39th and 72nd Birthdays

Monday, May 26th, the day of Alex's and my shared birthday, Frank, Alex, and I visited the Discovery Museum in San Jose, the purple building with the huge yellow duck on the roof. The last time we'd been there was August of 2022. There are many more extensive photos in that blog post even though it had been during times of COVID and a modified visit. This post just hits some highlights. To commemorate this birthday occasion, Alex and I posed for a selfie inside a full size Wells Fargo Stage Coach.

Having been to the museum several times before, we knew what Alex's favorite spots were and were sure to visit those. Shortly after entering there is an air-powered air maze which when loaded with fluffy pompoms whizzes them all around before spitting them out to do a repeat. Alex loved loading the yarn balls and laughing when they shoot out in a random location on the floor or when they actually clobber him upon ejection.

I think Alex's most favorite spot of all is the water play area. He tossed balls into the vortex and watched them spiral down, then shoot out to do again.

There are several activities he likes to do with Frank. Building with huge foam blocks is one. Walking across a bumpy moving bridge is another. Alex will go back and enjoy jumping solo on the bridge, as well.

Upstairs there are stacking and building manipulative activities in which Alex can become very engrossed. The tower stacking station has a button to press to shake, simulating an earthquake and knocking down the newly built creations. Alex liked that part, also.

Wheels vs. no wheels? Frank and Alex race in the friction test by pulling on a rope to drag a sled weighed down with a cinder block. Frank let Alex have the sled with wheels but Alex did not always win. He was too distracted gleefully pointing out to Frank what a good job he was doing pulling the rope.

The pin sensory board was also a big hit.

Outdoors, the occasional big bubble, in the rare instance when I could succeed in forming one, was good for a laugh and a pop. The notable point of this photo is that Frank took it with his new iPhone 16 Pro Max. My birthday present was that Frank finally — yes, finally — gave in, and we got the same iPhones, so doing and learning actions on the phone would be the same for both of us.

Once back home at St Denis, Alex blew out some candles on his doughnut and opened a few gifts. He is holding two more Squishy Dogs like those we got him and that had been such a hit when we went to the Stunt Dog Show two weeks earlier.

Alex did enjoy his birthday. Sometimes repeating an activity known to be a sure winner is the way to go.

Ponder: Migrations

Last month I went to my third meeting of a book club I recently joined.  The assigned book for discussion was Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy ©2020. Migrations is about Franny, a woman who sets out to follow the migratory path of the Arctic Tern from the north pole to the south pole. My initial reaction was, "Really? This sounds like a dull book with loads of scenery ad nauseam and very little plot. And, come on, how much character development can birds have?" But, I was determined to give this every-other-month book club a fair chance, and so I soldiered on. 

An additional impetus to not give up on this novel was a convincing action initiated by the group leader, Carol. She emailed out a list of 19 discussion questions a week before the meeting. I scurried to finished the book, re-inspired by my curiosity. Here are two of the questions.

Question #2: Discuss the novel’s first lines: "The animals are dying. Soon we will be alone here." How does the disappearance of wildlife in mass extinctions shape the characters and plot? What are the similarities and differences between Franny’s world and our own? Would you describe this novel as dystopian? Why or why not?

Question #6: Franny says: "It isn’t fair to be the kind of creature who is able to love but unable to stay." Why does she have so much trouble staying, even with the people she most loves? Did you find that aspect of her character sympathetic? Right before their car accident, Niall tells Franny, "There’s a difference between wandering and leaving. In truth, you’ve never once left me." Do you agree?

What? All the animals are gone? Why can't Franny stay with someone she loves? What car accident? Who is Niall? (I later learned that Niall is a Scottish name that stands for champion and does fit this character). How do wander and leave compare? There must be something more to this book than ice and snow vistas as far as the eye can see. Besides, I might learn something about this Arctic Tern, which I did.

