The last part of our trip made me think in more ways than one. I had to consider what I wanted to say and how in this blog. I already was feeling a bit out of whack I was very tired, the reality of what we are going through had set in again from our experiences, Santa Barbara is where Phil and I met, and I was emotional. We will start at the beginning and I will try to tell what is in my heart without causing anyone else pain.
After driving through Los Angeles and getting close to Santa Barbara, we started looking for our next hotel, we knew where we were going and how to get around, that was an advantage. We all have a history in Santa Barbara, I lived, ran a business there for 10 years, my children grew up there, and I met Phil. We ended up getting a wonderful deal for Santa Barbara, at a hotel that we had stayed in before. The Inn at East Beach, a wonderful little hotel over by the Santa Barbara Zoo. Great staff, clean and fabulous location. We moved in the hotel and headed out for the harbor.
Sea Urchins and a bit of BS.
Got our drinks and we were off the the Santa Barbara Chicken Ranch. We bought a whole chicken dinner and were off to Shoreline Park for a picnic.
A wonderful nights rest and we were off in the morning for a walk and breakfast at the East Beach Grill. It is closing soon and we wanted to get another meal in before it shut down. We love the East Beach Grill and had a wonderful breakfast there on our last journey before the cancer diagnosis. A wonderful walk by the lake behind the zoo. We spotted a giraffe and there were all kinds of birds in the lake. Life is good, we were in heaven.
We then gathered up our stuff, planned on meeting Noelle later and headed out to explore Santa Barbara. We ended up at the Santa Barbara Mission.
Chalk drawings left over from i madonnari at the Mission.
We then visited the rose garden and it was there I saw a sign, a tiny, tiny sign, that sent me into remembering the beginning of our journey with cancer. It was the sign for the Julia Child rose. I began to remember the time period right after Phil started having radiation and chemotherapy. At that time the damage to the brain was more evident and he was very weak. He was suffering from the worst anxiety, it was horrible, I can't even explain the beginning days. I was in shock, as was Phil, plus he had the added challenges of what the radiation and chemotherapy was doing to him. We were in our studio apartment, he would sleep and I would try to be quiet. Noise, lights and even sound could set him into a panic. We played the same music, calming chanting, music we got from the cancer center and one movie. He loved to listen to the movie Julie, Julia. We played that move over and over for a couple of months during the darkest times. It seemed to sooth him and he could sleep. I'm pretty sure that I know most of the lines. We have never watched the movie since then, but when I saw that sign, I remembered where we had come from. During that time, chats, messages and texts kept me going. Thanks to all of you. At that point I realized how far Phil has come and although we do not know what the future brings, isn't it that way for all of us?
Julia Child rose - If Julia only knew how she helped Phil and I.
We met up with Noelle and we were off to Solvang. We took a walk around town and got settled into our next great little hotel. Svendsgaard's, another great deal and a clean room with a recliner, that Phil loved!
The next morning I got up before the rest of the gang and headed out to take photos at sunrise in Solvang. Ha! I was a block away before I realized I didn't have my glasses on. The following photos were taken well with a bit of foggy vision. They came came out pretty good considering.....
We headed out of town, I guess there were lessons learned, feelings felt and life lived. It may not have been the adventure we intended to have but it ended up being another journey of a lifetime. We continue to live and learn about life. As I look back I realize many things, I hope we have become stronger, wiser and kinder people from our experiences. To life, to love and to the next journey.
Phil and I celebrate 20 years together and 12 years married on Oct. 28. We are excited about that anniversary. We are going to try a trip to San Francisco tomorrow to see if we can catch a set of Patrick Sweany. It has been many years, too many years since we have seen Patrick. To living and life. We are very blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment