Apr 30 2023
Lovely
Lately, the Valley seems to be beckoning me. Maybe it’s this beautiful time of year, when everything is still green from the winter (and this year, spring) rains, wildflowers are blooming everywhere, and the vineyards are leafing out in that translucent green that only happens in early spring. The fields are full of new babies, from calves to kids, and the air is bright with birdsong.
Megan and I enjoyed driving past the ocean, through the redwoods, and into the Valley, where we stopped in at the Madrones:
You could be forgiven for thinking that this was somewhere in the Mediterranean. It’s like another world there, with its sun-splashed courtyard and cool loggias.
We were greeted by the beautiful resident cat, Blanche:
who took time out from giving her fur a beauty bath to be petted and admired. She appeared to be used to the adulation of strangers.
At Wickson:
we ordered a pizza to go and then sat at a table in the lovely, walled patio:
with a glass of very local wine from Intent Vineyards while we waited for it. It was worth the wait:
Like Offspring, they have a wood-fired brick oven, and that seems to be secret weapon in making good pizza.
Because this is a small town – maybe too small – the chef at the restaurant is the husband of the board chair at the clinic where I work. I will have to give her my compliments to pass on to the chef.
A YEAR AGO: Observing the cats’ behavior.
FIVE YEARS AGO: Celebrating Jessica’s birthday in style.
TEN YEARS AGO: A lovely afternoon and evening in the Village.
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: It can be surprisingly difficult to get to Florida.
TWENTY YEARS AGO: Being groped on my way to work was pretty upsetting. Looking back, I’m really angry at that guy, and the therapist who hit on me, too.
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