Saturday's treat

I had a whole day free yesterday before taking a late night flight back to Newark and I was able to make the most of it, thanks to the charming and talented Ted Orland, who drove up from Santa Cruz and took care of me for the day. We drove down the coast, stopped for lunch in Half Moon Bay - a charming little town along the way, and stopped en route to see the kite surfers. Kite surfers? Never heard of such a thing, but hey - it's California. Here are a few of the kites, which the surfers inflate and then attach to their surfboards. The sky was full of these kites, which seemed to lift the surfboards into the air along with them - but it was sunny and my new little travel camera doesn't have a viewfinder, so I couldn't really see to shoot what I wanted. Picture a sky full of balloons. It was VERY windy and I personally think those surfers are nuts - but then, I am highly risk averse. Here is Ted, who is, after all, a photographer, braving the wind to get a picture with his good camera. We arrived in beautiful Santa Cruz, getting to his house just as his wife, Frances, pulled into the driveway. After a while,the three of us took off on foot, along with Sophie, their dog, and walked over to the harbor. The water taxi was just about to leave, but Frances ran ahead to see if there was room and yes, it waited for us. Here is a view looking toward the Pacific. This is a rather dreadful picture of me, but a good one of Flopsy and Mopsy.And an even better one of Ted, Frances, and the dog who is much happier with her mother around! Ted's book The View from the Studio Door has just had its second printing -- another hit! He made a few revisions based on feedback from readers, and I'm looking forward to re-reading it. I did notice that he listed Melanie Testa and me in his acknowledgements for all the conversation on our blogs -- gee, thanks, Ted. And I forgot to ask you to autograph my copy.

'Twas a delicious day, followed by a delicious dinner out before Ted and Frances took me back up to SFO to catch the midnight flight.

I got home early this morning, fell into bed, and slept some more in an attempt to get back on Eastern time. Back to real life: the supermarket, laundry - and tomorrow, the dentist. Marty, who was in San Diego while I was in the Bay Area, just landed in Newark and will be home shortly. Hooray. It has been a revolving door.