On the Road–Monterey to Aliso Viejo–people and places we love

It’s Friday night in Aliso Viejo, in Southern Orange County. We’re staying at our son Raymo and his partner Gino’s comfortable townhome. I’m upstairs in our guest room typing while I hear a daddy outside playing with his little daughter and I can her giggling. The food, the flowers, the light, and, especially, being with family, really add up to why we travel.

Today we left ‘home’ and drove to San Juan Capistrano’s Old Town, where we visited a butterfly garden. Neurodiverse adults visited and we shared our excitement at seeing Monarch caterpillars and their flying family. As we walked back to the car after Bill and Raymo bought treats at FKN Bakery, the smell of pizza sauce wafted on the air from Selma’s Chicago Pizzeria. Oh my, we knew we had to return later for a coupla pies. Good news! GF cauliflower crust was available. The pizza was delicious later that night.

We met my niece Nellie and her daughter Lauren at Casa Romantica in San Clemente. Built in 1927 by real estate tycoon Ole Hanson, the Spanish revival-style home cultivates creativity and a love of beauty through its gardens, architecture, views and owners’ love of the place. Ole Hanson once said, “By giving people a chance to live intelligently and artistically I may possibly influence other builders to help. I do not want people to be repulsed and sent away by ugliness in San Clemente.”

The beauty of Casa Romantica got us thinking of living in our own Spanish revival home with a round office like this:

Outside we picnicked in the courtyard, and later sat in the butterfly garden watching Monarchs, and a blue-black butterfly that was constantly on the flutter and never resting. When we first entered Casa Romantica we met volunteer ‘Butterfly Bill,’ who knows so much about Monarch butterflies and handles them with ease.

We left this little oasis after an inspired visit. We walked into San Clemente where we enjoyed ice cream at the Orange County Creamery. Hand-made ice cream and sorbet. Delicious was my mango-guava sorbet. Bill was treated to free bakery at nearby Chaupain.

After leaving our goodies in the car we walked to San Clemente Pier Beach where Lauren swam in the blue-green waves.

It was a day to remember the love we feel for our family.

Two days earlier we boarded the 90-minute ride on Catalina Express–a treat by Raymo–to Catalina Island. We departed from Dana Point. The ride was a bit bumpy on the way out and smooth on the return. Bill, who was born in Los Angeles, Raymo nor I had never been there. Fortunate for us were Lindsey Mattingly and Pat Troy–friends we met on Whdbey–who live on Catalina fall through spring. Pat picked us up and took us to their home on the third floor of a building overlooking Avalon.

After delicious salad and ice cream from Lindsey, we went into town–Lindsey has mastered the art of backing her golf cart down the sidewalk below her home–and we were treated to a visit at Avalon’s famous Catalina Casino, built by William Wrigley Jr. in 1929. Mr. Wrigley wanted to give back to all those who paid 5 cents for his gum and created this multistoried ballroom and theatre. The art deco tile and murals by John Gabriel Beckman are something to see in person. The theater’s acoustics are such that a person standing in front of the 1,200 seat auditorium can speak and sound as if speaking on a mic. Take a look at this art deco-style of art that surrounds the round Casino building. Casino is Italian for gathering place.

Upstairs is a ballroom where mainlanders would arrive by steamer to dance the night away. Nowadays, in addition to other entertainment, the ballroom is used by skaters.

Lindsey said rumor has it the women’s restroom upstairs is haunted.

And Raymo took this photo of Bill and I outside the Casino framed by its colonnades.

While Pat took the boys off to the near top of the island to see buffalo and other natural sights, and reveling in his tour guide skills, Lindsey drove us to the snorkel rental shop, where I was outfitted with fins and a mask. In we went to the 65° water. It was a sky blue underneath the surface. Orange Garibaldi swam near the steps, used to humans feeding them. The swim was mystical through brown-gold kelp forest. Later we met up with the guys at the Avalon Museum. We are grateful to Lindsey and Pat for showing us the essential Catalina. It can suffer from over tourism.

Earlier on our visit to Aliso Viejo we walked the trails at Laguna Niguel’s botanical garden.

We learned from friend Diane Corwin that a good friend–Ron Yamaoka–from my NBC days 1976-198–lived nearby in Laguna Woods. He provided gate access to this 55+ community. We  enjoyed visiting and walking through the garden landscape below his condo. We visited over afternoon coffee.

En route to Aliso Viejo June 1, we stopped by to visit with Frank Poss. He’s a cousin to Bill’s dad Jack Poss. Frank is 96 and lives in Pacific Palisades. He misses his dear wife Kay who passed away last November. He is still writing novels with his granddaughter.

We spent May 28 through June 1 camping at site 49 at Malibu Creek State Park. Near the restrooms and sheltered by California Live oak, we woke to the sounds of Acorn Woodpeckers. It’s full on the weekends. A most beautiful setting in the Santa Monica Mountains.

We visited with friends from our former neighborhood in nearby Seminole Springs Mobilehome park, where we lived from 1981-2000. The upper part of the park burned on Nov. 9, 2018. New homes have replaced those that burned. We learned one is renting at $4500 a month and another for sale at $1 million. We bought our place in 1981 for $39,000.

Friday May 30th we drove through thick traffic on Route 101 to meet in Sherman Oaks with Bill’s brother Mike and his wife Stephanie. Retired now, they split their time between their home in Santa Clarita, and another in Chandler AZ, to be close to their young granddaughter Lorena. Mike is into playing pickle ball and Stephanie makes beautiful quilts.

Later we stopped by long-time friends Diane and Jeff. I worked with Diane at NBC, and she’s been like family ever since. Marrying Jeff in the 1990s, brought him into the fold. We love this couple!

It was a Kane family celebration May 31st. Bill’s known the Kanes–seven siblings–since he was a Catholic school lad and they went to the same church–St. Cyril’s. Tricia Kane invited me to a yoga class at the nearby King Gillette Ranch on Mulholland Hwy. Peaceful and relaxing to stretch out under the arms of oak and sycamore. Our clear-eyed teacher Gregóire is originally from Belgium and finds his center practicing Sikhism whose tenets are faith, meditation and service to others. We enjoyed a heartfelt chat with him following our 90-minute yoga session.

Later we drove to the Thousand Oaks ranch home of Natalie and Brock Redmond. It was their daughter Harper’s 11th birthday. The Redmonds have six children, three sheep, three pigs, chickens, dogs and cats in addition to their people family. We’re friends with Natalie’s parents Alan and Janice, and I’ve known them since I met Bill in 1973. Alan’s brother Paul is married to Tricia. They have a pair of children Daniel and Rachel, who are married and in partnership. They have children. So, it was a big reunion and fun gathering.

And before camping at Malibu Creek State Park, we camped at Laguna Seca Racetrack in Monterey. While we’re not into racing, we find camping is somewhat affordable at $50 a night in this expensive part of California. While I wrote about much of that trip in the previous blog, after it was published we visited Big Sur and Nepenthe restaurant, enjoying the spring Monterey paintbrush growing on the hillsides above Pacific Coast Hwy. We also took a walk in the redwoods with our friend Bridget Maloney. And we are grateful for the lovely dinner we shared with our dear friend Sheila Heibert in Carmel Valley.

This is the end of this chapter. The next one takes us to the Eastern Sierra and celebration of a friend’s 100th birthday.

The past three weeks have been about spending time with people who enrich our lives and land that feeds our spirit. Delicious food in abundance. And our grandson doggies are there to make us feel welcome as well. We are grateful.