seattle-to-san-diego

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Mon, June 17

Goodbye San Diego. Goodbye CA. Goodbye west coast. The trip was full of more joy and connection than we could have ever hoped for. Hugs to all of our family and friends who touched us along the way. MWAH until we see each other again. In the meantime, we have some mighty fine wine to toast the memories.

Last hurrah. We decided we hadn’t gotten our full of Mexican food. Ortega’s on University Ave in San Diego major fit the bill. Happy hour hibiscus mezcal margaritas, table side guac and perfectly flavored enchiladas with mole sauce. Big time cheers!

We absolutely loved the bonsai garden at the Safari Park.

California Juniper that’s 300 - 400 years old!

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Mon, June 17

Ethan’s the Man! He’s treated us to a day at the San Diego Safari Park. His uniform is so dang cute ~ just like him.

We toured the area where Ethan is responsible for all things botanical (and some mechanical as it turns out). He manages over 30 acres including the Gorilla Forest, the African Woods and a chunk of land south of the public area. He thinks the gorillas might just recognize him! First job out of school for a guy whose loved plants since, well, forever. Dreams really do come true.

Ethan’s ride.

Aaron’s ride. He wanted to trade with Ethan, but Ethan pretended not to hear.

Rhinos grow to be 4,000 pounds!

Giraffes are super important for their ecosystem. They can see a mile around them and serve as a good warning system for other animals. They also eat high up on trees which provides a good habitat for plants to grow under the tree canopy.

Giraffes have to do the splits to drink. Who knew!?!

The grounds are as beautiful as the animals.

We learned that vultures have adapted to having bald heads because they eat rotten meat and need to stay clean. So interesting to learn how absolutely critical they are to animal health.

In the past, I would have pretty much starved myself at the park rather than buy a meal. Picked up maybe an ice cream, popcorn or something small. I’ve learned that I need to fuel. I could pack a picnic or simply enjoy some of what there is to offer. Makes for a much better experience.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Sun, June 16

Ethan cooked up a shrimp and sausage jambalaya for us at his place. What a sweet couple he and Naomi are. They’re so happy together. And kind to each other. It meant so much for them to host us.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Sun, June 16

Father’s Day brunch at La Valencia Hotel with Annie!! Could she have been more interesting, engaging, curious or sweet??? Loved spending time at her Mom Courtney’s fave haunt in San Diego. The cinnamon roll didn’t disappoint!

Aaron did some exploring of the beach in La Jolla. He put our name in for lunch at the Hawaiian place Annie suggested, Duke’s. How he got the best table in the house again I don’t know!?!

Ethan and Naomi took us to one of their favorite beaches. Total entertainment people watching. Aaron can now say he swam in the Pacific. And I got my feet in some sand.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Sat, June 15

A true landmark day for Aaron. Six months anniversary of the knee operation!!! They say each day forward will finally feel better than before the surgery. It will, right!?$! You bet it will!!!

Strangest thing. We left Carpinteria at 8am and GPS said we’d be in San Diego by 11:30. Once we hit 2 hrs 45 mins, no matter how far we’d drive south, it stayed at 2 hrs 45 mins. Obviously traffic was at play, but it just seemed so odd (and discouraging). Pulled off in San Clemente for a little walk and huevos rancheros. Back in the car with . . . a bright red I-5 line for miles and miles. And we needed gas. Hate to admit it: I did my uptight thing and Aaron stayed cool as ever, just enjoying the sights. When will I learn to just chill? It’ll all be alright. 🤦🏼‍♀️🫣🤦🏼‍♀️

Finally I got to meet Ethan, Meroe and Stefan’s son. He’s such an eager, happy young man. Reminds be so much of Stefan. We also got to meet Naomi, just as grateful and optimistic as Ethan. Had dinner at a place they like called Dunedin. (BIG meal with dessert ~ think I’m getting tired of eating. 🤢 🫣)

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Fri, June 14

Aaron and Jay were on for fulfilling Marissa’s wish ~ a post graduation crab boil with a gluten free dessert. Done and done!! Everyone was thrilled with the results.

Marissa gave us a stand up post meal presentation of her work. Native tribes struggle mightily with the lack, expense and disruption of power. She has single handily made contacts, built relationships, developed a turnkey method for preparing for grants and implemented key research to gain inroads into the installation of solar micro grids. Marissa’s one smart, wise, humble, honest and kind cookie. The same goes for Haley. Really blown away by her charm, smarts and inner glow. May they each find happiness always. 💓💓

We begged off breakfast in the morning with the idea of getting a jump on traffic to San Diego. In the meantime, we felt the need for some Kate and Aaron time on the water. And a drink. Scored a table at Oku on a second floor patio with a gas heater and setting sun!

There’s a lot to process about San Diego. What’s important now though is that the event was a raging success. And we know we’re going to have some wonderful young people visit us in Maine. There may be a trip to Nepal in our future too!?!

