Zoom, zoom, zoom

I feel like a migrating hummingbird, just a little bit of nectar here and there. First we went to the mining convention in Veracruz via the ultra modern Mexico City airport, then drove from Veracruz through the scenic farmland of Mexico to Puebla for a brief visit, on to Cuernavaca just overnight but with enough to time enjoy our host’s beautiful very private home and garden replete with swimming pool, six German Shepherd dogs and two quarter horses, the whole set behind a high walled stone fence.

Two days back in Santa Rosalia then on to Northern California to catch our first glimpse of early fall; cool sunny days and crisp nights. We managed to miss the brief overnight rain in San Francisco when we spent Friday night there at the Omni Hotel having gotten an excellent rate of $160 on the internet (which when we checked out had been further reduced to $100, eeeGad! This is the 3rd most highly rated of all hotels in San Francisco on tripadvisor.com.) We met up with Youngest Daughter after work at the Bob's Bar in the Omni, a small very noisy and crowded affair, obviously hot-hot-hot—then across the street to the Carnelian Room for surprisingly inexpensive drinks in a room with a view. Dinner reservations were all but impossible at the places we wanted to try: Foreign Cinema, Burma Superstar and Zuni Café so we ended up at Saha Restaurant, Zagat’s mostly highly-rated middle eastern restaurant (a really excellent pick for us mixed group of carnivores and vegetarians) located in the Tenderloin district, and finally ended the evening with Irish coffee at that old icon, the Buenavista Café in North Beach.

When Saturday rolled around we had the chance to enjoy our grand- children and explore Petaluma, spending the night in a very quiet room at the Sheraton nestled around the Petaluma River. Onward the next morning for a drive into Healdsburg, with a scenic detour through Sonoma. Everywhere the grape vines of some of the most prestigious wineries in the world had turned gold or red, creating lovely views. We ate lunch in Benicia before arriving at my brother Juan-in-a- Million’s home in Moraga for the rest of our stay. Northern California is such a beautiful place; it breaks my heart not to live here anymore.

Thursday we will be winging our way to Denver, then driving on to Carlsbad, New Mexico, for my oldest brother’s memorial service. It will be good to see all my family, including the newest addition of just several weeks, the first child of my nephew, a daughter, Paloma. This is so rich an experience it should easily compensate for our solitary Thanksgiving when we return to Santa Rosalia in about a week.