Travel Reflections

Home.

I sat on the floor in the bedroom my grandmother had spent the last few years sleeping in. It was known as “the pool room” for it housed the pool table, games, and television we grandchildren used to get away from the adults. Since having trouble with her heart, my grandmother had moved into the pool room so she could sleep peacefully away from my snoring grandfather. Usually, this room was filled with laughter, teasing, talking that grew increasingly louder over the crash of sticks and balls and sports on TV. But not today.

My grandmother died on March 13 after a brief illness. She was 84. As I sat in her bedroom, sorting through old photographs to use for a slide show at her memorial service, I came across letters. Piles of letters she had written to friends and family over the years, some sad, some sweet and full of her practical advice about how to just get on with life. Near the bottom of the piles of photos, there were loose sheets of hotel stationary, filled with her travel reflections as they enjoyed retirement and the various travels around the world. Mexico City in 1970. Australia and New Zealand in 1988. Europe in 1985 with 3 of her closest girlfriends. Hawaii for their friends’ 25th wedding anniversary in the 1960s. Sweden. England. A car trip across the United States in a station wagon in the early 1980s. Bus trips with their friends from church. Niagara Falls. Amish country. Croatia and Slovenia when she was 80.   She reveled in sharing her excitement about where they had been, bringing home gifts for family and friends and regaling us with tales of innkeepers, tour guides, sights, sounds and the glories of the natural world.  Her favorite piece of jewelry was a silver gum tree ring she’d purchased in Australia.  She said it always reminded her of that trip and one of the most breath-taking sights she’d ever been to, the Great Barrier Reef.

I sat for hours reading, hearing her voice so clearly in my head, enjoying her  lifetime of travels,  a traveler’s dream come true.  A legacy of wandering, exploring, searching out the unseen, savoring the new, recorded in her words, tucked away to be found by the one who followed in her curious footsteps. What more could a granddaughter ask for?

It was supposed to be a romantic weekend away, far from the stress of our daily lives.  We headed out of town, small overnight bag tucked in the back of the car, the wind at our backs.  My husband had planned this trip with very little input from me and it was a welcomed treat– a weekend at The Green Gables Inn where we’d spent part of our honeymoon.  The rain came down in sheets as we left town.

We arrived shortly before check-in but gracious as ever, the innkeeper said our room was ready.  The wind off the ocean was blustery, the rain steady, the reception room of the inn a perfect place to dry off and nibble homemade goodies left out on the antique sidebar in the dining room.   Our room in the carriage house provided gorgeous views of the rough seas, churned by wind and rain.  I was glad for the spacious windows and comfortable chairs to watch the rain and protect us from the cold.

The late afternoon wine and cheese hour in the main house of the inn helped fight off the chill of a walk down the ocean front.  We sipped a delightful local red wine and munched on crackers, brie and a divine chocolate bundt cake.  After a fabulous dinner on the wharf, we retired for the night.  The rain continued to fall, a bit more gently after the sunset. 

The gas fireplace in our room provided all the light we needed.  It was so peaceful and quiet, there was no need to even open the armoire that hid the TV.  My husband suggested a soak in the jacuzzi tub in the ensuite bathroom and we luxuriated in warm water scented with bath salts for nearly an hour.  By the time we crawled into our turned down bed, I’d forgotten the dreadful weather outside, the stress of a long work week, and slept the deep sleep of a woman without a care in the world.

 The Green Gables Inn is located at: 301 Ocean View Blvd, Pacific Grove, CA 93950.  Toll-Free: 800-722-1774; Phone: 831-375-2095
Fax: 831-375-5437 .  Email for availability and rates: greengablesinn@foursisters.com.