Morgan Hill – The Obbemas and “Hank the Tank”

Sunday, September 25-Thursday, September 29

We got to the Obbemas on Sunday night, and I said hello to Becky, Rick and their twin daughters, Jenny and Katie. It was then time to let Auggie meet his new friend, Hank. 

Hank is a 100+-pound Golden Retriever and early in his life quickly earned the name “Hank the Tank.” He’s big, happy and GORGEOUS. After a late-evening walk and some time to run and get their ya-yas out, Hank and Auggie started getting along very well. That was good news.

I know Becky since my time at my prior company. She ran my company’s account for my U.S.-based PR agency, and so I’ve known her through some good times and bad. The fact that she still likes me is a testament to her strength of character, as I know I was a difficult, stressed-out, demanding client more than a number of times.  J

After a good night’s sleep on Sunday night, I woke up Monday and started to catch up on a lot of belated blog posts. Becky took a break from work to do a morning walk with me up a local mountain behind her neighborhood. Here is a pretty shot of “the Valley” from the walk.

Becky had just celebrated her birthday earlier that weekend, so I took her to lunch to celebrate that afternoon. I chilled and wrote while Becky and Rick finished work on Monday afternoon, and then we had a nice dinner Monday night once Jenny and Katie came home from volleyball practice that evening.

On Tuesday, I took a morning walk with both Auggie and Hank, which was brave. I had more than 180 pounds of dog on the ends of my leashes, but the furry guys were awesome and kept me standing and intact with no incidents.

I continued to do my work (blog posting, writing, catching up on email, laundry, cleaning up the van) while the rest of the household was at school and working. Then, the adults left the house about 4 pm to drive north. Jenny and Katie had an “away” volleyball game that evening. 

Becky and I first drove to Los Gatos, a cute town in the southwestern end of Silicon Valley, where we walked around and did a little shopping.

For me, it was mostly window shopping. It was here that I recognized that not having a salary at the moment was a bit of a bummer. I wasn’t terribly interested in actually buying anything, but it hit me then that my bank account was already calling me home sooner rather than later, and that buying anything other than necessities was really not in my cards.

Hmmmmm.

When recently employed, I have been accustomed to spending money when I needed and/or wanted to, without having second thoughts about whether or not it fit into budget. I’m a fairly low-impact shopper, meaning that I don’t shop much or spend inordinate amounts of money, particularly not on things that I don’t need. However, if the spirit moved me to shop, then I would go and not have a huge discussion with myself.

Yet, here I was, recognizing that not having an income is a bit of a drag. Unemployed and working off a savings account, I have become acutely aware of my spending, feeling my “frugal genes” once again becoming more prominent.

Note to self: if you like having that flexibility and freedom, then finding a job will again become necessary.

Duly noted, self.  J

We headed over to the volleyball game at the local high school gym. How fun to be back in a high school gym watching a sports event. And a competitive volleyball game, at that! I have never seen competitive volleyball, other than beach volleyball at the Olympics. These young women were fun to watch!

Jenny and Katie were great! And their team did well, too. The team ended up winning in a five-game series, and it’s always nice to win. But watching the team dynamic between the women on the court, as well as sitting among the parents in the stands, was really fun. Reminded me of my competitive high school days, though different. (My sports of cross country, gymnastics and track were more individual sports, not team-focused).

What I loved most watching was the power these young women had. In high school gymnastics, I never had any upper body strength. My best events were floor and balance beam, which required flexibility, grace and balance, while vault and uneven bars required more strength and were therefore my weaker events.

I have much more upper-body strength now after 17 years of doing martial arts. And that’s a good thing. But that night, these young women of high school age were whacking the volleyball with POWER. Wham – a solid serve across the court. Slam – a dunk down the net into the empty hole in the other side’s formation. Point!

