The Wilder Side of Los Gatos
I planned to sleep in Sunday, as I had intended and even requested the night before. I routinely get up first and manage the dog's routines before starting my own, and when asking Jennifer Saturday night if she'd attend to the morning routine with the dogs so I could sleep in, I was reminded that I need only ask, which I was doing, confirming I need not be reminded. Circular logic can be a curse, alongside being an inherently earlier riser stricken with a compulsion to get up when I wake up and it's already bright outside.
Although Jennifer works from home, our daily dynamic shifted from the less structured nature of mutual unemployment once she began starting her days being online and working before 9. The day being Sunday meant our weekly uninterrupted blocks of time were 50% over. She was gone Saturday to visit her Roseville-based friend Judith at a midpoint outlet mecca in Vacaville, and our evening was spent at a neighbor's 20th wedding party.
Sunday was wide open with no plans, and I wanted to optimize the possibilities. At 7 a.m., I rolled over and kissed her as a way to nudge her through those last few levels of consciousness between the waking transition and being cognisant and responsive. "I'll get 'em pee'd and fed, you get up and ready to walk them, then we'll head out for coffee." I said.
The morning coffee idea had been floated the night before, with Crema in Santa Clara or Voyager in Campbell as possible destinations. I highly recommend and enjoy both. This morning, it was Voyager.
We didn't get out as early as I'd hoped. Between walking the dogs, getting the car from Leigh, returning for assorted tech items and other incidental distractions all along the path, we arrived at Voyager around 9 am. On Sunday, that's a pretty busy time for them, so I was pleasantly surprised to arrive and find both a shaded parking and one remaining open table for us to sit at.
The table was a simple 2-seater, smack in the middle of the spattering of surrounding and occupied tables, each with active dialogs and engagements underway, all competing for any available fragment of distractable attention someone such as myself might afford them. But it was our only option.
I would have much preferred to have found two of their four mustard-yellow Eames-inspired mid-century-modern armchairs available. They are my favorite seats due not only to their classic design, comfortable angles and width that allows room to sit cross-legged (yes, I do); they are accompanied by a matching wooden end table placed between each set of two, a neutral and complementary rug beneath all four, the entire area being positioned by tall windows that span most of the two comers walls where natural light floods in and fills the room. It's the main reason I go there.
What was more off-putting than not having two open seats available for our exclusive use was that there was one. Three of the four seats were in use: two by typical coffee house dwellers wishing to have the opportunity to work on whatever task was at hand with a change of scenery and a sense of connection to the world around them and this guy. The odd man out. The character that draws more curious suspension and intrigue. The individual that the camera's panning shot across a crowd scene centers and stops on in an early Hitchcock film. His standout feature was the glaring absence of a coffee drink OR a digital device. The guy was sitting there, relatively still, empty hands in plain sight, looking casually about the cafe at assorted patrons until pausing and meeting my gaze back at him.
Moderately irked, I broke the stare and focused on our orders. I appreciated having access to that remaining table, and we settled in. I approach the counter to order two cappuccinos and a ham 'n cheese croissant. Having been roasting my beans at home for several months, I'm a bit of a snob now regarding coffee, including cappuccinos. Sure, they are adept at serving up fancy foam floral and florentine patterns using steamed milk, something I have yet to master, but can anybody match the quality of my espresso roast these days? The question was silently asked as I placed the order. Our name was called, and the coffee was retrieved, tabled and cautiously sipped. Damn. The answer here was yes. They did it. They did it better. I was impressed. I have more work to do, it seems, on my espresso.
My primary goal for the morning was to utilize the time, space and change of pace to focus on my book outline. I have a lot of reduction to tackle in the scope of the parallel stories. I find using my remarkable 2 tablet an isolating experience, a way to focus without distractions, and it's all I brought. When waking the tablet in anticipation of having at least an hour or two to work, I immediately noticed the battery indicator in the top right corner indicating I was quite low on power — 6%, to be exact. Insert facepalm here.
Part of our morning departure delay was time spent ensuring Jen's iPad was charged sufficiently. I should have considered that my reMarkable might be low, but it did not occur to me, and I didn't want that to warrant abandoning our outing. I had recently started and still needed to finish reading a writing essay recommended by David Sedaris in his Master Class: Ann Pachett's "The Getaway Car." I use the reMarkable for reading as well as writing, which is less of a battery drain. So, I decided to utilize the time there for that purpose instead.
As I glanced at the battery indicator, I also glanced, with pre-ordained disdain, at the chair occupant, only to find him gone and both chairs vacant. These instances are rare opportunities, and I think it's important to move quickly. "Do you want to move to the chairs?" I asked Jen while gathering my items as if the question was an obligatory one with a pre-determined answer. "I think she's taking it," Jen replied, gesturing with a nod towards a young woman walking directly towards it.
Feeling deflated and kicking myself for having stalled to ask instead of flinging my phone across the room and onto the seat before she reached it, I noticed that they didn't take a seat but instead turned back to face the counter, stood behind the chair, and waited along with a few others for their name to be called when their drink was ready. The chairs were accessible.
