California 2

We went to Sacramento primarily to see my dad, but our trip gave us a couple of other delightful opportunities in addition. We spent an afternoon with our friends Lonnie and Rocky, whom we hadn’t seen in far too long. It felt just like home to be back together with them. Lonnie and I have been lifelong friends, and it’s always special to spend time with her because we have so much in common. I wasn’t sure about commonalities with our other Sacramento visit. I wanted to see Walter Borland, whom I knew in elementary school. He and I didn’t get along so well in the first few years, mostly because he was cool and I was not. He had Levi’s jeans, and teased me about my Billy the Kid jeans. My family couldn’t afford Levi’s.

I had thought about Walter without warning one morning a couple of months prior. It seemed to me that we’d just begun to learn to get along about the time we graduated sixth grade, and I wondered whatever happened to him. I didn’t have a lot of trouble finding him on Facebook, and he seems to be quite the man about town in Sacramento now. He’s friendly and has maintained strong connections with lots of old friends. He jumped at the opportunity to get together, and volunteered to drive wherever necessary to meet me. We had breakfast together and continued to chat for a couple of hours. I really like him now.

We spent most of the rest of our time in California with Nika and Tim, though we managed to see my cousin Susan one of those evenings too. Nika still works in the Asian Museum, so she got us free entry for a day of art there and an evening of art at the De Young Museum. I didn’t know anything about the Asian Museum until Nika started working there, and I like it a lot now. They always have interesting exhibits, and I like to see what’s new every time we’re in town.

Finally, for our last weekend in California, Nika and Tim took us to a delightful inn in Mendocino. I barely knew this beautiful town on the north coast of the State, and Alla had never been there. By the time we left, she was so enthralled that she took with her a brochure from a house we saw for sale. I certainly would enjoy living in Mendocino, but especially if it weren’t so remote. I suppose it feels so special because it’s so hard to reach. I don’t think there are any easy ways to get there unless you own your own plane.

We picnicked, strolled the streets and ate together. We also took a couple of nature walks out to more remote areas, including a place called Glass Beach, which was once a garbage dump. The organic garbage has rotted away, no doubt a bunch of stuff floated away, and now we’re left with a beach paved with worn pellets of broken glass. It’s very pretty.

Overall, we had a great time in California and we left a bunch of people unseen and desires unfulfilled. We’ve already booked a return visit when the Taiwan exhibit opens up at the Asian Museum and I’m diligently looking for a way to make sense of a move to California while Alla is still excited about it. I’d love to be closer to family.

Glass Beach