit of a rest -- I sense that he's getting pretty exhausted with our pace, and his feet are getting sore from all the walking -- we met up with Jess and another friend, Matt, in the La Feliz neighborhood. We had outstanding smoothies at The Punch Bowl, which boasts a really unusual menu, and then browsed some vintage clothing shops, and a book and novelty shop called Wacko, before Alice got out of work and proposed (by text) that Jess and I meet her for a manicure. 

I went home to change for dinner, and Jess picked me up. I had an excellent manicure, and Alice and I departed for dinner to meet her new friend, David. We followed my Google maps, which took us a number of blocks out of the way and through a frustrating amount of traffic. But we had an amazing dinner at The Boiling Crab. This is one of those places where you get a bib, and the food just gets dumped on the table. 

Two lovely people, armed for eating messy crab and shrimp.

We ordered Dungeness crab, in part because Dick and Nancy had talked about how wonderful it is, and how it is caught in the Puget Sound area but difficult to get there because it's shipped to other places, like LA. We ordered shrimp, as well, and we started off with a half dozen oysters in the half shell. There weren't a lot of side dishes on the menu, and we were plenty full after what we ordered. 

The wreckage.

Alice's roommate, Cassidy, has been a little under the weather this week and wanted to get out, so we picked him up and went out for ice cream/sorbet. Then the young folks dropped me off. They were headed to a bar where Matt was working, and I just didn't relish the idea of yelling conversation again. Nearly everywhere we've eaten has been extremely loud, and it's not my favorite thing, as anyone from the ECC who's gone to Big Bobs with me will attest. 

I sponged off Remy's dirty, tired feet with a washcloth, to his great chagrin, and we're about ready to hit the hay. Alice has the day off tomorrow. In the plans are breakfast out, a trip to the dog beach, and an after work coffee with my cousin's son (what does that make him to me?) Dylan. 

I hope I get to see a lot more of these "friends of Alice" this weekend before I leave. It has been a true delight being treated so kindly by them. 

Trip to Oceanside

This morning, after a loooonnnggg chat with "James" at Netflix, during which I managed to get my Airbnb hostess, Joan, hooked up on a new Netflix account, I set off for Oceanside to see old friend, Tim Zuverink. Tim and I had last probably glimpsed one another at a distance back in 1973, when we graduated from high school. But we had gone to part of elementary school together, and we had played together in the same neighborhood, so we wanted to see each other.

I drove the 2 hours to Oceanside and turned up at Tim's door. He was ready to go, so we didn't subject his cats to Remy's presence or Remy to them. We hopped in the car, got a burger, and our first stop was the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. The grounds are expansive, and the church is beautiful and old. It's obviously a place that still functions as a Catholic mission/church.

Taken outside the Mission.

The view from the back. The seating area is not very wide. 

This wooden dome impressed me. It's not ornate, but it's still lofty.

One of the bays in the transept. 

The very front of the apse.

From the Mission, we drove to the Oceanside pier. The wide, heavy, wooden planks were solid and easy to walk on. There were many people fishing and strolling on the pier. The beaches were busy, but not overfull on a Wednesday. There were a few surfers. There is only one business on this particular pier, and it is a restaurant at the very end.

This gentleman stood watch on a trash receptacle. (Yes, it is real.)

Next, we drove south along the water, enjoying the refreshing breeze off the water and the stunning views. At Carlsbad, we visited Jamba Juice and then, because Remy's been having trouble with at least one of his paws (frequent licking, some swelling and pinkness of the pad), we decided to drive down the coast a bit more, rather than walking around Carlsbad. Tim took a number of photos of me and Remy, trying to get some of the gorgeous surf in the background.

We took a more direct route (with different, beautiful vistas) back to Tim's place where I got a chance to meet his partner, Chris. 

This gorgeous tree was on the way back.

We chatted for a bit, and then I decided to face the traffic and head back to LA. The drive actually ended up not being too bad. Chris snapped this shot of Tim & me with Remy.

It was great to spend some time together!

