12 Oakdale

And another trip to Gainesville, this time to console Barton. Last night, on her way home from work (counting bats), Jen was killed in an auto accident. Evidently, she had hit a dog, stopped and got out to see if it was dead, then she and her car were struck by another car. That driver was also injured, now recovering at Shands Hospital. Peg is on a cruise of the Great Lakes with Robert. They were in the middle of Lake Superior, heading to Mackinac Island when Barton was able to get in touch with them. No easy airport access, and little phone service. They will stay on the ship until Thursday, when the cruise gets to its final port. I know they are beside themselves, not being able to come home immediately. As soon as we got Robert’s text, we cleaned up from working in the yard and headed north. Poor Barton. We sat and listened. His uncle and cousin arrived a couple of hours later, then Jen’s best friends and one of Barton’s came. Already too much food. Other friends were heading his w...

Good grief. On our way north, I saw parts of Florida I hadn’t seen in years. Between construction on the turnpike and accidents (Kathy’s phone said 4), my GPS app Waze routed us along backroads hither and yon. A stop for a coke and to pee after one of the suggested side roads was closed, and we had to go even further afield. Finally, we got on I-75, slow but at least moving. Originally planned as a visit to my dearest friend, coincidentally it was Gainesville Fine Art Association’s annual showcase weekend. After our dinner at the Top (gnocchi with pesto sauce for me), we stopped at the opening reception, met some of the artists who are Sally’s friends, and perused the map to decide on which studios we wanted to visit the next day. Up at not o’dark hundred, followed by leisurely breakfast. First stop was a group of artists that rent studios at a Presbyterian church which no longer needs the rooms as Sunday school classes since the congregation doesn’t have any young people. The greying ...

Tuesday, we took the red eye back from San Diego, however because we flew Delta, it wasn’t a direct flight. We stopped in Atlanta at 4:45 AM, waited 2 hours, then flew home. Not only was my normal 6 hours of airplane sleep interrupted, but ironies of ironies, I’d paid for first class seats, and I couldn’t get comfortable. Too wide to learn against the window. At least I had the blanket to cuddle up in. I’m rethinking if the extra dollars are worth it.  We arrived at our doorstep at 10:00, exactly when I was supposed to call Steph’s attorney to answer questions about what I was going to say about our buying the house with her. I dialed the number as soon as I turned the ignition off, only to be told he would call me back after he finished his current call. I had figured that would happen, but didn’t want to take a chance. After wasting more of her money chatting with him for about a half and hour, he mentioned the trial, scheduled for Wednesday, our wedding anniversary, might be can...

Easy flight to San Diego, upgraded to first class, with me in a window seat on the front row, and Grant back in the last. A chance for me to see if the bulkhead seat makes me claustrophobic. Wouldn’t be my first choice, but an upgrade is an upgrade. Welcome to the fun chaos of a household with 2 active children. Grandma, grandma, grandma. Music to my ears. I had written to the San Diego Audubon Society for birding ideas, and Peter answered with a suggestion of the Tijuana Estuary, a place to see ridgeway rails.  At the crack of mid morning, we were there. Little legs didn’t move very fast or cover much ground. After a while, Grant, toting the scope, offered to sit on a bench with Remi while Bella and I walked to the end of the path. She and I saw great egrets, black-necked stilts, a peregrine falcon kiting in field, and more, but no rails. We were assured by a woman we met, they were there, including some chicks. I was skeptical we’d see one since rails are notoriously shy. Yet, af...

Trying to fit in all our travel needs and desires. Yes, I know, a first world problem, but it is my situation. How to fit in trips to see Spaulding and Mary into our summer schedule? Then it dawned on me: combine them. Duh. That meant flying Delta, since Frontier would be the only other choice direct to Salt Lake City. Comfort+ out, first class red eye back. No more small seats for us. June 27-July 2, we were in Salt Lake City, charmed by Teddy who now has 2 bottom teeth and was fairly stoic about getting 2 uppers that were just about to break through. Friday, Molly worked from home, so Spaulding, Grant, and I went down town to Caffe d’Bolla where Spaulding had made reservations for a coffee tasting experience. Thank goodness there was a mix up, and we only had 1 seat reserved (total of 3 spots for event, and the other 2 were taken by the production manager and head of visuals for a touring DJ whose name I’ve forgotten, but Spaulding and Molly knew). This was way over my head and taste...