Final Day with Mom Before the Trip

I drove just over 100 miles yesterday. Didn't leave the area. Just drove. We slept in due to a dentist appointment for Michael, which was a nice treat. Just as the bank opened, I paid the Visa bills then gassed up the car. First stop? Mom's. We hopped in the car for an adventure. After paying the mortgage and dropping a book off to a friend in the rehab class, we stopped at See's Candy. It is the best candy in the Bay Area. I think it has been around since the 1920s and the factory is local. We often bring boxes with us as gifts as we travel. I bought many pounds but didn't want them to sit in the hot car all day so we drove back over the pass to the house.

It was my chance to show mom our very old rhododendron in full bloom. I was even able to snap the photo above! Today, I am going to fertilizer the other rhododendrons and water the pots. It is going to be close to 80 degrees.

After our tour of the garden, we drove down the coast. The ocean was magnificent and there were no tourists on the highway. I wanted to treat mom to our final lunch together before the roadtrip, so we went to our favorite dive where Michael and I ate dinner Friday night. He had mentioned that my mom would love their crab sandwich as it is small but perfect. They grill one side of the very thinly sliced bread and not mess up the crab with a lot of other ingredients. We had an artichoke and I had a small bay shrimp salad. We sat at the counter, chatted with others around us, had fun with the waitress and phoned Michael. He had mentioned that he would like another piece of pie. To go. Which flavor? He asked for TWO pieces of olallieberry pie as he wanted his foodie friend at work to try it. We drove back up the coast to the Ritz to buy a gift for my friend in Raleigh, drove over the pass to Michael's work to drop off the pie for Thomas, paid the AT&T Mobile bill and made a quick run to Target before dropping mom off at her home. She sang "Happy Trail" to me as I drove off.

It was a long but fun day. I slept well last night!

I will not be going over the pass again this week. Today, I am paying the water bill in person, phoning the garbage company to pay their bill, buying something for a person we are visiting, getting my toenails painted and my eyebrows waxed. Too much information? Tomorrow will be jammed with hair appointments for both of us and a late doctor's appointment in the city. But for today, I am going to enjoy being home here on the coastside. I'll open up the house for the cool ocean air to clean it out and maybe even have time for a few chapters of a book out on the garden swing.