Heading for home–Chapter 14

Hello family and friends–it’s road weary Bajada Bill and Cactus Kate here, nearing the end of a three-month journey. The weather’s turned California wintry–night temperatures in the 30s at Malibu Creek State Park, where we camped in site 49. That was followed by three nights in Monterey and two in the Santa Cruz area. All had cold nights and cold restrooms.

We decided to forego camping tonight, so we could have a warm room and bathroom. Here in Glen Ellen, we are staying at the Jack London Lodge in Room 11. It is cold and foggy out. Nikki, our concierge gave us an upgraded room with a fancy bathroom. Very generous! The room and bathroom combined could hold five Marions! We are hunkered down so we can rest and recover. We regretfully cancelled visits with friends in NorCal because we were both laid low with a bug. We will arrive home Sunday, two days early.

Since Dec. 4 Bill’s been suffering from chills, fever, fatigue and a dry cough. Seen by a doctor in Woodland Hills, CA, he was prescribed doxycycline. But alas, he has no infection and the symptoms continue to keep him down.

Last week while still in Southern California, and Bill was seeing a Kaiser doctor in Woodland Hills, I took our laundry to Aloha Laundry on Ventura Blvd. near Winnetka Ave. Memories of previous newspaper reporting days greeted me as I saw near Taft High School. Years ago I reported on the effects of bussing at Taft. The folks at Aloha are super friendly–one reviewer said she wants to be the staff there–and the laundromat excellent for getting the job done. Across the street is a Starbucks, where I enjoyed a coffee and checked in on the fashion trends of high school girls–fleece pajama bottoms and false eyelashes!

Later after picking up Bill and his prescription, we met our dear friend Diane Corwin–who I once worked with at NBC in the late 70s. We’ve remained friends all these years and love her husband Jeff as well. It might have appeared to be a drug exchange as we met at a Woodland Hills park and exchanged bags of gifts. We opted not to get together at Jeff and Diane’s since Bill was not feeling well. Good to see her and be together for a little moment.

We left early on Dec. 5 en route to Monterey. While our Google Maps assistant advised us to exit the 101 Freeway in Ventura due to a crash and road construction, we did not heed her advice, resulting in a painful experience. We were caught in gridlock for more than an hour, traveling less than 20 miles. Oh boy! The pressure became unbearable on our bladder and we were nearly delirious by the time we were able to exit. An outhouse was nearly full to the brim, and I was grateful for its existence anyhow. We later breakfasted at Denny’s in Goleta enjoying delicious spinach and bacon omelettes. Pulling in to campsite #49 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, we were grateful for a nearby clean, but unheated restroom. The oaks here are beautiful. The noise of the track? Loud, like giant buzzing insects.

The following day Bill was still feeling low. We drove to Pacific Grove, where I thrifted at the awesome St. Vincent  De Paul Thrift store. I found a black and white dress with hot pink trim. Afterwards, I walked into Bookmark Music—sheet music specialists— and spent the next 3/4 of an hour chatting with wonderful owner Marcia Stearns. She suggested I try the ukulele chord dictionary. Really helpful for fingering placement and offers suggestions for playing alternative chords if the fingering is too twisty. We talked of camping a long while. Love a place like this which helps musicians love their music even more.❤️

That evening we joined our friend Sheila Gibbons Heibert who treated us to dinner at a Jamaican fundraiser for the victims of the Oct. 28 Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, which devastated the country. Peter Coote organized the delicious dinner. He is Jamaican and his wife, the charismatic Rev. Laurel Coote, who leads the community at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Carmel Valley, helped rally generous donors and volunteers–Sheila was one, resulting in $15,000 raised that night. The menu, all made from scratch, included: fried plantains, beef empanadas, Codfish fritters, Jerk Pork, Jerk Chicken, Coconut Curry Chicken, Jamaican dumplings and bread pudding. Volunteers worked all day to prepare the food.

The following morning we joined Sheila at the 10 AM service. Organist Fred Burgomaster, the church’s music director, is also a world renowned classic organist. The church has a real beauty in its “Petite Grand-Orgue,” meaning, “a big organ on a small scale,” custom built for St. Dunstan’s worship space. Since we visited last May, the church has completed purchase of pedal stops for the organ. At service end, Fred pulled out all the stops, and with a Mona Lisa smile, performed a Postlude: Sleepers Wake! A Voice is Calling, composed by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, known internationally as a virtuoso organ composer. Bill and I remarked later to Sheila that her community is warm and welcoming.

