Flying Flags to Grover Beach

April 25-27, 2013

I spent a quiet night in Buellton and, while packing up the next morning, I met a lovely retired, black haired senior with 2 little white dogs. She also comes up to the Flying Flags on weekends with her hubby in their RV. She loves TRAVEL. And meeting people. She asks as many questions as she answers. While she usually goes with her husband to the private campgrounds like the one in Buellton, she really likes spontaneous travels to places she has never been. Her husband is the quiet one, she says, and doesn’t really want to do the discovery camping or travel. So, she has siblings and a girlfriend for those types of trips. She spent a month in Italy with her brother. She likes to stop whenever she sees something of interest happening. Once, when driving up the coast, she yelled at her husband to stop the car. She drug him up a hill so she could ask some people who were digging just what they were looking for. They were archeologists and students on a dinosaur dig. For her, it is not the destination, it is what you see and learn along the way. 

After Buellton, I cycled “down” to Grover Beach. The ride to Santa Maria was filled with visions of incredible wineries. Lucas and Llewellyn was the most prominent winery name---either the current owner/corp, or with a sale transfer in place to the L&L wineries. There was a winery that was being managed by the vintner students at the University of SoCal in San Luis Obispo. At one of the L&L wineries, there were white signs dividing sections of grapevines to identify the grape of the wine made from them: Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Madera, etc. From my angle and at this time of year, I couldn’t readily tell a difference in the grapevines. In fact, I wondered if these signs were identifying sections or just listing some of the grapes/wines offered by L&L, because I was a bit concerned about cross-pollination if all these different vines were growing so close together. 

At Santa Maria, I stopped at a Starbucks to recharge my phone and my caffeine deficit. I stayed a comfortable while and then headed out on the 101. I was soon kicked off due to road construction and then found the detour signs for cycles were really messed up. It took an extra hour to actually get outta town. I decided to go due west, rather than northwest. This took me through more agricultural country--but not vineyards. Those appeared to be located at a higher elevation. These lands were used for strawberries and veggies. Migrant workers dotted the fields. It was a picturesque ride to the coast, but very windy so I had to work to get just east of the dunes.  Then it was a northerly ride to Grover Beach. 

The Eucalyptus grows heavy along the roadsides in this area of the central coast region. I love the pungent smell of Eucalyptus. However, the coffee I had in Santa Maria hours ago had worked its way to the bladder and there had been no bathrooms along the route in ag country, unless you jumped a fence and went several hundred feet to a farm to use the portable johns for the migrant workers. I just kept cycling. Eventually, I thought I was going to die from the need to pee and the growing fatigue. I stopped at one point when I found a copse of big pine trees with low branches. However, the ground was covered with what suspiciously resembled poison oak. I didn’t take my chances. Finally, the sky opened and I came to a little gas station and convenience store. Relief! I was told that Grover Beach was coming right up!

About 45 minutes later, I cycled up to my nephew Eric’s house and was greeted warmly by his whole family. Very, very nice. They made a huge salad and we sat on their back porch with their outside heaters. A little red wine and I was feeling pretty darn good. The cushy bed, comforter, and pillows were a welcome treat as well. 

On Saturday, they took me to lunch in San Luis Obispo. I decided I continue to love SLO and still would love to live there. I had Nori wraps and Kombucha for lunch and we took a little walk next to the river by the mission. The SLO mission is the oldest mission in California. I didn’t know that. While we ate lunch, just across from the mission, a wedding party came out of the church. Shortly afterward, some youth corps or military group went marching by. Like an old Spanish town, the Catholic Church was the center of town from which all life revolved and circulated. 

SLO has everything I love. Old architecture; old history; funky shops; healthy food; conservation; recycling (as does the entire state, it appears); a river; an old mission; hiking; biking; vineyards; a college town with the youthful energy this always creates; a good cross section of society; friendly people. 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the farmers’ markets. Every town in the area has a farmers’ market. They are spaced so that you can go to a market either in your own town or with a 10 minute drive to a neighboring town. The SLO market is apparently quite the deal. Heaven to me.

Not to mention the wineries.

