 "Amish Country?" he asked. "Amish Country," I agreed. It seems that each year as our anniversary approaches we toss around the idea of doing something different, something special. But this year we just cut to the chase, because every year after tossing around a few interesting anniversary trip options we always end up admitting that what we really feel like doing is spending a couple of days in Amish Country at the Berlin Resort in Berlin, Ohio,  ...doing the same things we always do: hanging out at the hotel, walking around the grounds,   ...walking up and down the main strip in downtown Berlin,    ...looking at all the stuff in the dozens of Amish craft and tchotchke emporiums that line the strip,     ...and eating comfort food,    ...all of which we did on this trip, which was in truth pretty much a replay of our past four Amish Country anniversary trips. I suppose that Amish Country now kind of feels like "our" place. Or maybe we've just become programmed. In any case, in the late morning of Thursday, February 21, we set out from our neighborhood,  ...and traveled east of Columbus on US route 62, and were reminded after a few miles that Columbus really is a provincial capital, as very soon outside the city one is in the heart of farm country,   ...and small-town Ohio.  Our first stop was in Danville, about an hour outside Columbus,  ...where we always stop for lunch, 
  ...where the prices are right,    
 ....and the hottest, crispiest, tastiest fries. (Note to self: Next time do not order a small order of fries, left. Order half an order or split a small order).  After lunch we drove another forty-five minutes through the scenic countryside,    
 ...and the Berlin Resort. 
 ...as was the whole hotel. After we settled in we did a once around the place.       
 There are several lounge areas around the building,  
  ...from which one can borrow games.  Among the several work-out and weight rooms,    ...this time I discovered a yoga room,   ...which I later utilized.  When dinner time rolled around we headed into town,   ...to one of the few business establishments that's open after 5 pm, the Farmstead Restaurant, which is open until 8 pm,   
 ...and I couldn't resist getting my carb on.  After dinner we returned to the Berlin Resort in time for my favorite of the hotel's amenities, the 7 pm nightly movie shown in the hotel theater. 
 The hotel has a list of movies that the guests can choose from, but it's first come, first serve request-wise. On Thursday night Tom and I were the first guests to put in a request. There were quite a few good movies on the list, but we'd seen them all, so from among the offerings we hadn't seen we chose "The Minority Report" with Tom Cruise. It was watchable. In any case, as we were the only ones who showed up for the movie we had the theater to ourselves, which was cool. 
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Dear Jeff Bezos, Mind if I call you Jeff? Lord knows you’re being called a lot worse these days. But then I expect that even you would agree that you may have made some less than admirable choices lately. And not particularly smart choices, either, like sexting with your married girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.;  ...jeepers, isn’t that what loopy-brained teenagers do? Aw, well, it's true that love can make you a little loopy-brained. I know. Been there and done that myself. Well, not the sexting, of course. But who loves you, now, Jeff? Your soon-to-be ex-wife of 25 years who found you out?  Oh well, we all found you out, of course, thanks to the National Enquirer, which published the story and the sex pictures - that is, the ones that weren't too steamy even for for the National Enquirer - that you and your girlfriend exchanged. Which also begs the question: If Lauren Sanchez loves and cares for you so much how come she forwarded those intimate love notes and nude pics you sent her to her girlfriends? One or more of whom tattled to the National Enquirer? I don't think Lauren's girlfriends must love you all that much, either. And then besides your relationship woes and the public reveal of your sexting there's all the hate you're receiving from the citizens of New York City and of other cities as well who consider you a robber baron extortionist for your demands to be courted by them with billions in tribute money before you'll decide which city to choose for your new second Amazon headquarters. Then to top it all off you've got a hapless sixteen-year-old who's being used by wealthy political operatives to sue your newest acquisition, the Washington Post, for $250 million dollars.  So here you are, Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, but surely not at this moment the happiest. And definitely not the most loved or admired. But I have an idea for you that could change all that and turn around your life and your legacy. Actually it was my nephew Randy who came up with the idea,  ...during Sunday night supper.  