Family-3/19/10

It's a joy to have the family gathering with us here in Laguna Beach. It started yesterday, when Ellie and I drove up tandem, in both cars, to meet our gang arriving from England at Los Angeles International: Matthew, my older son, and Diane, and their three children, Alice, now 11 years old, and the twins, Georgia and Joseph, now 8. (Pictures later; we haven't had the head to take them yet.) You can see why we needed both cars. Tomorrow, Tuesday, my former wife, Elizabeth arrives at Irvine railway station from Iowa, and my younger son, Jason, flies in to Santa Ana airport, also from Iowa. Thursday, our daughter, Sarah, comes down via Amtrak; and finally her friend, Ed, arrives on Saturday. You can see, it's a busy week. The Buddha Diaries may suffer some neglect...

Much of Saturday and much our morning, yesterday, went into preparations for the basic necessities--marketing and food prep. It was Ellie's idea that we should do a seder tomorrow evening, to pass on that tradition from her side of the family to the grandchildren, so we had two dinners to think about. In such circumstances, I'm usually appointed sous-chef, and put in a good deal of time on the considerable amount of chopping and slicing required by Ellie's recipes. She's the chief cook and organizer. By the time we left for the airport, we had the two first dinners pretty much in hand. The only thing left undone was a prior inspection of the hotel room we had booked for Matthew and family, but that would not have been possible anyway; we called ahead and discovered that the room would not be available before we left for the airport.

We would not, in any case, have been able to do much to remedy the snafu in our hotel booking. We had reserved, months ago, a very nice suite at the Laguna Riviera, with space enough t sleep all five of them in comfort, and a great terrace overlooking the ocean with lounge chairs and barbeque. On our arrival, we discovered that they were booked in, instead, to a much smaller room, below the one we had reserved, with a narrow balcony instead of the terrace where the children could have played. The confusion resulted in a good deal of calling back and forth from the front office, but nothing was to be done. Diane and Matthew did seem happy enough with their temporary quarters for the week, and the kids were just delighted to be a stone's throw from the beach. We left them to pack, and returned home to set the dinner table...

What a pleasure, finally, after then obligatory tour of the cottage and the changes since our remodel last year--they marveled at the new kitchen, and at Ellie's work in her new studio down below--to sit down around the table in our little cottage with the gang. The children's energy, even after the long flight from London, is boundless, uncontainable, and literally fills our normally quiet little living space. They are all three growing into such different people, and it will be a delight to have this opportunity to get to know them better in the two weeks they will spend with us. No doubt they will exhaust us, but I'm looking forward to a rich and wonderfully rewarding exhaustion! Today, I must remember to take the camera with me.

Shopping, Swimming, Seder-3/29/10

So the day started out quietly enough, with breakfast at home whilst our visitors slept in, we hoped, at their hotel. We even managed to get in a half-hour's workout at the gym, before heading downtown to meet up with the gang. Shopping, it seemed, as the first order of the day. There were necessities like swimsuits and shorts to be purchased, along with California sweat shirts and the other goodies with which the stores on our main shopping street, Forest Avenue, are replete. Joe and Georgia managed to have fun...

(Joe, who is as full of mischief as a young boy should be, dreamed up this performance, and Georgia happily joined in. It's a little odd, by the way, to have two Georgies around the place, especially when one of them is of the canine kind!)

And Alice managed to find a broom named after her...

We found a much needed cup of coffee for Matthew at the beachfront Starbucks, and some of us headed out to the boardwalk for a stroll while the shopping chores were being brought to a conclusion.

Here's Diane, with her two beautiful daughters...

By this time, we were all ready for lunch. There's a little food stand in the village, La Sirena, which provides excellent Mexican food at reasonable prices, so we gathered there and enjoyed, variously, tacos, quesadillas and burritos at two conveniently neighboring tables--one vacated for our crowd by an obliging couple who saw our need and responded with kindness.

