Heads In the Clouds

You ever have those times in your life when things are just going so well that you need to pinch yourself?

I don't normally, either.

However, these past few months have been like that, for me.  Some days I lay down at night and think, is this really my life? 


And I mean that in a good way.

A lot has happened since my last post.

My eldest daughter, Emily, announced that she is making me a Grandfather.  She is expecting a child in June.

My middle child Lindsey announced she and her boyfriend are going to Ireland for a work/study abroad trip for 4 months.

My youngest daughter Camie went through the trauma of her dog being hit by a car and dying essentially in their arms.

I asked Alene to marry me.  (She said yes, by the way.)

Alene's daughter Elizabeth (my future step-daughter, how's that for a different thought for me?), told me she couldn't think of anyone more perfect for her mom.  That acceptance has meant the world to me.

I'm quite excited about all of it.

As you can imagine, it's been a crazy, exciting, wonderful several weeks.

Emily told us she was expecting just before we left for Fort Bragg last month, but we had to keep it under our hats for a week or so until she could tell her sisters all together.  We had them over for dinner when we got home from Fort Bragg, and she shared with everyone her good news. Emily seems to be doing well, and Alene and I are beginning to stockpile baby stuff here at the house. Grandparents, after all, need to be prepared.  

Just a few days after this, Camie called me one night in hysterics, saying their dog (actually it's her friend's dog, but since they all live in the same home, he was like a big 'ol family dog),  a big American Bull, had been hit by a car on a busy street.  I told her I'd meet them at the animal hospital and rushed out to help them take care of the dog, but the dog died in their car before they could get anywhere close to the hospital.  She and her boyfriend and their friends buried took care of things and buried the dog.  What a rough night for her and her boyfriend.

Soon after this, with the date for my divorce being final quickly approaching, I decided it was time to get a ring and bend a knee and ask Alene, for real and for true, if she would marry me.

The romantic day started out like most other.  I slept in a little late and woke up to Alene already outside washing her car.  I got dressed and we took both cars to the carwash and vacuumed them out. We came home and got out the ladder and hose and she mucked her way through the roof gutters, getting them cleaned out and ready for winter. I manned the hose and sprayed all the gunk down toward Alene who was up on the ladder with the bucket, pulling the leaves and pine needles out.  After that we pulled up the old summer garden plants in the backyard and did some weeding.

Yes, we were a mess. Romantic, huh?

About 1:30 or so we got cleaned up and took a drive to Apple Hill.  I'd had it in mind to ask her that day, I just wasn't sure when or where.  Apple Hill has some good memories for us, so I figured some opportunity would present itself.  We drove all over, taking in the changing trees and wonderful smells of the mountains for the afternoon, and headed back home about an hour before sunset.

That's when I got the idea.

One of our very first dates was a walk at Lake Natomas, near the aquatic center.  We'd gone there to feed the ducks.  We wound up not feeding ducks because Lake Natomas is part of a California State Park and there were signs saying no feeding wild animal.  There'd also just been a park ranger in the area, telling some little kids and their families not to feed the ducks.  I felt horrible about feeding the ducks in front of some little kids who were just told not to, so I convinced Alene that we could feed ducks elsewhere, and not lead the little ones astray by being rebels.  What kind of example would that be? Alene (pretend) pouted, and not feeding the ducks has become a running joke between us.

You never let me feed the ducks.

Since we had to drive right by that very same lake on the way home from Apple Hill, I asked her if we could stop and see the sunset.  She and I both love sunsets, so she agreed.  We sat on the very same bench we'd sat on and watched the sunset, after not feeding ducks, on that first date.  The sky was clear, and the sun began to set in a beautiful flurry of reds and purples.  We talked about that earlier date, and she chuckled about not feeding the ducks, and that's when the light went off.

Now.

I said to Alene, since I took something away from you last time we were here, I think I need to give you something back.

Just as the sun was setting, and some geese glided by on the water, I got down on one knee, pulled the ring box from my pocket, opened it, and asked Alene if she would do me the honor of marrying me.

I think some fireworks actually exploded somewhere in the distance.

Her eyes were huge.

She was smiling.

She said yes.

We cried.

We laughed.

We watched the rest of the sunset.

We went for dinner at Chili's.

Ok, Chili's isn't the most romantic place, but trust me, romance is where you find it and what you make of it.

Chili's was just as romantic as it could be.

I had achieved complete surprise.  Alene never saw it coming.  It was wonderful!

That was November 6th.  Since then, we've begun to think about wedding dates.  We were initially thinking sometime in March or April.  As Alene talked to the girls to see what dates would work for them, Lindsey made her announcement.

Lindsey will be in Ireland from February through May.  She and her boyfriend have been thinking about doing a work/study thing abroad for some time, but I 'd never heard about any concrete plans.  Apparently, they just solidified and she hadn't had a chance to tell us.

I'm super happy for her, and completely support the trip. That just means February through May are out for a wedding, because we want all the kids to be there.  Emily's baby is due in June, so I don't want to add anything to her plate during that time, and I don't want to wait until July to get married!

So.... we are targeting January . Yeah, right around the corner.  Alene will be calling the church this morning to see what dates are open.  We're pretty confident we'll be able to pull it off.  I love this woman, and she loves me, so we'll make it happen somehow.

I did tell her that if thing begin to get too stressful, I'm going to just scoop her and the kids up and run to Reno and make it happen. My brother already offered to drive, so plan B is all set, just in case.

So back to my premise:  you ever have those times in your life when things are just going so well that you need to pinch yourself?

I don't normally, either. 

But it's sure nice when it happens.  

Alene was telling me last night that she's still on Cloud 10,000, or something like that, and was having trouble coming down to earth.  I told her, don't try. 

