Thursday, May 9 through Friday, May 31, 2024: Jake's Graduation, My Birthday Getaway, and Life in Williams

Thursday morning, I left Williams for Lubbock, Texas. My oldest grandson, Jake, is graduating from Texas Tech. It is a 670 mile trek, so the first night I stopped in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. I stayed at a very nice La Quinta Inn. It had been fully renovated eight months ago. I had dinner at the Silver Moon Cafe.

I enjoyed two tamales and two margaritas. Santa Rosa is an historic Route 66 town like Williams. The next morning, I had a 3 1/2 hour drive to Lubbock, Texas. Before leaving Santa Rosa, I geocached and found my first New Mexico cache, "Rt66 Santa Rosa."

When I took the photo of the sign where the cache was located, I didn't realize that my body was casting a shadow.

 

On Instagram, I noticed that Donna and David are enjoying RV time in San Diego.

I arrived at the Cotton Court Hotel around noon. The hotel is a very nice facility. Because Lubbock is a college town, and Texas Tech University is hosting graduations, the rate for the room was fairly outstanding ($670 per night!!!.) 

In the hotel restaurant, I found my daughter-in-law's parents --- Una and Ron VonBehren from Grand Circle, Nebraska. I joined them for lunch. After lunch, I decided to find a nearby cache. The cache was a magnetic micro container --- up high behind a STOP sign. You can barely make out the container.

When I came back to the hotel, Rick and Joell were back from attending Rachel's graduation. Rachel is grandson Jake's girlfriend. Rick and Joell were sitting by an outdoor fireplace with Una and Ron.

At about 4:00 p.m., all of us hopped in two cars and headed over to a barbecue in a nearby neighborhood. The dinner was a celebration of four young men from Steiner Ranch in Austin, Texas.

These four met in kindergarten and subsequently attended and graduated from Texas Tech. There was an excellent slide show. The outdoor gathering was also fun.

I met Jake's girlfriend, Rachel. My grandson, Beck, is also attending Texas Tech. He is two years younger than Jake.

After the barbecue, Una, Ron, and I went back to the hotel and listened to live music in the restaurant.

As I headed to bed, I took a picture of the lit sign on the hotel property. Only in Texas! 💕

The next morning, I decided to walk to the Buddy Holly Center. It was about one mile away. 1950's musician and entertainer, Buddy Holly (and the Crickets) grew up in Lubbock, Texas. There is a nice museum and fifteen minute video dedicated to Buddy Holly. There was also a virtual geocache right on the property. It was an unexpected bonus! That makes found cache #265.

Jake's graduation was at 4:20 p.m. Rick, Joell, Una, and I got to the site about an hour early. The graduates came into the arena and assembled timely.

Jake's degree is Business Administration Finance.

After the commencement, we all gathered outside for photos.

There were no formal plans for having a dinner celebration. So, we all went to Torchy's Tacos for great Mexican food and delicious margaritas.

After dinner, we all went back to the hotel to change clothes and meet at the hotel restaurant for after dinner drinks.

The next morning, I was dead-heading home. It was a long ten hour drive. But, I was ready. In Clovis, New Mexico, I had to stop for a train.

I arrived home at about 3:00 p.m. Tom made a chicken fingers and salad for dinner. That evening, there were interesting auroras in the sky. This was made by a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

My friend Joan Lewis turned 96 years of age on Sunday, May 12. Joan is the fountain of youth, for sure!

Donna and David are now in Los Angeles for Emily's May 19 graduation from law school and for last minute arrangements for their trip up to Alaska.

At about noon on Monday, Honoria Vivell and her husband Richard Petrie arrived at our home. They are on a road trip to Arizona and Utah. It has been six years since Honoria and Richard visited us in Williams.

That evening, Honoria and Richard took us out to dinner. We had a very nice meal at the Western View Steakhouse at the Best Western Plus.

It is so nice to have Cataract Lake so close to my home.

Wednesday, I had an 11:30 a.m. facial appointment at Junto Skin & Laser. Amy Aranda had to be in Prescott that day, so Corynne took care of me.

The month of May is a beautiful time of year in Williams. Bill Williams Mountain enjoys being the backdrop of so many views.

My niece, Lauren, lives in Georgia. Her son Colter is such a happy baby.

Friday, I had a hair appointment in Flagstaff. Shawna Ritter takes great care of me.

Later in the day, I attended a Community Huddle for our town of Williams. The last Community Huddle was in 2019. Not only did I attend the meeting, but I also spoke as a representative of the Williams Pickleball Group.

This two-hour Community Huddle was designed to let members of the community know about events and activities.

My granddaughter, Emily Bernstein, graduated from Loyola Law School on Sunday. I was so glad that my other granddaughter, Meghan, posted some photos on Instagram. What a joyous and exciting accomplishment!

