The biggest disappointment was the non-working wi fi. Perhaps if I understood wi fi better I could have gotten it to work, but it read a signal; it just couldn't connect and the office was of no help whatsoever. Char had told me there was a computer in the office for use by guests, so I went down there and was finally able to send a note through yahoogroups, telling people on the mailing list that I would have to post the entry for the 23rd when I got home. It was a very strange computer, tho. Char had tried to get her e-mail and it would connect to Comcast, but not to her e-mail. I could connect to DCN and I could actually pull up a list of my mail, but it wouldn't open any. It wouldn't connect to either G-mail or Twitter. But by that time I had resigned myself to have a computer-less day and didn't stress out about it.
We all had breakfast, checked out and then drove a few miles to the Mendocino Botanical Garden. What a lovely place! They had a big sign up about the heirloom roses in bloom and when we paid our admission, they gave us a map which showed how the trail is kind of a figure 8, which took us through gardens, woods, a vegetable garden, and out to an overlook of the ocean and then back again. The total trail was a mile, so I'm able to update my miles to nowhere, even though I wasn't on the treadmill. And it was an up and down trail too, not just all on the flat.
As you come out the office building it is to this beautifully groomed garden.
Then through a rose covered arch into the herloom rose garden.
It was smaller than I expected and the roses were mostly past their prime, but they all smelled lucious and there were a few that were very pretty.
The path wended through a wooded area (I expected the Cowardly Lion to pop out from behind a tree at any moment)...
...and all the way out to the cliff overlooking the ocean.
What was even better, it was cold was I loved it! The others were bundled up in sweatshirts and I was reveling in the cold ocean wind.
We said goodbye at the garden. Rich and Pat headed home, Mike and Char headed to do some wine tasting, and I, too, headed for home. As I left the shore and drove up the mountain, the cool, foggy air was replaced by hot smokey air. There are wildfires in lots of spots in California and the smoke travels a long way. When I got off the freeway in Ukiah, it was quite thick.
I stopped here for lunch. The place was a brew pub and restaurant and I was a little hesitant to go in, because of the guys hanging around the front, but it looked like a lot of disreputable clubs Lawsuit used to play in (and also had a small stage). I was the only woman in the place when I first got there. But the staff was very nice, the food was very good (though garlic cheese fries don't taste as good as they sound), and I had a long chat with my waiter, who dislocated his arm two days ago.
Then back on the road again, doing fine until I hit the last leg before hitting I-80 and then I met rush hour traffic.
But I wasn't in any hurry, I was listening to a good book on tape (Kirk Douglas' "Let's Face It") so I really didn't mind the snail's pace and once it opened up, it was clear sailing all the way home.
Still, it was very good to get home again. It's a long way to Mendocino. It was very nice to be with everyone for an extended period of time, but it would have been a lot more fun if Michele had been with us.
Ashes just aren't the same as the real thing.
Finally, I'm sure everyone will understand my compulsion to end this entry with the following: "Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits"
We'll miss ya, George.
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