I snapped the following photos in front of my Airbnb. Succulents abound here. Many of them look like what I learned to call "hens & chicks," but mutated. Some are extremely large. Some have longer stems. All of these kinds of succulents grow outrageous flowers. 

Many of you have encouraged me to report my bike stolen. Perhaps I still will. It just didn't seem like a good use of my time. I have four more days in LA. We'll see what more interesting pastimes I can choose to pursue.

An unexpected surprise

Second day in LA. It's Tuesday, right? Sometimes I feel a little discombobulated about the day.

I made banana pancakes for myself and Joan this morning. She was delighted. She had blueberries to add, which just made them more authentic-tasting. (For those of you who don't know, this was my typical breakfast before I left GR, and I haven't had a banana pancake since. If the bananas are properly green, to the point where you have to slice them down the side with a knife and peel them around, rather than down, one banana plus one egg and a small pinch of salt, blended, produces something that is almost like the "real thing." It's also fun to add toasted coconut or chopped nuts.) Since Joan has some of her own digestive issues, she was very excited to learn another recipe that might be helpful.

Joan's sweet dog, Dinah, checking out the visitors in the guest room.

After walking Remy and hanging around the house for a little while, I made my way to the post office with some findings from my travels to send to friends and family, as well as a thank you card for Phil. I had planned to walk to a post office on Alverado, but Joan said no. She thought I would like the community of Atwater better. The post office was pretty run down, but there were a lot of interesting shops on that street. I parked across the street from the post office and put a hour's worth of money in the meter, taking careful note of how much time I had.

After I posted, I walked along, feeling a bit hungry but not wanting to eat too much, as I had lunch plans with Alice. After a few blocks, I found a vegan juice bar and had a fabulous beet-kale-orange-ginger juice and a piece of vegan cheesecake. Then I backtracked to a resale shop, but it didn't have much. After I stopped into a really upscale shop and had a great chat with the young lady working there (her grandmother is from Grand Rapids!), I saw that the book store across the street had opened, and I had just enough time to go there and get back to my car in the time allotted.

I picked up a book with three Mickey Spillane novels in it (I, the Jury, My Gun is Quick, and Vengeance is Mine!) and a collection of short stories by Philip K. Dick. Then Remy and I strolled back to the car as the heat became increasingly hard and heavy.

We headed off to a Walgreen's, Google maps calling out the turns. After we'd gone maybe a mile, I looked -- I mean, really looked -- in the rearview mirror and realized that my bike was gone. It had been stolen while I shopped in the Atwater area. It was weird. I just accepted it. I didn't swear. I didn't admonish myself (too much). It was gone. And I knew that I could report it and spend the day waiting for the police and talking to the police, or I could let it go. I let it go. I figured someone had spotted it, checked to see that I had an hour on the meter, and realized that s/he had plenty of time to remove it from the rack and take it away.

Remy and I went on toward Alice's work on Wilshire, Blvd. We found a park called the Pan Pacific Park, but by the time we had parked and started to walk toward the entrance I got a text from Alice saying that we could come any time to go out for lunch.

Entrance to Pan Pacific Park.

Remy and I walked up the stairs to the office where Alice works. Alice met us in the stairwell. Her boss, Barbara, and my granddog, Harvey, were waiting for us. Harvey and Remy did not hit it off, probably because Remy was sniffing around Harvey's food in Harvey's space. So we said good-bye to Harvey and got out of there. 

Lunch was nearby, easy walking distance. The choices were typical, but the realizations were not. I had a beet and goat cheese (hazelnut goat cheese!) salad with beef added. It was so beautiful, with mixed greens and this stack of slices of beet and other root vegetable with goat cheese in between. A truly delicious lunch! Then, Alice took me to a health food market called Lassens, also right near her office. I picked up a few items including -- I couldn't believe it! -- Emmy's Organic cookies, which are produced in Ithaca, New York. Prior to today, I've never seen these little gems anywhere but Ithaca. Of course I got some.

Three flavors of Emmy's Organic macaroons. Yum! 