My 72nd birthday was that Sunday as well. Tom and I left Kelsey and Jamie with dog care sitter, De Ann Paddy. De Ann came to our house, stayed at our property, and took care of the two Dalmatians. .

Tom and I were out of town for five nights. We drove from Williams to Pasadena. We stayed at the Rose & Crown Hotel on Colorado Boulevard.

That evening, we met my brother Peter and his wife Terry at the Foothill for dinner.

The restaurant presented me with a fireworks lit candle and an ice cream sundae.

The next morning, Tom and I headed to our birthday getaway destination of Cayucos --- a seaside community just north of Morro Bay. We had one stop in Oxnard. Doug McRae and his wife Corrie hosted us for brunch of lox and bagels at their home in Oxnard Shores. Doug and I worked together at First Interstate Bank. He reminded me that we have not seen each other in 26 years!!!

It was a very nice visit. We left Oxnard at about 1:00 p.m. and we got to the Shoreline Inn at 3:30 p.m. This hotel was recommended to us by Peter and Terry. They usually stay at this "on the beach" hotel several times a year.

Our room was on the second floor with a balcony and a view to die for!

The room also had a fireplace. The evenings were cool enough that we used the fireplace each night. I was not able to take a good picture of the room with fireplace, but a brochure photo did the trick.

That evening, we had dinner at Schooners.

Tuesday morning, we had breakfast at Martin's Mexican & Italian Cuisine. Our server was from Mexico. The food was good.

At breakfast, I noticed that there were geocaches in the Cayucos neighborhood. I nabbed the first one --- right next to our hotel. This cache container was unique. The cache name was Cayucos Drifter "poki style."

More caches to be found here in Cayucos. To be continued...

Hearst Castle and San Simeon were only 30 minutes north of Cayucos. Tom had never been to Hearst Castle, so I booked a 1:00 p.m. tour there. I hadn't been to Hearst Castle in probably 35 years! We drove to this California State Park and its Visitor Center. At five minutes before 1:00 p.m., Tom and I boarded a bus with 29 other individuals. The bus took us up the hill --- a 1600 ft climb up to the property. We got off of the bus and met with our tour guide, Jennifer.

It was a beautiful afternoon to be at the Castle.

Of course, we needed a photo of the two of us by the Neptune Pool. This pool is the most photographed pool in the world.

Tom is not a museum buff. But, touring Hearst Castle is something so very special. Before leaving the San Simeon area, we drove seven miles up Highway 1 to see the Elephant Seals. There were hundreds of sunbathing giants.

That evening, we had dinner at Lunada Garden Bistro. We sat in the garden patio.

On my phone, I noticed that there was a hidden cache nearby. Sure enough, I found the Sunken Garden and I logged the Monster Series: Godzilla.

 

 

It was such a nice evening, Tom and I strolled along Main Street.

We also walked on the pier to the end and back.

Wednesday was a fairly lazy day. We had breakfast at the Sea Shanty. On the geocaching app on my phone, I noticed that there were two caches nearby. One cache was at an old jail house right across the street from the restaurant. Tom and I found the Do Not Pass Go cache.

The second nearby cache was more difficult. I had to enlist the help of the cache owner. But, Voila! I found the Cayucos Sunset cache.

Later in the day, I walked along the Main Street to find a caches. I was unsuccessful finding one. The others required a car.So, I went back to the hotel and asked Tom to help me. We went back to the cache I could not find. No luck again. So, we drove the car to the "Southern Poki" cache. We found cache #270! 

I like ending a geocache hunting spree with a ZERO or a FIVE 😍😍😍

 

Our hotel room had a great picture of the Cayucos Pier. I tried to research how I might be able to purchase this photo. The general manager said that someone from the hotel took the photo and then asked the artist to create the poster. I took a picture of the poster. Magnificent! 💕

That evening, we had 6:30 p.m. dinner reservations at Cafe Della Via. It is the #1 rated restaurant in TripAdvisor. It did not disappoint! The service was excellent and the food was outstanding. We enjoyed a nice bottle of Alban Vineyards Viognier. I really enjoy Viogniers, but it is hard to find in liquor stores.

 

Tom and I departed the Shoreline Inn Thursday morning. We decided to stop by a winery that Peter and Terry highly recommended. It was Epoch Estate Wines in Templeton. We found a beautiful back road that reminded Tom of Tennessee. We were not going to taste the wine, just buy a few bottles. I bought a Viognier, a Viognier blend, and a very nice estate bottled Syrah.

The property of Epoch Estate Wines was gorgeous.

