Happy Thanksgiving

Being quite a distance from home, I was forced into alternatives this year for Thanksgiving. Last year, in Boston, I was invited to a co-worker's house and ate a lovely dinner as a guest. Honestly, I'm blanking on her name. It was lovely and awkward to be in someone else's house and sitting at their family table.

This year I answered an ad in the church bullatin to attend a potluck- I even offered to set up/clean up. After purchasing enough greenbeans for 30 people I was sad to learn it was cancelled. The organizer stated there was a lack of interest- but invited me out to a late lunch with herself and two others who had answered the call for a potluck.

We ate at a place in Lafayette named Petar's and I'll admit I wasn't able to clear my plate! I had a fabulous turkey dinner- very plain and simple and VERY much what I would have eaten back in SC except the turkey was roasted and not fried. The dinner conversation with the two 70 year olds and the 40 year old organizer ranged from health issues, to money issues, and finally to traveling adventures (my specialty!) One of the elder ladies, Shirley was her name, used to be an airflight attendant and spoke about her traveling-- Switzerland in the early winter was her favorite. She remembered the thick snow clumps falling on a sea of black umbrellas which was the first sight that met her when she looked out the window that first morning. It's moments like those, irreproducible, that I hope I'll have a stash of by the time I end my own wandering. The 40 year old, Brooke, had health issues, which reminded me that life is unpredictable and I am doing the right thing by seeing what I want to see at this time. She landed up with my greenbeans after stating that she loved greenbeans, and offered to teach me to knit, (a task that Rachel had started and I have yet to follow up on). The other lady, Maureen, stated her opinion on various topics and used to be a librarian for a law firm.

I enjoyed it. It was more comfortable going to a restaurant than to someone's home, probably because it was neutral ground and didn't involve the complex social skills of being a helpful guest. We were all guests, and the conversation flowed around the table. Would I have liked more in depth philosophical topics? Most of the time, yes, but small talk was enough while I stuffed enough turkey and dressing into me to feed at least 3 of me. Even with my stuffing myself full of stuffing, I had enough for leftovers- so dinner tomorrow night will be the traditional leftover turkey, dressing, veggies and potatoes!

Not a bad Thanksgiving. I would have liked to have been home with the family, but I'd trade Christmas over Thanksgiving any day as far as prioritizing time off.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Do not go quietly into that good night

I forgot that someone can rally right before death. I warned the other therapists not to get too excited because she wasn't able to eat and had previous wishes for no feeding tube. I warned them that death was inevitable. But when she started improving in my therapy, my optimism and excitement leaped in. And then she passed less than 12 hours later (I wholly reject the word "expired"- we are not milk). That last rally- how miraculous and how cruel.

Yosemite National Park

My dear friend Lisa whose travels as an Occupational Therapist have led us to the same city set up the trip to Yosemite during my busy month of working weekends, visiting family, and entertaining visitors to my little unofficial hostel. It was Incredible.

We attempted to drive in Friday night after work, but decided to stay in a hotel instead. Saturday morning we finished our drive, parked our car at Camp Curry where we would be staying the night, and started our 6.8 mile round trip hike up 1900 feet. If I remember correctly, only a bare additional 4 miles (8 miles round trip) would have taken us to the coveted Half Dome peak. So we hiked about halfway to Half Dome! The hike was outstanding and took us to the top of Nevada Falls by way of Vernal Falls- best hike I've ever taken in my life. Most of the hike was comprised of stone steps and it was indeed strenuous as the guidebook suggested. I had no idea that I was capable of such a hike- and two mornings later my leg muscles reminded me that next time I need to train a little harder before attempting such a hike!

The Path:


Vernal Falls:


Nevada Falls:


The closest I got to Half Dome:




Dinner was a reward of fried chicken from a local fundraiser in the park and my bid at the silent auction left me empty handed and disappointed. That night we lingered in the communal lounge by the fire playing Apple Scrabble (Lisa KILLED me on the game) until it was time to go to bed in our unheated tent.