I thought about driving to Venice Beach, but it was so uncomfortably hot again that I opted to return to Joan's air conditioned abode and spend some time on craigslist, looking at used bikes. Quite a bit of time went by, and I texted Alice to see what was up with supper. She had fallen asleep when she got home from work, so we got kind of a late start going out for dinner. Since the place we were going was beyond her apartment, I drove to her this time, and then had her drive my car to the destination. 

On the way to Alice's, I saw this poster.

Once again, Jess was able to meet us. We went to Sushi One in Koreatown. I had salmon sashimi and some specially prepared peppers (I wish I had written down the name). Very tasty. The three of us also shared two seaweed salads. 

We said good-night to Jess but weren't quite ready to call it a night, so Alice drove me by the art museum where there is a cool display of old-fashioned street lamps. The following photos were all taken by Alice at the site of the street lamps.

It's hard to get a good picture of Remy. He usually either turns his back or tries to lick my face.

Since it was "on the way" back to Alice's apartment, we drove through the center of Hollywood where the Chinese Theatre is and lots of other brightly lit, sort of generic stuff. Everywhere else we had been in the evening was fairly quiet and subdued, and much of it was shutting down, but there in the heart of Hollywood, people were still out en masse, and the signs and store lights were bright.

When we drove up in front of Alice's building, there were people getting in to a car right in front. This never happens. We waited for them to leave, then pulled my car into the spot. I waited there while Alice went to get her car from a block or so away, and then pulled out so she could park there for the night. The flip side of this is that I have parked almost directly in front of Joan's Airbnb until tonight, but arriving back as late as I did, I had to park about a half mile away. And the walk back was excruciating because I had to go to the bathroom.

I guess it was a long, full day in LA. I hope to go to The Broad Museum on Thursday, maybe with Jess, and there's a Mapplethorpe exhibit here, too, that perhaps Alice and I will get a chance to see. We're talking about the beach for Friday, possibly some bike shopping over the weekend, if I don't find one on craigslist. Stay tuned to see what actually happens!

First day in LA!

This morning, I packed up my camp at Pete's Airbnb and headed for LA. I had breakfast before I left, but as I drove I started to feel really hungry. I searched for breakfast in Santa Barbara and came up with a couple of possibilities which I mapped and drove to. Both closed on Mondays! I spent nearly 45 minutes just trying to find someplace in Santa Barbara to get some breakfast. I finally came to Breakfast Bowl, which had very interesting offerings, most of them with grains; but I got a smoothie that satisfied me for a while.

I traveled mostly on 101 south to LA. I did go on a couple of other highways once I got close, but mostly 101. The traffic got heavier and heavier, the closer I came to the city; but we only came to a complete stop a couple of times.

I pulled up to my Airbnb and was greeted by my hostess, Joan, her dachshund and two cats. Remy was a bit overwhelmed, but he has been adapting pretty well to a lot of diverse circumstances, and I'm sure he'll adjust to this, as well.

We hung out for a couple of hours, me on the computer, Remy napping by my side. I thought about going out exploring, but it was darned hot, and as humid as it's been on my trip so far, and with the AC on at Joan's house I decided to stay in.

Alice got out of work just after 4:30. She took Harvey (my granddog) home, picked up her roommate, Cassidy, and came to get me. We had dinner at a Taiwanese place called Night Market & Song (I think). I had the Taiwanese sausage, and sweet potato greens sauteed with garlic. After dinner, the three of us (four, if you count Remy) went to an ice cream/sorbet place and met Alice's dear, dear friend, Jess. I had one scoop each of pear and lemon sorbet. Yum!

Then we just stood on the sidewalk and talked until it felt like time to go. I got some advice about what to do over the next few days, and Jess made herself available if I need her while Alice is at work.

When I got back to Joan's, I was able to help her with a computer problem (Can you believe it!? Me?!). Fortunately, the solution was something I'm familiar with -- turn it off and turn it back on. ;)

Hoping to have the wherewithal to have a nice long walk with Remy in the morning. And I get to meet Alice's boss, Barbara, tomorrow. I'm going to meet them for lunch.

It's hotter than normal in LA right now, but I think it's supposed to cool off in another day or so.

Joan is an artist and retired art teacher. This is a current project that she is working on.

