Upon my arrival at the motel in Redwood City, I was pleasantly surprised. The suite that Dawn, Jade and I would share was wonderfully large. There was a livingroom, a bedroom with two queen-sized beds, a large bathroom, and a kitchen with stove, refrigerator, microwave and a table with four chairs. I hardly had time to bring up the tree, gifts, and luggage from my car before Rhea arrived. John was meeting Dawn and Jade’s flight so Rhea and I had an entire afternoon together. In spite of the rain, we had a wonderful time. Rhea took me to her gym and we both worked out a little. After our workout, we had something to eat and drink and just spent the time quietly talking before heading over to the house where we would meet up with John, Jade, and Dawn. It wasn’t long until Cara announced that John’s car had pulled into the driveway. We rushed outside to greet everyone and get hugs all the way around. Rhea fixed a delicious soup and we all relaxed and caught up on each other’s lives. Soon it was time to head back to the motel and a good night’s sleep.
The next day was also very rainy. In the morning, Dawn, Jade, and I went shopping and had our breakfast at the local Target store. We had walked the two or three blocks to the store, stopping only to take photos of a slightly seedy place called The Hanky Panky Gentlemen Club. (A perfect name for a club in a bad mystery novel.) Our shopping included some rather large items which made our walk home quite a power-weight workout.. Rhea joined us at lunch time. We ate outdoors at the Menlo Café. It is a favorite place for Rhea and Cara which has wonderful salads, teas, and coffees. Next we headed over to the Palo Alto Junior Museum where Jade had a wonderful time discovering the mysteries of machines. The museum has outstanding ” hands on displays”using pulleys, gears, etc. In spite of the intermittent downpours, we enjoyed exploring the outside zoo with all the interesting animals and reptiles. Before we knew it, the afternoon was over and it was time to head back to our hotel for a little rest. I had brought with me the Memory Book that I made of Al’s Travels to Nashville. For those who don’t know, Al is a little Teddy Bear that Bob and I often take on our trips. We pose him at different tourist points and then send the photos to Jade. She also has a little bear like him who is named Sal. She sends photos back of her bear. What a wonderful experience to share my book and photos with Jade.
Again, we woke to more dreary skies. Dawn and I fixed coffee and Jade was our little helper cutting the doughnuts procured from the front office into fourths and arranging them artfully on a paper plate. We turned the TV in the bedroom on to cartoons for Jade and the one in the living room to the terrible news of the disastrous Tsunami that devastated so many Asian countries. As most of you know, Dawn’s father owned a hotel right on the Patong Beach of Phuket Bay in Thailand. She spent six years there some time ago and then went back last year about this time with her family. Her father now lives in Bangkok and sold the hotel last year. Watching her watching the horrors caused by the tidal wave, frequently brought tears to my eyes.
Late in the afternoon, John and Rhea came over and finally it was time to open all those beautifully wrapped and wondrous looking gifts. Once again I was reminded that Christmas is most special when seen through the eyes of a child. It became a magical time . A time of fairies, paper, ribbon, and lots of oohs and aahs. Watching Jade as she opened her gifts was the most fun of all. What a beautiful grandchild I have. The glow in her eyes was worth the whole trip.
Although Dawn’s birthday was not until the next day, we celebrated it on the evening of the 28thth, We went to Joy Meadows, an awesome Chinese Restaurant which serves both the physical and spiritual needs of its customers. It has an angel bookstore attached and club rooms upstairs for group meetings. I brought some hats and table decorations with me from the Dollar Store in R/C. They helped to make it a very silly and childlike time. John and Kym joined us even though we were heading to Danville to see them the next day. They wanted to visit a little with Rhea and John who were not joining us on the Danville tour. The conversations flowed from computers, to angels, to workplace challenges and back again.
The morning of the 29th Jade, Dawn and I headed down the road and across the bridge to Danville to visit John and Kym in their beautiful new home. They have already done an amazing amount of new landscaping. The large yard is fantastic with a new hot tub, barbecue area, and a large deck. They have now turned their energies to remodeling inside. It is going to be showroom perfect when finished. I felt so proud of both of them and their accomplishments. After another gift exchange and delicious cinnamon coffee, we packed ourselves into John’s car and toured Danville before a second celebration of Dawn’s Birthday with lunch at TGIF’s and a tour of Mount Diablo. Sunset found us headed back to our motel, tired but happy, after another wonderful day.
