We had Kihon on-line with Sensei yesterday evening. The kids and I setup the laptop outside, like we had on Tuesday. We worked out on the patio against a backdrop of Trees of Heaven. During class, we did twenty push-ups, sit-ups and squats. When class was over, I did forty more: 20 knuckle push-ups “tricep” style on the concrete and 20 “chest” style on the overgrown clover. The clover is pretty soft, as long as I didn’t worry about bugs.
S was concerned about a wasp stuck to the back door. He thought it would build a nest. This morning, it was gone, but it had left behind a tiny little post, which I knocked down with a shovel.
We drove to Culver City and dropped off loquats with Mikage and Jerry. The kids and I stood on the sidewalk while they stood at their front door, and we talked. It was so good to see them.
Their dog, Cherry, can walk now. She’s elderly and had had surgery. They had been afraid she would not walk again. A few weeks ago, after Jerry had taken her out, she walked to her water bowl on her own. Her vet had also taken her off of a pain medication, so maybe that helped. Since then, she has been walking more and more. Jerry brought her out, and, almost as if to demonstrate her newly regained skill, she wobbled a couple body lengths in the grass then stopped to lay down. Her gait was that of a drunken sailor, but she took the initiative to explore, and seemed content. Her people were clearly joyful, as were we to see all of them once more.
Afterwards, the kids and I drove down Washington Blvd. towards the beach, then turned up Ocean and followed it into Santa Monica. From there, we picked up the Pacific Coast Highway.
We drove along next to the ocean. Fog covered part of the view and made the green, hilly countryside opposite the ocean, itself bursting with green trees, succulents, flowers of all sorts, feel like Hawaii. The kids wanted to listen to eighties music. On our first camper trip two years ago, we drove up the PCH, listening to eighties music, but we could stop and walk out into the sand. Now all the beaches were dotted with police cars, enforcing quarantine.
Somewhere past Point Dume, we turned off the PCH and headed inland, in the direction of the 101 from Calabasas. From the 101, we made our way south to the 134 and Burbank.
I should mention there was little traffic, except for the PCH. On the PCH, we were in bumper to bumper traffic with other folks, most likely thinking what we were thinking: they could watch the ocean from car windows.
I thought we had turned off the PCH onto Highway 23, but now I think we may have been on Mulholland Drive most of the way. At some point, we saw signs indicating it was Mulholland. That drive was treacherous: 25 miles per hour along hairpin curves and switch-backs, but also verdant countryside, bursting with unique plant life.
I told the kids, this drive will remind os all of how big the world is.
