Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
In the last diary, we talked about a potential future home at "The Terraces". That will be a big financial deal and today's note starts with another financial decision: a new car. With little advance thought, we stopped by the local Tesla dealer to see what replacing Carla would involve. We would want to replace the 2021 Model Y with a 2026 update since we really have liked the car. We looked at a new version, liked it, went over to Carmax to get a purchase option for selling Carla, and headed to Yava for some thinking. 
Our current primary car, Carla the Model Y Tesla, has a limited lifespan (as do all mechanical things). With 70,000 plus miles on the odometer, Carla is well short of that lifespan, but keeping it "forever" is unrealistic. With the help of bakery comfort food, we made our pros and cons list. The pros are pretty obvious: a shiny new ride, low-mileage reliability for road trips, and a significantly improved version of "self driving". This last point really does matter as we are now in our 80th year. We will need a sophisticated ADAS (Automatic Driver Assistance System) to continue safe, independent driving in our new decade. That's predictable. Tesla has spent more on automated driving than anyone else and the most-recent system seems like what we need.
The cons to this purchase are also clear. First, it is an expense we could postpone for at least a couple of years. We normally keep our cars for a decade or more, spreading out depreciation over a longer period. Maybe at our age five years is the new "decade"? The other con is continuing to "support" Elon Musk. We would prefer to not do that but, frankly, we believe electric cars are a necessary future and other big car builders, except the Chinese ones, are falling in line with the US administration's anti-EV rhetoric.
So, what else is new? On Saint Patrick's Day, we inventoried our garden before the week's 90+ temperatures. Global warming? (See, we ALL need to abandon gas/diesel cars and trucks.) Maybe,but at least an excuse for flower pictures and a visit to the back yard gnome and mourning dove.
Next up, was a road trip over to the cooler Monterey Bay. (In anticipation, I had finished a hippie-surfer puzzle, one of my favorites. The whimsy and color brighten a day.) A nice day for a drive.
After a stop at our favorite fruit and nut store on Highway 152 and a lunch at Whole Foods, we descended on Marianne's family homestead. We started with hanging around with Klare, Marianne's second mom, and then with Chris, Leisa, and the resident dog and cats. The afternoon and evening temperature was perfect, not always guaranteed in Monterey, and the home cooking was great, as is normal.
The Hidas yards were filled with flowers, so I was further distracted with camera stuff. And a cute cat.
Between yard time, and dinner discussion, there was opportunity for family news as well. Other than a reminder of the complexity of life for our oldest, it's all good.
Wednesday started slow, with breakfast at The Wild Plum and plenty of lounging before heading back to the family homestead. By the time we got there, Tom, Kate, and Clara had arrived, so it was time for more chatting. I think that is the major activity for this trip and it's really nice catching up on family lives. Tom has been active with a new band or two, Kate with the go-go action of fresh retirement, and Clara was transitioning from her full-time New York job to one where she will be able to avoid cold NY winters. Smart girl.
Dinner was a family affair, prepared by Kate, Mamo, Clare, and Marianne, giving Leisa a break since she and Chris still have full work days at their schools. Kate's canolini was great, matched up with the community salad. Strawberry dessert with biscuits filled in any extra tummy space. And more conversation filled the air. By the end of it all, Marianne and I retreated to our standard Best Western Room, while the rest spread out in the Colton home.
Thursday would prove more of the same: chatting and dinner, but Marianne and I started with a drive around town for Mamo. The weather was unusually perfect, warm with crystal clear blue skies.
We paused along Asilomar Beach to capture the scene, me with a camera and Klare with her eyes and memories of decades looking out over these same landmarks. I think this is one of my favorite spots, although it would be hard to rate all the beautiful places along this part of the coast.
Back home, it was time for more back yard chatting. Take-out dinner was ordered and our youngest family driver was charged with Door Dash duty. It was all like family gatherings should be.
The evening ended with Tom, Kate, and Clare driving two hours home up to Alameda and Marianne and me returning to our BW "home". Young folks can still do long evening drives, but for us seniors, ten minutes was enough.
Besides, we were just halfway through our family visits since we would drive up to Monte Sereno on Friday, for more. (Next diary.)
Stay tuned.
John and Marianne