His idea was this: That you should build your Amazon 2 headquarters not in whichever city offers you the most money and the least grief, but in Detroit. Imagine it, all the jobs, not only the 25,000 Amazon corporate positions, but all the other jobs: the construction jobs, the maintenance jobs, the security jobs, the service jobs, the restaurants and retail stores that would come to the city, the rise in prices and desirability of housing, all the tax dollars that would pour into the city - of course you wouldn't require a tax abatement for Amazon or any other freebies from Detroit - to replenish the city's meager coffers, money that could revitalize schools, parks, infrastructure and all the city services and potential tourist attractions. An Amazon headquarters would be a renaissance for the city and you would go down in history as the man who saved Detroit. Think of how loved you would be by the people of Detroit, how respected by everyone else, how admired. Think of how good you would feel. And you'd still be rich. References:
https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/jeff-bezos-reportedly-embarrassed-after-new-girlfriend-shared-their-private-texts-with-friend/news-story/e6fb3404444db740cf58af7a045bf2e5 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6577797/Jeff-Bezos-gushing-text-messages-TV-anchor-having-affair-with.html https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a26251113/jeff-bezos-lauren-sanchez-relationship-timeline/
 And not many days after the foolish young woman gathered her passport and took her journey into a far country, and there denounced her country, burned her passport and wasted her youth and freedom by allowing herself to be passed around among cruel, wicked men. And lo, she became with child. And when she had become trapped among these wicked men there arose a mighty army, and the wicked men were defeated and scattered. And the woman and her child began to be in want. And she went and joined herself and her child to a refugee camp in that poor country where no man gave hope unto her and her child. She bitterly regretted joining the band of wicked men and when she came to herself she said, "How much better off are the prisoners in my own country while I perish here? I will arise and go to my country and say, "I have sinned before thee; I am no longer worthy to walk in freedom; but for the sake of my child let me come home, be judged, and serve my punishment." But the ruler of the country, who was himself sinful, profligate and cruel in his youth and manhood, said unto the young woman, "Yea, I have instructed my manservant that thou mayest not return to thy country, but for all I care shalt rot with thy baby in that refugee camp."  Said the ruler's manservant unto the young woman, "Verily thou art no citizen of this country and holdeth no passport and hast no right to return here."  But the ruler and his manservant don't know what they're talking about, because the young woman was issued a passport and in this country a passport can only be issued to a citizen or non-citizen national, that is, a person who lives in a territory of this country, such as Guam or Samoa. Furthermore, citizenship cannot be revoked from a citizen for a criminal act; rather the law of this country requires that an offender such as this young woman be returned home to face charges and stand trial for her offense and serve any punishment that might be meted to her. And the young woman's mother said, "I'm not talking to her." And the young woman's father said, "Whatever." And everybody in her country said, "Serves her right, let her and her kid rot in the desert." Well, not everybody. References:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-isis-bride-hoda-muthana-who-left-for-syria-now-wants-to-come-home-2019-09-19/ https://uk.news.yahoo.com/hoda-muthana-trump-apos-decision-194014695.html "US to Alabama Woman: Stay Out," The Columbus Dispatch, 2/21/2019, page A11. Luke 15: 11-32 ...Continued from yesterday: My flight back to Columbus was scheduled to depart San Luis Obispo airport on Sunday, February 10 a little after noon. And the flight did indeed depart on the correct day and on time. But without me and fifteen other hapless ticket-holding passengers on board. Anyway, though I was leaving Atascadero on Sunday - or thought I was - my sister Romaine was staying there longer, so she drove me to the airport.  It was raining when we left the house, and the neighborhood with its hills and trees looked so pretty to me in the rain that I was feeling a bit melancholy to be leaving. (Though in reality there was no need for me to have felt that way, as I'd be back in few hours). On our way to the airport we stopped in downtown San Luis Obispo, which also looked rather pretty in the rain and mist,  ...for some breakfast. We decided to return to Big Sky, the restaurant where we'd had lunch on the day I arrived (See the post from 2/10/2019, "Chillin' In Wine Country"), and which was bright, cozy, and uncrowded on this rainy Sunday morning  Our friendly server brought us a basket of fresh, tasty cornbread muffins and ginger coffee cake while we decided what to order. 