The following day, Dawn met with her agent, Devorah Harris to talk about her book. Jade and I tagged along. Devorah is a Minnesotan and I felt immediately at home with her as we talked about places we had in common. We had breakfast at a classic old café which was both quaint and noisy. After breakfast we headed toward Keplers, a Palo Alto bookstore. While Dawn and Devorah book chatted, Jade and I went in search of children books. I found one I liked about Fairy Tea Parties and she found one about Spider man. I bought both. We read Spider man and punched out fairies, invitations, and party favors for an imaginary tea party. The time went by quickly and soon it was back to the motel to rest for awhile. Later in the day, Rhea and John joined us and we had dinner in a Thai restaurant. It was quiet and subdued as would be expected so soon after the Tsunami .
New Years Eve Day, we awoke to the promise of better weather. Perfect timing for a day at John and Rhea’s beautiful acreage high in the mountains overlooking the Pacific. I rode with John in the jeep and though I hate the jeep and am so glad it is no longer mine, I was grateful for the special time with John. Jade, Dawn, and Rhea drove up in my car. We left both vehicles roadside and trekked up the still muddy path to the Yurt. For those of you who are not familiar with Yurts, they are huge canvas buildings. Theirs is round and has wonderful windows and a skylight. Rhea and John have been working on the land which was in much need of care when they bought it. John is slowly and carefully solving erosion problems by building dams, digging diversion ditches, and planting trees. He also put in a water system and installed a wood-burning stove in the yurt. All of course with help and encouragement from Rhea.
We explored the land, snapped family photos, and took advantage of the sunlight to have an outdoor picnic. Soon it was time to head back to the cars in search of New Years Eve festivities. John and Rhea had discovered an outstanding RV, hotel, cabin complex nearby called Costanoa. They wanted to share it with me in the hope that I would encourage Bob to bring our RV up there this summer. We arrived at the lodge restaurant just as the rain was beginning and also just as the management was setting up for their New Years Eve Party. We decided to eat dinner there and Jade, along with the many other children, had a wonderful time helping to decorate. There was a lot of glittery sequins to put on tables and helium balloons to inflate. The atmosphere was positive and John had an interesting and serious talk with two women at a table near ours about the pros and cons of yurts vs. tents.
Soon though it was time to head out for a second party in the same area. This one was at the Venture Lodge. It is an old well-kept lodge which I believe, is now a part of the community of Pescardaro. When we arrived there was a bustling of activity in the kitchen as many people were putting last minute touches on their special dishes. Later there was a delicious buffet, dancing, and for me the fun of seeing John’s friend, Buddy of whom I think highly. John stayed on at the party, but the rest of us were fading fast and we headed down the hill in a now heavy rain. It was good we had Rhea with us as a guide or we would still be wandering around looking for the correct way out of the hills.
New Years Day we had plans to meet Dawn’s Aunt Georgia and Uncle Rob who live in Oakland. Rob and Georgia met us around noon and the five of us drove over to Rhea and John’s. From there we headed to Stanford University and the Rodin outdoor exhibit. We shot a few photos and walked over in the cold, damp, rainy weather to see the Chapel. Even the rain could not put a damper on the majestic beauty of it. It was disappointing to find the doors locked. We had hoped to share its warmth and indoor beauty. Instead we hurried back to the cars and headed for a restaurant meal and something warm to drink. We took our time and it was fun watching Rob interact with Jade. The creativity level for both was very high. Georgia and Dawn had time to reminisce about family and particularly about the home that Dawn lived in with her Grandmother and Aunt, This will be helpful as she does rewrites on the early chapters of her book. We left the restaurant late afternoon. John and Rhea headed home and the rest of us headed back to the motel for a little longer visit.
Departure day came and it seemed too soon to be leaving. Saying goodby is not my strong suit. In some ways, I would loved to have stayed another week. I knew I would miss everyone. However, I was also anxious to return home to Bob and my pets. John picked Dawn and Jade up about 8:30 in the morning so that they would have plenty of time to catch a late morning flight. I left shortly after for the long drive home. All in all, it was a most pleasant time.
