July 26, 2021
I am B-A-C-K from Stanford once again.
But, before we get to that adventure, let me just give you the update of what's been going on with Shirley and me since my last note (when I'd gotten back from Stanford last time).
If you'll recall, as I was just leaving the Bay Area last time and got the call from Stanford for the next appointment...which was less than 2 weeks later...Erich wanted to hitch a ride back with me and hang out. That was nice having company. Especially since Erich is so good at making cocktails! Ha!
Shirley has been her silly self since then. She vacillates between her cardboard condo and her half-box "shacks." She will crawl into one and push it around blindly, as if it were a tank or something. I've found them all over the kitchen. Other times, she will just push them out of the way and stick her head under the cabinet instead.
One of my online friends from a vintage movie poster forum (All Poster Forum NOT VMPF) had let me know that he and his family would be visiting California this month. His handle online is "Okiehawker" or just "Okie". While I collect (mostly) vintage horror and exploitation posters, Okie's taste in posters is far more refined. He likes classy titles. However, he is always kind enough to drop me a note on my thread now and again. Although they would mostly be visiting Southern California along the coast, they were also heading to Central California to go to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park to see the giant redwoods. They were planning on staying in Three Rivers, near the entrance to the southern gate of the park. Could I meet them? Three Rivers is about an hour and a half from my home. While not the most convenient of meet ups, how could I not go? Okie lives in Mississippi and this was probably the only time I'd get to meet him.
Driving to Three Rivers took me past the little hamlet of Lemon Cove, which I may have to return to at some point and explore. Among the things I spied there that interested me was this old gas station. (Don't mind the photo through the dirty window.)
We met at a Pizza Factory that was surprisingly very crowded (on a Monday night). Okie was already aware of my physical issues...so seeing my cane, stilted walk, and increased heaviness were not a surprise to him.We yakked for a couple of hours. His family returned to their RV park and I drove Okie back when I had to get on the road. It was swell to meet him.
On the way out of town, i saw this interesting-looking "cow". Apparently created out of some large cylinder, an entrance (with stairs) had been cut into it. A "window" appears to have been patched up next to the door, but another is open on the other side. I really wanted to check it out, but...
On the 15th, I went to my dermatologist. It was just my annual skin check. While there, the doctor removed this bump I had on the side of my nose for the last several years. First his assistant numbed the area, then he came in with a razor blade and sort of thinly sliced into my nose. The lump was basically this liquid goo. He said it was nothing to worry about, but sent it to the lab anyway for insurance reasons.
The drunk lady on the corner (The one who occasionally will knock on my door after midnight wanting me to take her to the liquor store) made a 911 call again. This was the second time this summer (that I am aware of) she's done that.
Because Erich was in town, we got together for a little party with Shookie and Vye at Vye's place. It was a wonderful time. We were there 6 1/2 hours or so---where did the time go. Vye had made snackies and dinner as well. We had cocktails, of course, as well. Did I take any pictures? NO! Ugh! I'm such a dolt sometimes...
When we headed back to the Bay Area for my appointment, we cruised through Madera, where Shookie is having a brand-new house built for herself! We wanted to check it out.
This was my text message to Shook:
"Hey. We stopped by your house to take you to lunch, but you weren't home. Next time. I love what you've done with the place. So minimalist...that deconstructed look... Bravo! Cheers!"
And then I followed up with:
"Actually, I hope you don't mind, but your door was open (well, actually it was your wall that was open) and Erich had to go to the bathroom."
And then:
"You poor dear. You need guest towels...and toilet paper."
Once we arrived in San Leandro, it was cocktail time.
This time at Stanford, we had to go further into the campus and go to the main building for my pulmonary function test. At the desk in the office where I was getting this done, the receptionist asked if I had come all of the way just for the test. Yes. Was I having any other tests or appointments that day? No. When the clinician came in to get me for the exam, she asked basically the same things. Why? Because the test was over quickly. It took longer to walk from the car to the clinic than it had to take the test. I had to breathe in as much as I could and then exhale as much as I could for as long as I could. I did that several times on this monitor and that was it. I was perfectly fine for my age. Swell...
Finishing way earlier than we had expected, instead of going back to Erich's in the East Bay, we decided to go over the hill and drive up the coast a ways. Just south of Halfmoon Bay, we spotted this hay bale maze with a King Kong statue out front. As we drove past, we discussed maybe stopping on the way back.
We drove on and a roadside farm stand caught Erich's eye. Did he want to stop? Sure he did. So, we swung the car around and checked it out.
Afterwards, instead of just continuing on, we opted to go back to the maze thing and see if it was open. It was. Arata's Farm appears to be a tourist draw with its hay bale maze. However, during October, there is a pumpkin patch, a train ride of some kind, pony rides and more.
It was late in the afternoon, but they sold us tickets and we were off to explore the maze.
There were four paths to choose from. Erich, who told me he had never been through a maze before, tried the third one right away (while I stopped to visit a glamorous port-o-potty. UGH!). I checked out the 4th path. Both his and mine were dead ends. The second entrance with headed down together--and that seemed to be the correct choice.
The maze was a lot bigger than it looked. We went down several dead ends trying to get through.
There were three large circular structures--kind of like hay bale Stonehenge. Each of these structures offered a choice of four more possible paths. Again, we set off, occasionally getting lost and coming up on blank-walled dead ends. There were "hay doors" (my term) throughout that could be opened or closed. Were they there to make it look like you'd reached a dead end or were they there hiding the correct passages through?
