Saturday Clearlake to Oakland

The Weekend Starts Here


Reflecting on Clear Lake, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

On Saturday morning I woke up pretty early and went out to get a last look at the lake. The water was completely smooth, it was a mirror reflecting the mountains along the far shore. Some ducks came up close to Ian and me while I took a few pictures of their steady advance.

We said our goodbyes and then I got into the car with Robbie and Nicky and we started back for the bay area. Kay and Wayne live in Piedmont, which is a suburb of Oakland. I got directions to their house from Google maps and we drove through some scenic mountains and then Napa Valley on our way. We got to the house in the afternoon, Wayne was home. Kay was at a bridge class, so we sat and talked to Wayne for a while and then Robbie and Nicky left to the Mission where they spent the night before taking off at 6am.



I spent some more time talking to Wayne and then Kay came home. We still had some time before dinner and the weather was great, so Kay took me out on a walk to upper Piedmont to see the views of the city. It was foggy over San Francisco, but I could make out the skyline. From this vantage point, we had a great view of downtown Oakland. We saw a lot of fruit, and Kay pointed out a few apple trees that had several different varieties of apples hanging from different branches grafted onto one tree. We also saw lots of redwood and eucalyptus trees. I even saw a kiwi vine with a bunch of kiwis growing from it! Kay and I had a good conversation, she is just like a family member... it's easy to feel comfortable around her and Wayne. Kay was my Aunt Lynne's friend from a country club in Dubuque. She became a friend of all the Bartons. Kay-Kay is such a close family friend, she is like a part of the family. I'll call her Aunt Kay-Kay now.





After we got back, it was about time to get dinner. Wayne drove us to a Thai / Mediterranean fusion restaurant that they frequent. We started out with an order of mussels that was perfect! The mussels were sweet and juicy. I ordered a roast duck breast with a balsamic reduction or something and some greens. The duck was really good, but filling. Kay had some scallops that she let me try and they were amazing!

After dinner we went back to the house and opened a bottle of wine. It was the tasty dessert wine that got me into trouble back at Clear Lake! Wayne and Kay showed me their photos from a trip they took to Morocco. It looked like a great adventure, I will visit Africa some day. Isabelle owns property in Cameroon and her mother has been building a house there, so we already have our pied a terre back in the "old country" ... but I digest. After showing Kay and Wayne a couple of my own travel photos and a few websites, it was time to get some sleep. I went up to the bedroom and fell asleep.



- Andy