The Central Coast Meet-Up (part two)
I checked into the motel around 2 PM and took a shower and meditated and then watched the news on TV. I called ScottFromWyoming's friends who were hosting the evening and I got Catherine on the phone. She was a really pleasant woman who gave good directions to her new home and I climbed BACK UP over the Cuesta Pass to Atascadero and their home.
I first met Gary (OlderThanDirt) in front and we greeted. Funny to meet somebody you know for the first time! Really nice man. Big hug.
Then in to meet the crew. Children everywhere! Jon and Catherine had two or three of their own (nobody slowed down enough for me to count effectively) It was wonderfully homey there and the house was beautiful. Lotsa hugs around and I was really pleased to see Boosie looking so healthy. New faces I knew were Janis (SittingInLimbo) and Dave (David_Price) and of course our hosts. Sharkey, SFW, JFW (looking lovely as always), Abhijit (Pilate) and Gary. Then, of course, Scott's kids Augusta (could any child be cuter?) and Charlie (a real champ! the kid has the look of one of those thinking bruisers who grow up to be quarterbacks) and of course, Chester! (more on Chester later!).
We were joined by friends of Scott's from Cal-Poly days Blank (I am unable to remember his name... I keep wanting to say Roger and I know that is not right!) and Dionne. Nice people and Blank was about as tall as my cousins in Kansas... (I always said it was the corn that did it but now I'm not so sure) and one of the nicest men I've ever met.
We barbequed some nice brisket and drank some really excellent home-made wine which Catherine's relative made. Also a couple of bottles of the Tobin James Zinfandel which was excellent and some Rolling-Rock Beer (Pre-AB) and some Acme Pale Ale (samiyam brought that) and generally whooped it up a bit. Great conversation and really interesting people.
All too soon it was time to go... Waves and hugs all around and samiyam checked himself to see if he could walk a straight line (are you kidding me? I cannot walk a straight line if I'm sober!) and if I generally felt sober (yes... I had ceased to drink a bit before and at my weight, I'm a great absorber of alcohol) and then I drove DOWN the Cuesta Pass again and back to my motel room.
I stayed at the Travelodge because I couldn't get reservations at the Best Westerns in town. The Travelodge was minimal comfort. I would say that I would stay there in a pinch, but not a first choice. The bed was kinda lumpy and the amenities were minimal and there wasn't a "breakfast" of any worth. (they put out bad coffee and packaged pastries for the guests - neither things on my diet) but I didn't care really. I just wanted to sleep at that point and a soft horizontal surface presented itself and I lay down and zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Woke up at about 3 AM with red wine stomach... kinda sour. I took a Rolaids and went back to sleep. Got up around 8 AM, packed and checked out and went to Avila Beach/San Luis Bay Harbor. Nice snug little bay just south of SLO. I took a walk around the SLBay Harbor pier and really enjoyed the look and smell of a working pier. The place is in kinda rough shape but it looks like there's work being done on the place. The icehouse looked like it was getting use and there were about a dozen or so fishing boats at anchor. The smell of boiling crab lead me to a shack on the Pier where I ordered fish and chips and had my "breakfast" The fish was perfect. Fresh and lean and cooked in a light breading in hot, fresh oil which didn't stick to the food. The fries were real potatoes cut and fried. (for you who worry about my diet, A) it was a vacation B) I only ate half the fries).
I then went to Avila beach where I was supposed to meet the FromWyomings (Scott and Justine) and whomever showed but I got there about an hour early and sat myself down to meditate and watch the scenery...
Gary showed up soon and we had a wonderful conversation. He's a really interesting man who's had a very full life (so far). Unfortunately we didn't meet up with the FromWyomings. We were at the wrong place and finally by 1 PM we had absorbed too much sun and it was time to go. I remembered the sunscreen too late (had some in the car) so my face felt a bit tight the rest of the day.
I understand that it was a good thing that we didn't meet up with Scott et al because they were rousted by the local Barney Fife Deputy Dawg for "felony animal abuse"... Oh how I would have made a nuisance of myself if I'd been there! Apparently Chester got well and properly beat up by Jon and Catherine's dog at their house (where the FromWyomings stayed) so they couldn't leave him there for the day. They took him with them first to Morro Bay and then to Avila. He was out and got in the water and swam a bit and they were keeping a good eye on him.
At Avila Beach there are no dogs allowed on the beach so Scott was keeping an eye on him from Front street by the seawall while Justin had the kids on the beach. During this period, Scott put the dog in the car so he could get "shaved ice" cones for the kids and in the time it took to get them and give them to the kids and get back to the car a sherrif's deputy had rolled up (soon followed by animal control) and was about to break into Scott's car to retreive what Barney claimed was an abused and overheated dog. He claimed that somebody had called in that there was a dog "in distress" in a car and that he was certain that Chester had been abandoned in an overheated car.
Chester was fine. Granted, if a dog is left in a car too long he will die a horrible death. But Chester was fine. The five to ten minutes were not enough to hurt him. When Scott pulled him out of the car, he took two or three laps at a bowl of water and went and lay down. He wasn't panting. Barney claimed otherwise and wanted to confiscate Chester and arrest SFW for "felony animal endangerment" but the animal control officer (who had probably been called by the deputy) said that because A) The animal did not appear to be in any distress and B) The officer had neglected to put a thermometer inside the car to verify the temperature inside the car (an animal left in a car an half-hour can be roasting in 145 degree (fahrenheit) car, but only 10 minutes, it wouldn't be more than 105 or so...) Therefore, the deputy could not refute with any authority Scott's assertation that the dog had not been neglected. They were let go (with a warning not to be seen driving overheated dogs around in these here parts any time soon!). I'm proud of Scott for not getting arrested. I've been up in officer's faces too many times to count and have suffered the consequences a few times. Policemen seem to lack a balancing sense of humor sometimes.
