a beautiful sunset at Coronado Beach 11/10/12
Back from California which feels good. To run on one’s own neighborhood’s sidewalk, to hike in one’s familiar woods, to cook one’s own food, to eat one’s own mother’s famous spaghetti sauce, to sleep in one’s own bed, to see one’s own children in the flesh.
It is my father’s birthday today. He would have been a whopping 91 years old. Yeesh. What does that make me? Still a girl who lost her father too young is what.
I liked La Jolla, somewhat, especially the ocean and the pretty architecture and being able to ride bikes around and the beautiful plants, flowers, and trees and the birds one doesn’t find in the Eastern US and the art outside the museum and the food, some of the food anyway. I loved our B and B and Margaret, the innkeeper and chef. I liked some of the food in San Diego. I did not like Coronado, but I did like the pretty beach. It was so windy, the sand whipped at our feet and the stainless steel public toilet made our ass skin very cold.
Who says ass skin? Nobody, nobody but me. Try it, though. It is not as easy as it seems. It is practically a tongue twister. And I’ll stop right there lest you get ideas and think of any double-entendres.
Long ago, I thought I would chronicle my travels, no matter how humble and close-to-home, by taking photos of myself in the facilities (the “loo” in other words) of places I visited. Probably due to my restless nature, I did not stick with the plan, though on occasion, I do remember to take a picture (if I’m lucky enough to have remembered my camera).
I do not have a photo of the stainless steel toilets from the public restrooms at either La Jolla or Coronado, but when I searched google images, I found a lot of photos of fancy, $1200 stainless steel toilets, presumably for the asses of Romney-type voters (Koch, Bush, Rove, but let’s watch those double-entendres, plz).
We had the pleasure of yet more friends coming to visit us from further north in California, this time a couple who we already know. You may recall we met Ms. Coldiron for the first time earlier in the week.
We went to a little park just a block from the sea and we sat on a bench and we sang songs to a guitar and a banjo. It had been a long, long time. Seven years maybe, gasp.
When we were singing in the little park, freezing our buns off, a little wedding was going on. Sometimes I sang a little bit loud, what one might describe as enthusiastically, I think, and when we all realized a wedding going on (because we weren’t quite sure at first), we tried to be a little quieter. The amazing thing is that the wedding people never asked us to stop. It was all so groovy, but it didn’t really feel hippy groovy or California groovy like you’d think, but it was groovy nonetheless.
The song I most remember grooving to was this one. We sounded pretty good, but I think Susan and George’s fingers must have been about frozen. Amen.
Here is a photo of the handle in the bathroom on the Star of India at the Maritime Museum in San Diego
Of course it is not me peeing, but it is what I was looking at as I sat. The ship originally did not have modern toilets as it was an old ship, but even these “modern” pieces of hardware are more beautiful and solid than most of what one finds nowadays.
One thinks of other things one can describe as solid brass.
Our version of Ring of Fire would have made the Man in Black proud.
Oh. That is right. I can’t remember what we sang. Thank goodness those 2 kept us in tune. Mostly.
June Carter wrote Ring of Fire, I do believe. Maybe she would not have been impressed. I also forgot about Big Red Sun. I knew we sang Lucinda, I just couldn’t think of which one. I liked that a lot.
It WAS so much fun to sing w/you! Wish I lived near & could go shape-noting (not a word?!) w/you on Tuesday nights. I would learn a lot, no doubt. PT and I cannot believe we didn’t sing California Stars! It’s one that we learned in the beginning and a song important to all of us–a song that would’ve been good for the bride and groom too!
So glad we could connect again. I also feel like there was so much to talk about that many of the conversations were unfinished. Sigh. Perhaps there’s never enough time?
Keep writing because we keep reading.
Oh no, no California Stars. It’s a crime! Yes, there is never enough time to finish all conversations. Especially ones about the Alexander Technique or TCM!!!
I am glad to have you as readers. I am a little discouraged right now, but that’s another story.
COME SEE US OUT EAST. It seems your temperatures are no higher by November. That stunk.
BYE for now, Katherine
tons of fun hanging in the diego wid youse guys.
ass skin!
ptd
Yes, it was refreshing. I loved the singing part and the windy beach, but not the cold. I can’t believe about Bob Marley’s foot cancer either.
Oh, Shape Note might be easy to find. Maybe I can look up a group for youze guys (I think it’s spelled with a Z). But it’s sort of white, not really Latino or Bario or Khmer or whatever the mish mash culture is out there in LA.
ass skin yourself. K