Day at Sea Ranch

After a great night's sleep, we got up this morning for coffee and email overlooking the ocean. A fawn and doe wandered by as our brains gradually accustomed themselves to the prospect of another day (luckily, Jenn wakes up as slow as I do). After a bit, we went down to Jenn's aunt and uncle's house for another cup of coffee and general catching up.

The day was misty, with fog covering the houses at Sea Ranch, when we set out on our coastal walk. We headed north past the seals, who were doing their usual reclining on the rocks (Jenn remarked that humans really hadn't figured out the best approach to life), and continued on for a good bit before turning around. Total walking time was about an hour and a half. Good thing Jenn's aunt gave us sunscreen as we both got sun, directly and through the clouds.



After our walk, we headed north to Mendocino -- a curvy drive along US 1. Jenn's been a trouper doing all the driving. I enjoyed the views and examining the towns passed along the way. It gets pretty remote up there and there was ample evidence of the recent fires, with signs thanking fire fighters along the road. Once in Mendocino, we got lunch at a nice restaurant (shrimp with artichokes and pasta for Jenn, fish tacos for me) and then walked around touring art galleries and shops. I got a scarf and a small something for Alan (not to be disclosed here!).

Stopping on our way back for basil and mozzarella to go with tomatoes from Jenn's aunt, I found my favorite chardonnay. Sorry, Alan, TSA won't let me bring any home!

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On the road again....to California

For once, I was the one leaving Alan behind in Atlanta, heading off to California to visit my friend Jenn who had a week off from work and needed a playmate. We are currently up at Sea Ranch at Jenn's Mom's house, which is beautiful. It's a lovely area, right now under its customary morning fog. We hope to have a bit of a hike along the coast in a bit. For now, coffee beckons.


On our way up, we stopped in San Franciso to see the Chihuly exhibit at the de Young. It was a kind of retrospective of his work over the last 25 years. I particularly liked some pieces that were inspired by Indian baskets. Those didn't photograph that well, though.


Jenn's daughter is currently in Beijing playing with her high school band as part of the festivities. Sounds like the Chinese are being rather restrictive with their activities, including not allowing them any audiences for their performances at Tianamen Square and the Great Wall. Not surprisingly, when allowed out for the women's soccer match between China and Sweden, they rooted for Sweden. :-) Unfortunately, China won.

These are some shots from last night's sunset.

Georgia on our mind

We are coming -- sadly -- to the end of our camp stay, but have enjoyed the time here and with family and friends. As Laura and her family took their leave Thursday morning, we prepared for the arrival of Thomas, as friend from Atlanta, who was enjoying a northern car journey. First time for Georgia plates at Camp! Thomas had the chance to enjoy a sampling of camp joys -- swimming, boating, kayaking, puzzling, and, of course, eating, particularly at Quimby's Friday night lobster cookout. Our tablemanaged to put away four lobsters, thank you very much, plus steak, amazing bean salad, and the usual wonderful clam chowder. Ah, and Thomas was introduced to the joys of Quimby's spice cake. After dinner, we sojourned down to Big Rock for an amazing sunset; it is so wet here that there was a small stream flowing beside the road to Big Rock. So, so wet. Hiking is just not fun or advisable given the damage to the trails.

Come morning, we all got up early and decided to head over to Coaticook for some coffee and a glimpse of the bridge across the gorge, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, according to the sign. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the farms in Quebec are just so gorgeous -- we enjoyed the drive.

Back at camp, Thomas took his leave and we headed over to Colebrook for lunch at Howard's (lamenting the loss of Bessie's Diner all the way). Afterwards, we wandered through Stewartstown Day and visited Hans at the arts fair. We hope to hook up with he and Inge in September when our visits will overlap.


The final highlight of the day was finishing the balloon puzzle that Beverly had started. She did the ballons...leaving us the green trees. Thanks, Bev. :-) It was truly one of the harder puzzles I have ever done.

Last night dinner was succulent -- Jacques' beer can chicken prepared by Alan. Yum!

Papelousu Luau

Since Mark, Laura, Spencer, and Andrew joined us on Monday, we've been having a lot of fun. The kids took to camp like a loon does to water and have been tearing up the place, making sand forts, swinging, and climbing. They liked the kayak rides but remain unconvinced about the wisdom of swimming in cold lake waters. To be fair, where they come from there are alligators in the lakes.

We threw out the minnow trap and caught a good 35 crayfish yesterday. Had fun making pools and dumping them in and then watching them escape. They can really get going once they're waterborne.

Last night, thanks to Jenn's largesse, we enjoyed a Papelousu luau complete with coconut drinks. The kids loved it and the parents liked it as well. As usual, the food was excellent -- pork tenderloins on the grill, green beans, corn, and fresh salad. For dessert, a wonderful berry crisp that Jenn had left for us. Ooh, it was yummy.

