A wonderful day.

On Friday, I awoke to a beautiful, summery morning in October.  At 7:00 the temperature was already warm and the air was still, leaving a fresh smell from the ocean that reminded me of a morning I walked on the beach on Maui.  I was energized and ready to start my day.

It was the day the EOC group I joined decided to have their  "Eating Out" experience.  Eight of us women met in West Portal for lunch at the "Cafe for all Seasons."  It is a restaurant that has been around for awhile and has tasty food and a pleasant atmosphere.   (I'm not a food critic.)    A friend organized the event, and most of us didn't know each other, but we all started talking and listening to each other's stories.  It was like we were old friends.  All the women seemed to have a lot in common, loved to travel, and went to music and drama performances.  They were very stimulating and energetic women, and I learned a lot from them. 

Almost everyone ordered salads--shrimp and avocado; calamari; and a cheese-topped salad, which were served with french bread.  I think we were talking so much I didn't pay attention to the food,  but my shrimp and avocado salad was very filling and delicious.  Then a couple of women ordered desserts which they shared.  The pumpkin pie with a syrupy topping was very rich, and the apple cake looked good but I didn't taste it.  All of a sudden, someone said, "Look out the window!"  Across the street in a three story building, there were two women in red dresses with green (or blue) hair dancing on the balcony.  They were the "Trolley Dancers" which I later learned were dancing downtown at different locations on the weekend.  On the way back to my car, I heard some drums and stopped at a Martial Arts school to watch the "Lion Dancers" practice and perform for a small group.

My afternoon was fun and full of unexpected surprises.  The day ended with another surprise.  As a I looked out my back window facing the ocean, the horizon was a bright, scourching red, with a ceiling of flaming clouds topped with grey.  It was one of those beautiful sunsets that mostly happen in the fall.