Let me write that again. UNHEATED tent. And the temperature dropped to the 20's. I was perfectly warm in my 3 wool blankets provided by the rangers, but my face was freaking cold and had to be pulled under the blankets every hour to warm up. As a person with a history of mild breathing problems, I do NOT like blankets over my face while I sleep, and even though my brain tried to convince my lungs that breathing under the blanket on THIS particular night was a good idea- the lungs just wouldn't agree. They insisted I submit my face to the chill, so the rest of me woke up every hour to reheat the frozen face. I've now slept in freezing weather in an unheated tent- I will never plan to do so again! Not without a ski-mask anyway!

The next day was spent visiting the Visitor's center, browsing shops, taking a small hike to the base of the iconic Yosemite Falls, and driving the scenic route home. It was a lovely and empowering weekend. I'm hoping very strongly that I'll get one more chance to visit Yosemite before the end of my assignment in December- I'd love to see it snow-covered!

The trip reminded me that I really must take a basic camera class- I was disappointed by my pictures and deleted about 300 of the 400 I took. Here are a few of the best ones- but I'd love another chance to capture some of the images I managed to overexpose/underexpose or ruin with sunspots.

Autumn in Yosemite:


Playing with the Shutter:


Reflections:


A random lake on the drive home:

Visit From Rachel; Hearst Castle

A few weekends ago, my good friend Rachel from Atlanta came to visit and we explored a few places I had seen before, and saw some things I had not seen before.

Our big adventure during the week was to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. This was my second ride from Fisherman's wharf to Saulsalito and by far the most beautiful. The air was crystal clear with not even a wisp of fog, haze or smog.



This time we had time to wander around the little shops of Saulsalito and choose the ferry that delivered us just a few blocks from where we could turn in the bikes. Last time we took a ferry that required a harrowing bike ride down Embarcadero with the tourists and traffic and trolley tracks that threatened to make roadkill of me. While I enjoyed the crystal clear views provided by this outstanding day- I'm also grateful that I had the chance to bike the bridge in the fog as well.

After two days of the city, my friend was ready to see other parts of California. As she does not drink wine, and I felt Yosemite was too much of a trip for just one day, we headed south to revisit an area I had seen on my way into California.



We headed south on Pacific Hwy 1 and made plans to stay the night at the Best Western in San Simeon that had the firepits on the beach. Just 10 minutes up the road was Hearst Castle which I had been told was "worth seeing".

I had see Biltmore Estate on the East Coast, and I preferred the free wandering that the Biltmore Estate allows, but that did not diminish the sheer admiration for the Hearst Castle. I'd visit again to see at least one more of the 4 available tours. We chose tour #1- the "Welcome" tour that introduces visitors to the castle grounds, a guest house, and a few of the main rooms of the house.




There are 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, a couple of pools, and various other rooms. The pools were outstanding- the outside one looked like something I'd imagine Greek emperors sitting around after an exciting day of watching people battle lions. The inside one had a diving plateform whose height made my stomach cringe.



On the Hearst Castle grounds, I saw my first real live in-the-wild tarantula!



That night as I stared into the firepit and watched the pulsating of the hot embers, I brainstormed ways to become rich as a Speech Language Pathologist so I could also build a little house on a hill. I decided that my profession cannot honestly result in such riches, and I really don't have any interest in any profession that would result in purchasing power for such a place. Maybe I can marry well? Any billionaires reading the blog right now, thinking, "gee, who needs a trophy wife- this girl seems like marriage material!"? At least as a traveling Speech Therapist I can sit on a pacific beach after driving down a highway of breathtaking views and touring a mansion- and still have a job Monday morning to support my wandering!

The next morning we revisited the elephant seals and I learned from the rangers that were present this visit that the seals are actually teenagers. They come out of the water to get out of the way for the adult males to woo the females. The poor adolescents sit on the beach for up to 3 months without eating before going back into the ocean- no wonder they look dead! The adults are actually much much larger.



It's always enjoyable to take a roadtrip, and even more enjoyable to bring a friend along. Having another viewpoint present reveals the beauty of the scenery because you are constantly trying to guess what they would enjoy seeing. Rachel wasn't as blown away by the ocean as I was, but even she had to admit the fog rolling in over the ocean was really cool.