After dinner, we took a drive to Avila Beach and parked at the wharf where Eric and Teresa picked out clams and crustaceans for a clam bake that night. I had the opportunity to meet “Nannah”, Teresa’s mom. This mom and daughter team are like two peas in a pod; they are very close and Nannah was the grandma babysitter for T’s and Eric’s kids.

So, let’s get to those kids. Zoe and Parker. These kids are awesome.

Zoe is a natural athlete. She comes by it honestly as Teresa is a tennis pro and Eric is a surfer. Zoe zooms to the head of the class in any sport she undertakes. She started playing water polo this year and they made her team captain in no time. Then, when the water polo season was over, the players were required to join the swim team. Again, she had never been on a swim team but zoomed to the forefront. Part of this is due to her athletic skills, no doubt. But a large part of this is also her personality. Like Teresa, Zoe is friendly and patient and open. Also like her mother, she is competitive. This helps, I’m sure!

Zoe had an invite to a quinceanera party in the afternoon and she dolled up. She put on her single dress and her one pair of high heels and transformed from a little jock to the belle of the ball. She fought her mother off when it came to applying makeup. Zoe didn’t want any but mom thought a Freshman in high school might want to try a bit. Mom did succeed in applying just the slightest hint of eyeliner on her independent daughter. It was hilarious. You couldn’t really see the liner at all, but Zoe was being dramatic and yelling, “I can’t see! I can’t see! My eyes are so heavy I can’t even open them!” It was all in good fun and I noticed that she didn’t wipe it off. When she presented herself to her doting daddy, Eric said, “That’s it! You are never going out of the house!” So much for those big words, as Zoe skipped out of the house so that Teresa could take her to the party. 

Parker is the girly girl. She is also athletic in her own way; determined, graceful, coordinated, and a very hard worker. She has been taking Irish dancing for several years now and she is nothing short of fantastic. Apparently, she takes all challenges seriously, practices daily, and has the natural grace of a dancer. She can dance on her toes, even though she is supposed to wait til next year. She gave me a demonstration of her Irish dancing skills. I almost wept; she was so beautiful, so perfect. 

Parker is now taking violin lessons in school and already has first chair. As you can see, this family does it up like they mean it. 

They work hard and they play hard. And love each other fiercely. They make me want to weep with the beauty of their family.

My nephew Eric has worked for the same bail bonds company for several years. Initially, he was in the field, collecting money from those who skipped their court date. He enjoyed the thrill, although said he was never shot at. I’m glad for that. Now he manages his field operators and has more regular hours, which works well for his family. Eric was born when I was 13 and I babysat him often as a teenager. He has a special place in my heart and, to me, he still looks the same as that adorable little, freckle-faced kid. He is patient and easygoing and an excellent father. He also loves to surf.

He exercises regularly and notes that his weight is best controlled with running. I think his wife got him into that a bit. They have participated in numerous fun runs, 5 and 10Ks, and half marathons. This is especially Teresa’s passion.

Eric has been enjoying working on their new home and has been painting, scraping, building, modifying, digging, mowing, etc. He has turned into the typical American dad. Although I really can’t say that. He is not “typical” to me at all. 

He built a faux headboard over his and Teresa’s bed. In script, in the middle of this headboard, it reads, “When I hold you, I hold EVERYTHING”.  I thought that was so romantic. Zoe, ever the comedienne, said that when she first read that, she thought her dad was saying something about Teresa’s weight. Haha! Teresa takes it in good stride. She is one good looking woman and has nothing to worry about. I think that’s why Zoe said it. 

Teresa. Now for Teresa. She is nothing short of amazing. Tennis pro for many years; she now plays for fun. And blood. She still slams the ball over the net and thus has to be careful who she plays with. “A list” or something like that. She is competitive but in such a fun way; a great sport who loves the game for the game. We played a board game with Parker and Teresa was great. She played to win but was great with anyone else winning or doing well. Absolutely a gem.

But more than the sportsmanship, Teresa has a loving, patient nature. She maintains a sunny disposition and handles emergencies with calm control. All through the day, one of the kids or Eric would ask for her assistance in some way. She always answered with a “What do you need, honey?” Or “How can I help you, sweetie?” She is affectionate but not smothering. The children adore her. They said so. I think that is so neat.

She treated me like visiting royalty. 

I could get used to this!