Santa Cruz

Sunday, Paul and I went kayaking in Santa Cruz. It was foggy until about noon, forcing us to stay in the yacht harbor. After the fog lifted, the sky remained gray and slightly overcast. But this is actually good, as the dry top is really hot – especially when you get moving. I don’t think the air temperature got over 55. Paul did pretty well, for a beginner. He did capsize once near the breakers on the way out of the harbor, but was able to right his boat and climb back in. He tried to roll, but the waves were a little high for him. There were gale warnings for the open ocean outside Monterrey bay, so the waves were pretty high, even though the winds were calm near shore.

After a couple of hours of paddling we drove back to his house, where we hosed off the kayaks and gear in the front yard. After everything was cleaned up, I went inside for a shower. Kristen had a bottle of chardonnay chilled and gave us each a glass and we sat in front of the fireplace and talked. It reminded me of when I used to go windsurfing with Jim.

It was late in the afternoon and I offered to make dinner. “You can cook?” Kristen asked incredulously.

“Well,” I said slowly, “I can heat things up.”

“No, let Paul cook.”

“No, I want to. How about Jambalaya?” I asked.

“Aagh. No way. There is no way that you can cook Jambalaya.” Kristen almost yelled at me and then laughed.

I ran down to the Safeway a couple of blocks away and picked up some Italian sausage, shrimp, and chicken breasts, along with some bell peppers, celery, and onions. Paul had the rest of the ingredients. I also got a 12 pack of Mirror Pond – a micro brew from Bend, Oregon. Really good beer, if you can get it in your neighborhood.

I make a pretty mean jambalaya. I was explaining the deglazing process to Paul as Kristen walked in the kitchen. “Oh my god” she exclaimed “two good looking men who know how to deglaze.” Paul kissed her and got her a beer. “This is great beer, Rich” she said.

This was the first time I had cooked anything more challenging than a cup of instant oatmeal since the ugliness. I used to like to cook a lot – in fact it was how I would cheer myself up when I was feeling down. It was nice to cook again – and have someone appreciate the effort.

Kristen loved the Jambalaya. Paul was taking careful notes – unobtrusively – as I cooked. I’m guessing that he will be able to make a pretty good batch on his own. He asked a lot of questions as I was making it. Paul told me more about his trip to Vancouver Island. “So where is your dream trip?” he asked me.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to windsurf the British Virgin Islands.”

“Not paddle them?”

“A paddling trip would be to Puget sound, Vancouver Island, or the coast of Norway. For windsurfing, you want and need a place with warm tradewinds.”

“What about Oregon? The Columbia gorge?”

“Too cold. And the winds are too fierce there. I’m a Hawaii boy.”

“So when are you going to the Virgin Islands?” Kristen asked.

“No plans. You know, the new job and all.”

“Oh, [the CEO] will let you go. Just tell him it’s for windsurfing. He’ll understand.”

“Yeah, right. I was planning a trip with Lynn, but that didn’t pan out.”

“Go anyway.” She said. “Find a girl at the mall and tell her you can make Jambalaya and ask her to go with you.”

“I wish it was that easy.”

“Rich, you won’t get many ‘no’s.”

“It wouldn’t be the trip I want.”

At the end of the night, we had killed the 12 pack and a couple of bottles of wine. I asked for a place to sleep it off and was offered the guest bedroom. It was not made up. I guess Kristen does not get many impromptu overnight visitors. Paul efficiently prepared the room.

I slept pretty well.