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Thursday, June 13

Big night! It’s Marissa’s graduation party dinner at a restaurant in Santa Barbara. We took a long walk before dinner and then settled in for Indian food and good conversation. Marissa and Haley are such well poised women who are full of life and wisdom. They couldn’t have been more gracious. Their partners, Jay and Alec, are fine young men; beautiful people who love the Sisk sisters ❤️❤️

Fri, June 14

What a perfect ceremony. Marissa was THRILLED to have all her “VIPs” on hand to join in the festivities. We found several spots on the second floor to look down on the action. Her future husband Jay, her sister Haley, Grandpa Aaron, Grandma Helen and Stacie all beamed with pride. Quite an event and we were honored to be included.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Thursday, June 13

Off to Santa Barbara for our big celebration with Marissa and company. The GM at Daou suggested we stop at Bells for lunch. It’s a stop off the highway in Los Alamos in middle of nowhere! BUT it’s a one star Michelin French Bistro and . . . we got a table!

All was delectable: chicken liver mousse with strawberry jam and crostini, escargot, mussels in saffron broth with fries, fresh greens salad with puff rice, pistachios, plums, shaved fennel and fresh herb lemon dressing, burnt brown butter cake, dark rye chocolate cookie and really good coffee. The staff and service were phenomenal. We are some very lucky people!!

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Wed, June 12

Dinner at Il Cortile, a recommended Italian restaurant in downtown Paso Robles. It lived up to its reputation. Appetizers of mixed mushrooms and bright green fresh fava beans (well executed and something Aaron will make 😛) and carmalized fennel, basil and pancetta on a crostini. We each had a pasta to share: homemade pappardelle with wild boar and sweet corn agnolotti in a lemon butter sauce. We had osso bucco in mind to split, but there was no way that was happening. Thankfully, our server hadn’t put the order in. One cherry gelato did just fine.

When we asked our server about the Donnafugata desert wine, the owner was called in to advise us. We shared our mutual love of Sicily (she’s thinking seriously about moving there) and the Donafuggata Winery. She asked if we liked fennel. With a yes, she promised a taste of her favorite digestif. Il Gusto di Amalfi Finocchietto is a treasured find. Wow. If we can only find a source. Perfect end to a memorable meal.

Back home to our Airbnb for a quick fire. Nice!!

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Wed, June 12

Got our Mexican food 😋 Felt like we were being fed in the owner’s home. She gave us the most welcoming service with Mama cooking in the back. A little guy who comes in every day for his rice and beans (checks to be sure the order is right at the door) was treated as their own.

Stopped at an art gallery in Paso. Their sculptures are spectacular ~ it felt like a museum. We talked with one of the three artists and he sent us out to the Sculpterra Winery to see more of their work. Sculpters at the winery include Dale Evans, John Jagger (mentor of Dale) and Bob Bentley. We WISH we’d had the time to do a tasting after the sculpture walk. Next time; hopefully with George and Ann.

Justin arranged for us to have a private tour and tasting at J Lohr. Jasmine was such a perfect host. We heard a new take on the grape growing and wine making process. And, did a bit of barrel tasting!

Jerry Lohr (87 and going strong) is considered one of the grandfathers of Paso Robles wines. He has a PhD from Stanford in structural engineering and does it ever show in his approach to wine making.

They do everything they can to pass along savings to their customers, including producing their own yeast, maximizing efficiency in the fields and maintaining the price of their premium wines (including their Lohr Cuvée Series at $50 a bottle ~ since 2002!)

They are a sustainable business. Jerry is an avid proponent of water conservation. They use 1.5 gallons of water for every gallon of wine produced and ensure their grape suppliers follow their practices. Industry standard is 5 gallons of water; 3 gallons is considered exceptional. They also compost vineyard bi-products.

Jerry continues to shepherd sustainability practices and fine winemaking thru his work on boards and organizations in Paso Robles, Monterey and Napa.

We are MAJOR fans of Jerry and the people of J Lohr! Aaron will proudly wear his new cap.

(Christy adores why I was

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Tuesday, June 11

Feel kind of lucky actually. Aaron found that the tire pressure in our right front tire had dropped from 32 to 24. Went right to the Oakland Airport and traded our trusty Prius in for a Honda CRV AWD Hybrid. A much better fit for Aaron!

Our first wine tasting was at Austin Hope. We’d been introduced to this winery by Meroe and Stefan. Hope Family Wines was named “2022 American Winery of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast. We were seated in an outside cabana and man, was it hot! 90 degrees and uncharacteristically humid. We succumbed to using wash clothes dunked in ice water. The wine was as good as we remembered. We are now club members of a fine line of wines.

Our second tasting was at the Dauo Vineyards. The view from the winery’s hilltop overlooking Paso’s vineyards well crafted for flowers gardens was mighty special. We opted to go inside for our tasting ~ the tasting space was spectacular with a backlit marble bar and beams as wide as a redwood tree. Aaron had read about the quality of their food, so we ordered a charcuterie board (Courtney would have awarded an A+) and a chopped salad with pickled golden raisins, feta emulsion, kale, farrow and more. The wines followed suit. We loved (did I say loved?) the Reserve Seven Forty (cab franc forward) and the Estate Cabernet. We did some higher math and realized with the comp of the tasting and some major rationalization, we could join the club and have some beautiful wines in store for special times. YOLO after all. 🥂

Our airbnb is in a typical neighborhood. But wowza did this host create an experience inside! Fresh flowers, champagne and Pellegrino in the fridge, boxes of snacks, a bidet (I think I need one of these!&#!), a towel/robe warmer, oodles of cozy blankets and a private outdoor patio with a breakfast table, couches and a gas fire pit. We’re having a blast using all of the amenities. A much appreciated mid journey break.

