Sea Ranch

 Sunday September 20, 2020

Beth and I drove north to Sea Ranch to visit Chuck and Deborah yesterday. We stayed overnight. We returned to Inverness today.

It was a beautiful drive up the coast. About two and a half hours. Chuck and Deborah live in San Anselmo. Sea Ranch was their second home - til the pandemic.

We met Chuck in 1992, in Palau, where we both worked as attorneys for the Palauan Government. Chuck worked for the Supreme Court; I was the Senate Legal Counsel. I'll talk about our year in Palau another time.

Chuck and Deborah moved up to Sea Ranch in February. They have been their since. They are likely to sell their home in San Anselmo and live in Sea Ranch permanently. Chuck just rented an office there.

Let's talk about Chuck. My age. From the midwest originally. His family ran a restaurant, famous for their broasted chicken. I have spent enough time with Chuck that I know many unimportant facts about his life. Chuck overcame many hardships in his life to become a successful attorney. He worked at a big firm in SF where he met his prior wife, Jenny Schwartz. They went to Palau ahead of us and left after us. 

Chuck is smart, funny, kind and generous. He is good at a lot of things. Cooking might be his strongest suit. He is as obsessed with food as me. It was Rosh Hashanah, so Chuck made Chicken Marbella - sweetened with prunes; not to mention a honey apple caramel ginger cake. We drank tequila, frolicked in the tidepools, and then had a Rosh Hashanah feast last night.

Chuck is an expert in "complex insurance coverage disputes" and construction defect cases. He has a wonderful combination of intelligence, people skills and self confidence. Very likable. Someone you want to spend time with. 

Deborah is wise, beautiful, kind and generous. She teaches yoga classes at Sea Ranch. She is in love with the place and enjoyed giving  us the grand tour.

Chuck and Deborah were excellent hosts. They pampered us like a fine hotel. Food, drink, walks, talks, in a beautiful home overlooking the pacific ocean. 

I had never been to Sea Ranch. Very impressive public facilities - pools, tennis courts, gardens, beaches, earthy architecture, good vibes and a chapel that looks like the offspring of a peacock and a mushroom.

If Sea Ranch was closer, I would move there too. The weather was perfect. 70 degrees, clear, and not too windy. A great day and a half.

Beth and I were VERY happy at Sea Ranch. It was a combination of being so well taken care of by Chuck and Deborah and the joy of being away. We are all feeling restricted by the corona virus. We also felt much better when we drove south to  San Diego and LA. We need to get away more.

We listened to a very good Ted Talk on our drive to Sea Ranch: Getting Free of Self Importance. It talked about how we are happy when we lose ourselves in activity. For example, when you exercise very hard. At those times, the destructive inner dialogue stops. We are too hard on ourselves. The talk discusses simple ways to look at ourselves and the world to be happier. It is only about 17 minutes long.  The more I am exposed to zen buddhism, the more I like it.

Back home tonight, I convinced Beth to watch Alone with me. About a young widow who gets kidnapped by a wacko and struggles to escape. Seriously scary and suspenseful. After fifteen minutes, Beth had to stop watching. She got herself under control later and we were able to finish. Don't watch it alone. [haha].  

Life: to be continued.

the bear