California dreamin' (Part One)

View from hill walk near cousin's house in East Bay area

Chaska and Jason

I wanted to do something with Katie, and although she only had a short time, we decided to go to California. Because, why not? There are actually good reasons, which include seeing cousins and going to a special performance by Raining Jane and Jason Mraz in Santa Rosa. The concert was a makeup after a cancellation in October, due to the fires and fear for patron safety.

Of course, because I am who I am, meaning a complicated case, I worried about flying, due to flu and colds in general and Coronoavirus in particular. My pharmacist said, “Don’t go.” Then he said to go but to wear a heavy-duty mask, the kind they use for compounding, so he gave me one. My nurse at ECP, at Dana-Farber, said to wear one of the more thin masks. I took both.

With Katie and Chaska

I looked up whether to wear a mask while traveling, and the answer that I found was no. On the plane from Boston, I put on the heavy-duty one and couldn’t breathe. I called my friend Margaret while I was waiting for takeoff. “Put on the mask,” she said. (The reason for the concern is that prednisone is an immune system suppressant. ) Then the flight attendant said that she heard the only people who need to wear them are sick people, so as not to spread germs. The mask-wearing didn’t last long.

Family brunch

I was at a window seat, and my main problem was the guy on the aisle, who said, “Jesus Christ” when I got up to go to the bathroom. I told the flight attendant. She said then he shouldn’t have gotten the aisle seat. And she said I should go four times. I went three. Good for them to keep serving water. But duh, then you have to pee. I thought of saying something but didn’t.

The same day, Thursday, I had a beautiful day with my cousin Nancy. We went straight to a restaurant called Fish, in Sausalito, on the water. Then we wandered around Mill Valley, where she lives, and went to a yoga class. I spent the night at my cousin Wendy’s house in El Cerrito. In the morning we took a hill walk with a beautiful view. It’s crazy how it is part spring, part summer here. Part of it is due to climate change and part of it is just the way it usually is.

Cuteness in the park (Katie and Goldie)

Last night was the concert, preceded by dinner at an Italian restaurant in Santa Rosa, longtime residence of Peanuts creator Charles Schultz. At first I didn’t know what my cousin Nancy was talking about when she said she had parked near Woodstock. Then when I got there I saw that it was a statue of the yellow bird from Peanuts. The concert was fabulous. It is something else to be related to a rock star who is gorgeous inside and out. I love all the band members, each complementing the other.

Serena and Goldie

Today we had a family brunch hosted by Wendy and Mark, followed by a walk in the park. Katie, Goldie and I did yoga on the grass. It was great to catch up with the older cousins and play with the little ones. The group photo, with Jeremy in the back, holding Goldie, reminded me of the one at Atlantic Beach. In it, Bob stood in the back holding Katie, who was just a baby. Now she is my playmate and friend, and I am so happy to be spending time with her in this beautiful place. I feel land-locked where I live, though I am lucky to be relatively close to the water. Still, all my senses and soul drank in the water when afterwards we walked alongside the water in and around Tiburon, where we are staying at an Airbnb.

The view from our Airbnb and the area around it is spectacular. We walked along the water and took it all in. More adventures to come.