Tom and I then proceeded to drive to Barstow. We were staying at the Rodeway Inn on Historic Route 66. Tom and I stayed at this motel in 2018. The Innkeeper has been at this motel for 21 years. We had dinner at Los Domingos Mexican Restaurant. 

I decided to splurge and order a dozen oysters. They were big and delicious!

Seventeen years ago, Richard. my father, my girlfriend Barbara Coad, and I were in Budapest, Hungary. In several days, we were starting a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. While we were in Budapest, we met with one of my dad's business associates' relatives. We also met his then wife, Oksana. We did not know it, but Oksana was pregnant with daughter Bianka. Over the years, I have kept in touch with Oksana. Her little Bianka is sixteen years old today, May 23!!!

Friday morning, we had a 4 1/2 hour drive to Williams. Friends Pat and Bill Wheeler were in the Williams area. They were coming to visit us and pend the night. It was great to see them! The last time I saw them was in July, 2021.

For dinner, Tom and I cooked two cauliflower margarita pizzas with extra fixings. Before retiring for the night, I did my best to take a selfie of the four of us.

Saturday morning, Pat and Bill got an early start. They still had 1,800 miles to get back to their home in Michigan. It was a short, but wonderful visit.

Friday night was the Williams High School graduation. Dear Jordana Kelley celebrated the conclusion of her only physical year of high school in the United States. Congratulations to Jordana!!! 💕

My sister Carrie and her husband Brent have sold their Coto de Caza home for $3 million. They lived in that home 30 years. Carrie decided to have a final "blowout" party over Memorial Day Weekend. Carrie's daughter Lauren flew into Orange County with her son Colter. They arrived on a Thursday and were returning home to Georgia on Monday.

On Instagram, Lauren posted a photo of the backyard at 2 Lafayette Lane, Coto de Caza.

On Sunday, May 26, Tom and I watched the Indianapolis 500 race. We signed up for the Peacock Channel so that we could see the race live on NBC. It was a very exciting race. The driver who won the 107th Indy 500 race --- Josef Newgarden --- also won the 108th Indy 500 race.

While Carrie and her family were in Southern California, all four of the Carroll grand-babies met for the first time. This is a photo of the first cousins.

On Memorial Day, Tom's nephew, Nate and his wife Kim, went to the cemetery where Tom's mom and dad are buried.in Martinsville, Indiana. They were kind enough to text this photo of the grave-site.

My sister Carrie's son, Blake, and his wife Nicole, went to the FAREWELL to Coto de Caza party. They then made a side trip to Yellowstone National Park. Wonderful!

This time of year, the Abert squirrels are very active in the neighborhood. There was one in our backyard taunting the dogs. There were several others in the Highland Meadows community.

My grandnephew, Colter, is such a happy baby boy. I couldn't resist adding his most recent smile to this blog.

On Tuesday, Jamie had an appointment at the Canyon Animal Hospital in Flagstaff. His hind knees are weak and Dr. Sullivan suggested that Jamie be evaluated for physical therapy. We met with Kelly, the physical therapy team leader.

Kelly thought that Jamie would be a good candidate for physical therapy. The program is a six-week commitment --- taking Jamie to Flagstaff once a week for six weeks. After the evaluation, technitian Sandra worked with Jamie some and then gave him infrared light therapy. Jamie became a movie star with his dark glasses.

Wednesday, Tom and I drove to Flagstaff to see Psychiatrist, Dr. Harold Figueroa. We had not seen him since December. Dr. Figueroa is a darling man --- the same age as Tom. 1947 was a good year to be born.

After our one hour session, Tom and I went to Karma Sushi Bar & Grill for lunch. We shared a Japanese Bento box and a softshell crab roll. The restaurant is in a historic building on Route 66.

My oldest granddaughter Meghan had professional photos taken of her and her dog Carl. Meghan posted a number of the photos on Instagram. This was my favorite!

On Friday, May 31, I had an appointment to have my oil changed at J. J.'s Automotive. I dropped off truck and Tom picked me up in his Subaru. 

We ran a few errands and then we went to the Canyon Coaster Adventure Park. For 30 days, the park has a special for locals. The cost for locals to ride the coaster is only $5. The current general admission rate for one ride is $20. So, $5 is a steal! Sign me up!

My truck was ready to be picked up at 2:00 p.m. The automotive technician said that my truck is in wonderful condition. That is awesome news!

I texted my sister Carrie about some dates in September. She responded that she and a girlfriend are in France. They are currently in the French Riviera.This photo was taken in Nice.

These two photos were taken in a little harbor town called Villefranche Sur Mer.

Now that the two homes across the street are completed, I decided to put pillows back on the swing by the front porch. Tom used to enjoy reading on the swing in the afternoons. It was fun to see Tom in the swing when I came back from my Results Fitness gym workout.