 ...while I had my standard sunny-side-ups with home fries, also nicely presently and delish.  Along with the food, I give Big Sky top marks for good service and friendly waitstaff, as well as for the positive message on the coffee cups.  And so I left Big Sky believing I'd soon be up in the actual big sky in a small plane - the plane I'd flown on from Phoenix to San Luis Obispo reminded me of an over-sized pencil, and so I assumed the one flying out would be equally size-challenged. But not so size-challenged that sixteen passengers would have to be bumped. I arrived at the cute little San Luis Obispo airport, where one walks outside to get from security to the gates,  ...two hours before my flight, at which time the place was pretty empty.   
 However as soon as someone arrived at the American counter I approached - I believe I was first in line, even - and was told that the plane was over weighted and I'd been selected to be bumped. I weigh 127 pounds. Though I'm generally a pretty good sport about being bumped, delayed, re-routed, and rearranged by the airlines - and I'm almost always the first one to volunteer my seat if the compensatory price is right - this time I was feeling a weence anxious about getting home by Sunday night. I didn't want to risk missing work on Monday, as I have a piano recital coming up and the last thing I wanted to do was cancel my Monday piano students and then scrabble to try and reschedule everybody. I didn't want any skipped lessons at this point. (Especially because of an over-weight plane when I only weigh 127 pounds).  However, that is, in fact, what transpired. I was relegated to wait at the gate with the 15 other bumpees - it turned out not to be a matter of the plane being over-weighted strictly speaking, but rather of our scheduled plane having been swapped out for a smaller plane with insufficient seats for the number of passengers who'd been booked on the flight - until we were called up, one at a time, to learn how the airline had decided to dispatch us.  When my turn arrived I was informed by the gate agent that my itinerary to Columbus would be via Phoenix on a flight that left San Luis Obispo the following morning, Monday morning, at 6:15 am. And with a delayed layover in Phoenix I'd end missing my piano lessons. But on the upside I got to have one more day with Romaine, and Lucy,  ...and one more chance to see the beautiful Central California Coastal hills.  ...Continued from yesterday: On Saturday, my last day in Central California Coastal country - that is to say, what I thought was to be my last day there (spoiler alert: unbeknownst to me at the time, Saturday would not end up being my last day there; tune in tomorrow to find out why, though since I was flying you can probably guess) - we thought we'd drive out to San Simeon and have a look at Hearst Castle,  ...also known as "La Cuesta Encantada," or "The Enchanted Hill, 
 The Randolph family referred to the place as "The Ranch" - and to entertain guests. As the cute town of Cambria, where we'd had lunch a couple of days earlier (see post from 2/12/2019, "Neon Green Hills, Turqoise Blue Water And Elephant Seals"), was on the way to San Simeon, we decided to stop there for breakfast.  The wine-country scenery along the way from Atascadero to Cambria ranged from charming,    ...to spectacular.          When we arrived at Cambria,  ... we discovered that the little bakery that I'd stopped at on our previous visit there,  ...had a sister restaurant, also called Linn's, located on the next street over from the little bakery. So we decided to stop there.  The interior of Linn's was lovely,    ...and the food was out of this world,  ....especially the delicious toast with olallieberry jam.  And don't even get me started on the pastries.      I had a cinnamon roll topped with nuts. I think about that cinnamon roll still.  After breakfast we went for a walk around Cambria.         
