Trip To Ted's*

*With a bonus recipe thrown in!

Rachel and I boarded the dogs and went to visit Ted at his new house. There's a link over there on the right to Ted's blog about the building of his house, "The Sea Sanctuary." It is beautiful! Everywhere you look there are amazing details, and you will notice them if you can tear your eyes from the views of the ocean.

We got a late start. What else is new? But once we hit the road, we made pretty good time. Rachel encouraged me to let the car do it's thing. I've become a very safe, and perhaps overly cautious driver. I'm not going to become reckless or anything, but I am working on keeping my foot off the brake a little more. It was a fun and pretty drive.

We got to Ted's around 8 and gave him the house warming gift we picked out for him a few months ago at a Craft Festival in Lakeport.


Then we went to the Purple Rose for dinner.


Then we went over to scout out this little carnival that was in town. Fun to watch Ted shoot a machine gun.



And I won Rachel a little pug and some fuzzy dice playing the squirt gun and dart games.

And then we went on the Tilt-O-Whirl! Which was always my Mom's favorite ride when we went to a carnival as kids. But after a big Mexican dinner and a couple of Margaritas, it was the Tilt-O-Hurl. Click on the video below for a sample...



Then we went back to Ted's and played this crazy game that Ted got at a garage sale for $1. It's called Villa Paletti. No directions, no dice, and no hooky thingy. So we went to the internet for the directions, and MacGyvered a die and hooky thingy.

We're not quite sure if Ted won or I did. Ted placed the last piece, but it toppled over after a few moments. We couldn't find anything in the directions about how long it had to stand after a legal move.

And a(s)s usual, Ted had some wicked gas. Not that mine smelled like roses or anything.

Here's what Ted looks like when he laughs really hard...

I love that.

On Saturday, we slept in a little. Then we went out and about. I found a singing bowl for $5 at a flea market. And we walked around Mendocino.

I took this picture of Ted's house.

Ain't it stunning?

We sat around playing guitar while Rachel colored.

I sang loud and everything.

Some friend's of Ted's came over for the afternoon and ended up staying for dinner.

Mike is quite a character with lots of theories about everything. And he's an avid photgrapher who gave us this great print that will look great in our bedroom if we ever get it to Adrienne to frame it. And Gloria is this hip woman who runs the only record store in town.

I went to the beach to fly my kite while Rachel and Ted cooked dinner. Mike came with to help me launch. And there just wasn't enough wind. And I was disappointed. And I know better, but I tried and tried. It has been a long time since I've flown. And it always makes me feel good to fly. And when I was about to give up, Mike egged me on. And then I tripped and fell on some rocks. Not little rocks, but a giant boulder sea crag thing. And it hurt a lot. And there were people watching because they wanted to see my kite fly. So I lay there a minute, in pain, and humiliation, just trying to assess the extent of my injuries. And then I stood up. And as a final rebuke for trying to fly with no wind, a big wave, a seventh wave, washed over me up to my knees. And I was faced with a long slow miserable painful walk back to the house.

Here's what my back looked like after icing it...


Still hurts.

Anyway, by the time I packed up my kites and got back, the house smelled like a great dinner was just about ready. And it was. Rachel made a cobbler crumble thing with some peaches that Mike and Gloria brought.



And Ted made Three Cup Chicken. And this is the bonus recipe I promised. It's a recipe he learned from his mystery woman, Csarina.



It is really easy! Brown some chicken. Ted used legs and thighs, I made it last night with diced boneless skinless breasts. Anyway, brown whatever chicken you like (I think pork would be good too). Then put a pot on the stove and add equal parts of Soy Sauce, Sugar, and Oriental (or just about any kind of) cooking wine. Heat it to a boil and add the chicken. Then simmer until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is reduced to a sticky, barbecue sauce like consistency. When I made it, I added garlic and green onions because I just can't leave well enough alone. It is delicious!

Then on Sunday, I guess I didn't take any pictures.

Oh wait, I took these. Here's a panorama. It's kind of cool if you click on it to make it bigger and then scroll left to right in the browser window. You might have to click on it twice.

We tried to go see The Blushin' Roulettes, but we got a little sidetracked. Rachel hadn't spent any time on the beach and was bummed about it, so she went down while I packed the car. Then Ted went to join her. Then I went down. And there was this poor young harbor seal sort of washed up on the beach. It wasn't doing too well. We sat with it for a while and said nice things to it and tried calling around for a ranger or something. We were told one would stop by later.

Ted did this really cool thing that is just the sort of thing that makes Ted wonderful and won't surprise you if you know him. He sang a song from Dr. Doolittle (the original, of course, not the cheap Eddie Murphy knockoff).

It goes like this:

WHEN I LOOK IN YOUR EYES (Key of F)
When I look in your eyes,
I see the wisdom of the world in your eyes,
I see the sadness of a thousand good-byes,
When I look in your eyes.
And it is no surprise
To see the softness of the moon in your eyes,
The gentle sparkle of the stars in the skies,
When I look in your eyes.
**In your eyes,
I see the deepness of the sea;
I see the deepness of the love,
The love I feel you feel for me.
Autumn comes, summer dies,
I see the passing of the years in your eyes,
And when we part there'll be not tears, no good-byes,
I'll just look into your eyes.
(Instrumental interlude and pick up from **.)
TAG: Those eyes so wise, so warm, so real;
How I love the world your eyes reveal.

I cried.

And then we left. And by the time we got to Jughandle State Park, The Blushin' Roulettes had finished playing. So we stopped by Gloria's record store. And we got the handmade ice cream Rachel had been wanting. And the we took Ted home and headed back to The Yorb.

We stopped on the way home so Rachel could take this picture.


It was a great visit. The first of many. And a wonderful way to relax and celebrate our being together.