Per a Wikipedia article on the Artic Tern: 

The Arctic tern is famous for its migration; it flies from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back again each year. The shortest distance between these areas is 19,000 km (12,000 mi). The long journey ensures that this bird sees two summers per year and more daylight than any other creature on the planet. ... It migrates along a convoluted route from its northern breeding grounds to the Antarctic coast for the southern summer and back again about six months later. The birds follow a somewhat convoluted course in order to take advantage of prevailing winds.... The average Arctic tern lives about 30 years and will ... travel some 2.4 million km (1.5 million mi) during its lifetime, the equivalent of a roundtrip from Earth to the Moon more than three times.

As well as interesting things about the bird, I learned interesting things about myself reading this book and participating in a book club. When a book is selected, the library does not normally have enough hard copies to supply all the members. Some members have Kindles and others listen to the book on tape, borrowing an audio version from the library. I downloaded the app Libby and tried listening to the story. I was too distracted. My mind would wander and I would suddenly realize I had missed a large portion of what had been said. I am very much a visual, not audio learner. I bought the book from Amazon, used and inexpensive. It came without a dust cover, just a solid navy blue front and back cover. Oddly enough, I needed that visual enticement, encouraging me to read the book. I found find an image of the cover on my computer, printed it, and wrapped it around the book making it much more appealing and palatable to read. Weird, huh?

Migrations is not a book I would have chosen to read on my own but I am pleased that this book club selection pushed me beyond my comfort zone. The story does go beyond my stereotyping image of a nerdy birdwatcher sitting for hours quietly out in nature in hopes of catching a glimpse of some rare feathery creature. Fanny, in order to follow the migratory path of the tern needs to become a crew member on a fishing vessel.  Some of the experiences and dangers she faces reminded me of the reality TV shoe Deadliest Catch. Per the Wikipedia post on Deadliest Catch:

The show emphasizes the dangers on deck to the fishermen and camera crews as they duck heavy crab pots swinging into position, maneuver hundreds of pounds of crab across a deck strewn with hazards, and lean over the rails to position pots for launch or retrieval, while gale-force winds and high waves lash the deck constantly.

Finally, I am getting to my review of the book. Migrations is slow to start but picks up speed and had me very engaged. It gave me great pause for thought about a wanderlust. Franny wanders from her mom and from Niall but this does not mean she does not love them. I thought of a particular parallel to this as a woman who loves her husband and children dearly but still desires the draw of a career thats take her away from them. The suffering and drama in this book is real and well conveyed. There is a whole cast of characters, a subset of which is on the fishing boat, that are intriguing with hints of an undiscovered depth. There was a human and animal pathos throughout the novel that pierced my heart. Although Migrations is not a selection I would have chose for myself, reading it enabled me to fully experience one of the strengths of participating in a book club, both for the choice of book and discussions about it. I rate this book four stars based on its thoughtful theme, wide range of fascinating characters, and unique topic. I found the plot only weakly relatable to me personally, but do acknowledge that I did not need to be an animal enthusiast to gain enjoyment and growth from this book.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

Carbonaro: Lies on Stage

Friday night, May 16th Frank and I attended a magic show at our local Bankhead Theatre titled Carbonaro: Lies On Stage. Per Bankhead Theatre publicity

America’s favorite trickster, Michael Carbanaro, is coming to The Bankhead ready to thrill audiences and conjure up concoctions of unbelievable magic. Best known as the star of “The Carbonaro Effect” on truTV, he has been a magician since youth, he studied experimental theater at NYU and conjured fame with his hidden-camera magic on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, and appeared on shows like “30 Rock,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “CSI Miami.”

We had seats up close to the stage, D1 and D3, as shown by the dots on the seating chart. Surely with seats this near we would be able to spot some of the secrets behind the "tricks". Nope. Not so. Our great view yielded us no insights or advantages enabling us to figure "How did he do that?".

The show was absorbing, about 90 minutes with no intermissions, but atypical of what I would expect of a magician. He did not pull any rabbits out of a hat. He did not saw anyone in half. He did rejoin ropes cut in a multitude of pieces and a perform a few pick your card type illusions. Much of the enjoyment came from his ability to engage the audience with his non-stop narration and endearing antics. At times, it seemed the time to set up a trick was a bit too long, but his banter was fun to watch and hear. There was a great deal of audience participation, so the show time passed quickly. Frank and I both grinned and scratched our heads at some of the "lies" like mind reading, invisibility, helium filled balloons that go up and down, and repeatedly appearing and re-appearing gnomes.

