The Fishwife

Getting away is about getting some back; refilling your cup so it can 'runneth over' for others, for creativity, for whatever you need it to. Our trip to Pacific Grove was definitely a time to get some back.

For those who don't know where or what Pacific Grove is, it's the little seaside community that sits by Pebble Beach Golf Course, and is the wintering home for a majority of the Monarch Butterfly population on the west coast. Less well known, and from which we could see the memorial from our balcony, it's where John Denver lost his life in a plane crash.

The homes are Victorian and beautiful; the landscape raw and powerful; and the food was incredible. Our favorite was a little place called "The Fishwife." It wasn't the food (which was beyond compare- I had a crab, shrimp, and scallop quesadilla with a roasted chipotle cream sauce, while Tami enjoyed an heirloom tomato salad drizzled with a mango-pineapple vinegarette topped with seared salmon). It was the Fishwife...

Before we went to the restaurant, my instructor for my class warned me "There's a tiny little lady who greets you with a hug when you come in." We came, but no lady.

About half-way through our meal, she walked in. All of 4 feet tall, possibly in her late 80's-early 90's, and possessed of an energy and elegance that washed over the room. When she came up to our table, I told her "If you're the Fishwife, I would like my hug!" Keep in mind, I am not a hugger, but she leaned over and gave me a good squeeze and patted & rubbed my back, and then did the same for Tami, and chatted with us like we were here great grandchildren come to visit. Honestly, if you could start your day with that hug, it would all be biscuits and gravy from there on.

Her cup runneth over so much, it filled mine to overflow as well.

This photo is sunset at the Tobin James Vineyard in Paso Robles, CA. A great tasting room with an awesome late season zin called "Liquid Love." The vines are starting to gain their fall colors, and the coastal oak stands guard over rows of pinot noir grapes.