Strange...

... to go to bed alone, to wake up alone, after all these years, when we have spent so little time apart. But so it is. In anticipation of what I hope might be my last day of jury duty, I left Ellie in Laguna Beach yesterday--the day, you'll remember, on which we celebrated the fortieth anniversary of our meeting--and drove up alone to Los Angeles. I warmed up a pre-made Indian dinner from Trader Joe's and watched a silly movie that Ellie would never want to watch--in this instance, the newest James Bond, "Quantum Solace"--and, in bed early, an episode of the utterly delightful HBO series, No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. And woke alone.

Yesterday, to celebrate the day, we were up early for a drive down to the village for coffee and a walk along the cliff through Heisler Park. Preparations, everywhere, for Memorial Day events: picnics, a ceremony with veterans and flags, scuba divers unloading their gear, swimmers and surfers out in the waves. An Impressionist whirl of color and activity. On the path along the cliff, we came upon a band warming up their audience, their leader asking, as I passed--a little ahead of Ellie--"Anyone here been together more than 25 years?" I raised a hand as I walked by, and he asked "Where's your wife?" I hooked a thumb behind me and he latched on to her, starting a whole light-hearted exchange, on the amplifiers, for the audience, about our meeting and our marriage. I wasn't smart enough to take a picture while the banter was in progress, but did catch a view of the band on our return:


As a reward for her good humor, Ellie was rewarded with a CD. Turns out it was Jazzy Boy Jeff. I looked him up online and there he was. A nice sound, actually...

Then on, a long walk through the streets of North Laguna to a spot at the cliff's edge overlooking what we call the "seal rock"--though it's probably sea lions. Here you see it...


... the rock, anyway. The cell phone camera--I'd forgotten the Canon again, of course--was unable to catch the actual animals, heaped up lazily in the sunshine on the rock itself and playing in the ocean all around. And the park also provides a nice playground for George:


We debated eating breakfast out, but decided we'd do better heading back to the quiet of our cottage for home-made bacon and eggs. Delicious!

This morning, now that I'm done with the blog entry, I'll get a little exercise in while watching the morning news. Then I'll be off to court. Wish me luck.