Prime Time 2013 or Antiquities Abounded, But They Weren’t Us!

March 18, our first day, began very well.  Dot and I got an early start in order to get through LA traffic easily.  Our first stop was at David’s, (her son) in Santa Barbara about 8:30 to see the

Dot, Wesley and Jane

grandkids,Wesley and Jane.  We had a delightful time with the grandchildren and visited some with Stacy and David.  We were soon on our way and made good time to San Luis Obispo where we had lunch.

As we drove along, we commented that we didn’t know there were so many varied colors of green.  We’ve had enough rain to make the grass and other plants sprout with luscious colors.  There was a lot of lupine, mustard, pretty little yellow flowers, ceanothus and many, many poppies (although we saw more of them closer to Pajaro).  All in all it was a beautiful drive to Pajaro.

Close to Pelican 10

We knew we were in the right place when we saw the Pelican Point sign out on the point by Pelican 10, our final destination.  There were many hugs for who were there and soon we broke out the wine, M&Ms, pretzels, and Lynda’s luscious biscotti.   YUM!!!  It tasted so good and we managed to consume our fair share.  Check out the amount of M&Ms in the cornucopia.  I don’t know how many packages Pat brought to Prime Time, but it had to be several as the cornucopia is fairly full.  By Friday morning, it was quite empty!  But there were seven of us!

The cornucopia overfloweth

Our wine cellar

The first major topic of discussion was to rehash the OHS Reunion held in September, 2012…who was there, who was not, how people looked, how well we think we’ve aged (YEA!  FABULOUSLY!),  how well the reunion committee organized the event, checking out reunion pictures and then commenting on everyone.  Such fun!

Dot and I prepared a sort of chicken alfredo with brocoli, salad, sourdough bread, and vino with Gizdich Ranch pies and ice cream for dessert.  The Bailey’s came a bit later.  Ah, Dot is such a good cook!  She is so creative and I sit back and enjoy the kudos that she should receive alone.  She’s the brains and I’m the brawn for doing things like boning the chicken.

Dot and Trish had some antique pictures and other items for Diana, our antiques expert, to take a look at and perhaps give an idea of whether or

Diana and Dot evaluating Dot’s pictures

not they were worth selling.  I’m amazed at the extent of Diana’s knowledge, the result of  interest, extensive self-education and reading.  She’s amazing at how she can give an opinion and tell someone if they have something of value (or not).  Then she knows where to go on the internet to support her judgments.  I was pretty impressed when we went to a couple of antique shops and her opinions of good values.  She was looking for some good props for weddings on the Jacobs Family Berry Farm  http://www.jacobsberries.com  (Check out their web site to see pictures and learn what all is going on at the farm) While I could sort of see what Diana was talking about(especially since I’ve been on the farm), it was very difficult for me to imagine how these props would be incorporated.  Diana has the insight to do these things and get then to fit.  Diana ended up not buying them, but I could certainly see why I’m not a decorator of any kind and Diana deals with aesthetic things.

Diana is serious about this business

For the most part, the weather cooperated (it only rained one night) and we were able to take several long walks on the beach without a lot of wind.  It was so comfortable that we didn’t need heavy

Why do many of them stand on one foot?

jackets!  Some of our crew walked past the north end of Pajaro which constituted a very LONG walk.  I’m guessing that they walked about 4 miles.  There were many shells to check out, but not much sea glass.  We all enjoyed looking at the many shore birds that were trying to find their dinners.  One of questions of the day was why many of those birds choose to stand on one leg when they definitely had two able legs.  One possible answer was that perhaps it’s a way to keep one leg relatively warm while the other is freezing in the cold water.

Dining at Gayle’s

We all visited an antique shop in Soquel and then drove to Gayle’s Bakery and Rosticceria to eat some sandwiches and pastries.  Gayle’s is in Capitola, right next door to Soquel and has delectible food!  It took me a long time to make up my mind as to what sandwich to eat but not the pastry.  I guess my sweet tooth has more of a determined mind.

For year, a topic of conversation was the cement boat in Aptos, a little town just south of Capitola.  This year, we finally made the trek to check it out.  The following is from a web site about concrete ships:

…The S. S. Palo Alto (“The Cement Boat”) is the most famous concrete ship on the west coast. The Palo Alto was built as an oil tanker by the San

The Palo Alto then

Francisco Shipbuilding Company in Oakland, California and launched May 29, 1919.  She was 420’ long and 54’ wide at her beam.

The Palo Alto remained docked in San Francisco Bay for over ten years until she was purchased by the Seacliff Amusement Company of Nevada and towed to Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California. The ship was grounded in the bay and connected to the shore by a long pier. An arcade, dining room, dance hall and even a swimming pool were built on the ship.