Returning to the hotel--some on foot, others in the car with the shopping bags--we decided to take advantage of the still beautiful weather (there's rain on the way) to try out the beach. A good idea, as it turned out. I had thought the kids might have some fear about the waves, not being used to them, but they had an absolutely marvelous time romping in and out of the surf...

... in what seemed to (paddling) me ice-cold water. Such a pleasure to watch them scream and plunge about--and to remember how much I loved this when I was their age! Here's Georgia, testing out the flippers...

... and Joe in his brand new swimsuit...

... and Alice, looking gorgeous in her new green bikini...

Ellie and I returned home to get ready for the seder. Not much left to be done, really, but to set the table, and to ensure that the proper symbols were provided in their proper place.

The ceremony went off fine, with myself leading and everyone joining in along the way. Here we all are, at the start of things...

Ellie and I were much impressed with the way the children read their pieces, and participated in the meal despite growing fatigue after their long journey--a fatigue obviously not limited to the youngest...

All in all, a wonderful day. Much love spread around, with much joy and laughter. A special thanks to Ellie, for having proposed the seder as a good idea for kids and adults alike, and for having organized it all from start to finish. Sad that she's the only one with a picture at the ceremony... but she does have a nice one with the grandchildren, above.

"Welcome to England..."-3/31/10

... is how it looked in the morning when we woke. A cold drizzle of rain. Very disappointing, for folks who had come all the way from London to find some sunshine. I said as much to Matthew when I picked him up for the drive out to the Irvine Amtrak station to pick up his Mom, arriving by train from Iowa, via Albuquerque, where she had spent some time with friends. We drove up through the canyon in the rain and arrived in good time to learn that the train was delayed by a few minutes. We were still debating where to pick her up when we were surprised by a shout from the other end of the track... She had taken an earlier train and had been waiting in the drab cafe.

Dropping them off at the hotel I returned at home for a quiet breakfast with Ellie before the gang arrived. Here they are, enjoying yesterday's blog entry...

By this time, the weather was clearing just a bit, and we decided to make the most of the opportunity for a walk we had planned along the long beach at Crystal Cove.

A good choice, as it turned out, because the weather continued to clear and we all had a great time strolling along the water's edge, exploring tide pools and beach combing. Here's Alice...

Georgia is an avid beachcomber, like her grandfather, and I had to explain to her, sadly, that we're no longer allowed to take our treasures with us when we leave the beach--a rule she followed graciously enough, but wanted, at least, a picture of her finds...

Sometimes the hunt is pleasure enough in itself. Joe, who had done a report on fossils at school was interested to learn that the huge, circular rocks along the shore are actually ancient tree stumps and fallen trees...

We must have walked a good mile in each direction, and it was already two in the afternoon before we returned to our starting point, by the Beachcomber restaurant nestled between the beach cabins at Crystal Cove...

A good place to stop for a feast of hamburgers, hot dogs, fish and chips... And the sun came out!

We split up, then, into two parties--one, including Diane and the two grandmas, stopped off at Trader Joe's and The Gap for some shopping needs. Matthew and the kids returned to the hotel with me, where the twins were anxious to spend some time in the pool. Alice came back to the cottage, and we picked up George to give him a good run in the park at the Top of the World. Never at ease with children, George has been learning slowly to accept that these are his family, and that he must be at pains to make himself somewhat tolerant of their attentions. Up at the park, Alice took his leash and threw the ball for him, and thus earned his lasting affection. We hope.

I dropped Alice off at the hotel to join the twins in the pool, and drove back home for a brief rest before Ellie arrived back and the supper prep began. Matthew trudged up the hill a little later, to join me for the drive to John Wayne Airport to pick up his brother, Jason, arriving from Iowa via Minneapolis. He had texted earlier from the gate that the flight seemed to be leaving on time, but we should have checked the updates on flight arrivals before leaving; they were half an hour late leaving Minneapolis, delayed by screw-ups over the loading of snacks. I learned to know the circuit at John Wayne much better than I would have wanted to.