  
   ...from which one could procure tickets for tours of various sections of the castle, such as the Grand Rooms, the Upstairs Suites, the Cottages and Kitchens, etc. Each tour costs $25, and visitors are shuttled from the visitor center up the Enchanted Hill to the Castle. Inside the visitor center there was a free museum which offered quite a lot of interesting information and artifacts about the life and rise of William Randolph Hearst,   ...and the building of his newspaper, magazine, and movie empire.     
 …as well as objects and pieces of art that had been in the castle.    There were also quite a few photos of the castle and its rooms and areas,   
  As I read about William Randolph Hearst – born into wealth, surrounded by opulence his whole life – and looked at the photos of his castle and some of his acquisitions it occurred to me that having to deal with that much wealth, that much stuff would be stressful, oppressive, suffocating, even. Of course maybe if one were born into that kind of life the management, spending, and accoutrements of such wealth would feel altogether normal and natural. In fact I suppose that someone who’d been immersed in great wealth from the day they were born, someone who only knew wealth, would be quite comfortable living with it and might only feel in one’s comfort zone when surrounded by the trappings of wealth. Which could be a liability if one were ever required to exist in the realm of the rest of the world. Such were my musings as I strolled the museum of the Hearst Castle visitor center. However as well as being a billionaire William Randolph Hearst was also a philanthropist and after his death Hearst Castle was donated to the California Department of Parks and Recreation and designated a state park, which it continues to be. Anyway, after having spent the better part of an hour in the visitor center learning everything there was to know about Hearst Castle, Romaine and I decided that rather than now riding the bus up the Enchanted Hill to see the place in situ we’d actually prefer to spend the afternoon having a look at the inland countryside and the vineyards.
 ...where we sat at a heated outdoor table. 
 …While I had a delicious veggie omelet with yummy hash browns 
 ...through enchanted hills,     ...and miles and miles of vineyards,       
 To be continued...
 ...Continued from yesterday: The following day, Friday, we drove to Pismo Beach. However we stopped first for breakfast at another little place we found in Atascadero called AJ's Kitchen Fast & Fresh.  
  ...however a table was clearing just as we arrived, and so we were lucky enough to snag one.  We soon saw why the place was full: the food was, as promised in its name, freshly made, - as well as hot and tasty - and the service was fast. Romaine had a veggie and rice burrito,  ....while I had sunny side up eggs with the best home fries and a side of thick, buttery garlic toast.  Well-fueled by our yummy breakfast, Romaine, Lucy,  ...and I drove 27 miles south,    ...to our first destination, The Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. 
 Though Romaine recalled on a previous visit to the Butterfly Grove seeing thousands of monarchs clinging to the trees like foliage, as in this picture, 
 We wondered if it was too late in the season to see the butterflies, if they'd already left their winter habitat, or if, a worse thought, their numbers have been decimated by climate change. In any case, the Butterfly Grove was a nice place for a walk among the eucalyptus trees,    ...and there were groups of children on class trips, which was sweet (I felt that I would like the park ranger's job of telling children about the butterflies) 
   ...where we strolled along the shore line.      Next we decided to drive up to San Luis Obispo, which was on our way back to Atascadero, 
  
 The food was good. Romaine had a veggie burger with green bean fries - quite good - and I had a tuna in teriyaki sauce with sweet potato fries. 
   ...to our cute house. 
   ...which was awesome.  To be continued...
...Continued from yesterday: The following morning we discovered a cute little café in town for breakfast.  Unfortunately it was a weence too chilly to sit outside on the terrace, the weather being sunny but in the mid-forties, 
  The food was great. Romaine ordered a vegetable Panini, 
 Our server was very friendly and sociable, and when we asked her if she had any recommendations as to what sights we should see in the area she suggested that we visit the town of Cambria and go see the herds of elephant seals along the beach. This we decided we'd do. However our first destination for the day was Avila Beach, one of the many beach towns along the Central Coast. And so we drove 26 miles south on highway 101 from Atascadero to Avila Beach,  ...through more beautiful hills in various shades of green, deep hunter,   ...offset by deep emerald.    
