Froth on my Toes
Day 4
Moving from Wine Country into the City
Honestly, after three nights of feeling intimidated by the homeowner’s numerous rules, I felt happy and relieved to be leaving this house. We wouldn’t be able to check into the San Francisco property until after 3:00, so I put a lot of thought into finding something interesting to do with our day.
I remembered that one of my fiberfriends, with whom I’ve attended several sewing workshops, lived in Capitola, “next door” to Santa Cruz, and that she had opened a bakery there 30+ years ago that had quickly become one of the biggest culinary games in town. I thought it would be fun to see her and experience Gayle’s Bakery and Rosticceria, which is ranked very highly by every book, website, and organization ranking eating establishments. I asked my traveling companions if they were up to a 2+-hour drive. They had books on Kindles to keep them amused, and they said as long as they weren’t doing the driving, they didn’t care. And the Jazzman is always good at studying the insides of his eyelids, so off we went. My other memory of the area was an afternoon spent exploring Santa Cruz many years ago, after demonstrating IBM software at a major trade show and having hours to kill before catching a red-eye flight back to D.C. The thought of visiting that area of the California coast again was very attractive to me!
So off we went. Over the Golden Gate Bridge, southbound this time, with the passengers trying to catch pictures of the bridge through the car’s sunroof. Now here’s the thing about trying to get through San Francisco to points south along the Pacific Coast: there’s no direct route. There’s no interstate that just flies over all the neighborhoods without the driver’s having to stop for red lights. And the other fact is that sometimes GPS systems—Google Maps, Waze, and so on—take you on a circuitous route. So after a few wrong turns and a few stops to try to talk sense to my iPhone, we made it onto I-280 (Oh, excuse me. We made it onto “the 280”. Those left coast people have their own vocabulary.) After a couple of hours and a twisty, winding road to get through the mountains and down to Capitola, we turned into the parking lot outside the door of Gayle’s Bakery. And there, inside the door, was Gayle, waiting for me with a big hug.
See, that’s the thing about all these women who have studied with Marcy Tilton and Diane Ericson—in those hypercreative times we spend together, we bond tightly over our love of fiber, color, and our shared creativity and passions. We are, truly, sisters of the heart. In Youngstown, I know no one who feels the way I do about trying new apparel sewing patterns and refining it to fit my body exactly as I like. To be able to travel to far-flung destinations and connect with someone who knows the same processes and inspiration that I know—well, that’s just very special. Very special.
Gayle suggested we order our lunches to go and then we’d go back to her house where we could visit as long as we wanted. What a great idea. When we pulled up at Gayle’s front gate and walked through, we discovered a little paradise. Beautifully landscaped little garden plots, a patio overlooking Soquel Creek, and a fig tree where Marilyn could reach up and pluck a fruit to savor. The house was a gem—built in the early 20th century, it had been beautifully maintained through the years. Any renovations had been done with a loving eye toward the house’s history. Architects and designers and the owners had skillfully melded new technology and convenience with old beauty and quality. Brilliant, comfortable, and stunning.
The other terrific treat for me was meeting Gayle’s husband, Joe. What an interesting guy! He is a playwright, composer, songwriter. And a baker! (When Joe and Gayle started the bakery, Gayle was responsible for the sweets, and Joe baked the bread. Read their story and learn from their recipes in “The Village Baker” and “The Village Baker’s Wife.”) We learned that Joe’s musical, “Escaping Queens,” is opening in Queens, NY, in November, and the Jazzman and I are determined to be in the audience.
Don’t you love it when someone you really like has a significant other whom you also really like? What a great bonus!!
Gail also generously showed me her sewing studio. We compared stashes and storage methods and favorite sewing machines. I gleaned lots of great ideas for turning my sewing room from a nightmare into a place to dream and create.
And in too short a time, we were on our way again.
As I’ve said, this was Marilyn’s first trip to the West Coast, so I really wanted her to get the maximum joy out of that body of water. We drove down to the beachfront in Capitola, then headed up Route 1, along the coast, to the town of Half Moon Bay. As with my memories of Santa Cruz, I had also held on to lovely memories of Half Moon Bay from my IBM trip in the mid-80s. Midway between Capitola and Half Moon Bay, we took the opportunity to park the car and walk on the beach. Honestly, I was just thrilled to stand with the cold wavelets breaking over my toes. What joy.
Driving through Half Moon Bay, we turned east on 92 and wound and twisted through the mountains again to get on 280 toward the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. Once the little GPS lady inside my iPhone started directing “turn left, turn right” and we saw the uuuuups and dooooooowns of the San Francisco streets, we just shook our heads. For the first time of many times over the next few days, we said to each other, “Why would anybody build a city on these hills?!”
As our AirBnB hostess had told us, we found a parking space on the curb just a few steps from her front door. We schlepped bags up about 10 steps to the front door, found the key to unlock the front door, and began uttering oohs and aahs. The apartment was charming with a capital chuh. The owners, both attorneys, bought the property in 2011. It was a duplex, upper and lower. They lived above, and had renovated the lower unit for rental. It was a “Wow!” place to stay. Each couple had its own bedroom and en suite bath. There was space to be together, and space to veg out alone. There was a lovely backyard garden with blooming lemon trees, incredibly lovely outdoor fragrances, and two sweet dogs who would come down to visit when we sat outside.
My goal in choosing our lodgings from AirBnB was to find something where the total cost would be less than the cost of two hotel rooms. I got that, and so much more. The Noe Valley neighborhood turned out to be convenient to everything. We were a ten-minute walk from Whole Foods and a ten-minute drive from Golden Gate Park. We could walk to great restaurants faster than we could call for reservations!
We chose our bedrooms, unpacked a few things, and headed out to find Whole Foods and get breakfast essentials and a little something for supper. We enjoyed a nice downhill walk to the grocery store. But, lest you forget, let me remind you that what goes down must come up. By the time we got back to the apartment, we had enjoyed enough hills for that day! (Alas, this property is no longer available on either VRBO or AirBnB.)
A highly successful day: old friends, new friends, salt water on our toes, and a lovely place to spend the next four nights.
