Another Vacation

60th birthday balloon

Just a couple of months ago, I was writing about our vacation to Eureka. Then everything hit the fan.

Since then, a major priority has been simply to reach some kind of stasis, some kind of routine, and one has not presented itself. Things are just too complex, too many cooks in the kitchen, as it were.

Dr. Klein, the oncologist, is holding off on the next round of chemo because Steve's immune system seems to be hit hard by the treatments. First it was the platelets, which were mitigated once they found the antibiotic that was causing the contraindication. Last consult session with Klein, she called up afterwards and asked Steve about the medication other doctors were giving him. Sure enough, one of them has, as a side effect, a depletion of bone marrow and the production of red blood cells (Steve's current problem post-chemo). He's stopped taking that, and we're going to see how it affects his immune system.

Ken and Leonard in Cambria

Meanwhile, last month we saw a window, an opening of time when it was almost guaranteed that Steve would be feeling good and we'd have the opportunity to get out of town for a couple of days. So we took the leap of faith and set up the trip.

We left Pasadena on Thursday, July 25, around noon and headed up the coast. We stopped at our traditional spot (IHOP in Goleta) for the usual mediocre fair (we both had omelets with pancakes on the side). We arrived in Cambria at about 5 o'clock and actually had very little problem finding Ken and Leonard's place.

Turkey in the pine needles

Ken and Leonard are friends who recently moved up to Cambria to retire. I have a long and uninterrupted love affair with Cambria, ever since my high school days, so it's a special treat for me that we have friends we can stay with up there.

We kicked back for a while; I recall a short nap and then we were off to Robin's in the Village of Cambria for a very nice dinner. (I had the braised duck breast with a cranberry-apricot couscous which was really delicious).

Linn's Quesedilla

Ken and Leonard live in the beachside area of Cambria (west of the Pacific Coast Highway), up in the hills surrounded by coastal pine forest. The population density is probably close to that of the Hollywood Hills, acre for acre, and while there are homes over the entire hillside, there is little intrusion, visual and auditory, from the close proximity of nature. In fact, deer and wild turkeys are among their boldest new neighbors.

Linn's Chicken Pot Pie

We stayed in Cambria through Friday and until Saturday afternoon. They were wonderful hosts, driving us around, showing us the sites, giving me a chance to catch up on the changes that had taken place in town over the years.

Ceramic
Totems

On Saturday, Ken and Leonard had a wedding to attend, so Steve and I hung out "downtown," and I had to take him to Linn's for lunch (which always includes a piece of their wonderful pies). This is the original Linn's, which started out at a roadside farm stand selling Olallieberries. When I lived on the Central Coast in the 1990s, they had a restaurant in downtown San Luis Obispo which I used to frequent for lunch.

Ken's "Favorite Spot"

The best thing I remember about Cambria (besides the company) was the relaxation and the walking and browsing the shops. I was concerned about how much walking Steve could stand, even fresh off a transfusion a couple days before.

Surprisingly (for Steve as well as myself), he held his own and realized, I think, that he has more stamina and energy than he gives himself credit for. Also, there are some days when he's doing fine, full of energy and practically his old self. Then there are days when he's simply worn down and feeling the chemo's effects on his system.

View of docks and Morro Rock

When we left that afternoon, one-third of our mission had been accomplished: Relax, unwind, get to know Ken and Leonard better, and get Steve thinking like a regular person and not a "sick" one. I even noticed at dinner the night before in Morro Bay that he was right in the thick of things and happy to be a part of it all.

Steve & the Birthday Boy

So Saturday afternoon we bid farewell to Cambria and our wonderful hosts and headed down to Grover Beach for the second third of our visit, which was to spend some time with my sister Kittie and her husband David. And since they don't have a guest room, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on Oak Park.

The b'day spread begins

For dinner that evening, Kittie and David picked us up and took us out for my birthday dinner at Marisol at the Cliffs in Shell Beach. The food was delicious and wonderfully presented.

Sunday we drove down to Avila Beach, which has been completely rebuilt along the beachfront. There, we browsed around and Steve got me a new pair of flip-flops as my birthday gift.

Susan likes the Hat

At 3 p.m., we headed over to Kittie and David's house where we had a pot-luck-type birthday party with a few close and old friends. Kittie had gotten a pink champagne cake from the Madonna Inn (a sort of family tradition when going overboard on cakes). Again, a small but significant group of people whom I haven't seen in a long time. There were a few small gifts (I had said none, unless something screamed to be purchased as my present), but it was the company that meant so much.

We headed back to the motel, loaded down with leftovers that became dinner. Steve had reserved the handicapped room, so the tub was really big and deep, and I took a really hot-hot bath before retiring for the evening.

We slept in until 10:45 Monday morning, packed up and checked out. We stopped at CJ's on the way out of town for some lunch, then headed home.