Starting the week in Vermont

We arrived late on Saturday night, chasing thunderstorms all the way from the Burlington airport. The roads were dark and populated with wispy fog. Very moosy night, tho all we saw were a hedgehog and some racoon kits.

Jacques and Jenn had a house full of people when we got here. They gradually disappeared over the course of the morning, as, sadly, did Jacques, Jenn, Adele and Bandit. :-( Alas, sadly Jacques' laptop did not depart and Alan spent a futile couple of hours chasing them south in an attempt to reunite. I spent the day at the beach, reading, swimming, and trying on our new kayaks.

Leaving France

On Saturday we bid a sad farewell to Les Essarts and hit the road for one last day in France. After dropping Marianne and Nanny at the Rennes airport, we headed south and west towards the Foret de Paimpont, said to be the last stand of forest of a type that used to cover all of Brittany. It was also a place of Arthurian legend and said to be Merlin's home, as well as the site of his grave.

Maybe Vermont has spoiled us, because we were not impressed by the forest -- most of which appeared to be a managed logging site. Nor were we particularly impressed by Merlin's grave....I guess he was a druid, after all. We should have been expecting the minimalist approach.

In any event, after a brief walk we headed south to La Roche Bernard where we had a reservation at the Auberge Brettone. Beautiful room in a charming town.


Sunday we headed back to Rennes to drop off the car the the train station. After futile attempts to find gas, we did just that. Indeed, getting fuel was one of the harder ordeals in France. Our credit cards wouldn't work (maybe the machines were expecting two factor authentication?) and so you had to find a station with a human who could process cash. On a holiday weekend, that was easier said than done.

In any event, the train ride was much more relaxing than driving back into Paris and before long we were wheeling our luggage from the train right on into the Sheraton. Then, the next morning, we wheeled our luggage from the Sheraton right into the airport -- really convenient. Checked in early, cleared security quickly, shopped for some chocolate and then were relaxing in the Continental lounge. We should have known it was too good to be true. Not fifteen minutes in, uniformed guards came in an announced that we had to evacuate the lounge. Bewildered, we went back into the terminal to see all the shops closing up. Long story short, someone left a bag unattended, triggering the eventual evacuation of the entire terminal. We were herded into a room with about 1,000 of our closest friends to reclear security....via one machine. Took 3.5 hours. Ouch.

Camels in Brittany

Yesterday dawned early. We were up at 6am (noon our time) and took an hour and a half exploratory walk about St. Briac before anyone, including most of the town, were up. We wandered through narrow streets and then to the golf course (where one gentleman, who looked to be playing a stealth round, looked at us with some consternation) and the beach before returning home. No one was up yet and we were cold, so got back under the duvet until breakfast.

Afterwards, Jacques, Alan, and I headed west along the Emerald Coast to St Jacut de la Mer, a promontory on the coast. It was windy! The sailboats and wind surfers were out in force, along with the sailing training school -- a string of four sailboats hooked up to a boat with a motor. Never seen that before, but Jean Briac says that's how he learned. Driving out, we were surprised to see camels and llamas grazing in the grass -- apparently, the circus was in town!

Driving along the coastal towns, it's clear it's not the season yet as many of the houses are still shuttered. We're told that in August the roads are just bumper to bumper. I can't imagine that as they're pretty bad now.

After lunch, Marianne, Alan and I headed down to Dinon so Marianne could make a return and we could visit the pretty medieval city. The navigator rudely fell asleep on the way down, leaving Alan and Marianne to fend for themselves. One wrong turn sent us south of the centre historique and we had to make our way back through traffic. Once we parked, we headed into the old city, Marianne to her shopping and Alan and I walked the steep hill down to the river. Good thing those cobblestones weren't wet.... We remarked that Dinon looked to be the kind of place we would enjoy staying a night, where we could wander the streets at night and enjoy a dinner overlooking the river.

Meeting up with Marianne, we enjoyed a Coke on a pleasant plaza, listening to a musician playing The Police (Roxanne) on a Celtic harp. That was a first, for sure. Apparently, there is a gathering of Celtic musicians happening in Dinon this week. On our way out, we stopped into the Basilique St Savuer, a very interesting church featuring Romanesque, Gothic, and Byzantine elements.

Dinner found us with friends Jean Briac and Amy at a local creperiere. Yum. I could get used to that. Our favorite was a ham, cheese, and tomato gallette. For dessert, Alan had the house "secret special" which he diagnosed as a creamsicle. So, here, revealed on the internet, is Hermine's secret desert crepe. :-)

More pix up on flickr.