As annoying as this can be at home, I miss it when I am gone. It's part of my routine. Today I slept until 10 a.m., which even by Pacific Time was an unusually late sleep. I briefly wondered where my animalarms were, and then realized I was on the road again. Luckily I have no worries about them - my 15 year old kitty Ollie is with my parents. These are people who once enclosed an entire patio to accommodate a cat, and I know Ollie will have his way with them. He does get on the bed for cover diving at night, and I'm sure he will be welcome to do so.
Pepper is at doggie day care with a herd of like-sized and like-minded fur balls, so he is fine. Occasionally I check online to watch the webcams and see how he is doing. Now and then I see him with his nose in the air, yodeling for his mommy, but I know he is safe and I try to talk myself out of worrying. Pets!
Having missed my time slot for morning plans, I leisurely took my time to shower and get ready for the day. Peppered throughout the morning were calls and texts from Merry, my friend from high school and Long Beach. We have been trying to coordinate a visit since I decided to visit her home state, and it seemed that today would be the day. I finally got a text that she was in Belle Glade, about two hours drive away. It was going to happen!
I went to the Maria Selby Botanical Gardens this morning. One of my favorite things to do in a new location is to get to know the plants and animals that go with a local ecosystem. And here were the plants all served up in one place! It was a lovely spot with bromeliads, orchids, birds of paradise, and mangroves; all in a park-like setting at the bay's edge with paths and labels at each plant. I will go back before I leave and spend more time.
While I was at the gardens, I got a call from Ryan that he was finished with his meeting with the conductor, Larry Rachleff. One interesting aspect of visiting Ryan during his concerts is that I get a close look at all the time and energy that goes into these performances. The collaboration and efforts are amazing. The conductor and the soloist go over the score together before the rehearsal with the orchestra and get "on the same page" regarding tempo, pauses, and soloist style. Ryan spent his morning with the conductor, whom he really enjoys. That helps him look forward to the performance, which makes it better for everyone.
Ryan and I had agreed to take some time to find a white coat for him to wear for the performance, and we stopped at a tuxedo shop to find one. The sales person was very cute and he was also very helpful, so even old mom had a good time. We found something perfect, and Ryan got back in time to use his practice room and continue his day.
I went back to pick up the coat and the salesman was out at Fed Ex. While waiting for him Merry showed up! All the way from Miami. I hadn't seen Merry for over 25 years, but it could have been a day. She looked great, and I was so touched that she would make such an effort to visit.
We finished off the jacket errand, then drove to hand it off to Ryan. Also gave Merry a chance to hear him play, as she would be leaving in a few hours and not able to attend the rehearsal or performance. We said hello, listened to a bit of music, and then took a long walk to the beach to catch up on all these years in about 3 hours. We tried, but many holes remain. It was a good start though, and hopefully we can fill in the gaps over time.
Merry left with a wave as quickly as she had appeared, and I was left wondering if it had ever happened. Friends are a great part of life, and wonderful - while it would be better to be able to see them all on a regular basis - that they can reappear and pick up where we left off.
During our sit, I got quite a bit of sun. It was a lovely spot - complete with cormorants, blue herons, pigeons, and gulls - next to the water that makes this such a popular spot to live. For a squinting-at-the-light Humboldt mole like me, it didn't take much to give me a bit of a sunburn and also make me feel like taking a nap. Back to the hotel for some hydration and about an hour supine, have a snooze, until I realized I had slept over the beginning of Ryan's rehearsal with the orchestra.
I dashed out and drove the 3/4 mile to the Sarasota Orchestra building. The musicians in the lobby let me in and I snuck into the back of the rehearsal room to listen.
The piece Ryan is playing is Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, a lovely piece for orchestra and piano that United Air Lines has used for years for marketing attention. It is gorgeous to hear in person, even though broken by fits and starts at rehearsal as they stopped to make corrections and do-overs. It is so wonderful to hear this practice as it gives a lay-person like me a sense of all the many things the musicians have to think about together to create the final product as envisioned by the conductor. It is like a secret email sent from long ago, and any group of musicians can play it together, whatever language they speak or background they may have. Brings tears to my eyes to see it all happen.
When Ryan finished, I brought him to my hotel to try his most recent batch of beer he left in Arcata. I had transported it in a cleaned mouthwash bottle, but unfortunately some of the mint flavor leached into his beer. But he enjoyed it, and got an idea of how his first from-scratch brew was going to turn out.
Got Ryan back to the orchestra building to rehearse, then came back to my room to get more sleep. Isn't that what vacations are about?!!!
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