Today Ruthie Bones and I made a trip to Chico to visit my paternal grandparents, aunt and a few cousins.
Our two hour drive from Sacramento was filled with some great bird watching; starting out simple enough, we saw egrets all over amidst the Central California rice paddies. Red Tail and Red Shoulder Hawks perched on posts and flying in search of a meal. Then, we saw a giant bird fly overhead, chased by two small black birds. The big one was stunning, dark plumage accented with a bright white tail and head... Whoa! It's an Eagle!
So cool, I'd only seen a small handful of wild Bald Eagles. This one brought a wide smile to my face. A few minutes later, off to the left, there's two more, sitting amidst the rice paddy. One had a kill in it's claws and was pecking away at it in between these two sat another very large bird, this one without the dark head or tail... possibly a Golden? In any case, they were stunning. Within minutes, we saw a fourth Eagle, doubling in one day the number I'd ever seen.
We made a couple quick wrong turns but ended up at the retirement home where my grandparents currently live. We had a quick visit, caught a lecture on shaping my life up, and shared a few stories of what we've been up to. After about an hour and a half my grandparents said they had to go to a party that their friends were throwing for them in the retirement home. I was a bit confused, when we'd made the plans to drive two hours each way to visit them, they said they had the day free, but now they had plans. I was a bit shocked and felt this was quite a rude change of plans, but there was nothing I could do, so we made our way back to the car and headed out.
We made our way to my Aunt's business and spent some time catching up with her and her two sons, my older cousins. It was a good visit with the folks I consider to be my closest family on my dad's side. They wanted to make sure I realized my grandparents are just old and ornery, the rudeness had nothing to do with me, it was comforting.
Finally back in the car and on our way home, with one small pit stop. Cilantro's is a small restaurant in Yuba City specializing in fine Mexican cuisine at affordable prices. I had met the owner/head chef a few months prior, he is a fun, friendly and knowledgeable restaurateur. He had years of experience, cooking at The French Laundry and decided to start his own business. Excellent food, relaxed atmosphere and good value always add up to a great dining experience.
"whoa, I feel... complete" remarked Ruthie Bones after our meal. Something about wholesome, fresh ingredients, prepared expertly and with care that makes everything right in the world.
We made our move back to the car and continued on our way to our dogs and a night chilling at home. perfect.