But anyway, finally he arrived, and we drove back to Laguna to find the family gathered and hungry. We (now nine of us!) all sat down around our rather small dining table for a delicious white bean soup, spinach salad, and cheeses with good brown bread. A great and regrettably rare occasion, to have so many of us gathered in one place at one time. Unfortunately, no one had the good sense to bring out the camera. There will be another time.

Food and Fun-4/1/10

A late-ish start this morning. Jason, who is staying with us at the cottage, left a text message to let us know that he was already out for coffee with Elizabeth, so we took advantage of some quiet time to get ourselves ready for the day, and took a walk with George around the hills, ending up at Heidelberg Cafe to meet the family for a light breakfast.

Thence on down the Pacific Coast Highway to the great plant and interior design emporium, where we enjoyed a tour of the jungle of flora, knick-knacks, and decorative items, like this giant silver ball, where Joe and I displayed our midriffs...

... not that mine could benefit from the magnification! Here's Ellie and Alice...

... and Ellie and Joe, who found a weird piece of furry furniture to curl up in.

And George, acting patient, when he was really anxious to get out of there and do some real walking!

And Ellie solo. (She has been complaining of her absence in the pictures I have been taking! I'm trying to make up...)

And Joe, taking charge...

And Georgia, admiring an extremely expensive fountain...

Next stop, we all returned to the hotel, where Elizabeth had arranged to meet up with an old friend, Jay, a teaching colleague from the 1970s. Since he had not yet arrived, we split up, agreeing to re-assemble back in the village for lunch at Pomodoro. Here are my two sons, deciding on a bottle of wine for lunch...

... and the rest of us, including Jay...

... who recalled the occasion of meeting with my parents at a caravan site in England, and their antics as they recommended a route up north to Scotland for him--with the usual disagreements. A fine story. After lunch, we headed up the canyon for a visit with the seal lions and other marine animals at the Friends of the Seal Lion rehab center, where they care for the wounded and the orphaned animals washed up on the Southern California shores.

Not a great picture, I fear, but the best I could do through the chain link that protects the animals from their human admirers, who might otherwise get too friendly.

The rain that was supposed to have arrived by this time never showed up, so we dropped our plan to use the wet afternoon to see the 3-D "Alice in Wonderland" in favor of a much more delightful family hike up one of the canyon trails.

Joe found a great cave to hide in...

And, as we walked back down, the sky provided us with a special delight...

And finally, after a brief rest for everyone, we gathered back at the cottage for take-out pizza, home-made salad, a drop of whiskey to start us out (Matthew had brought a bottle of cask strength--56%!--Bowmore Islay single malt Scotch as a gift for his brother), a good few glasses of wine, and much merriment around our dining table. No pictures, damn!

Sunshine!-4/1/10

Despite the weather forecasts, we have seen remarkably little of the wet stuff! This day we woke to brilliant sunshine. A lazy start, with breakfast at home, just the two of us. Then off in our two-car caravan to pick up the gang for the drive north to Balboa Island... A walk down the main street, with a few obligatory stops. We waited patiently...

... while others shopped. Then we took the ferry ride...

... across to the fun fair on the Newport Peninsula, where the children enjoyed rides on the ferris wheel...

... and the carousel...

... and corn dogs on sticks...

Then back to the cars, headed back to the Irvine train station, where Sarah arrived on schedule to great acclaim.

A welcome respite, later afternoon, at the cottage, before joining the family...

... for drinks in their hotel room at sunset. We walked down, now ten of us, for dinner at our local Japanese restaurant, San Shi Go. Matthew and Diane pronounced it excellent, and they should know. Before moving to England in order to bring up their family in Europe, they each lived in Tokyo for fifteen years. They still work for Japanese branches of their companies from London, editing and translating company reports into English. It was a pleasure to see them practicing their Japanese language skills with the staff.