Thursday, August 20, 2009
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
I came back from San Diego this morning. Over the mountains. Early enough to see the sun rise. Very nice.
I had a good time. Everything went according to plan. I stayed at the same place that I have gone, off and on, for over 15 years. I stay in the same kind of room but, somehow, through the laws of chance, I get a different view every time. Well, in a cycle of four as their are only four views.
This time was the upper bay. The Navy base. The big ship channel. Very nice.
I go nowhere when I am there. I eat in the excellent restaurant, all three meals.
I read, I go across the street to see the boat ramp and its drama, I walk twice the length of the island each day (75 minutes) and I sit. I do not think while I am sitting. I mostly breathe.
It is a pretty good regimen. I can see what kind of shit that I might be carrying in my daily life. It comes up with all that sitting and non-active activity.
I love the air. The pelicans. The seals that play in the boat ramp area waiting for handouts of fish guts. There are hundreds of birds. Thousands?
Then there are the people. The people on the boats and how they get the boats in and out with their friends and family. Big drama yesterday with a guy who couldn't land his boat onto the trailer bed to save his ass and his two friends hollering at him, seriously angry, from the beach. It was almost unwatchable. I counted ten attempts. Finally I couldn't take any more and left. They were gone the next time I went out.
There are people walking. Fun to see. Some lookers. People on the beach, mostly families. It is a huge multi-use park. Something for everyone.
I like to walk the half of the island which is devoted to yachting businesses. This is way alien to me. A different world.
There are a few big yards where you can see work being done. Over two days, a medium size sailboat got a newly finished bottom. Four guys, two sprayers, two wipers. Amazing.
There are small businesses. A sailmaker. A little shop that does embroidery and paints names on boats. Micro businesses.
It all seemed quite prosperous still. These businesses have been there since I have been going to the island. Several buildings were vacant. One, a loan outfit. Not surprising.
It is good to be home. I start to be "finished" after about three days, in the afternoon. I can feel my attention turn.
I am ready to take off when I get up the next morning. No hanging around. I was off at 3:30AM and saw the Coachella Valley sunrise from the mountains at 6AM as I came down the switchback. Red to orange to pink to blue.
The welcome home was spectacular. This is the first time that I have gone away while we had Booker here. He came home from his walk and I was in the house. He sniffed, looked around and found me. Pandemonium. It is worth going out there again somewhere for a few days just to get the welcome home.
He has been here three months now and has joined up. We are very important to him and he is very important to us. He needs two dads around for the system to work right. He is OK when one of us is gone but it is not the same. He will stay close for awhile to make sure I don't escape again.
While I was away, John left Booker alone in the house for the first time. I know that some people do this from the get-go because they have to. But we did not have to so we didn't. Now it is time to start letting him have the space on his own. He did well and didn't even do his little whining thing when John left. The house was not "redecorated" when John returned.
A yawn, a welcome and back to his nap.