I loved it! It was awesome! It was a very good time.  J

The next day was another intensive day for me of bill paying and personal business, followed by an afternoon of cleaning the Champagne Chevy. A 2.5-gallon jug of water had tipped over in the back of the van, and I hadn’t noticed soon enough to stop the water from emptying almost all the way out of the plastic jug through the little slit you make to allow air in. Ugh. That meant that everything in the back was wet, which was unfortunate and frustrating.

Luckily, the weather in Morgan Hill was hot and sunny for a few days. I was able to empty out the van, air out a bunch of stuff, vacuum and thoroughly clean the van, the windows and the messy carpets. Thanks to oodles of cleaning supplies from Becky and a lot of elbow grease, coupled with a busy day at the washing machine, when I finally put everything back together, the Champagne Chevy was looking (and smelling!) very good. Aaaaah.

I even had some time to sit out by the Obbema’s lovely pool in the hot afternoon sunshine to read some more of Potter Book Six. 

Since it was hot, the dogs snoozed lazily inside the cool house. (Aren’t they adorable big puddles of dog?!? J )

Becky and I ran to the grocery store so that I could stock up the van for our departure the next day. It was also time to prep for Jenny and Katie’s birthday, which was the next day. Becky had bought a cake for them when we were in Los Gatos earlier in the week, and she needed to get a few more things to help celebrate.

Dinner was lovely outside that evening. Yummy food, fabulous company, and a beautiful cake to celebrate two lovely young women’s 17^th birthday.

The cake was DELICIOUS – banana with cream cheese frosting. (If anyone ever gets to “Icing on the Cake” in Los Gatos – get this cake! It’s yummmmmmmy!)

In fact, it was so yummy, even Hank wanted some.

He tried really, really hard …

 In the end, he didn’t get any. But he did get a lot of love.

And Auggie got a lot of love, too, lucky boy.

Thursday morning, Becky and I took both dogs for a walk to a local dam, where Hank jumped in the water for a wade and a brief swim, while Auggie chased critters.  I was pushing off early afternoon and heading for Monterey Bay. 

But not before I said a huge thank you to Rick and Becky, the girls and Hank for wonderful hospitality during our stay. We had a truly lovely time with you.

Menlo Park with Adam, Karen, Rachel and Jason

Sunday, September 25

Sunday morning was spent quietly, taking a leisurely breakfast, checking out of the campsite at 11.00 am, and then spending some additional time with the map, a tour book and our calendar to start plotting our way through the next several weeks.

We were due at the Fingerman’s about 2.00 pm that day. So, when it was time, we got back on the road and drove the quick half hour down to Menlo Park.

I could have spotted Rachel as a Fingerman from a mile away. She looks so much like both Adam and Karen. She was playing with a friend outside her house when I walked up, and I asked if she was Rachel. She said yes, and then I said that I was Christine. She said that she knew, and that she knew about the chipmunk. Here was a child who had been reading my blog! I liked her already. J 

I asked her if she wanted to go and meet Auggie, and she said yes. First, though, I wanted to let Adam know I was here. I hadn’t seen Adam for I don’t even know how many years. It was so good to see him again!!!

Adam and I said our hellos, and then the three of us went out to meet Auggie in the Champagne Chevy. Just as we were there, getting a tour, Karen and Jason came back from two birthday parties. Apparently Jason was full of cake, which that cute little man didn’t need to be full of energy – he’s got his own natural stores!

We had a great afternoon. We took Auggie to the dog park. Rachel and Jason learned how to tell Auggie sit, and Auggie got almost an entire pouch of treats by the time the day was done. (See why he likes kids so much?!?) We watched a guy and a kid launch rockets into the sky. And then we had some sushi for dinner.

When I was five and seven, I had never heard of sushi, but the idea of eating raw fish would have repulsed me, I’m sure. You know, the kind of thing that would have made you hold your nose and say "Ewwwww!" Yet Rachel and Jason loved it. They even asked for seaweed snacks to go along with their rolls, and between the two of them they ate the entire package of seaweed. Hmmmmm … Karen, how do you do it?