   ...then all around the beach.              Then we walked inland from the beach and around the neighborhood, which kind of reminded me of some of the little neighborhoods I saw a few years ago when I was in Hawaii on the island of Kauai.       After Avila Beach we headed about 40 miles north up California Highway 1 to Cambria to see the elephant seals on the nearby beaches, 
 ...which appeared to be an old house re-purposed as a restaurant.   In any case, the place was enchanting, both inside,        
 Our sandwiches were huge. Romaine had a tasty veggie sandwich, 
 After lunch while Romaine took Lucy for a walk I took a stroll up and down the street,     This street also reminded me a little of a street I saw in Kauai in the town of Hanapepe.
 Cambria, California 
   ...and mahaps sample some of the yummy-looking wares.   I settled for a vanilla iced cookie and an ollalieberry (apparently a local berry) muffin from the day-old bin, both of which were nonetheless delicious.  Next we headed out to the highway, 
  ...of the elephant seals.    Romaine and I wondered if after a long day of lolling on the beach the elephant seals are just exhausted, 
 After we saw the elephant seals we walked a little farther along the beautiful beach,   Then we headed back to Atascadero, along the way the hills changing color from bright green,  
  To be continued...
 On Wednesday, February 6, I woke up at 3:45 am to catch a flight from Columbus,  ...via Phoenix,   ...to San Luis Obispo, California,  ...to spend a few days exploring the California Central Coastal wine country with my sister Romaine, who drove down from Portland, Oregon,  ...with her pooch Lucy.  Romaine and I didn't plan on visiting any wineries while we were in wine country; as neither of us drinks to speak of, neither of us had any particular interest in tasting the local product. We'd heard, however, that there were other things to do and sights to see beyond the vineyards, and these were what we set out to discover. Romaine had rented a place in Atascadero, a small town in San Luis Obispo County halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Upon exiting the airport I had my first view of the green, green hills of this part of the California coast  From the airport we drove into San Luis Obispo,  ...where we sought out a place for lunch and found a cute Mexican-esque restaurant called Big Sky.   The waitstaff and service here was over-the-top. This I learned when, unbeknownst to me, the contents of my grilled cheese, tomato and eggplant sandwich arrived on slices of super-spicy chipotle bread― that is to say super-spicy to me, sorry excuse of a spice wimp that I am.  One bite was enough to set me into paroxysms of coughing and choking - okay small paroxysms, but dang, that bread was hot. Much as I hate to complain about my food in restaurants, I did call our server over and meekly asked if he could scrape the contents of my sandwich onto a different piece of bread. The server was tout á fait apologetic for the spiciness of the bread, whisked away my sandwich, and quickly returned with a whole new plate of food down to the hot, crispy French fries, this time with the sandwich on a delicious, non-spicy cheesy bread. Now that was a good cheese, tomato and eggplant sandwich. Romaine likewise gave kudos to her to her black bean veggie burger and and fagioli soup.  After lunch we drove the 17 miles north on U.S. route 101 from San Luis Obispo to Atascadero through more velvet green hills.    Atascadero  Romaine had rented half of a a lovely little duplex,    
 ...with a mountain view.  We spent some time in the town, and after we returned to the house we planned to spend the rest of the evening just sitting around chilling. Which we did.  To be continued...
