March 27, 1991
Dear Everyone:
“Jeannie” and I had a wonderful time in Monterey
last weekend. “Jeannie” had
some things she had to do before we could leave on Friday, which meant
that I got to sleep late.
I even had time to watch the last (and shocking!) episode of this
season’s
L. A. Law.
I mean!
Dropping poor Rosalind down an elevator shaft like that!
Kind of makes you wonder:
Diana
Muldaur was only a special guest star.
What do you suppose they have planned for the three main stars
who announced they’re not continuing next season?
Put them all on the same plane and then hit it with a Scud?
Once I got over the shock, we drove down to
Monterey, only getting off our intended route once.
Not our fault. I’m
convinced that someone in Pruneville took down the sign indicating the
turnoff for Route 156. We
were already halfway to Salinas by the time we realized we’d missed the
turn. I’m not making up the
part about Pruneville. You
can look it up on any map of California.
It’s right there at the corner of 101 and 156.
Before we left the Bay Area, I took the precaution
of buying a map of Monterey.
Analyticals do that. You can
spot an analytical by the number of maps they have squirreled away.
So, when we got into Monterey, we consulted the map to find out
where the Doubletree Hotel was.
Unfortunately, we didn’t know where
we were.
The map didn’t have a “You Are Here” spot on it.
So we just went in “that” direction and quickly found the hotel
by sheer luck. Then had to
drive around a rather complicated “block” in a classic case of “You
Can’t Get There From Here” to find the entrance.
Once we’d settled into our room, we went down to
the dining room which we had entirely to ourselves except for the server
who was prepared to wait on us, tell us all about the labor conditions
and generally become our friend-for-life.
After prime rib for two, we went back to the room where we
elected to watch
Goodfellas on the
pay channel since it was up for some Academy Awards.
So much for night life in Monterey.
The high point was when Housekeeping delivered our cookies.
On the first night of a guest’s stay, Doubletree presents them
with a couple of chocolate chip cookies about the size of downtown
Detroit. After the first
night, you can buy more and
they offer to sell you a tin of them on your way out.
Such a step above “airport gifts” for the family, don’t you know.
Saturday morning, we had breakfast (dining room
much more crowded this time) and then “Jeannie” went to her morning
sessions and I went to get acquainted with the Spa.
I spent nearly an hour in the hot, bubbly water (I had the whole
thing to myself and it’s big enough to do short laps in) in the mistaken
belief that the 15-minute timer meant 15 minutes.
Evidently, if you turn the timer all the way to the end, it gets
stuck and gives you four minutes for every one.
Then I decided to go for a walk.
The weather was perfect:
partly cloudy and breezy along the beach.
I found Cannery Row, which has as many T-shirt shops as any other
tourist trap. I had lunch at
a “genuine” Irish Pub, featuring “Pub Grub” and three big screen TV’s
installed in the walls, with (what else?) a basketball game showing on
all three. I kept wondering
how they got them up there and how do they service them when they need
to?
On the way back, I found a much easier way to find
Cannery Row. I also found
the first brick house built in California (circa 1847) and some other
“historical” sites and, purely by accident, bumped into “Jeannie” who
was playing hookey from her afternoon session.
She went off to find Cannery Row, with my instructions (turn
right at the hot dog stand)
and I went back to the hotel to read
Silence of the Lambs.
We rounded off the day by having room service while
watching Star Trek. I guess we’re
just not party animals.
Sunday, while “Jeannie” attended more sessions, I
got us all packed up and back in the car (after some more time in the
Spa, of course). It had
rained a little bit, off and on.
But it didn’t really start to come down until after we left
Monterey. We stopped in
Carmel for some lunch and “Jeannie” visited her favorite crystal shop;
but I’m not allowed to say if she bought anything or how much she paid
for it.
“Jeannie” claims responsibility for the great
weather, including the deluge that we drove through on our way back to
Concord/Pleasant Hill. The
hills around here, which are usually “California gold”, are now a lovely
shade of green. And Mount
Diablo has quite a dusting of snow on top.
(“California gold” is spelled b-r-o-w-n.)
We moved into new offices over the weekend.
I now have my own office and my
own window. If you stand
right next to the window and lean over
just a bit, you can get a stunning view of the South of Market
district. More about moving
later.
Love, as always,
Pete
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