The maze was pretty massive. I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it through, but with my trusty cane in hand, I did just fine. Amazingly. (And who knew that Erich liked tourist traps and roadside attractions? All of this time and I always thought my wanting to go to these places was annoying him. Ha!)
Eventually we found the exit. There were three statues on the grounds, two of which were representations of the Minotaur. The minotaurs made sense, as a maze is part of their mythological story.
I only note that, because earlier in the day, my friend Angel in Colombia had sent me some photos from his best friend's sister's quinceanera. It had a Greek theme (!?!) and Angel had been coincidentally dressed as the Minotaur.
He said he had been the one who put the whole event together. The photos he had sent showed that he did an incredible job. Good for him. He had recently won a trip to Cartagena because of some advertising graphics he had done for a travel agency. I guess that was confidence booster he needed to tackle this project. It certainly was a triumph. (You can watch a short video of the night HERE). I've never met the kid, but I am very happy for and proud of him. He has worked so hard.
After our a-maze-ing experience, we drove beyond Halfmoon Bay to Moss Beach. Erich knew of a restaurant there that was supposed to be...haunted! Ooooooo!
The Moss Beach Distillery or just The Distillery was originally a speakeasy that opened in 1927. There was also a small hotel at one time, where the parking lot stands now.
In the 1930's, the restaurant's piano player was graced each night by a beautiful young woman who usually wore blue, who is said to have worked in the hotel. The pair were said to have been having an affair. The trouble is, that the woman, although separated, was married to an abusive man. One night, her husband showed up and started a fight with the piano player. The fight was moved to the beach.
The next morning, the lady wearing a long, blue dress, was found dead on the beach, having been stabbed to death. The piano player was battered and bruised, but he survived. The husband was never seen again.
That is the tale that gives credence to the restaurant's claim of being haunted. A flyer in the menu lists some of the peculiar things that have supposedly occurred there, such as boxes of liquor stacked against a door from inside of a room with no other way out, a levitating, spinning chair, and flying--but not breaking--glassware.
We both had clam chowder (Erich, a bowl. Me, a cup.) to start off dinner. I had a crab, shrimp, and avocado quesadilla. Erich had a beet and mandarin salad and a kale and quinoa salad. Mine was pretty good, but Erich wasn't thrilled with his salads. He had a beer and I had a Prohibition Mai Tai.
Did we see the Blue Lady? No. (Perhaps if I had ordered the Blue Lady cocktail instead we would have?) However, one of my former co-workers sent me a close up picture of a photo I had shared with her...and wanted to know if I saw anything in it. Hmm. Do YOU see anything?
From the Distillery, we headed north. Traffic was miserable as we approached San Francisco.
Where were we going? I really wanted to take Erich to Zombie Village, which was one of the last tiki bars to reopen. It is by far the most beautiful tiki bar in San Francisco, I think. Erich had never been before.
Although it may be hard to see from my photos, the bar is just stunning. You can stand at the bar on one side or sit on the other on these rough-hewn wooden stools. Behind the bar is a series of small tiki huts. Although we didn't have a reservation, we were seated in one of those.
Although we didn't get to go up, there is a second bar (covered in skulls) on an upper floor. There is also a grotto-like area at the back of the bar.
Erich started off the evening with a Desert Oasis. I had a traditional Painkiller. Mine was okay, but Erich wasn't wild about his. (I tasted it and neither was I.) As a chaser, I had a Nui Nui and he had a Doc's Grog. Eh... they were okay. I was a little sad to see that the drink menu was much more limited than it was pre-pandemic. The waitress even noted the abbreviated selection when I asked about a certain drink I had had there on my incredible first visit (which you can read about and see lots more photos of HERE).
When I got home the next morning, Shirley was sleeping in a corner. She had apparently had a little tantrum while I had been gone. She'd pushed her condo all over and torn it up more. A piece cardboard got shoved out and landed on top of her food and water bowl. Fortunately, my mom's sister-in-law Linda came over and checked on her. She moved the cardboard and gave her fresh food.
Now that I was back home and had no house guests, I ran a few errands and got busy on trying to get ready for my move. But by the end of the day, every part of me hurt. My arms, legs and back were just a wreck. This isn't unusual. More and more it is becoming the new norm. I was talking to my mom and mentioned this. She told me that she had tucked a canned tiki drink away in the refrigerator for me when she had been here in June. Canned? Hmm. But, it wasn't bad. I said a big aloha to the Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai, It hit the spot and I slept very well that night.
Now that Mom is back on her island and Erich is home, I really need to get busy on my preparations to move. My house is all torn up. NO MORE VISITORS---at least for a while. Although I have a zillion boxes to sort through, I have made my priority my movie poster collection---which is out of control and such a disorganized mess. There are many I want to keep--but many I also want to get rid of. Below is the mess in one of the guest rooms. I've been emptying poster tubes, trying to rid myself of all of the smaller tubes and putting posters I want to keep into larger tubes.
And here is the poster room itself---completely torn apart and just a total disaster. OMG! I'll never get ready for this move.
And here is a peek inside of the closet of the poster room. It is FILLED with poster tubes, many of which I've never opened. Seriously!
I've got my work cut out for me...and only about 3 months to get it all done in. I can do it...I think/hope.
Oh boy...
I hope you are well.
CHEERS!
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