It was a fun, low-effort excursion on our part and I am glad we went for the evening. To get a feel for the type of "lies" and "bulls**t"" he is know for, check this YouTube link for a few examples of the Carbonaro Effect. The video is a mash up of severals pranks from his television show and worth watching for a few giggles. It is just possible that after the first set-up, you will go down the rabbit hole and laugh your way through at least some of the clips. The expressions on the face of each of his marks are priceless.

Ponder: By the Book

Jasmine Guillory is an author whose romance books I read when I want something light and frivolous. By the Book is the eighth book I've read by her. Her first three books I gave three stars each, her next three books also three stars, her seventh book only two stars, but her ninth book, Flirting Lessons, I abandoned after one and a half chapters and so zero stars for it. But with this, her eighth book, I became re-enamored with the author and I give By the Book four stars.

The plot in By the Book is that Isabelle, a young professional, currently working as an editorial assistant at a high profile New York publishing firm, aspires to become a book editor, or perhaps even an author in her own rite. Eager to get ahead, she volunteers to personally contact a famous celebrity, one of the firm's problem clients, and facilitate his submittal of behind schedule drafts of his memoir. Beau lives in a mansion in Santa Barbara. The man may be jaded and disagreeable, but the silver lining in that cloud is that a few days in California would be luscious reprieve for Isabelle from the cold, slushy, bitter winter in New York City.

What are the demons in Beau's life that make writing his memoir so difficult? In addition to the subject matter, what are the writing skills he struggles with that are contributing to his writer's block? Isabelle is precisely the feisty, yet patient and understanding, person Beau needs to help him out of his slump, personal and literary. The writing tips and motivational approaches are a bonus to the text of this novel.  The romantic entanglement is predictable, but the process in getting to the inevitable outcome is oh so enjoyable. 

I'd read those first seven books of Jasmine Guillory within August, September and October of 2022. Here are excerpts from those three blog posts.

• 8/30/22 (three-romance-novels) Was it rocket science? Hardly, especially not with a book published about every ten months. But I still gained some insight into other life experiences. I rate each of them three stars.
• 9/12/22 (three-more-romance-novels) There were intimations about other peripheral characters that make me wonder if perhaps more books are coming. I rate each of the above books three stars. They were a fictional romp that were worth the enjoyable time investment.
• 10/26/22 (ponder-drunk-on-love) There is no association with characters from the first six books and I found that absence a bit disappointing. ... [two stars] I think I will hold off on Jasmine Guillory's future books for a while. I may be saturated or she may be morphing her style to something less attractive to me.

I am glad I did not hold off on Jasmine Guillory's books since I chilled with relaxed reading time and  gained a few writing tips while enjoying this romance novel. I give By the Book four stars. My rating seems in keeping with the 3,500Amazon readers who rated By the Book an average of 4.2 stars. Perhaps they represent the limited audience to whom I refer in my rating.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

Stunt Dogs with Alex

On Sunday, May 11th Frank, Alex, and I went to see Chris Perondi's Stunt Dog Experience at our local Livermore Bankhead Theatre.  I have taken Alex to this show before and it was every bit as good as I remembered it. 

While we were waiting for the show to start we heard the barking of a dog from backstage. At the sound Alex laughed and started clapping. He clapped though the entire show. We had excellent seats with an unobstructed view of the stage — F /116, F/117, F/118 — as shown by the yellow X's in the seating chart.

  

The stunts of the dog were fast and amazing; all were reliably and gleefully performed. There was frisbee tossing of course, rapid fire and with an exceptional catch rate.  There was a competition like agility trials racing through tunnels, negotiating a slalom run, and leaping over hurdles. There was high jumping, somersaulting, and balancing acts. All the time it was obvious the dogs loved it! Diggy Dog was a comical canine-clothed human who desperately wanted to be included in the performance. Some kids from the audience were invited to the stage also.

