Summer?

Greetings, again already:

The newspaper and local weatherpersons started telling us last weekend that it was going to warm up this week -- 90 degrees on Thursday -- and they were right! We had dinner last night (Friday) with some faculty friends, on their patio, and they said to be prepared: it may only be a three-day summer.

You could tell it was something special, and urgent, because the beach-parking down the street from our RV park was full even though it was early Thursday afternoon. Head for the beach, before that Pacific air mass shoves that California desert air mass back where it belongs. Now, Saturday night, it's cooling off and the forecast for Monday is a high of 61. One of the most common snatches of conversation heard on campus is something like, "People call this cold? This is nothing compared to (fill in any Midwest state) where I come from." Incidentally, the campus engineers relented and piped heat to the buildings in the mornings after declaring that April 30 would be the last day for heat.

It was mild this morning so I took an early stroll to the beach. Across the street this dune has been moving toward us. Kids enjoy sliding down the dune on flattened cardboard boxes. I think the pattern must be partially filled-in footprints.

I'm sure we could see about another foot of this gate when we got here, but I don't have the photographic evidence. Who knows how long it's been since it was a functioning gate. Oh, the Wayward Wind is a Restless Wind.

It's about a half-mile across the dunes from our street to the beach. Here are a couple of shots of the dunes.

Then there are the usual beach scenes -- repeating but not repetitive. Ditto for the sound of the waves.

Light fog cover on this morning.

Mid-day Saturday we headed up to Castroville -- about eight miles away -- for the Artichoke Festival.

There were artichoke fish tacos, artichoke burritos, artichoke quesadilla, fried artichokes, steamed artichokes, grilled artichokes, artichoke adavada, artichoke bread, even artichoke art.

Plus a car show. Beautiful day, cooled off to a pleasant level after our heat wave!

We drove a few miles beyond C-ville to the fishing port of Moss Landing. We'd been through there on our return from San Francisco and had seen some antique shops that looked worth visiting. Also, a list of the area's top seafood restaurants included one there that I wanted to check out -- it's only about 10 miles from Marina. Anyhow, here's a shot of Moss Landing and its landmark powerplant. Mostly working boats, not pleasure-craft, here.

Oh, in one antique shop I found a program for the 1988 World Series, LA Dodgers and Oakland A's. This particular program was issued before the league playoffs so it features the four playoff teams. This Series is renowned because of Kirk Gibson's dramatic ninth-inning home run and trip around the bases in Game 1. It's even more special to me, a Dodgers fan, because I happened to be in Oakland on a business trip back in 1988 and I went to a World Series game. I bought a scalper ticket right at game time and got to see one of the Dodger wins in the Series that they won in five games.

Here, in a website picture I found, Gibson is doing his pump, like pulling the starter cord on a chain saw, as he circled the bases. Still brings chills.

Back on the topic of seafood restaurants, our Good friends in Albuquerrque recommended the Monterey's Fish House to us. We hadn't come across it or looked it up yet, but I had noticed along the road I drive to campus that there was a small establishment in sort of an industrial area that had the sign, Monterey's Fish House. But, it - the alleged restaurant -- showed no signs of life, sitting on a corner with no visible parking, so I decided if such a restaurant existed, it must have moved. Or, maybe I got the name wrong from the Goods. Then, I saw that the list of best local restaurants included the MFH, so I looked it up in the phone book and found that it was right where I'd been looking -- right there in plain sight. It's a short drive from campus so I hied myself up there last week and made a real discovery -- best seafood meal I've had here: oak-grilled mahi-mahi exquisitely seasoned with pasta and veggies on the side. I'll be back and take Susie 'cause they don't serve only seafood. Also, it's a nice whitetablecloth sort of restaurant, just not one you would just walk up to based on its external appearance.

I've been riding the bus once or twice a week. Had a couple of interesting events recently. On one trip home I was sitting next to a very tense appearing man. I noticed him making a sharp backhand waving motion between us. I looked at him and he said, sternly, "Don't touch my leg." I don't think I had, but that's almost unavoidable on a crowded bus. I was tempted to brush against him when I got off before he did, but thought better of it, considering the gleam in his eye.

Then one morning, as the bus traveled down the highway between Marina and Seaside, people at the back of the bus called out to the driver -- A man's had a seizure back here! I looked back and he was on the floor between the seats and I could see his leg jerking. There wasn't much to be done on the highway so the driver called 911 to have EMTs meet us at Seaside. They came on board and made ready to get the man on a stretcher board and off the bus. I think the seizure had abated, but the concern was that he might have injured himself when he fell from his seat to the floor. People behind the area where the EMTs were working weren't allowed off. Those of us in the front were urged to transfer to another bus, which I did. Heard nothing more about it, so assume there was not a serious outcome.

On the lighter side, one day as I sat on the busstop bench outside of campus, waiting for the bus, holding my backpack on my lap, wearing sneakers, I suddenly realized: "I'm Forest Gump!" Now, I make sure to avoid that posture. (Connections: We were in Savannah, GA last year at the park where those Gump scenes were shot, and our first week here we saw a Gump impersonator here outside of the Bubba Gump's Shrimp restaurant.)

Today, Sunday, May18, we visited the fourth Methodist Church in the area -- The Church of the Wayfarer in Carmel. Here's a painting from their website.

Nice church with a very nice flower garden just a block off of the main shoppe-ing street in Carmel. They had a talented prep school choir participating in the service who provided some nice music.

After church, we strolled through an art show -- plein art in the park -- had lunch at a French-themed restaurant, then took the long way home: up the Carmel River valley a ways, then over the coastal range to the Salinas River valley. Got off on a side road that turned out to be quite pleasant:

Here are a couple of Salinas Valley scenes:

At the risk of dwelling too much on the weather, Sunday was a good illustration. When we left Marina about 9:00 am it was foggy and in the high 50s. Carmel was sunny and mild and the trip got milder as we went inland on the trip home. Approaching Marina in mid-afternoon, there was that fog bank, still holding forth, about the same temperature as when we left. Still here this morning (Monday), while Monterey was cool, but sunny. Coming home in late afternoon, there's Marina, still fogged in. Susie said it never cleared during the day. Oh, when will it end!

Cheers,

Rob and Susie