So good to have a little down time. We decided to have some snacks and watch “Hit Man.” Lots to talk about with that one 😝.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Mon, June 10

Last night celebration. Knife sharpening. Then community cooking. Kicked off with champagne and then wine from our mutual tastings. George knocked it out of the park with grilled artichokes, pizzas like no other and then grilled peaches with ice cream. Dear gawd hello yum.

Love these guys. Until next time . . . MWAH

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Mon, June 10

First stop today: Berkeley Rose Garden

Next stop: Berkeley Bowl for lunch and dinner supplies.

Point Molate for a picnic and hunt for sea glass and beach rocks.

What an interesting stop! At Point San Pablo Harbor, there’s a community of people who are trying to revive the harbor. They live on house boats and boats, run a restaurant and invite people at large to join in a calendar of live music events. They’ve even bought and installed several Burning Man installations. Really quite inviting!

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Sun, June 9

Ann, Aaron and I started our beautiful Berkeley day with a long walk to the farmers market. Picked up some artichokes, apricots, Rainier cherries and ripe yellow peaches, all while listening to a jazz ensemble. Lucky Californians.

Telegraph Avenue is not what it used to be. George and Ann were determined to help me find a pair of earrings by a local artist. We persevered and scored! Saw a lot of stunning art work along the way, including wood layered cutting boards made by none other than David Eichorn, the famed Berkeley High teacher. He was at one of the artists’ galleries and George had a nice chat.

Lunch at Saul’s, another of Bob Kelly’s favorites.

George got us tickets to the California Jazz Conservancy to hear original compositions by Doug Morton, all played by the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra. We were . . . absolutely . . . blown away. So interesting to hear George and Aaron talk music theory and work through their responses to the performance. The group is recording the same set on Tuesday ~ hope to get a CD so we can relive the experience!!!!

Had a couple of drinks and some apps at Lake Chalet on Lake Merritt in Oakland. Then back to George & Ann’s for some fruit and port.

Returning to places of the past can bring up big things. I had a pretty profound experience this time. I was talking about how sorry I was to blow thru Cal in 3 years. I didn’t take advantage of all that it offered. It’s a remorse story I tell a lot. (George played music, including a European tour and leadership of the Jazz Festival and rowed.) Me? I got a diploma.

And then for the first time last night, I allowed myself to really feel for the young woman I was. So much happened in the first quarter alone that really penned me in.

I feel sad for that young woman now. She didn’t stand a chance to be free to really explore. It’s okay tho. She did her best and a lot of wonderful things happened. What really matters is now. And life now is way, way good.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Sat, June 8

Happy birthday Dillon!! 🎈🎈🎈

Hello Ann and George! Met them in Berkeley to head off together for a concert in Golden Gate Park. George almost missed the performance due to never seen before traffic. Close call but he made it on stage! 🫣

Bob and Victor came tooooooo!!!! So good to put eyes on Vic. What a kind, polite, talented, handsome young man ❤️

Bob took us on a walk thru the arboretum to Victor’s favorite sushi haunt. Perfect pick. Ann suggested we have Bob over for dinner in Berkeley. Hope that happens cuz we didn’t get enough Bob.

We brought a bottle of Cabernet Franc from Rodney Strong with us to Berkeley. George brought out the bottle of Wente Cab Franc from our last trip. No comparison ~ Wente was the clear winner. Love that in oh so many ways.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Fri, June 7

Xenia!!! I got to hug her. ❤️ It’s been too many years since I saw Matt, Tianu and Liam. They treated us to an incredible, old world Italian restaurant in Sausalito, Poggio Trattoria. The boys are still very into baseball. Matt will spend the day tomorrow prepping the fields. Xenia and Tianu leave for a solo one month trip together to Germany, then Portugal to see his best friend and then to hike the Dolomites in Italy. They’ve had to put off their move to Costa Rica because the house isn’t ready.

SUCH a great visit. The boys are both delightful, kind, loving, respectful people. No surprise with a Mama like Xenia 💚💜💚 Hoping they’ll at long last make a trip out to Maine.

[seattle-to-san-diego]

Fri, June 7

Cracks me up. Aaron chose Rodney Strong out of 400 or so vineyards. That notwithstanding , we had a really perfect tasting! Bought wines for our family and friends on our journey south.

OMG. Stopped at Richardson Groves State Park. More incredible redwoods. We stood in awe. The visitors center is still standing after a flood that wiped out the area in the 30’s. So welcoming and beautiful.

We heard a hermit thrush trolling in the forest! So unusual in the mid-day!!