After the show there was a meet and greet session in the lobby. Alex got up close and personal to pet and receive a kiss from each of three stars of the show. All were friendly and gentle with Alex.

 

Every show has souvenirs. In the lobby these lightweight "Squishy Dogs" were for sale. The 4.5'' dogs are designed for stress relief and sensory play. Alex loved the feel of a sample and would not put it down. We got him a second "Squishy Dog" so he would have one for each hand. He clung on to them, squeezing away and laughing.

After revisiting the first dog who gave him a kiss, Alex said his good-byes. He did not, even once, put down his "Squishy Dogs" all the way home.

BiIl and Mary Visit

Thursday, May 8th and Friday, May 9th we were excited to have a visit from Bill and Mary Berner. Bill is a college friend of Frank's from their undergraduate days at Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia. They'd driven across the country from Philadelphia as a road trip. We have not seen Bill and Mary in over a decade, maybe longer, so it was fun to catch up. They have been married over 50 years, a mark we hit this September. The four of us sat around and enjoyed the conversation about the past and the present. Past... both Bill and Mary were heavily into the field of education: Bill as a teacher and as a set-up tech for college physics classroom demonstrations, and Mary as a teacher and private Catholic girl school principal. Bill is a devout collector of antique and unique scientific equipment. Present... they were out here in northern California to take their nephew to a wedding and to pick up antique museum quality computers. 

Beside academics, St. Joe's is famous for its basketball team and in particular its team mascot The Hawk. Bill Berner has the prestige of having been selected as The Hawk for 2 seasons in 1969-70. 

The Hawk is the mascot of Saint Joseph's University. The Hawk is known for continually flapping its wings, even during halftime, throughout every basketball game. It is estimated the Hawk flaps about 3,500 times per game. This act is often associated with the University's motto, "The Hawk Will Never Die", which supposedly was first shouted by fans during a game with Villanova. The Hawk, who debuted in 1955, is one of the most decorated mascots in college sports. It has been named the best college mascot by ESPN College Basketball Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and The Sporting News.

Then Frank showed off his trains to Bill. Afterward, the two of them programmed and installed seven smoke detectors that have been awaiting deployment.

 

Mary and I found we both enjoy jigsaw puzzles so we did a 300 piece apple one and a 500 piece scenic one. While the boys played, we kept busy and chatted.

We went out for dinner both evenings: Thursday at the local corner Italian restaurant Strizzi's and Friday night at the local corner Chinese restaurant the Yin Yin.

It was great to see old friends. We are so glad they visited. "The Hawk will never die!"

Pacific Grove Trip

After our somewhat discombobulating trip to Albuquerque that included a hospital stay for Frank (post for 3/19/2025) Frank and I wanted to take a short jaunt to check out our travel-ability. There was a quilt show in Pacific Grove so we drove the two hours down Friday morning May 2nd, stayed overnight in a strikingly pretty Victorian, and drove back on Saturday late afternoon. We had a bonus going to Pacific Grove on the weekend we did. May 3-4, 2025 was the community’s Good Old Days celebration with a parade and street vendors.

On our drive down we passed a billboard advertising Carl Jr.’s restaurant in Monterey. I remarked to Frank, “Oh, look. Carls Jr.’s! We have not eaten there in years. They have baked potatoes. Let’s go there for lunch. We have to pass through Monterey on our way to Pacific Grove, anyway.” Well 15 minutes or so later we did drive by and this is what we saw. 

We later learned that there had been a very recent huge fire April 3rd that collapsed the walls and pancaked the roof down on the crumbling remnants of the restaurant. We tentatively wondered if this was an omen of sorts for our trip.

But we forged ahead. Here we are cruising down Lighthouse Avenue at a speed the local wildlife would allow, trailing after a mother doe and her fawn. We were to later learn from a booth at the street fair that this is a typical sight at certain times of the year.

