As the California roadside landscape - some commanding one's full attention, some satisfied on providing a backdrop to one's thoughts, but all beautiful - pan through the car window, I realized something disturbing. Norie's voice was different. Her attitude too. She's more serious, and gone is her usual playfulness. I'd have normally attributed it to (dare I say it?) getting older, but I thought most probably it's caused by her adjusting to her only child, Kevin, moving out (Do moms ever get over it?). It turned out that even as Kevin was a part of it, there was something else. A revelation, to which I made a vow not to repeat to anyone, has been on her mind. It didn't feel right, that I have been sucking all the luck from the people around me. I've had it easy, more or less, on most anything, most of my life. But the things some members of my family are going through, it scares me.
We went to Carmel today. Dave, Norie's husband, drove (as has become the usual when there's a family outing), with Norie next to him (photo, above). Noel and Itay sat at the third row, at the back. We all fitted in the Chevy Tahoe. There was nothing we could do to persuade Kevin Karl (Ate Uding's son) to join us, much as we hated to leave him alone in the house. The other Kevin, Norie's, wasn't even interested at all to venture out of his apartment. Both Kevins were never expected to be in the same city at some length of time, hence their moms thought it OK to give them the same name. Kevin Karl (little Kevin to us), I guess, was expected to stay in the Philippines.
I might have had been a bit selfish throughout the drive. I enjoyed the view from my seat and kept mostly to myself: plains, hills, valleys; the colors - alternating greens and ochres, punctuated by beetroot reds and shades of gold; and objects - bright yellow artesian well in the middle of a field dominated by crouching trees, surrendering total authority to the wind, a car from a few decades back (a "roach", to Norie's Kevin), parked next to massive tractor, and drums upon drums of I don't know what. We reached our destination in less than a couple of hours.
The place was beautiful, albeit not what I expected. I foresaw something more rural, dry, dust blown by the wind. Small town. Their claim to fame, after all, before being beautiful, was having Clint Eastwood as their mayor for several years. Norie and Dave always referred to it as "Mount Carmel", so I was expecting a western town like in the movies. Clint Eastwood movies to be precise. What I saw was a beautifully manicured town, who afforded to provide every nook and any visible crevices the most beautiful blooms that grow in the region. The more accurate name of the place is "Carmel-by-the-Sea". Instead of a mountain, I found myself looking at the Pacific Ocean.
We had lunch at "Flaherty's". The food, save the calamaris, wasn't worth the long wait for a table.
Another All-American classic? Outlet shops. We went to Gilroy Premium Outlets, on the way back from Carmel-by-the-Sea. The place is big, with shops divided into three long buildings. After being spoiled for choices by New York's Century21 though, this place was just not very interesting at all.
To cap the day with yet another All-American classic, we did a drive-through at "In N' Out". Any hot-blooded meat-loving American knows this is the best quickie hamburger there is, no question about it. Too bad it's only available in the west coast. We all had a double-double. I had mine with roasted onions.
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