California Dreaming

Marin County | California

We went down to Carmel-by-the-Sea over Christmas to celebrate our anniversary. Twenty-five years aren’t that many when you’re married to Rica. The girl is a whirlwind. We drove down Highway One so she could revel in the ocean views at every conceivable pullout.

We had lunch in the little coastal town of Davenport, and I took a couple of photos. I emailed the red door photo to friend Inky Beecher because he has an oddball esthetic and I thought he might find it interesting. He shot back, “Gerry Mulligan recorded a song named ‘Red Door.’ I’m not sure I would have taken that photo, what with the drawn curtains and parked motorcycles.” (Inky knows stuff about big bands from the 40’s and 50’s. His father was Gene Beecher, big band leader and folk artist.)

It’s interesting how he picked up this vibe from an emailed photo. As I was making the picture, a car pulled up a couple of doors down. Out came three young men carrying grocery bags. When they stopped and stared at me, I thought they were just curious. Then they walked past the old Mercedes into the red house. I waved and said I loved the red door. One of them smiled. Rica started pulling on my arm and said we should leave. Off we went down Highway One.

We arrived in Carmel an hour later and checked into Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch. Rica immediately went off exploring, and naturally I had to take a nap. I woke from a dream to the sound of dripping water from the overhead fire extinguisher. It was directly over the bed, and in my sleepy haze I panicked thinking the bed was on fire. It’s amazing how fast you can move when seized by such thoughts.

Once out of bed, a few quick sniffs convinced me that there was no smoke in the room, and a steady look at the ceiling revealed that water wasn’t coming from the sprinkler, but from around its edges where the fixture was fitted to the ceiling.

I was still staring at the ceiling wondering what to do when Rica came in. It took her a moment to place a wastebasket with a plastic lining under the leak and send me to the front office. The Mission Ranch staff couldn’t have been more helpful, and we ended up with a free night.

The rest of our stay was less dramatic but as enjoyable as ever.

The Pacific Coast Highway provides an endless number of ocean views.

St. Vincent de Paul Church, Davenport, California, on a slow day.

Mission Ranch was once a dairy farm. The water leak into our bedroom came from the second floor suite.

The leak from the second floor ended up being minor. The staff responded immediately.

Helga and Richard wired beautiful flowers for our anniversary.

Rica before Christmas Eve dinner.

This pasture is one reason why I love coming to Mission Ranch.

I took this photo on an earlier visit. We’ve come here often.

From Rica’s iPhone. I’ve been hoping for a spot on Duck Dynasty. Now that Phil Robertson is back, I may as well trim my beard.

Seasonal greetings to you all.

Marin Catholic Falls to El Cerrito

Marin County | California

The Wildcat’s football season has ended. They lost (54-38) to the El Cerrito Gauchos on a cold and rainy night in San Leandro. The Gauchos were simply a better team Friday night, but having watched the Wildcats all season, I’m convinced that with a couple of breaks they could have come out ahead. The clock has run out for this season, but the boys in blue have plenty to be proud of with a 12-1 record.

I learned one thing about myself. I’m not a foul weather photographer. From now on I’ll leave this to the youngsters. I was so frozen I couldn’t even find my way back to the bus without an escort.

Here are some of the photos that turned out pretty well considering my numb shutter finger. The rest of the snaps are at VarsityPix.com.

Marin Catholic Football Downs Analy

Marin County | California

Here are a few of my favorite photos from last Saturday’s Marin Catholic win over Analy High School. The 48-20 victory means that Marin Catholic (12-0) will face El Cerrito (11-2) this Friday in its first night game of the year. The North Coast Section title will be decided, so this game is the real deal.

I’ll be seventy-nine in February, and have become a hazard on the road at night. Luckily, Bill Scheider found a seat for me on a chartered bus. Man and beast are safe on Ron’s exciting night out.

High school football fields notoriously suffer from poor lighting, at least by NFL standards, so it will be interesting to see what I can squeeze out of my Nikon.

All Marin Catholic photos are at VarsityPix.com.