"...BUT FIRST I GOTTA SHOP, COOK, DO DISHES,THROW IN SOME LAUNDRY, BLAH, BLAH.."
Man, I am even sick of myself already for constantly finding reasons not to share my thoughts and most intimate secrets (yuck!) with you, my Valued Audience. So I am gonna stop toting this barge and lifting that bale long enough to attempt to bring you up to "Speed", as it were.
CRUISIN' TO "THE CRUZ" AND "THE CREEK"
And, indeed, it was all about Speed, the central feature of our observance of my one-year transplant milestone. Sort of. We arrived at a rather spectacular facility in San Jose known as Club Auto Sport to take temporary possession of a 2008 Shelby GT 350. Club Sportiva is but one occupant of this rambling, glass-fronted building. The other occupants are a variety of high-end automotive and other enterprises, all situated in various-sized "condos" up and down long hallways. The hallways are lined with all manner of interesting vehicles, including those belonging to Club Sportiva. The large glass-enclosed area looking out on the street contains a bar, lounge area, and a number of racing and exotic cars. It bordered on automotive heaven.
On a concrete pad in front of the building was a black GT 350 with a prominent sign stating "Reserved for Robert Moss" . Pretty cool. After a perfunctory educational drive around the block to prove I could drive a 5-speed ("You wouldn't believe how many people can't drive a stick" the guy said) we set out towards Santa Cruz. After a lunch stop in Los Gatos, I pointed the car towards Hwy. 9, hoping for some spirited motoring. My experienced co-pilot immediately began pressing on her imaginary brake pedal, so I reluctantly cooled my jets. This was additionally motivated by a truly overwhelming amount of CHP attention to a black Mustang with broad silver racing stripes and a loud exhaust. Not to mention heavy homeward-bound traffic in the quaint mountain area.
We had a wonderful room at the Dream Inn, overlooking Monterey Bay. It was crystal-clear, and I even woke up in the dark to catch a thrilling sunrise. Cheryl joined me, and it was quite a moment. Our dinner was likewise remarkable, and not only due to impeccable food and service at Gabriella's. As I was looking at my menu, I noticed ashes dropping on it. I looked up to see Cherie's menu brightly ablaze. She had placed it unwittingly on top of the very small candle on the table and it went up in flames immediately. There was a bit of a stir in the very tiny dining room, but the server said "No big deal, it happens all the time".
Upon our return to "The Dream" both of us were overwhelmed by the previous post on this blog, authored by our exceptional son, Young Andrew. Another Moment was had on this one. We left The Cruz the next morning after a lovely brunch at Gayle's in Capitola, luckily no fires this time. Our trip back via Hwy. 17 was nice but average due to intense traffic.
After returning the Shelby, we joined Leslie, Chris, Sandy and Allen at one of our favorite spots, the Walnut Creek Yacht Club. This place always amazes us, since the waitstaff are incredibly knowledgable, and they write NOTHING down at the table! Yet everything is delivered to the correct person by runners, with none of that "OK, who had the meatloaf?" crap you get most everywhere else. They had been tipped off about the occasion, and were quite gracious and interested in the reason we were there. All this, along with Leslie's incredible customized transplant balloon arrangement, made a great evening.
LUNCH AT THE "TOWER" HAD LOTS O' POWER
"The Big Finish" of the happy/sad anniversary was spent in Sacramento. We luckily caught Dear Linsey before she jetted away to "Joysey" for more Quest education and a visit to The Big Apple. She and Andy guided us to the Tower Cafe, located very near our one-time residence, 2619 T St. We enjoyed a nice lunch amidst eclectic decorations including several Freda Caldo self-portait prints. After a brief visit back at Andy's and Linz's house, speaking with our grandog Sampson, we departed for home. So the observance ended, and we collapsed, fully spent, yet pleased with our varied activities.
A TRANSPLANT TRIB FIRST: EDITORIAL COMMENTARY
An undesirable feature of Irv v 1.0 was excessive anxiety between the end of one racing season and the start of the next. Our advanced version, Irv 2.0, was purged of this objectionable glitch, thus enabling the user (me) to arrive at the start of the 2011 season relaxed, refreshed, and with happy expectations for a great gaggle of races. One of these is the Formula 1 opener, the Grand Prix of Bahrain, taking place on March 13.
I have been following the upheaval in the Middle East closely, since it is bound to affect us all in one way or another. Now that Bahrain is in a turmoil, I was interested to see how it would impact the Grand Prix. This event takes place at a lavish and expensively-constructed circuit, built to attract F1 because the Crown Prince is an avid fan of the sport. It is attended by many royal family members, oil sheiks, and prominent government personnel, but few from the local general public. Since attendance is relatively light, the event is highly subsidized by the monarchy for its own entertainment.
The head poo-bah of Formula 1, representing the huge financial interests of the racing teams, is the ultra-wealthy, all-powerful and quite elderly Bernie Ecclestone. When asked if he would allow these teams to travel to Bahrain and stage the race, he stated that things would "blow away" in a few days, permitting the event to go forward. This viewpoint was formed based on a phone call from some of Bernie's advance TV crew, who glanced out of their hotel window to ascertain the intensity of the happenings. Seeing nothing at this particular location, they reported that all was quiet. Bernie said he was leaving it to the Bahraini organizers anyway.
To my great relief, the track operators chose to cancel the Grand Prix. This would not be a good time to parade multi-million dollar racing cars driven by multi-millionaire drivers and watched by hordes of multi-millionaire royals in front of rabid protesters. To my mind, a most obvious and wise decision. The door is still open, however, to stage the race at the end of the F1 season, late November. That is, if there is still an autocratic monarchical government in power at the time. At any rate, for once, I am damned glad I have to wait two extra weeks for Melbourne. Thank you all for indulging me.....
COMING IN THE NEXT TRANSPLANT TRIBUNE, ON NOOZSTANDS SOON!
Jenny Moss makes her Triumphal Return to "Cali"; Our take on the Daytona 500: A trip to Heart Clinic; CTDN duties at a San Ramon blood drive; and much, much more!
Bob/Irv
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