Sam’s Chowder House, Half Moon Bay, California

Today started off much like any other lazy weekend day does; and then it got even better!!! After a good night’s rest, my partner and I woke up early (for us) and decided to go for a little drive. Heading out, we decided to go to the Vacaville Outlets, near Sacramento, not so much to shop as to take a long drive with a destination in mind.

I decided to take a little detour. Instead of taking the most direct, predictable route over the Bay Bridge and through the teeth-gnashing East Bay traffic, I decided to head north over the Golden Gate Bridge around the northern end of San Pablo Bay south of Sonoma and Napa Valleys. It was a beautiful day for a drive, so I decided we may as well enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

Along the way, we decided to stop in Tiburon for breakfast. I’d been there a few weeks ago with another friend and made a mental note to return again soon with Jim because I knew he’d love it. We both agreed the village around the ferry landing had a New England quaintness to it that is unexpected on the West Coast—like Provincetown without so many tourists. We walked around the village for a while, then stopped at Dave & Mike’s for breakfast. The portions were large, the food was delicious, the price was good enough, and the service was excellent.

Tummies full, we headed back to US-101 North to California-37 East. This road passes along the northern edge of San Pablo Bay, the large inland body of water just north of the more-famous San Francisco Bay. The North Bay, as locals call it, is a rural escape from the more urban East Bay, South Bay, Peninsula, and San Francisco. Along the way we passed vineyards, certified-organic farms, pastures full of happily grazing animals, and wide-open wetlands. As we approached Vallejo, we passed Six Flags—Marine World before finally heading north toward Sacramento on Interstate 80. Our detour was now complete, though we continued to enjoy the scenic drive through the East Bay hills and Sacramento River delta.

When we arrived in Vacaville, which roughly translates to “Cow Town”, we enjoyed sunny warm weather. It was about 80 degrees with a light refreshing breeze. Summers in San Francisco can be on the cold side, so we were delighted to walk around comfortably in shorts and t-shirts. We got a couple things for starters…a t-shirt here, a belt there, but nothing really struck our fancy. Jim’s not big on outlets, but we were content to just enjoy the heat and do some window shopping. Having finished surveying one side of the street that divides the Vacaville Premium Outlets, we drove across to the parking lot on the other side of the street to check out the rest. That’s when we discovered our favorite stores: Cole Haan, Restoration Hardware, Calvin Klein and Burberry.

Wow, did we make out like bandits! Actually, I just picked up a wallet and a pair of pajama bottoms. Jim really did make out like a bandit, though. He has needed a nice briefcase or attache for the past year. We’ve looked and looked, but not found anything that didn’t cost at least $1000 that we liked. Today we found the perfect Cole Haan $1000 leather bag for less than half price. Say no more: SOLD! We agreed that alone made the trip worth the drive. Then we stumbled into the Calvin Klein store where he picked up a brand new suit for less than $300. We’ve been looking at similar suits for him in the $700 – $1000 range, so this was another deal too good to pass up. Ecstatic by now, we stumbled into Restoration Hardware, followed by Burberry. We surveyed all the loot, making mental notes to return again soon for more amazing deals.

Satisfied and retail-therapy-satiated to the max, we got in the car and headed back toward San Francisco. We passed a bunch of chain restaurants, but nothing looked very good. We decided to head through the East Bay traffic juggernaut toward Hayward to cross the San Mateo Bridge heading toward Half Moon Bay. It was the most unlikely decision of the day, but it was such a nice day we decided to go for it. Coming through Berkeley, traffic was bad-as-usual, but manageable. Once we passed the Bay Bridge turn-off, we headed down Interstate 880 at full speed.

Soon we were crossing the 8-mile-wide San Mateo Bridge over San Francisco Bay, then heading over the Peninsula hills to the San Mateo County coast. We turned north on California’s famous Highway 1 toward San Francisco, stopping at Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay. We have passed by here hundreds of times, but it’s always crowded with a full parking lot. Today was no different, except we pulled into a space right out front, got seated right away, ordered the best seafood chowder we’ve ever tasted, then finished off our appetites with lobster rolls and swordfish. Tummies replenished again, we continued north on Highway 1 back to San Francisco.

Before we got home, we had virtually circled the entire Bay Area, passing through eight of its nine counties: Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo and San Francisco. The only area we missed was Santa Clara County, home of Silicon Valley and the city of San Jose. All along the way, we passed through California’s rolling hills, over its faults, through its cities, across its rural stretches, past its rivers, along its coasts, over its bays, and through its valleys taking in one breathtaking scenic view after another. I always feel so lucky to live here in the Bay Area. It is simply the most amazing metropolitan area I have ever seen. Where else can you have all the experiences we had in one day?