We treated Sheila to breakfast at Sunny Bakery Cafe, a “found treasure,” according to Edible Monterey’s quarterly magazine. Chef-owner-operator Analuisa Béjar opened the bakery cafe a few years ago, after moving from Mexico City to Carmel Valley. Analuisa was a food critic, award-winning writer, editor, recipe developer, culinary teacher and organizer of Latin American gastronomy competitions before moving to Carmel Valley, where she is now a frequent contributor to Edible Monterey.

Afterwards, Bill wanted to rest. We drove to the Crossroads shopping complex in Carmel, where he parked under some trees and slept. I stopped in at independent bookseller Riverhouse Books and bought a John Steinbeck book, Pastures of Heaven, mentioned in Edible Monterey’s “Eats of Eden” article, and imagining eateries Steinbeck would like these days. At Sunny Bakery Cafe I’d seen a book, The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees, by Meredith May, who lives in Carmel Valley. May writes about her dysfunctional mother and how it was her Carmel Valley grandfather’s practice of beekeeping that gave her a lifesaving means of facing hardships. Riverhouse Books’ excellent staff knew exactly where to find both books. I’ve started reading The Honey Bus, and am impressed by the author’s fine writing.

Bill wanted to take it easy, and we returned to Earthbound Farms and walked among the gardens. We’d visited the day before, too, and Bill napped in the car on this day.

Sheila kindly invited us to dinner that night, preparing a delicious shrimp and crab seafood casserole, which I enjoyed for the following two nights for dinner and Bill one night. We are grateful to Sheila for her kindness and generosity. She invites us to do laundry at her place each time we visit. We are blessed to know her.

Leaving camp in Monterey Dec. 8, we drove to New Leaf Market in Aptos and ate lunch before driving to New Brighton State Beach in Aptos. We’ve camped there before. This year we were in site #83 next to the restrooms. Staff hose the cinderblock and concrete rooms twice a day, resulting in a clammy surface. I’m saddened by the scratched mirrors and graffiti. Wish folks could treat our beautiful public places with the respect they deserve.

The view of the Pacific Ocean and Monterey Bay is spectacular here. Meanwhile, we contacted friends Eva and Jacob, Ruth and Jack, Margie and Ritch, letting them know I was feeling the bug, Bill was not feeling well, and that we would reconnect next time around. Of course, we had to visit a bakery.

Edible Monterey really talked up a new bakery,  Companion in Aptos. Their GF buckwheat blueberry scones are delicious and crunchy. Bill notes: “The crumb is bursting with flavor of I’m not sure what, and then the blueberries are exploding. The little dusting of sugar is not too sweet. The whole mouth feel experience is superlative.”

We brought a gift to Eva’s and stopped at Steamer Beach to watch the surfers and a crazy bold cliff diver.

This guy blew our socks off:

We loved seeing the sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions and pelicans which swam and flew with the surfers.

This morning we left New Brighton Beach early and drove along the coast and through San Francisco.

The drive through San Francisco found us on bumpy roads. The jolting caused our Venetian blinds in Marion to shake and jostle, resulting in torn vertical threads. The slats were loose and broken. I removed them and threw them in a dumpster. I’ll make curtains for Marion’s back window.

Bill wanted to lie around, but I insisted we go for a walk, just to get some movement. He bundled up in a down jacket and watch cap and we walked in the nearby Sonoma Regional Park, visiting our favorite lady oak tree. Crews have cleaned up the undergrowth, which saw severe burns in 2017.

We ate dinner at El Molina Central in Sonoma on a heated porch. It was still cold and we wore our winter coats while eating.

Back in our warm clean room, I’m sitting on a king bed while typing this story. Before closing the door to our room, I saw this lit church and it reminded me of our Christmas season, and the movie we watched the other night with Cary Grant as an angel who falls in love with Loretta Young in The Bishop’s Wife.

The film has a wonderful message for the season about the transformative power of bringing happiness to others. We hope you can feel that joy. We’ve experienced it throughout our journey and celebrate all the people and places who’ve brought deep heartfelt joy to us.