I was up instantly, setting half of my possessions on one chair while sitting in the other until Jen came over a few moments later, seemingly impressed with my rapid action in securing our place. Thus, we could finally resume our morning from where God had intended us to sit. (I'm an Atheist, yes, but, allow me this poetic license.)
I kept reading. The essay was wonderful. It struck several cords, as did the MasterClass. Both gave me a sense of insight into other's writing processes. It's an ongoing practice. Regardless of content or intention, writing consistently plays a role in being able, even moderately, to capture on paper fragments of ideas that seem so creatively clear and ripe for picking from the imagination where they reside. A reference was made to how their eventually completed writings differed from their elaborate internal vision of what they wanted to write. Recognizing that I may have an idealized fantasy version of what I want to create, I can still capture and convey the ideas, emotions and concepts to the best of my ability, which might be just enough to have the desired effect. I have to start and stick with it, refining and refactoring to a point of satisfaction. I'm not new to that; it's how many of my posts were written. It's good to hear that it's not just me..
Glancing again at the battery level, now showing 4%, I lamented not having one of my many portable chargers on hand. I have a few, and here I was in a pinch, realizing that having something 'just in case' necessitates having it on hand, much like the recently purchased portable air compressor I bought and stuck in the Tesla. I've had my share of "low tire" issues, and having the option to inflate a low tire on demand will likely come in handy. It's better than sticking a bike pump in the trunk. I keep it in the center console, plugged in to maintain a full charge. Heck, it even has a flashlight, 2 USB ports and can charge a computer or phone… or... a reMarkable 2!
I walked out to the car, pulled the small rectangular device out of the center console and the 'guest' charging cable from the other compartment and returned to plug in and revive the battery on the remarkable. I love it when advanced planning meets with the memory capacity to recall having the option in the first place.
About another 30-45 min later, as I was reading and reflecting on some of my writing intentions, we decided it was time to move on to the next stop for the day. I'd nonchalantly thrown thrifting out as an option. We also had to stop and get the ingredients to make this week's supply of dog food. Then I recalled while driving that a Savers had opened in Santa Clara right next to Grocery Outlet. One stone meets two birds with deadly results. Jen found a few new items to mix into her ever-fluctuating fashion inventory while I just meandered about, recognizing that I needed nothing beyond success in dropping a few pounds and reviving a wide range of clothing options already in my possession.
Jen makes dog food every 7-10 days. It's a heartfelt gesture of love to ensure we manage what goes into their diets. Yet, it's a several-hour process and requires a lot of work to grate veggies, "Instant Pot" ground beef, mix it all with blueberries and pack it into containers to freeze until needed. While shopping at GOBM I suggested we try doing a double batch and switch to frozen veggie mixes to simplify the process. We worked together once at home and created twice the amount in half the time.
Between making the first and second batches, we headed up to Wright's Station Winery in the hills above Los Gatos for a later afternoon date. We finally visited and joined this place earlier this year. We've traveled three hours out of town for wine while this idyllic winery sat nestled in the hillside, well appointed and comfortable, just about a 20-minute drive from our home with excellent wines.
As wine club members, we were given the option of a free tasting or a complimentary glass each when we arrived, which is not typically done at most other wineries (tastings are free, but a glass?). It's not usual, but it makes perfect sense from a staffing position, and we ended up buying a bottle to open and share. We enjoyed a cool spot at a shaded table overlooking the rich green vineyards and distant redwood grove, along with the wine and a charcuterie package we'd picked up earlier at GOBM for this specific use.
Once we returned and quickly prepped and packed the remaining dog food, I rode my new eBike to Mark's. He'd been talking about a recent route he'd found that led him into a wide array of 'hidden gem' neighborhoods and easements throughout Monte Sereno and Los Gatos. It was a stunning journey. We traveled through beautiful neighborhoods and saw all sorts of unique homes from vantage points you seldom get by just driving past or through a neighborhood. We crossed 85 into Campbell, then along the creek trails back into Monte Serino, then from Monte Sereno into Los Gatos, through narrow back roads winding through the mountains to eventually come out right on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Pennsylvania Avenue was the location of my ex-girlfriend Melissa's house, where she rented one of three apartments in an old Victorian right beside a steep walkway down into town. I spent 2+ years routinely biking or walking back and forth to and from that place while renting on Wilder Avenue, one block off Santa Cruz Avenue. The richness of the memories came flooding back. Good ones and not-so-good ones. It wasn't the healthiest relationship at times, but it shaped many of my life experiences then and into my future.
When I finally returned home, it was after 9 p.m. We cleaned up and prepared for the day ahead, which was a return to the workweek and our respective routines. I also outlined and started writing this, having been inspired by the day, the writing insights, and the fact that every day tends to be full of moments of presence that come and go so quickly that they're not often remembered or integrated into the following day.
I'm confident I'm not alone in this. The past few years have seen me more aggressively conscious of and grateful for all of the 'routine' things we might otherwise miss or take for granted. A couple of quotes come to mind…."Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" and "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Pay attention to the unique moments that make up each day. Recognize they're from a vantage point no one else can fully understand or experience. Yours.