The side wall upon entering the house.

More art.

A statue tribute to a past pet, a Corgi. Her current dog is a dachshund.

Getting a little bit tan. It's nice to have time to be outside in the beautiful weather!

Some gorgeous, flowering plant seen on Joan's street. Another tribute to Thomas Fouts and Thomas Henry, my favorite nature photographers.

One was not enough.

Summer in California

California feels a lot different than Michigan in so many ways. For one thing, it's dry ... everywhere, even on the ocean. At least it doesn't get super humid the way summer does in W Michigan. I guess salt water must not get condensed into the air the way fresh water does -- but that's just a guess. Anyway, ever since Washington, I've been learning to stay hydrated even though I don't feel like I'm losing moisture, because I'm not sweating the way I would be at these temperatures in Michigan.

Here's another interesting thing: the temperature fluctuates as many as 40 degrees within just as many miles. The areas along the coast are much cooler, with a fog bank lying offshore that comes onshore sometimes in the mornings. There's a cool breeze, too. But move inland 10 miles and the temperature has already gone up considerably. Go inland far enough to be east of the first range of mountains or foothills, depending on where you are, and you're in for an extreme rise in temperature. For instance, yesterday, it was 97 at Phil's home inland and 57 at Morro Beach.

I had the extreme pleasure of being shown around the coastal areas near San Luis Obispo the last couple of days by Phil Panos, a high school friend with whom I acted in two shows in high school. He moved to the area about 40 years ago, right after high school, and has lived here most of the time since then. In addition, he is a trained docent at one of the lighthouses in the area and also takes people on guided trail hikes, so he knows a great deal about the history of the area, its people, its geography, and its economy. He worked for Alex Madonna -- if you haven't heard of him you might want to look him up -- and as an emergency responder (fire, ambulance). He currently works HVAC and other repair for the gov in the area, so I was lucky to get to see him when he had energy on the weekend!

Phil's son, Eli, runs an antique shop in Arroyo Grande. Here's Elvis outside of a shop near Eli's.

Here's Phil, playing around a little on the Greek bouzouki for me at his place.

A view of the tidepool beach at Montana de Oro Los Osos State Park. Unfortunately, we got there at high tide, so there weren't a lot of tidepools to be seen, but the view was gorgeous, and the temperature was cool.

A couple of tidbits to share: there are "grasshopper" pumps in Price Canyon on the back way from Morro to Pismo. They pump oil to keep it from running down the creeks and beaches -- think La Brea Tarpits. When one runs dry, they drill another to keep the ooze from coming into contact with the people of the area.

Real estate in the area runs between $100,000 and $5,000,000. A trailer camping spot at a waterfront location sells (yes, you can buy a spot like a condo) for $100,000.

San Luis Obispo is a college town. It has vegetarian restaurants and lots of coffee shops, like the one I'm sitting in right now, using the WiFi. It also has the bubble gum wall. My reaction? EW!

UPDATE: The drugs I was given in the hospital in King City were effective, so effective in fact that I have decided not to fill the prescriptions that were given to me. Phil and I walked over 4 miles today, and I feel fine. I recommit to the diet that I know helps me to be healthy and keep the Crohn's under control. Since Thursday, I've had no grains, no refined sweetener of any kind, no coffee, no beans, and no white potatoes. I have had some excellent fish and seafood, many vegetables, and I've been eating slowly and chewing well.

It was an education to become ill without my backup network. It is good to know that health professionals are at least well-intentioned wherever I go, even if they don't know me and don't want to hear what I have to say. I trust that I won't have to go through this again, and that wherever I settle I will find another circle of wonderful health people like I had in Grand Rapids. When I told Phil where I was in the hospital, his response was, "That s^&$hole?!" Okay, it was a very small town without a lot of resources, but they got me through this.

Oh! I have to show you photos of the Airbnb where I've been staying. It's almost like a hostel set-up, with some people sleeping in beds inside the house, including regular roommates and Airbnb guests, and me in a tent in the front yard. The worst part of the tent location is that the streetlight shone on me all night, and any time I woke up a teeny bit, I thought it was morning. I'll put something over my head tonight. The temperature dropped into the 50s last night, after a very hot day, so I was able to wear my hooded sweatshirt to bed and will do so again tonight.

