California Easter Week

After wandering through the Oakland airport last night, Cyndi, Ariel, Jackson, Rylee and I found a place to have tasty platters of nachos and tacos and Blue Moon beer while we waited for our departures. A place next door had cheese pizza for the boys. Jackson kidded me that he didn't want the cheese pizza. The boys ran on the moving sidewalk next to the flock of cranes Ariel pointed out. We kissed and hugged Ariel at our Southwest gate. We got to "preboard" after the A group boarded, but it may be nearly our last time to do that as the boys will be too old to qualify for any family pre-boarding in about a year. (We also got to go through security from a special entrance as a family with small children. Jackson already knew the routine and helped sort our things and collect the bins.)

I turned to look one last time before going down the ramp and caught Ariel's eye for one last goodbye. Ariel would be flying home to Portland much later. As we boarded, Jackson said he missed Ariel already. The flight attendant greeted us with bunny ears and a basket of eggs. We found seats together. The boys buckled up and perused the drink menu, both seasoned passengers this time. They ordered Sprite and watched Home Alone 4 on the DVD player. Cyndi and I had cocktails. Jackson had a persistent cough from his cold. I sat next to the boys, with Cyndi across the aisle. She read. The boys tangled a bit when Ry complained he wasn't near a window. Ry flailed his legs at Jack and Jack retaliated by wrapping his arms around Ry's head. When we touched down, Rylee said, "That was fun. Can we go to California again?"

I flew to California the previous Sunday. I was wired on espressos from the Albuquerque airport and again from LAX waiting for my connection. Gary picked me up in San Jose. The weather was sunny and balmy. We drove with the top down and caught up. We stopped for another coffee before we reached home. Mom and Dad were there, David, Sandra, Beth and Lisa, too, and Jenni & Jacques and Terra & Karl arrived shortly after Gary and me.

We spent most of the week doing some work and eating a lot of great food. David had mowed quite a bit on the tractor already, and Beth, Lisa and Sandra were doing a thorough cleaning indoors as they made their way from the front of the house to the back. After some demolition on a portion of the deck, Dad, David, Gary and I drove into town several times to M & S for lumber, nails, epoxy, and large bolts. The deck project took two days, finishing in the light rain late Tuesday afternoon.

It wasn't clear from the beginning but it became clearer to me every day that there really was a lot that could be done. By the week's end a lot had been accomplished. We could blame the weather a little for not accomplishing more. On Thursday, David took me, Terra and Karl kayaking in the bay. We stayed mostly within the breaker, paddling among the boats and the sea otters, alongside the wharf and the sea lions.

Cyndi and I spoke several times by email and phone during the week. I was very anxious to see her and Ariel and the boys on Friday. Gary and Eric picked them up in Oakland and drove them down. Cyndi was glad to see me, too, if only to have a break for a few minutes. She had the boys to herself for the week and was a bit anxious about getting them on the plane and all, but everything went smoothly.

Cyndi and Ariel sure looked beautiful. The boys got out of the van and immediately began to run around the hills and the tall grass and the lupines. "Can we run there?" they asked, pointing down the hill. "It's like a park." The boys met the dogs and after some trepidation on the part of both the boys and the dogs, they all settled into the newness. Jackson discovered the toys Beth had brought and began to assemble an airplane, while Rylee discovered the cleats and the batting gloves. Eric and Rylee spent a lot of time together playing catch outside. Ry would look forward to coming back from an outing or getting up in the morning to play more catch with Eric. Ry told me he wanted Eric to come over to our house to play catch but it was a long way so I'd have to play catch with him like Eric. I'd have to throw it to him, "not just grounders." Meanwhile, Jack organized a word game that Ariel had taught him and we played one evening. Jack astounded me with his vocabulary and his spelling, but also with his logic and understanding of the word game, which requires some quick wit. Jackson also practiced the piano pieces that he will be playing at the recital next week.

We ran into Monterey Friday afternoon, walked on the wharf, sampled some clam chowder, and looked out into the bay. Cyndi saw some jackets in a shop near the downtown. The boys had ice cream (Bud's from San Francisco, I was surprised to learn it's still around) and handmade gelato. On Saturday, after a bit of mowing, we went into Monterey again. It was still very cool, breezy and overcast. Cyndi, the boys and I watched Ariel and Eric take off in Dave's kayaks from the breakwater launch and then strolled to the entrance of Cannery Row. We had lunch at Schooners on the terrace overlooking the bay at the Monterey Plaza Hotel just as the sun came out and it began to warm. Ariel joined us after kayaking and we rented a bicycle surrey to ride up to Lover's Point along the shore. The surrey was hard to pedal and maneuver, and we probably won't do it again, but I think it still beat carrying the boys for a walk along the coast. We drove to the downtown area and we bought the jackets that we saw before for the boys and a windbreaker for Cyndi, and Ariel and I had coffee. Rylee loved his new jacket and wore it whenever he could.