Unfortunately, the Seacliff Amusement Company went out of business two years later under the financial crunch of the Great Depression. Then, in winter, a storm cracked the ship across her midsection. The Palo Alto was stripped of all salvageable metal and fixtures and turned into a fishing pier.  The S. S. Palo Alto can be found at Seacliff Beach in Aptos, California. Until recently she was used as a fishing pier but has now been closed due to deterioration.

The Palo Alto now. Ugh!

The bottom picture is what the Palo Alto looks like today…rather decrepit and rather an ugly nuisance that no one is able to use today except for birds.  A sad commentary on a once proud ship (however odd it sounds to be able to sail a concrete 420’ long ship).

To keep with tradition, we all dined at The Whole Enchilada at Moss Landing on Wednesday.  They have such delicious Mexican food and are always so accomodating of a large party.  This picture was taken before the food arrived.  You may notice that some of us were trying to kill any bugs that we may have had with some alcohol.

The Entire Enchilada Group

It was about Wednesday that several of us began to come down with what we called the Pajaro Crud.  It eventually struck six out of the seven leaving us with very sore throats, headaches, achy muscles, sneezing, coughing, and runny noses.  Some had low grade fevers that didn’t add to one’s well being.  Dot didn’t feel well at all while we were driving back to Cerritos and I felt badly for her that she had to drive home to Murrieta the following morning.  But she made it safely and that was good.  I am assuming that everyone made it home without incident and that everyone is recuperating from the Crud.  I probably will have to take the day off from the Donate Life office tomorrow, but will be good enough to volunteer on Tuesday.

Dot is checking Trish to see how she’s smashing crockery

Trish had a craft project that involved using shells and/or sea glass, solder and little necklace loops.  We got to pick out various shapes of glass or shells, wind copper tape around the edges and then solder the tape onto the object.  We had great ideas but none of us could get the solder to look nice or get the little necklace loop to sit right when we tried to solder it together.  I sort of gave up after I accidentally soldered a knuckle.  Kinda smarted.  I still have my little object de arte with me and will try to sand the solder to make it look smooth.  Hope it works.

Thursday, the five who were left went to a little Hole in the Wall restaurant (can’t remember the exact name of it but it did have a hole in the wall

The state flower in profusion

for “Go” orders on the back side of it) and then took a ride out to Sunset Beach, a state beach north of Pajaro.  It’s a campground as well as a day use beach.  We drove quite a way through the campground that was on a bluff above the ocean and then finally dropped down to the beach which was less than a mile north of Pajaro.  It was so pretty with many, many poppies in bloom.

Is Dot teaching Lynda about Scorpion Solitaire?

One thing that was a topic of discussion several times was the use/ownership of an iPad, Nook, or Kindle.  Sherry was interested in getting one or the other but didn’t know the advantages/disadvantages or possibilities that each has.    Pat has an iPad, I have a Nook and Lynda has a Kindle and each brought their little possession.  I don’t know if Sherry arrived at any conclusion but we had fun talking about them.  Since the Nook is similar to the Kindle, Lynda was able to explain some features that I didn’t know were on the Nook.  Of course, it would have helped to read the manual.  But why should I do that when someone will eventually explain them to me or I might stumble upon them by myself?  Life is an adventure!  I think Sherry’s conclusion was to choose what functions she might use the tool for.  That way, she would fit her needs and not what someone told her what is best.

Pat with her mah jong

We missed all of you who were not able to attend this 2013 chapter of Prime Time.  We didn’t seem to laugh as much (Michel, take note.  You are one of our best humorists!).  We missed everyone’s input on all the things we talked about, plus more.  Books, trends, etc. We spent some time reading (but not discussing what we were reading) and/or doing some research on the computer.  This, in part, could have been that we all were not in the best of health and were somewhat subdued.

As you know, we spent four nights at Pajaro where we usually spend three nights. Again, perhaps we weren’t feeling up to par, but some of us feel that going back to three nights might be best.  Also, for those of you not with us, should we go back to including a weekend for our Prime Time?  That might help those of you still working to get there without missing too much work.  Please give us some input as to your feelings about this little item.   Inquiring minds want to know!

Here are some additional photos of us and the environs.

The snake under the bush

Someone found a snake in the grass and I wanted to be sure to share it with you.

Sherry

The M&M cornucopia on Friday morning, departure day

The cornucopia runneth dry

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Lynda

Trish

Diana was not feeling well when she left us Thursday morning and we all wanted to wish her a good, safe trip home.  But, she did not want to infect us even more than we were, so she invented the Crud Hug (I can’t think of a better name at this time.  Perhaps someone else can name it more aptly).  You face the recipient of your hug, extend your arms and wiggle your knees.  Dot and I are demonstrating this technique below.

The Crud Hug