2014 Deb's WEST COAST Drive 9 - Artichoke Everything

Today's stats:
Miles from Lisa's to Duarte's to Kiss-n-Fly were about 50 miles
Actual driving time about 1.5 hours
HMB temp range today 59-73 degrees
SFO temp range today 59-68 degrees

Today's haps:
Livvy woke me up with a few doggie kisses to the face. It was Monday, so I did an impromptu weigh-in on Lisa's scale (update coming soon). Lisa was already on her way to work, so Tom made coffee. They have a Nespresso machine, which Mike and I have considered buying, so it was fun to check it out first hand. There were a variety of coffees to choose from and I went with something Italian. Yep, good.

My plan for break-lunch was another fave, Duarte's Tavern (website) in Pescadero. Carole was joining me and offered to drive. This allowed me to take in the sea, the artichoke fields, the pumpkins patches and other old landmarks along the 22 mile route. As it is a windy 2-lane road, it took about 45 minutes. Lots of fond memories passing through my mind as we traveled the coast road south.

Through the cool, foggy drive and breakfast we chatted about it all--coastside happenings, our HMB real estate agent Kathy Caloca (Carole's a Realtor also), Coastal Repertory Theatre, our families, our mother-daughter relationships, Kalamazoo, world affairs, religion, you name it.

I was almost drooling with anticipation by the time we sat down at Duarte's. They serve the very best artichoke omelette at breakfast and the very best artichoke soup at lunch--both loaded with artis.

You have to time it just right to catch the changeover to get some of each (about 10:30am). Those two items, along with the warm homemade bread, are way too much for one sitting, but not when you get it only once every couple of years. It was soooo worth it. I savored every bite and did not leave a crumb behind.

Back in HMB in the Safeway parking lot, Carole and I parted ways. She gave me a book about moms and daughters that she said helped her with that relationship. Maybe it would help mine, too. Thanks, Carole!


Now on to James and Susan's in SFO (San Francisco). I back tracked a little to see the old This Side of the Hill Players Theatre (now the Coastal Repertory). I had worked many a show there, mostly as stage manager, but also set builder, prop mistress, ticket office, etc. It was now painted completely black. Didn't really like that color scheme. But I missed the ol' theatre gang (especially Margaret) and experiences there. Theatre is just not the same in Kalamazoo.

Next side trip was about a mile north and 1-1/2 blocks to the left between Highway One and the ocean. I wanted to see our old house.




At first I couldn't find it, so I counted the third house from the corner and this is what I found. The shell of the house had been totally reno-ed. The arched window decorations had been removed and the two bedrooms extended to where the arches were. The windows were turned into bay windows.

An addition of a windowed atrium was added to the side of the garage, creating an entirely new entry. The house was painted a sunshine yellow. The yard was landscaped in roses with a stone wall. It was almost completely unrecognizable to me. Some folks would probably be shattered, but I thought it looked fine and wished I lived here in this new and improved version.

I was so stunned, I forgot to even look at my neighbors' homes--the Yamane's and Bob Hatcher's.

Now moving north in earnest, things looked much the same except for the newly completed tunnel through Devil's Slide.