Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
Our few-day visit to Monterey is family, mostly, with an emphasis on checking the health and well being of folks. Our schedule is pretty light, so we worked in a bit of touring as well, starting with an evening walk and seeing some nice sidewalk plantings. I think the climate on the Monterey Peninsula is about as perfect for growing as there is in California and neighborhood walks often yield pretty pictures.
Friday morning started with a pre-dawn Tesla charge session. I had the whole 20-car station to myself. This was followed by an unsuccessful diary writing stop at nearby Starbucks, but nothing creative happened. I don't say this is as grand as "writers' block", just laziness.
From coffee, I swung by the hotel and picked up Marianne for a breakfast at the Red House Cafe, one of our favorite stops in visiting Monterey or Pacific Grove. We would go there three or four times this visit and, eventually, I remembered to take a picture to share. Later.
Our post-meal constitutional was a walk along the bluff looking out over Monterey Bay. We've been here a zillion times, but it still attracts. And, I DID remember pictures:
Our afternoon was spent with Marianne's brother Chris and his family. Our nephew Adam was home after a harrowing week suffering from and being medicated for viral encephalitis. The frightening effects of the swelling around the brain struck suddenly, but a hospital stay and medication worked wonders. He seemed pretty much OK, although everyone is waiting for assurance of no long-term effects. (He was managing to simultaneously take quarter final exams for his engineering classes at UC Santa Cruz, a feat all on its own, considering.)
After a quick tour of Chris's backyard garden, and my only picture, we headed out to dinner at Rosine's with Chris, Leisa, and "temporarily-adopted" Jessica. She is a high school exchange student from Germany who unexpectedly fell in with the Hidas family a couple of weeks ago. Coincidentally, she is also an Hungarian speaker, courtesy of her mother, so Chris got to practice the language skills he learned via his own parents.
Back at the hotel, I killed some more time looking at videos of the Iceland eruption. Isak Finnbogason managed yet more fascinating shots. The videos of lava flowing into a gravel pit were like watching a combination of a roaring fire and crashing surf.
Friday started like Thursday: failed diary-writing, coffee, and breakfast at the Red House Cafe. After our meal, we went up the hill to visit Marianne' step-mom Klare and partner Jack. They are both in their 90's and are cause for concern among the younger family. They live by themselves in a two-story home in New Monterey (borders Pacific Grove) and it is not clear how long this living situation can continue. Chris, Leisa, and the boys help a great deal, but is part-time help enough, no matter how caring? Since we saw him a year ago, Jack has turned very frail and Klare's activity is pretty limited as well. Marianne and I left the visit with no solutions, but with perhaps a better appreciation for help Chris has been doing. And a renewed understanding of how we ourselves need to approach this stage in our own lives. No answers, just a bit more understanding.
Back at the Hidas family house on Colton Street, the same one Marianne grew up in, we settled in for a few hours of hanging around. Chris showed us his backyard garden, which has blooms even this early in Spring. Nice.
Spencer and Adam stayed active with ping pong, honing the competitive traits they both show on the tennis court.
While the rest of us were chatting and entertaining the two dogs, Leisa prepared the salad and baked chicken wings dinner. The feast ended with Jelly Belly candy for dessert. The laugh-filled meal was a visit highlight!
Saturday started with rain and another Red House Cafe breakfast. Marianne's friend Donna and her husband Jack joined. The "girls" had gone to high school together here in Monterey, but had not seen each other in years. Despite the gap, we were soon chatting as if no time had passed. We will have to get together more often!
That was a good start, but Marianne's heart was acting up - not good. After eating, we went back to the Best Western home-away-from-home to give her heart a chance to settle down. It didn't. In fact, the rhythm stayed irregular and fast for another 24 hours. Our assumption is that the old heart pills were arguing with the new cancer pills.
After noon, we decided to do a tourist visit to the Monterey Museum of Art, a place we have visited often before. I like it because it is not too big, and repeat visits are fun because displays change between our visits.
The lead-off gallery displayed the work of Judith Marshall, a prolific local artist working in mixed media, made-books, abstracts, and a wide variety of "non-objective art." It was more inspiration for Marianne's work. Nice.
I'll pass on all the other artists, not because they were not interesting, but just because I probably only need to record enough to stir up our own memories. Over the the years, I have photographed way too many art show visits, because it is always useful to keep colorful and imaginative memories.
After MMoA, we headed back to our favorite local spot: the Hidas house. We had some time for family conversation, including discussion of elder help. Marianne and I offered suggestions, but it seems all the work will have to be done by Chris and Leisa. That's the peril of being the child nearest aging parents.
Leisa and Chris also served up German-ish bratwurst in honor of Jessica's homeland. It was all good and filled with more laughs and family conversation. Unfortunately, we had to stop earlier than we might have wanted because of Marianne's racing heart had tired her (and worried me.)
Sunday morning dawned rainy. Here, in California, this is a good thing, but there can be too much of a good thing sometimes. Marianne's heart was back to normal. We packed up, had breakfast, and hit the road back to Fresno. Fortunately, the weather was 80% fine, so the trip was mostly painless.
Back home, we unpacked the car, put the dirty clothes in the washer, and had a leftover meal. After dinner, I went over to Vern's to give him the Dunneville Market and Cafe hat we had for him and learned that the household was in the midst of more medical drama. Joan had injured her leg earlier in the day, prompting a call to 911 and a visit to the Emergency Room. They continue to be lucky they have several kids around to help out. Neighbors can offer sympathy, but real work falls on spouces and then relatives. Good luck to all.
With that, it was time to go home and get some rest before we head out in the morning for a quick trip up to Yosemite and one of our favorite hotels: The Wawona.
Stay tuned.
John and Marianne