Once we'd parked, we enjoyed a pleasant lunch at Aliotti’s Victorian Corner in Pacific Grove on the corner of Lighthouse Avenue and Fountain Avenue.

Our check-in time to our lodging at the Pacific Grove Inn was not until 4:00 pm, so after lunch we strolled over to wander through Quilts by the Bay. The quilt show was held in an historic building called Chautauqua Hall which was a short walk from the restaurant, down Lighthouse Ave to 16th Street. We browsed the show for a couple of hours. The show displayed over 200 quilts. I captured images of, and commented on, about 10% of them in my DianeLoves2Quilt blog post published 5/6/2025.

After the show we walked back and picked up the car parked near the restaurant and drove over to check in at the Pacific Grove Inn. We inwardly groaned when we realized our chosen room was on the third floor and there was no elevator. We also learned that we were the very first customers to occupy the newly renovated suite. One of the designers greeted us at our car and she generously offered to help us carry up our bags. For once we had packed light, knowing we planned to be gone for just one night. The young woman cheerfully whipped Frank's suitcase off the back seat and then our jaws dropped when we saw it had not been zipped back closed. Everything got dumped unceremoniously in the street at the curb. After we all scurried to pile it back in, we transported our stuff up the stairs into the newly appointed rooms.

We had half of the third floor. In the turret at the left was a twin bed, in the double window mid-section was a couch and sitting area. In the far right corner with the triple window and side small double window was the main bedroom with a queen size bed. Behind four small doors were hidden respectively a toilet, a bathtub, another toilet, and a closet. Lots of doors! The master main bedroom and the couch sitting area each held a fireplace.

The preceding photo collage shows the suite layout from the inn's website but not the actual decor. The place had been newly renovated and the website of photos had not yet been updated. Frank and I were the very first people to stay in that room post new design. It had a fresh, brighter look. We settled in briefly and then walked a few blocks over to dinner, 0.2 miles away at La Mia Cuchina for a great Italian dinner.

The next morning check out was at 10:00 am. We packed up and as we were loading the car at 9:58 we heard distant music. It was the Good Old Days parade and the route ran along Pine Street, right past the front of the Pacific Grove Inn. We pulled up a seat at the curb and enjoyed the nostalgic display of small town showmanship. The parade was a decent size and took about 30 minutes to file by. I took photos of many of the entries. Leading off at 10:05 was the representation from all the branches of military in the area, especially the Presidio and Navel Post Graduate School in neighboring Monterey.

10:08 Next came the first and very oldest fire engine in Pacific Grove followed by the newest fire engine in Pacific Grove.

10:13 This book mobile was just too colorful and happy to go unnoticed. According to the Pacific Grove Public Library site, the book mobile was making its debut at the Good Old Days celebration.

This project is supported by donations to the PGPL Friends and Foundation & by funding provided in part by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

10:15 I chuckled when I saw these guys from Everyone's Harvest dressed up in green outfits as peas in a pod, an avocado, an ear of corn, and a pickle. Monday is Pacific Grove's day to have a certified farmers' market.  Volunteers from the group walked the sidelines of the parade handing out free clementines, and man... were they tasty! Per the non-profit organization website:

The mission is to provide access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables through certified farmers’ markets and community food programs. The vision is for every community to have a fair and sustainable food system.

10:16 VFW post 6849 (aka named in honor of  local hero Lt. Billy Paulsen Jr. Post 6849) from Spreckles CA, about 20 miles away, sent a bright yellow corvette.  I had to take this picture for my son Dan who dreams of owning a Corvette of his own someday. 10:18 Following was a rolling ad for an upcoming car show of - I am guessing - similar specialty cars

10:20 The nearby town of Watsonville sent a band, and the 10:21 nearby military installation sent an array of vehicles. The vehicles were later parked in the side streets of the downtown Pacific Grove area for people to climb on and explore during the street fair. Let's hope the emergency brake set was set on each one!

10:25 A cluster of classic cars streamed by. 10:26 Trailing and therefore not a pace setter for the parade was a mini-herd of about six sheep that zig-zigged their way down Pine Street, directed by a sheep dog, very serious about his job.

