Pacific Sunset

It began as a spontaneous moment in time, when B made me an offer to which I said, "Yes, I'll do that," instead of "Let me talk myself out of it." Good decision!

Friday, after a short flight to Sacramento, B picked me up and we headed toward his little piece of a 6800 property Del Webb community that is designed to work within the natural environment that existed before the homes. I now understand why senior citizens like to live in these developments: it is cool. We also caught up on far too many years of "do you remember" before calling it a day as we had been buddies in high school and had lots of shared memories.

Saturday, we drove to Grass Valley and Nevada City, which I had not visited in probably 35 years (and didn't remember) and enjoyed seeing again. We had a Cornish pastie for lunch that was the most delicious pastie I've ever eaten. Returning to Lincoln, we sort of freshened up before driving to the mini-reunion, being held at another alum's home not 5 miles from B's home. B is the one who actually read the spreadsheet of grads put together by one of our more well-organized classmates, and he came up with a little group of alums all living in proximity. He contacted the one at whose home the reunion was held, and one of the girls in the class took it from there, contacting people in her area code and inviting them to a mini-reunion timed to coincide with my visit.

What fun! We knew each other better as the way we were, but went past that to learn about each other now. It was fun to see everyone grab for their glasses when they wanted to see the picture name tags we were given upon arrival. Looking at the yearbook was a whole lot more fun all these years later than it was when they were newly-issued. It was sad to see how many of our classmates are deceased, including one who passed away after the August reunion, where he reconnected with a gal he had known in high school and was beginning to date. For me, what made this time special was seeing two sisters who lived right up the street from me for many years, one of whom married a guy in my graduating class. The sisters looked so good -- and so much younger than any of the rest of us! The food was outstanding, the home of our classmate quite impressive, but the camaraderie was what kept us there.

Sunday morning, we drove to Petaluma to pick up B's female friend, and then headed toward Bodega Bay: mission Bodega Bay Sunset was offically underway. We checked in at the Bodega Bay Inn, an outstanding B&B that I will look forward to visiting again. We caught the blessing of the fishing fleet out in the Bay, and then went sightseeing up the coast. We drove all the way to the Timber Cove Inn, where we had a drink, and also stopped at Fort Ross for some photos. We found the perfect spot for watching the sunset, Goat Rock Bay, and spent over an hour waiting for the scheduled sunset at 6:26 pm, a target the sun missed by over an hour. I took many pictures, one of which is at the top of this blog. After a full day of fun, laughter, and sightseeing, we enjoyed a seafood dinner at Lucas Wharf before turning in for the night.

Monday, we headed back to Lincoln, depositing M at her home so she could get to work. After winding down a bit, we joined B's next-door neighbors for wine and laughter on their patio (where I took several pictures of their water feature, which I want in my backyard) before going to the nearby restaurant for a fish-fry dinner that was excellent.

Tuesday morning, I had to fly back home. As B drove toward the airport in the HOV lane, he suddenly had to apply the brakes and swerve to avoid a car stuck in the traffic jam that decided to take the HOV lane -- with an entry speed of about 10 mph. B used to be a pilot, and he narrowly avoided what could have been a really ugly high-speed wipe-out.

A short flight back home, a little afternoon nap, lots of dog-petting time, and then a good night's sleep have me back on my feet and raring to start grading those college essays that are due by Friday. God, I wish I were back in Bodega Bay ... .