Dave's Blog

Saturday, August 12, 2006 11:31:27 PM

"Hot time, summer in the city ..."  

Who would have known that summer could be hot in THIS city?  
We are really enjoying this change in the weather!  This morning 
Margaret asked me what I wanted to do today.  I replied, "How 
about a walk through the park to the beach?"  

We gave it a shot.  The air was warm, and she took off her 
sweater.  We sought shade frequently.  We had a great time 
walking through the panhandle, past McLaren Lodge, and into the 
dark trails off the main roads.  We paused on the way to the 
park to look over a pair of condos for sale, and then we paused 
a long time at the Rose Garden to look at all the pretty flowers.  
Two of them smelled yummy, many of them were pretty, and a few of 
them I would not have recognized as roses.  At this point my legs 
told me to take a rest, so we took the bus to the beach.  We had 
walked all of two miles.  

"Is food involved in this trip?" she asked.  Well, of course, my 
lady.  A date without food is unthinkable.  I had a place in mind 
from the beginning.  Ah, but as we emerged from the bus at La 
Playa Street, we were drawn to another condo open house.  Food 
waited another half hour.  

Finally, after showing her the marvelous "secret tunnel" under 
the street in the Park, we arrived at the Beach House.  But we 
were not headed for the Beach Chalet's upstairs brew pub.  
Instead we headed down.  Down the back stairs, to a beautiful 
garden sun room called the Park Chalet.  Warm air greeted us in 
this cheery space, as well.  We enjoyed several hours of casual 
late afternoon dining here, sharing a number of small plates and 
sticking to the light fare.  The staff were all dressed in black, 
which must have been a bit warm today, but which probably is very 
sensible in this usually-foggy locale.  

After our repast, we were ready to begin walking again.  Across 
the street a jazz musician was performing solo under the Dutch 
Windmill.  More flowers, and we walked around the compass rose 
admiring the excellent summer landscaping.  Walking inland, we 
headed for the Chain of Lakes, where Margaret told me all about 
driving a friend's car on the road behind the North Lake.  The 
road was still there today, barricaded, and I was surprised.  26 
years I have passed this road and never noticed it.  We watched a 
man feeding a tribe of ducks, a heron quietly standing in the 
shallows, a male sparrow distracting us from a nest, bats 
catching insects over the trees.  We heard hummingbirds, ravens, 
and other fowl that we have not learned to identify.  Margaret 
told me all about the flowers, and we had a great time impressing 
each other with our knowledge.  

When we were ready to go home we caught the last Park shuttle 
back to McLaren Lodge.  From there we walked again, and had a 
coffee on the way at the Sacred Grounds.  Students there 
excitedly expressed their progress in finding lodging for the 
Fall Semester, and we thought about the possibility that rents 
would be rising this year.  It was practically no time before we 
were once again in our own home.  

Hot days in the city.  They work for me!  

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