10:28 Shortly following after the ovine display and demo, was a  Pacific Grove police cruiser to signify the end of the parade.  The address of the Pacific Grove Police Station was 580 Pine Ave; Pacific Grove Inn was across the street at 581 Pine Ave.

We did plan our trip well. All the places we wanted to visit were all within a less-than-1-mile walk. On the following map, the inn was at the lowest point and the parade route down Pine passed right in front. The quilt show we'd seen on Friday afternoon at Chautauqua Hall and the restaurant La Mia Cucina where we ate Friday evening were in the upper left corner of the map. On our way to the Good Old Days street fair on Lighthouse Avenue, we stopped at Back Porch Fabrics on Grand just a block in from Lighthouse Avenue, which runs diagonally.  My Diane Loves2Quilt post for 5/7/25 describes our stop at the fabric store on our way to the street fair.

We strolled down Lighthouse Avenue, browsing the occasional shops on the sides and peeking in on the lightly-crowded vendor tables interspersed in the middle of the street. This particular store Tessuti Zoo had strong bright colors and unique intriguing pieces of art to ogle. The store's Facebook page is so true when it states:

For the wild and whimsical in gifts, clothing, jewelry, art quilts, furniture, dolls, toys, books, home decor and so much more, visit Tessuti Zoo in Pacific Grove.

At the corner of Lighthouse Avenue and 16th Street, just a block away from where we'd toured the quilt show the day before, we had lunch at Winston's. I wished I'd known when we were there that it was situated in the historic Winston Hotel of Pacific Grove. I'd have paid more attention to the architecture. This article on the development of Pacific Grove includes a section on the expansion of the business district citing the Winston Building as significant. 

... opened for business on May 28, 1904. It included a bakery and ice cream room in its basement, while the first floor included a “women’s exchange” with a dining room on the kitchen. The second floor featured sixteen bedrooms and apartments, as well as a social hall. A large sitting room with balcony was located on the 3rd floor.

After lunch we walked a few blocks up 16th Street and one block over on Pine to reach our car parked in the lot at the Pacific Grove Inn. With the street fair and parade activities going on, parking was a scarce commodity. We were fortunate to have booked our lodging where we did. Not only did we have a place to sleep, but we also had the convenience of a parking spot. We knew that the house was an old Victorian but we learned just how old from the inn's website:

The Pacific Grove Inn is a Historic Boutique Inn that provides attractive accommodations. Our Sea Captain Frank Laverne Buck and Apothecary Joseph Tuttle establishments were built in 1904 and 1908, respectively. They were remarkably sophisticated for their time and place in Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Each of our guest rooms and suites offers modern amenities, including a flat-screen TV, and free WiFi. Pacific Grove Inn blends old-world charm with modern-day luxury, including private porches, balconies, and an entrance with views of the Monterey Bay.

I took a final photos of the inn and of our feet at the concrete engraving in front of the inn to prove we'd "been there, done that".

F.L.BUCK stands for Frank LaVerne Buck. The Pacific Grove Inn is the former Frank LaVerne Buck House built in 1904. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986:

It was the home of city civic leader Frank LaVerne Buck (1849-1931), a native Midwesterner who was involved in the dairy and egg businesses. The home is historically important as the only known surviving example of the work of local architect Robert C. Gass, and is one of only a few well-preserved Victorian houses in Pacific Grove. The front staircase and other woodwork in the house was completed by carpenter C.E. Hovey, who is known for craftsmanship in the area. Among its prominent exterior components is the fenestration, which features leaded glass and Palladian windows.

Frank and I realized that yes, we could travel again, but that planning made things go more smoothly.  "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything" is most famously attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Our planning for everything to be in close proximity worked out great; yet we had not set up a timed plan. We felt free to wander and enjoy ourselves without a strict schedule or predetermined itinerary. This small overnight trip to Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula was a successful test case. We have renewed faith in indulging in the occasional getaway. Small additional detail ... we also had a highly enjoyable time!