Everything inside and outside of this place is like a collage. I like it. It reminds me of my approach to my garden on Eastern and to T-shirt quilts. "Oh, I like that! Where shall I put it?"

The following photos are from our walk along the boardwalk to the butterfly garden at Pismo Beach. The butterflies are apparently in residence between November and March. We saw one lonely monarch and a Swallowtail.

This is actually looking out over the surfing area of Pismo.

Here's the boardwalk, surrounded by succulents like the one below. Phil says they are difficult to burn, but when they do they are filled with an oil that makes a noxious odor.

Close up (trying to emulate Thomas Fouts) of one of the succulents. The flowers also come in yellow and a light pink.

Field of succulents in front of condos.

Moving on tomorrow (Monday) to LA. I'll be staying at an Airbnb there, trying to see friends during the weekdays, and doing stuff with Alice (including meeting her friends!) in the evenings.

A Day at the Hospital

I know most of you are pretty happy that I made the choice I did to go to the hospital this morning. I'm not sure whether I am or not. If my appendix had been inflamed, it was the best possible thing I could do. Since it wasn't, I got a lecture about how the things I've been doing for the last 30 years to maintain my Crohn's weren't optimum and an accompanying warning about what will happen to me if I don't follow the mainstream line. I also had a nurse, wonderful in all other ways, who took offense to warning snaps from Remy and had him removed from the hospital. When it looked as though they were going to keep me overnight, several people spent all afternoon looking for someplace for him to stay. Poor little guy. The Animal Control people, in particular a wonderful woman named Dixie Gould, came to get him, and he squealed and protested as they loaded him into the truck.

Since stress is an issue with Crohn's episodes, all in all I wouldn't say it was a healing day.

The other stressful element is insurance. My agent told me early in the day that, if I was not admitted, nothing would be covered. My policy says $250 co-pay for emergency room visits. Of course that doesn't include the CT scans, but hopefully there's a co-pay on that, as well. What it came down to, the last doctor explained to me, is that my numbers didn't qualify me for an overnight stay, and once the insurance company saw the details they probably wouldn't cover the overnight. I figured I'd cut my losses and not stay overnight. I picked up Remy at Animal Control, and we're back in our less than stellar Days Inn room in King City.

Highlights of the day: Margie Gage went out of her way to find a place for Remy in King City, bless her. By the time I got the message, he had just been picked up by Animal Control.
                                My host at the Airbnb where I was supposed to be staying tonight, Pete, offered to come to King City and pick Remy up, even knowing that he was likely to be less than cooperative.
                                My FB friends and texting buddies kept my spirits up all day.

Downsides: The Mee Memorial Hospital is very small and old. The staff (except for Cindy) was exceptionally kind. Cindy did her best, but I could tell that Remy's nips had really put her off.
                  I am unaccustomed to this sort of thing. The last time I was admitted to the hospital was in about 1968 for knee surgery. I have sat at the bedside of many people, mostly my folks, but I haven't been the one in the bed, waiting, waiting, waiting ... in this case for someone to talk to me and tell me what's going on, or for someone to figure out what to do with Remy, or whatever.
                  I have four prescriptions. What the heck?! I won't fill them here in King City, anyway, so that will give me a little time to think about whether or not to fill them at all, or which ones I think I might need. It will also give me a chance to do some research on the medications and what their side effects are likely to be, since I'll have to detox those after I'm done taking them. By the time I reach a Walgreen's somewhere, I should have it figured out.
                   It was a beautiful day to spend in a dim e-room.

So that's all there is to tell about today. It's 5:30 p.m., and I'm going to lie down and sleep till I feel like waking up. Perhaps at that point I'll be able to tell how the healing is going.

Restaurant eating does it again!