 ...Continued from yesterday:
 ...we were met in the lobby by a friendly young production assistant who found Claire's name on her list then led us back to a waiting room next to the Windy City Live studio. As the room was pretty crowded and all the seats taken - it appeared that this was the waiting room for other TV show folks besides those appearing on Windy City Live - the production assistant took us across the hall to wait in what appeared to be a filming studio not in use at the moment.     A green screen.  After a few minutes our friendly production assistant returned and she gave us a once-around the Windy City Live studio.      Then we returned to the waiting room,  Then we returned to the waiting room, from which the earlier crowd had cleared out.  The door in this photo opens into a make-up room into which Claire was called a few minutes later to have her make-up done. Again.  In truth we'd feared that mayhaps the make-up salon artist she'd just come from (see yesterday's post) had already put too much make-up on Claire's face. "No," the friendly TV make-up artist assured us, "I'll just put a little more on."  Now, with Claire indubitably well made-up, we waited in the waiting room with a couple other Windy City guests who had segments on the show that day, anthropologist Mireya Mayor,  ...and Davis Jaspers, founder of the Vitalife weight loss system. 
 ....and producer Andrea Dres also came by to check on us all.  Everyone we met in the studio was upbeat, helpful and encouraging. When it was Claire's turn to be interviewed our friendly production assistant returned and brought us back to the Windy City Live studio. Now, when watching a TV show one sees only the people on whom the camera is trained. However while the show was in progress the studio was filled with people: camera people, people working sound, people with clipboards, people standing and walking around. And, of course, the studio audience. My understanding had been that I could watch Claire's interview from one of the side stages, but apparently there was an empty seat in the audience, so they squeezed me into the audience. Here's the link to Claire's Windy City Live interview, if anyone would like to watch it: https://www.facebook.com/WindyCityLIVE/videos/339129710009284/   
 And then we were done. We stopped by the waiting room to say good-bye and to pick up our coats and things and to thank producer Andrea Dres, our production assistant and the make-up artist. Then we were on our way, .joining all the rest of the cold Chicagoans while we walked back to the train. 
We took the train back to the Damen stop in Wicker Park and then walked several blocks to my favorite Chicago eatery, the Yolk Test Kitchen,  ...where they served me the nicest pot of hot tea.  As always, the food was great, Claire's yummy avocado toast with scrambled eggs, 
 After lunch we walked home via the 606, the former train line that was re-purposed as a walking and biking path.   A few blocks form home the snow began to fall,  ...still, when we reached Claire's neighborhood, 
 ...and to feed the birds in her yard.  
Windy City Live - And Cold, Part 2: Making Up Is Hard To Do ...Continued from yesterday:  Windy City Live is a popular Chicago daytime talk show broadcast on ABC and filmed Monday through Friday in front of a live audience. Hosts Ryan Chiaverini and Val Warner interview guests,  ...celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Martha Stewart, Valerie Jarrett, Jimmie Kimmel, Rosie O'Donnell, and Michelle Obama,   ...among others, or people of interest such as they found my daughter Claire to be for her disaster relief work as a nurse among the most vulnerable populations on the planet.             Claire's Windy City Live interview was on Thursday, January 24 and, as she was told she could bring her mom along, I came with her. Claire had been directed to arrive at the studio with her make-up done. Except that she doesn't wear, or own, any make-up. Therefore she decided for the occasion to have her make-up done before the show. For this purpose she made a 10 am appointment at an Ulta Beauty salon in Wicker Park, a couple of train stops away from her Logan square neighborhood. At 9:30 am on the morning of the show Claire and I, duly layered, booted, and bundled up, set out in the 14-degree weather to walk to the train station and join the rest of the layered, booted, and bundled up Chicago commuters on their way to their morning destinations.  When we reached ours, the Division train stop, we walked a few more blocks, 
 ...where Claire was led back to the make-up salon and introduced to A.J., her very nice make-up artist.  Claire's make-up job took about 45 minutes and, for a make-up illiterati such as myself - I haven't worn the stuff in forty years - it was rather mesmerizing to watch.     Ta-da!  Claire needed to be at the TV studio by noon so, her make-up done, we re--bundled up and headed back out into the cold, windy city to catch a train downtown, 
 ...and the ABC studio.  To be continued...
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"Equal And Opposite Reactions"
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