The phone rang at mom and dads house on Thursday evening with a familiar name on the caller ID. Dad answered as he usually does from his convenient proximity to the phone. I asked him if he had received mom’s package earlier that day and he wasn’t so sure so I prompted him to send mom to investigate the back door where we had confirmed delivery. When she opened the door, not a package was found but two smiling Annapolitans.
We flew into LAX earlier that day and drove up from there in our rental Mustang convertible under a cloud of secrecy to surprise mom on her 70th birthday. We weren’t entirely sure that our secret had stood up to several people knowing about it and when mom opened the door and turned an uncontrollable red, we knew it had worked. Somehow a plan we had put into work a month prior had not been leaked by any of the half dozen or so people that knew. Mom was ecstatic. We had already made sure with dad that no real plans had been made for the weekend, so anything could be done.
Par for the course… A visit to mom and dad’s is a welcome pace change for us. Our day to day calendar is littered with tasks and appointments and work duties ranging from any time of day to any duration, often keeping us away for 14 hours in a day. So when we can spend a few days in the slow paced Morro Bay for four full days, we often don’t know what to do with ourselves.
We made our rounds of visiting family that we don’t get to, Grandpa being at the top of the list. We made several lengthy trips to see him and listened his stories. He is the most positive and upbeat person I have ever met. A true monarch of the family, loved and adored by all who meet him. Every moment that we get to share with him is cherished. Sunday morning, we managed to round up one of the cousins. I have had better luck in the past, but with Niki off in Australia and Jackie having a busy schedule and helping someone move in Atascadero, we were lucky to bide some time with the only man in the Wienold/Beck clan. Bobby was working nights and had gotten off of work early that morning so we met him for our breakfast… his dinner, at our usual beachside greasy spoon Chele’s in Pismo Beach. A future icon in our family, Bobby has his father’s laid back personality with an infectious smile that you can’t help but return.
Each time we returned home from and errand or visiting and town, a new birthday card had been inserted into the back door of mom’ house. She is well loved in their community and I met lots of neighbors who stopped by with well wishes and birthday greetings. I was so pleased to see mom graciously receive such great words from so many people in her life.
When we returned from breakfast with Bobby (there’s a good title for a talk show) the four of us packed into the PT Cruiser and headed up the coast for Cambria where we wondered around in town and headed to her favorite restaurant, Linn’s. Owned by a family friend, Linn’s is a popular restaurant for good reason, great comfort food. I had a fabulous turkey panini with olalaberry sauce and green apples… what a combination.
We did a little lite sightseeing along the beach and took a couple photos and headed down to see grandpa for another visit. As the sun was setting into the pacific, we returned home for an evening of games to unwind and a little good natured competition. Rummycube being the game of choice, it stretched late into the evening.
I have at home a GoPro camera, which is a small video camera that I have used for sailing and snowboarding among other things. I had been wanting to try something different for some time and that is to attach the camera to a kite strong enough to lift it skyward. So we set out to search the various kite shops around the area for a kite that was up to the task. I found two that are distinct possibilities with one being a combination box and winged kite that I am told generates a lot of lift while maintaining stability. So here I am, a grown man buying kites to experiment with. I will never grow up.
Tuesday morning… It’s time to go. The alarm goes off to early, showers are completed, and mom makes breakfast to go. Hugs and kisses all around, my heart strings are pulled saying goodbye. I know she misses family being close by, and visits these days are few and far between, so goodbyes are tough. This morning was no different, but we climbed into the car began our long journey homeward bound.