Remy and I had a lovely visit to Napa. We arrived about 10:30 and had free parking for 3 hours. After I updated my blog in the Information Center, we strolled down Main Street, checking out the restaurants and looking for some of the places that Alice and I had shopped 3 years ago. I should mention that I was experiencing some slight "sour stomach" symptoms, most likely due to the glass of wine I'd had last night, but for the most part I felt normal ... and hungry.

We found a place called Jax White Mule Diner (sounded less likely to be horrendously expensive than a lot of other places we passed). I ordered the Cali Benny. In the Cali Benny, there is no Hollandaise sauce. The poached eggs with spinach and avocado get salsa instead. This seemed healthy to me. I had a conversation with the server about the potato choices. She said they don't recommend hash browns to people with wheat issues, since they're fried in the fryer with breaded foods; but she didn't think there would be any problem with tater tots. (I can't tell you how long it's been since I had a tater tot!) So I ordered them.

After a miserable drive from Napa to King City and an evening of moderate abdominal pain, I finally threw up and took Remy for a walk. I'm not 100% by a long shot, but I'm starting to feel better. I looked up the ingredients in tater tots. The server was right. No flour. But between dextrose and natural flavor, I'm betting on MSG, which would explain a lot of things about the way I've been feeling: irregular heartbeat, drowsiness, headache, and of course the abdominal pain.

I've been "sleeping" since about 8 p.m., but I think now I'll really be able to sleep. Looking forward to it.

BTW, with the exception of the tater tots, Jax was really good. I found the store where I'd purchased some clothes I liked 3 years ago, and I bought a couple more items.

Driving in middle to western California is a completely different animal than northern and eastern California. The stress of the drive surely didn't help my condition.

Looking forward to a better day tomorrow.

Erroneous blog title?

Yesterday, we headed out to finally (hopefully) have breakfast at Rosebuds Cafe, which had first been recommended by my host, Sean, upon my arrival. But no, not open. So we headed to the nearby community of Mokelumne Hill (called Moke Hill by the locals) to check out another recommended place. Should have called. Not open. So I asked a guy delivering ice cream to the grocery store next door. He recommended a place called Mel and Faye's Diner in Jackson. So back we went to Jackson and had a lovely meal.

After that, I stopped at a bike shop for two reasons: to get a new lock (!) and to ask where to ride in the area. The young man working at Jackson Family Sports was very friendly and helpful. I also asked about someplace to swim, as the temperature was predicted to be very high again. He lit up and told me about a place on the river that all the locals go to. He said that I could, additionally, ride my bike along the road leading to the swimming spot.

I was about to return to the Farm to get things I needed when I remembered that I had a bathing suit in the car. So off we went, south on highway 49 to Electra Road.

Electra Road

The pavement was so rough that I didn't even consider biking along it, with Remy in the cart, especially. And as I travelled along to the swimming spot, the curves and areas that were only one lane wide convinced me that my first impression was valid. 

Thus the title of this post -- I feel as though I'm letting down those of you who wanted to read about bicycling. And I miss riding. But the ways are strange, and many are dangerous, and I believe I'm making the best choices for me on a day-to-day basis. I hope to be able to access Map my Run, which shows me designated bike trails wherever I am, and take in a bit more riding in the coming week and a half, at least. I also hope to acquire another basket for Remy so that I can take him without the huge cart when we're going on a relatively short ride.

We actually didn't go all the way to the end of the road to swim. We came to a spot where two women had parked and were making their way down to the river, so we found a shady parking spot and followed their lead. There was an outhouse there, so it was a designated swimming place. I learned from the women that the end of the road place was already likely to be filled up. It was 10:30 a.m.

I ended up creating a shady spot for Remy, as the foliage around the spot was thick and low. There were shady trees further up the bank, away from the water, but that didn't help us much. The young man at the bicycle shop had said that dogs could run loose, but I thought it might be better to keep Remy close since the road was quite nearby.

We probably stayed for about an hour. I read, and Remy relaxed. It was hot -- probably mid 80's -- but I never submerged in the river for a couple of reasons. #1, it was COLD! And #2, I didn't know how fast the water would feel if I actually stepped into the deeper part, and since I was essentially alone I didn't want to take any chances. I did, however, step into the water at several points and splash the refreshing drops onto my body.