That night we celebrated Easter with a ham Mom cooked and potato salad Sandra made and Sandra's and Eric's birthdays. Beth made her "cake in a pan" and Lisa took charge of the egg dyeing. The Easter bunny came that night. Cyndi and the boys and I went to church with Mom Sunday morning (near the Steinbeck House) and when we got back, the boys hunted for Easter eggs before we'd have to pack up and head out again, but not before catching the news of the rescue of the US captain from Somalian pirates and a little of the finish of the Masters.

Jenni & Jacques and Terra & Karl did some touristy things the first few days they were there. We hadn't met Jacques before, and the first thing I asked him was how to pronounce his name. Seems that his has a Quebec pronunciation that makes it more zhouk than zhak. He told me his brother once asked their mother why she had named him zhouk and not zhak. Jacques had an itch to help Dad on Wednesday tuning up some machinery and Jenni and Jacques left on Thursday to finally have some time together in their Wasilla home after long months at sea on separate ships. We hadn't met Karl, either, although Ariel had met him on a visit in Boston last month. Karl and David went to M & S on Friday, and I imagined there might be some discussions between them that day, maybe a question, as we all expected something. Sure enough, Terra called Dad during our Easter Day brunch, the day after Terra and Karl departed on Saturday morning, to tell everyone they were back in Boston and the news that they were engaged.

Dad and Mom were great. I think Dad had a good time with the work that was done, and Mom of course was happy to see everyone there, sitting around the dining room table and eating. The house was spotless at the start of the week, and didn't look too much worse for all the people who were there throughout the week. Sarah had sent a box of goodies, sorry that she couldn't be there, and we heard from Emily, too, who was busy at Penn. Michael, of course, was at Ft. Lewis, and Chris called Ariel from Iraq for a long time Sunday as she stood on the back deck overlooking the beautiful panorama of the hills.

Ariel texted us Sunday night as we drove home from the airport and just before she boarded her flight back to home in Portland, saying she missed us. It was a short visit with Ariel. Beth drove us from Salinas to Oakland, and the boys fell asleep in the car. Ariel and I probably did more talking in the car on the way to the airport. It was so good to see her. She was about to make a decision between NYU and MIT. I got an email from her Monday morning, and she did get news on her return about a fellowship that puts her in the enviable position of having to make a decision between two fabulous options.

On Monday, Rylee had three bags packed with his sports gear, all ready to go to California again. On Tuesday he put together his own ensemble, digging into his sock drawer on a stool to find red socks to match the red sweat shorts and the red "regatta" sweat shirt and the red glove he got from Eric. He talks about catching with Eric all the time, remembering a time his glove was turned and the ball bounced out and hit him in his arm, and going back to California.

Here's Beth's snapshots:

Itineraries planned...bags packed...trips to the Oakland and San Jose Airports...surprise early arrival from Jenni (those dang volcanoes!)...Jayhawks baseball game and fans (Eric is catcher, pitcher and third base and has a couple of impressive hits!)...Chessie and Callie meet and greet (and end up being great pals!)...AAA tow to Salinas (one Jag in, one Jag out)...Jacques arrives, Terra and Karl held up in Chicago...solarium fresh...John Deere gets a workout...cousins play in San Francisco (dinner at an Irish pub!)...Chef Lee (and musical tables)...Eric on spring break and off to Selma for three days of baseball...Paul in Salinas...carnitas...deck work, trips to the hardware store and lumberyard, and banged foreheads...cobwebs and dust gone, corners cleaned, floors and walls and cabinets (and hardware!) scrubbed in the kitchen, family room, living room, dining room, bathrooms, and bedrooms...lunch at Schooners with Poppa and his girls...Poulet de Broccoli (with a bit of microwave intervention)...always, always plenty of wine...Selvins in the bungalow, grown-up cousins at Lisa's house...green hills and extraordinary lupins..."fruit and cereal"...Terra and Karl and Jenni and Jacques explore Monterey...David loads up kayaks for outings on the bay...lots of good conversation...dogs run wild...deck repair in sun or rain...Beth hoodwinked into shopping outing...flank steak with habaneros marinade (and Sandy's stinging fingers to prove it)...quick trip to San Diego for Gary...KFC...Selvin boys shuttle service from Oakland to Salinas for Cyndi, Jackson, Rylee and Ariel...amazing salads by Lisa nightly...everyone pitching in on meal clean-up...walks and surrey in Monterey for little Bleicher boys...goodie box from Sarah full of Southern treats (Rotele snacking and beignet making!)...Apples to Apples...Nana hanging tough on her mantra...Eric and Rylee playing catch...Birthday celebration for Sandy and Eric with presents and "Cake in a Pan"...ham and potato salad...Aunt Lisa (Teacher Lisa!) heads up Easter egg coloring for Jackson and Rylee...Paul, Cyndi, Jackson, and Rylee join Nana for Easter services...Easter egg hunt...grilled sausages, deviled eggs, and fruit salad...Terra and Karl engaged!...returns to Oakland...and trips home.

MORE SNAPSHOTS TO ADD?

another map for kicks


View California trip in a larger map