I don't know the best way to express how much I love this place, or Grandma Pooh and Saba. La Jolla has always held a special place in my heart, and their home is without a doubt my favorite place on the planet. Whenever I'm here, I feel at peace, and I know J and Rach, feel exactly the same way. I'm always so happy to arrive, and so sad to leave, but leave I must. I'm on a journey, and perhaps, I'll be back this way sooner, rather than later. I'll do another series of journal excerpts since I chose not to do daily posts while I was here, but even if I were to paste them here in their entirety they could never hope to capture the joy I've felt while I was here.

On dinner and a show, Friday night:

There was salmon, topped with diced fennel and fronds, a little Riesling, and baked in a packet, en papillote style. There were big fat spears of local asparagus, perfectly ripe, and delicious, especially when dipped in the dill mayo, served with the salmon. Boiled potatoes with butter and parsley, and, thank you god and Ruth, apple crisp for desert. It was a perfect meal. As delicious as any I've ever, or likely will ever, have. It left me feeling satisfied in places other than my belly is what I'm trying, so ham-handedly, to say. After dinner we loaded into the car, and headed over to the neurosciences institute for a concert, a Mozart duo for violin and viola, which while not thrilling, had a nice second movement. The middle piece was a Schubert trio, which to be perfectly frank, was a little boring, except for one piece, in the second movement where the cello took the lead, and the other two strings played off the theme. The final piece was a Beethoven string trio, and it was magnificent. Exciting, and beautifully performed.

On Opera and expectations:

It(La Traviata) was quite an experience, not really what I was expecting, and I while the first act didn't grab me, after that it picked up, and I rather enjoyed the rest of it. More than I had hoped to. The music was lovely, and the woman who played the part of Violetta was amazing. Oddly enough I found myself humming snatches of the music to myself for the rest of the day. Like most opera, I assume, it had it's funny moments, but was after all a tragedy, and ended poorly for all involved.

At the opera I met the Gulls, Einar and Sally, good friends of Grandma and Saba, they were fascinating folks, and I would have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them better.

It's Monday evening, and I've been driving pretty much non-stop since ten this morning. I haven't made it nearly as far as I'd have liked, but I'm going to drive for another hour or so, before I crash for the night. I made some poor navigational decisions earlier, and am now in a position to make some choices about the course of my trip. I want to drive through San Fransisco, but that will involve logistical challenges. Maybe I'll do it, and damn the troubles.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Grandma and Saba for putting me up, and for supporting me, and I can't wait to see you both again in September at Rachel's Wedding. I love you all, and I'm really excited. I'm almost there.