I say enjoy the ride.  It's nice to have your head in the clouds once in a while.  The view is nice, and the air is clean.  

We'll have to come down to earth soon enough, but for now, its a wonderful ride.  

All Good Things Must Come to an End......

Today is Friday, the last full day of our trip to Fort Bragg.  All in all, Alene and I have had a very good week.

Among the things we've done, Alene and I explored the town of Mendocino. 

We took a short hike at Russian Gulch state park to investigate an amazing "blow hole", a 100' diameter crater on the bluffs that formed when the roof of a sea cave fell in who knows how long ago.  The sea rushes in through the cave opening and churns around the floor of the crater (very cool, I highly recommend it).

We drove north to Westport, a tiny little town where my sister and her husband enjoy staying,  and spent an afternoon sitting on the long sandy beach reading books and picnicking, while watching the surf gently rumbling on the shore.  I think there were a grand total of three other visitors on the beach that day, besides us. 

We took a couple of walks at McKerricher State Park where they have some neat tide pools. Tuesday (I think it was Tuesday, the days kinda run together here) we visited during high tide, so the tide pools were under water.  We watched sea lions frolic in the waves instead, and chatted with a few couples who also came to observe the beautiful vistas.

Thursday we went back in the evening during low tide, and I mean really low tide.  We were the only people down at the tide pools, so we walked out onto the very slippery rocks and began looking around.  We saw hermit crabs and some small fish, but nothing to really write home about.  A father and his 15-year-old daughter came to the pools soon after.  They were able to find some starfish right away, which they gleefully pointed out for us.  Alene picked up a bat starfish, and we could see its little pod-like feet trying feebly to grasp at air.  She put it back and after a moment the starfish was clinging to the rocks as if it had never left.

We spent another afternoon, Thursday I think, sitting on the beach, this time at Caspar Headlands. It's remarkable how many state parks and reserve areas there are along the coast.  We arrived at the beach during high tide, and before we left, the tide had nearly gone all the way out.   I was amazed at how much of the beach got exposed while we were there.  Alene scoured the beach for sea glass and pretty shells while I played fetch with Jett on the newly exposed beach.   

Jett pooped sand today.  No joke.  Yeah, I know, gross, but interesting.  

We've taken a few walks around downtown Fort Bragg, which is obligatory of course, to see what shops there were, and to just take in the town.  Many shops had closed or changed hands since we were here last, with several book store going out of business.  There was a small farmers market set up on one of the main streets on Wednesday afternoon.  I bought some peanut brittle for the girls back home, and for myself a little jar of carrot cake jelly.

Mmmhmmm.  Carrot cake.  Yum.

While in town, we stopped and talked to one local artist in his shop who does sculptures, and after a few minutes of chatting he invited us behind the counter and showed us one of his works in progress: a wax likeness of rock-star Neil Young set against a dressing room mirror, looking back at you, as if you were Neil sitting at the dressing room table.  Very cool, and very good work.  He showed us around his shop and genuinely seemed to enjoy sharing his craft with us.

Another popular stop for us has been Cowlick's Ice Cream. We saw the ice cream shop last year when we stayed in Fort Bragg, but never did go into the shop.  This year, before we left home, a friend told us we must stop in and try their Mushroom ice cream.  He said it was the best ice cream he'd ever had.

Mushroom?

Yes, Mushroom.

So we did, and he was right.  Just.... plain.... delicious.

I asked if they made the ice cream locally, and the young lady behind the counter said all the ice cream is made on site, in a room just behind the counter.  She said the Mushroom ice cream has no other flavors except the mushrooms themselves, the cream and the sugar.  I swear to you, it tastes like the most delicious maple ice cream I've ever had.  Truly, I was impressed.

I was also impressed with a mixture of their Pumpkin Pie and Chai Tea ice creams (yum!), something they called The Candy Store Floor, which was a mixture of several different kinds of candy swirled in ice cream, and their Pralines and Cream.  Alene was partial to her favorite, Rocky Road, and the Almond Fudge. I don't think they had a bad flavor in the bunch.  If you're ever up here, stop in at Cowlicks.  You'll be glad you did.

We also enjoyed Headlands Coffeehouse, which specialized in organic coffees and foods, and Eggheads Restaurant where we had breakfast one morning.  Both are also on my list of must hits in the area.

But I think the best part of this trip has been meeting and talking to the locals.

I think of the two ladies we talked to at the Mendocino Art Center auction who told us all about life in Mendocino, and the artist in residence who invited us into her studio to show us about wax sculpturing and bronze casting.

The local artist here in Fort Bragg, who invited us into his studio too.

The preacher at First Baptist Church of Fort Bragg (whose name also happens to be Mike) and several of his very warm, if small, congregation, who made us, and several other out-of-towners, feel welcomed.

The honest older ladies who found my cel-phone on the bench at MacKerricher yesterday evening, and the gracious man who walked quickly to catch up with us near the parking lot to see if it was ours.  They were life savers.

The museum curator at the Kelly House in Mendocino who was only too happy to tell us all about the place, as if we were long lost relatives come for a visit.

The waitress at Silver's on the Wharf who remembered us the second night we came back, and was very kind.

The lady we chatted with at MacKerricher who was there with her mother and granddaughter, telling us about where they were from and what they liked about the area.

The father and daughter who shared the tide pool experience with us and talked with us for some time before we left.

The young couple at Russian Gulch who worked up the courage to ask us to take a photo of them and their kids so they could all be in one photo, and talked with us for a while after.

All of these people, and more, have added a dimension to our trip that I've enjoyed greatly.

I am looking forward to returning home, to friends and the comforts of home.  I've enjoyed my trip, and I've enjoyed Alene's company even more than I can say.  I look forward to our next adventure.