California Girls

I had a great visit with Debbie last weekend. We went to the New Brighton beach and soaked up some sun. We walked to a pier with lots of fishermen and saw an old smelly ship covered with sea birds. On Saturday we rode the Caltrain to San Francisco. We walked along Fishermen's Wharf and enjoyed a Bodin sourdough bread bowl filled with clam chowder. My favorite part of the trip was Saturday evening. Debbie hosted a party for her friend, Darcy, who was moving to Los Angeles. We ate yummy food and played Jeopardy and Outburst. I laughed a lot and stayed awake until midnight. It was great fun to share this time with Debbie.

Trumpeter in the Canyon

I enjoy walking on Bountiful Boulevard to the temple. Recently, I’ve noticed something special. An elderly man sits by his van near the trail to Holbrook Canyon. He plays the trumpet with recorded background music. Sometimes he’s a little off key, but I appreciate his effort. His best songs were patriotic near the fourth of July. He’s probably a veteran because he played the army and marine songs. Many joggers/walkers/bikers go along this path between 7:00-8:00. He’s usually there and I’ve never seen anyone stop. Someday I’m going to tell him I appreciate his music.

Visit to a Greek Island (Pyrogas)

NOVEMBER 16—We were up early to meet Lateras , Barbara, and Chrysanthus at 9:00 a.m. after breakfast in the hotel. We drove in a van along the highway through a modern city. We saw rocky mountains, red soil like southern Utah, and blocks of marble for sale. We passed bushes with orange flowers, alfalfa fields, and vineyards. My favorite scene was a little Greek village in the hills with houses made of white stucco and red tile roofs. We caught a ferry to an island where Lateras’s parents lived. They lived in a small home with a garden with peppers, grape vines, a pomegranate tree, celery, and peppermint. Strands of colorful beads hung over the entrance. Lateras’s mother showed us her beautiful crocheted work. Next we saw the vacation home for Lateras. They had a small farm with a garden of cabbage and lettuce. Large roosters and sheep were in pens. The island had small dirt roads and seemed peaceful and quiet. We walked along the beach to the restaurant and collected shells. Dave skipped rocks on the ocean. Lots of trash was washed up on the beach. Many Greek families had a boat in their yard. At the restaurant we ate a lunch of spinach in olive oil, crusty bread, coleslaw, olives, calamari, a small whole fish (white meat with tiny bones). The bones were hard to remove, but it tasted fresh. Lateras’s father loved eating the head. (He thought it was the best part.) I had French fries with catsup. We saw an orange and lime tree outside the restaurant. We rode the ferry back at 4:00 and I fell asleep. Barbara knew some shortcuts so we got back at 8:00.

Cruising on Queen Victoria: Athens

November 15: We arrived at about 10:00 a.m. Barbara (our client’s daughter) met us at the airport and drove us to the Best Western Park Hotel in Pireaus, Greece. Barbara practiced her English on us. The hotel was nice and next to a lovely park with swings and a playground. I saw tons of cars, smart cars, motorcycles and buses on the narrow streets. Everyone was honking. We were surrounded by high rise apartment buildings, stores, and hotels. The Park hotel was narrow with seven floors. Keith worried that the room was too small, but it had a comfy bed and warm shower. We cleaned up and napped. Then we went walking by the port. I recognized the church where Virginia and I walked two years ago. We stopped at a sandwich shop and I ate a turkey sandwich on a long fresh roll. Many people were smoking and stray dogs and cats roamed around. The TV was playing a show about “Helen of Troy” and the goddesses. It was fascinating that all those civilizations flourished thousands of years ago and now everything has disappeared. Life is not permanent. Later we went to the shop and Keith talked about Martin Doors. The receptionist served me fresh orange juice and a Christmas cookie which was similar to Swedish wedding cookies. I fell asleep in the chair. We went to dinner after I rode to the airport with Barbara to get Dave and Virginia. We went to a Greek restaurant at 8:00 p.m. We ate salad, bread, lamb, pork, tomatoes, French fries, cucumbers. For dessert we had a scone dipped in honey.