Before dinner, Rachel had drawn me a Halloween picture, which I hung on the fridge in the Champagne Chevy. It’s complete with ghoulish, bleeding ghosties, a happy Frankenstein, a pumpkin and a gravestone with spooky “wicked eyes” rolling underground. Oooooh – I am ready for Halloween now. And it’s very cool – now I have artwork in the Champagne Chevy! That rocks. 

Rachel had also made me a dreamcatcher, complete with beads. This was to help keep bad dreams away from me. I also now have that hanging in the Champagne Chevy, right next to my bed. (So far it’s working beautifully – no bad dreams. Thanks, Rachel!)

Bedtime was a little more challenging. I, of course, didn’t help matters. Jason wanted to show me his karate, so he wanted to change into his karate gi. (Sorry, Karen, you’d just put his jammies on!) 

Then it was story time. And then it was just too interesting that a guest was in the house downstairs, and so both kids had to come down a few times.

We took another few giggly pictures, and then both Adam and Karen had to each go make one more visit upstairs to get them settled into bed. I hope they had a good sleep.

It was then time for me to get on my way to another friend’s house, farther south in Morgan Hill, where I would spend the next few days.

I said good-bye to Adam and Karen, along with huge thank-yous. And I hope it won’t be nearly as long till I see them all again.

I got to Morgan Hill just before 10.00 pm and started my visit with the Obbemas and … “Hank the Tank.”  

Oakland and San Francisco

Saturday, September 24

Unlike previous times when I’ve had to set a morning alarm on this trip, I did not hit the snooze button, and I made it to my class on time.

The workout at Hand to Hand Kajukenbo in Oakland was AWESOME. First, I got to work out for the first time in a long time with Ja Shia. Ja is a Black Belt from my school in DC, DC Self-Defense Karate Association (DCSDKA). He’s been out in the Bay Area for about five years now. Though we miss him terribly at home in DC, I’m so glad he’s in good hands here in Oakland. It was great to work out with his intensity again.

And Shifu Sonya was a great instructor. Fun, funny and lots of diversity in the class. First, some good warm-up exercises and stretches, then some forms (Ja and I did a DCSDKA form together for the class). Then we did some moving basics across the floor and some standing self-defense work. Several times working with partners, I found myself on the floor, giggling since I had no idea how I had landed there. Thanks to strong and safe partnering with others, the falls were not painful. But it was definitely fun to be taken down in creative and effective ways by skilled martial artists! This was followed by some mat work, where we rolled, practiced self defense and even did a little grappling.

The intensity of spirit at Hand to Hand was marked. They are an excellent dojo, and I enjoyed my time there very much. After class, Ja and I reviewed and practiced our DCSDKA forms, since it had been some time since he had done them all. And then it was off for a very quick shower at Ja and Janne’s apartment, followed by a drive into the Marina district of San Francisco (right next to the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge) for a late lunch snack with my friend, Brian.

Auggie got his first taste of San Francisco by the water, since finding a parking spot for my big van was not easy in this part of the city. Brian needed to dash (I had gotten there late due to my need for a shower and the city traffic), but Auggie and I eventually found a parking spot big enough that allowed us to walk around, grab a coffee and window shop a bit.

We passed through Chinatown on our way through the city. I told a friend at home that I would pick up a few things for them if I was able, so I took the plunge and decided to try and park the van again in the city. (Am I crazy?) Amazingly, I was able to find a place to park. It was on a hill, but I did OK backing uphill into a parking spot. I fed the meter for an hour and off we went.

Auggie LOVED the smells of Chinatown. Mostly, he was sniffing the meat flavors from the cardboard boxes outside the food stores. But we had fun dodging people on the street and window-shopping. I was able to find the items for my friend, so we went back to the van and headed back toward the Oakland area and our campsite.

We got stuck in Saturday afternoon/evening traffic, though, heading out of the city, and here I have to say that the Champagne Chevy is best on the wide open road! Traffic jams and bumper-to-bumper traffic are not much fun in this big old beast. Especially not in a hilly city.

But at last we were back at our spot and ready for some food and a quiet evening. Fun day in the city! Good night!