I spent the past week visiting my parents in San Diego. My mother’s computer had a complete meltdown a few weeks ago. We decided to get her a Mac, since in my experience they have much fewer of these kinds of problems. So, of course, she needed her IT guy to come visit to get her data off her old computer and set up her new computer.

Anyway, as these things tend to go, as prepared as I thought I was when I arrived, I discovered I needed different tools in order to get her data. The things I’ve learned through the process of trial and error really have saved us a lot of money. They just take up so much time. As it turned out, her PC hard drive was fine. The logic board had to be replaced, along with the fan.

So now Mom is all up and running again on Facebook, where she spends even more hours each day than I do. She’s completely involved with her Facebook Farm App, which I completely do not understand. I think what she likes most about her new Mac is that she can go into the Apple Store near her home for help if or when she needs it. With her old PC, she spent hours on her cell phone talking to a call center on the other side of the world. It was more than a little frustrating, and, frankly, expensive in terms of using her cell phone minutes.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love my parents, and it’s always nice to visit.  As long as I don’t get the frantic IT calls, all will be well on my end. I was also able to take my dad out for a nice steak dinner to celebrate his birthday, so it wasn’t all work. Here’s a nice picture we took at the beach on my last day in town.

There are but a handful of truly memorable days in each of our lives. The day we graduate from high school is one of the first. Today I experienced another memorable day as I watched my daughter graduate from high school. It was just a perfect day, utterly satisfying and completely her day.

Going forward there will be other truly memorable days: graduation from college, getting married, the birth of children and perhaps grandchildren. Each of these days will be memorable in their own right because each marks a new beginning, a greater unfolding of life and all its potential.

Today was my daughter’s commencement. It is not the end; it’s the beginning.

It’s always sad to lose a member of the family. We were never really dog people, but when my dad brought Bianca home to my mom many years ago, it was love at first sight. As a puppy, Bianca was about the size of a coffee cup. Though her size only increased slightly as she grew up, her presence in our hearts grew very large.

I’ll remember her best for her chronic good mood, her playful defense-to-the-death of her valued treats, her gentle snoring and her playful nature.

Tonight she died of sudden heart failure. All our hearts broke with hers. We’ll miss you, Bianca.

During our holiday visit to Lake Tahoe, we boarded our cat at a local facility specializing in the care of temporarily homeless kitties.

After arriving at our destination, we called to check in to see how he was doing. We were promptly informed that he had given one of the caretakers a severe bite. She was the same one who diminished our concerns when we dropped him off telling us that in 15 years of taking care of cats, she’d seen it all. Apparently not, as she missed three days of work and had to take precautionary antibiotics. We’re also keeping an eye on him to make sure she didn’t pass an infection in his direction.

This picture captures his personality perfectly. Our sweet little Killer has special needs, yet we love him all the same.

This year will be my first White Christmas since 1984, just before I moved to California. This time I have the luxury of a California White Christmas with my partner, Jim.

We left San Francisco this morning, crossed the Bay Bridge and headed across the state to South Lake Tahoe, just a few miles from the Nevada State Line. We traveled through San Francisco, the East Bay, the Sacramento Delta, the Central Valley, Gold Country into the Sierra Nevada mountains cresting at over 7000 feet before descending into the Tahoe Basin. Thanks to this last week’s snows, it is a winter wonderland.

We are staying at the Black Bear Inn just a half mile from the lake with an amazing view in every direction. Life is good.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

A few years ago, my brother died after an illness of about 6-months duration. This week I nearly lost my mom. I can’t say that one is preferable. The pain involved in seeing a loved one suffer is simply unparalleled and difficult to bear.

A certain clarity comes with these things, though. Things that seemed important to me last week seem less so now. Conversely, things I took for granted last week, I now hold more precious.

My mom remains in the hospital, in the ICU, but has improved to the point that she will soon move out of the ICU into a regular room to being recovering from a very serious, life-threatening medical emergency. It’s going to be a while before she is back to normal, but her prognosis is good.

We have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, and every single day.

I missed an important telephone call—7 calls actually—over night Friday night before finally being reached by my sister who informed me that my mom had been admitted to the hospital ICU. It’s a jarring kind of thing to hear, something that quickly placed into perspective all the other life problems that I had taken inventory of the night before.

So I got the first plane down to San Diego to go and be with my family, to offer my support and to simply be present during a time when being present seems dismally insufficient.

I sit here now at the end of a very long day, preparing to go to sleep for a few hours not knowing what tomorrow brings, but trusting that God will give me what ever I need in order to get through it. At moments like this, it is all one has, and it is all one needs.