Then I went to The Madonna Inn to see the urinal...
(More Soon)
I first met Gary (OlderThanDirt) in front and we greeted. Funny to meet somebody you know for the first time! Really nice man. Big hug.
Then in to meet the crew. Children everywhere! Jon and Catherine had two or three of their own (nobody slowed down enough for me to count effectively) It was wonderfully homey there and the house was beautiful. Lotsa hugs around and I was really pleased to see Boosie looking so healthy. New faces I knew were Janis (SittingInLimbo) and Dave (David_Price) and of course our hosts. Sharkey, SFW, JFW (looking lovely as always), Abhijit (Pilate) and Gary. Then, of course, Scott's kids Augusta (could any child be cuter?) and Charlie (a real champ! the kid has the look of one of those thinking bruisers who grow up to be quarterbacks) and of course, Chester! (more on Chester later!).
We were joined by friends of Scott's from Cal-Poly days Blank (I am unable to remember his name... I keep wanting to say Roger and I know that is not right!) and Dionne. Nice people and Blank was about as tall as my cousins in Kansas... (I always said it was the corn that did it but now I'm not so sure) and one of the nicest men I've ever met.
We barbequed some nice brisket and drank some really excellent home-made wine which Catherine's relative made. Also a couple of bottles of the Tobin James Zinfandel which was excellent and some Rolling-Rock Beer (Pre-AB) and some Acme Pale Ale (samiyam brought that) and generally whooped it up a bit. Great conversation and really interesting people.
All too soon it was time to go... Waves and hugs all around and samiyam checked himself to see if he could walk a straight line (are you kidding me? I cannot walk a straight line if I'm sober!) and if I generally felt sober (yes... I had ceased to drink a bit before and at my weight, I'm a great absorber of alcohol) and then I drove DOWN the Cuesta Pass again and back to my motel room.
I stayed at the Travelodge because I couldn't get reservations at the Best Westerns in town. The Travelodge was minimal comfort. I would say that I would stay there in a pinch, but not a first choice. The bed was kinda lumpy and the amenities were minimal and there wasn't a "breakfast" of any worth. (they put out bad coffee and packaged pastries for the guests - neither things on my diet) but I didn't care really. I just wanted to sleep at that point and a soft horizontal surface presented itself and I lay down and zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Woke up at about 3 AM with red wine stomach... kinda sour. I took a Rolaids and went back to sleep. Got up around 8 AM, packed and checked out and went to Avila Beach/San Luis Bay Harbor. Nice snug little bay just south of SLO. I took a walk around the SLBay Harbor pier and really enjoyed the look and smell of a working pier. The place is in kinda rough shape but it looks like there's work being done on the place. The icehouse looked like it was getting use and there were about a dozen or so fishing boats at anchor. The smell of boiling crab lead me to a shack on the Pier where I ordered fish and chips and had my "breakfast" The fish was perfect. Fresh and lean and cooked in a light breading in hot, fresh oil which didn't stick to the food. The fries were real potatoes cut and fried. (for you who worry about my diet, A) it was a vacation B) I only ate half the fries).
I then went to Avila beach where I was supposed to meet the FromWyomings (Scott and Justine) and whomever showed but I got there about an hour early and sat myself down to meditate and watch the scenery...
Gary showed up soon and we had a wonderful conversation. He's a really interesting man who's had a very full life (so far). Unfortunately we didn't meet up with the FromWyomings. We were at the wrong place and finally by 1 PM we had absorbed too much sun and it was time to go. I remembered the sunscreen too late (had some in the car) so my face felt a bit tight the rest of the day.I understand that it was a good thing that we didn't meet up with Scott et al because they were rousted by the local Barney Fife Deputy Dawg for "felony animal abuse"... Oh how I would have made a nuisance of myself if I'd been there! Apparently Chester got well and properly beat up by Jon and Catherine's dog at their house (where the FromWyomings stayed) so they couldn't leave him there for the day. They took him with them first to Morro Bay and then to Avila. He was out and got in the water and swam a bit and they were keeping a good eye on him.
At Avila Beach there are no dogs allowed on the beach so Scott was keeping an eye on him from Front street by the seawall while Justin had the kids on the beach. During this period, Scott put the dog in the car so he could get "shaved ice" cones for the kids and in the time it took to get them and give them to the kids and get back to the car a sherrif's deputy had rolled up (soon followed by animal control) and was about to break into Scott's car to retreive what Barney claimed was an abused and overheated dog. He claimed that somebody had called in that there was a dog "in distress" in a car and that he was certain that Chester had been abandoned in an overheated car.
Chester was fine. Granted, if a dog is left in a car too long he will die a horrible death. But Chester was fine. The five to ten minutes were not enough to hurt him. When Scott pulled him out of the car, he took two or three laps at a bowl of water and went and lay down. He wasn't panting. Barney claimed otherwise and wanted to confiscate Chester and arrest SFW for "felony animal endangerment" but the animal control officer (who had probably been called by the deputy) said that because A) The animal did not appear to be in any distress and B) The officer had neglected to put a thermometer inside the car to verify the temperature inside the car (an animal left in a car an half-hour can be roasting in 145 degree (fahrenheit) car, but only 10 minutes, it wouldn't be more than 105 or so...) Therefore, the deputy could not refute with any authority Scott's assertation that the dog had not been neglected. They were let go (with a warning not to be seen driving overheated dogs around in these here parts any time soon!). I'm proud of Scott for not getting arrested. I've been up in officer's faces too many times to count and have suffered the consequences a few times. Policemen seem to lack a balancing sense of humor sometimes.
Then I went to The Madonna Inn to see the urinal...
(More Soon)
posted by S.A.M. Tanner at 11:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home