A shot of the river on our drive out.

When I decided I'd had enough direct sunlight for the day, we crept back along the bumpy road, forced to back up twice to let other vehicles pass, and turned back toward Jackson. I went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream -- why do I do this? What happened to the ability to say no? Then I got gas and tried to stop at a resale shop -- looking for some summer jammies for the warmer climes -- but that was a no go, as the only available parking spots had been parked over by neighboring cars, and the traffic in the lot was such that I thought I should just get out of the way. 

We spent the rest of the day at the Farm. I finally added the symbols of world religions to my bike flag (almost two months later!), and mended some things. As I sat under the canopy of the camp kitchen, I noticed again the painted gourds that had been hung from trees around the kitchen, and I was inspired. I had picked up a number of turkey feathers at Lake Wildwood (the turkeys molted in my aunt and uncle's yard, almost exclusively) and taken them with me, not knowing what purpose they might serve. I created a bird out of some fabric I had along and most of the feathers from Lake Wildwood. And I hung it under the added roof of my trailer. I have no idea how long it will last. Keeping it out of the sun will help. But I feel as though I've left a bit of my spirit and the spirit of the turkeys of Lake Wildwood at one of my favorite places so far on my trip.

My "spirit of the turkey", left behind at the Farm.

As I sat and sewed and relaxed, I realized how much the Manzanita Ridge Permaculture Farm reminded me of The Gilbert Road Reservation near Glen Arbor, Michigan, one of my all-time favorite quiet retreats. But in California, I was warm and dry, and I liked that. It was extremely hot, to the point where I felt as though sun steadily shining through the trees was burning patches on my skin. I had to keep adjusting my chair to keep from getting burned. But I was so comfortable and happy and at peace that I began thinking about asking Sean if he'd thought about having someone live in a trailer and manage the Airbnb part of the business for him. I have lots more places to go, but I'm still thinking about it.

Remy was HOT! This is his "den" under my bed in the trailer. I turned the fan on for him.

By about 6:30, I'd had enough sitting quietly and decided to go into Jackson for an expensive steak dinner. As Remy and I were seated on the patio, I noticed another woman sitting alone, and I thought about asking her if she'd like some company. Then, as the hostess took my drink order, I mentioned that I might have a glass of wine with dinner, and the woman turned and said, "Do you like Shiraz?" She recommended a local Shiraz, and I asked if she'd like company. Remy and I moved over to her table.

Her name is Anita Whitcomb. We had a delightful conversation that kept me at the restaurant until 9:30 -- two hours after my reservation. Anita and I exchanged contact information. She invited me to stay at her place (her husband is gone most of the week, working in the Bay Area) if I return to Jackson/Amador County.

THURSDAY:

I was supposed to drive straight to Oakland today to have lunch with my friend Maggie Martin from Grand Rapids, but sadly I got a message from her yesterday saying that her partner had had surgery yesterday and required nursing attention by Maggie, so she had to cancel. That left today wide open. I have a hotel reservation in King City this evening -- an area that has little to recommend it except that it's halfway between Oakland and San Luis Obispo, where I'll be for the weekend. I decided a while ago that I didn't want to drive down Highway 1 this trip because ... why, when I can't look at the scenery while driving? So I decided to return to Napa, where Alice and I visited 3 years ago.

Google Maps took me through the San Joaquin Valley to get here (I'm at the Napa Information Center right now). I ended up on a fairly non-main road that snaked through orchards and vineyards for miles. Since I wasn't in a hurry, it was very relaxing and beautiful. Most of the land was quite dry, like the more mountainous area I had just come from, but eventually I crossed the Sacramento River and thought, "There IS water around here!"

There IS water around here!

There was also a huge wind farm. I know these things bother some people, but I am awestruck by them every time. Two pictures of the wind farm.

Remy and I are off to walk, or possibly bike, around Napa for a few hours before we head on to King City. It's only supposed to get up to 86 degrees today, so it should be a very nice day for it. I hope to have more consistent WiFi through July 4, at least, so I'll be more consistent in my posts.