We were thrilled to be back in Northern California at the end of April to see friends and family. We rented a very nice AIRBNB in Alamo just south of Walnut Creek to share with Lea Isetti, a close friend since college at the University of the Pacific. We planned to visit our good friend Alex and her family who live nearby, but the passing of her father required them to leave for France.

Marla first met Lea in Junior high school.

Marla and Lea left to visit a college friend, Susie, in Palo Alto. I went on my traditional “memory lane” journey in my old neighborhoods. Time for lunch so I visited a long-time family favorite, Casper’s Hotdogs, in Pleasant Hill. Absolute nirvana for lovers of hotdogs!

After lunch I drove to my old high school in Pleasant Hill. It is now used as a middle school.

Visiting my old track brought back so many memories!

Because of running track I was recruited at schools like Oregon, USC, UC Berkeley, etc. I ended up at the University of the Pacific. My high school track coach was an alum who thought it would be a good fit. I was the captain of the track team for 3 years. And…without running track and attending U.O.P. I would not have met Marla!

Some reflections while at the old track.

After my morning nostalgic area visits It was time to shop for dinner. Our University of the Pacific friend Roger and his wife Karin were coming for dinner tonight. I ordered raviolis at my favorite, Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek.

The photo of me (above) was a rehearsal for a joke we played on Roger. Lea came up with a funny idea before his arrival. Earlier in the day I went to a nearby Staples and had blowups made of a college image of Roger that Lea found. I made a few copies and put them on view around the rental. We didn’t say anything when they arrived. We all had a good laugh when he finally noticed!

Setting up for our guests.

When entertaining guests in a rental one must improvise. We jammed 5 around a tiny table!

The living room of our rental.

It was great seeing Roger and his wife Karin! They drove all the way from Los Gatos on the Peninsula.

We chose Bridges Restaurant in nearby Danville to have lunch with college friends from Carmel Valley. The restaurant became famous for a spell as it was featured in the movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

With Roger and Jane for lunch. Jane was a Delta Gamma with Marla and Lea. I once had an (“almost”) date with Jane in college. She was a couple of hours late (before cell phones) so while I was waiting at the sorority house another Delta Gamma walked over and said, “Why keep waiting? Let’s you and I go out,…which we did!” We all became good friends at U.O.P. Roger introduced me to antique bottle collecting while in college. We felt like amateur archeologists! It was the begining of a lifelong love of…glass!

We met for lunch in Pleasanton with another Delta Gamma, Gretchen, and her husband Jim, also from U.O.P. Doing so much chatter, I forgot to take pictures. I’m including this one from a visit at their home on the Big Island last year.

On our last day we had lunch with Lesley, another Delta Gamma sorority sister of Marla’s. We walked by this historic bar on the way to Revel Restaurant. I LOVE Danville!

I enjoy these connections almost as much as Marla. I was elected “Delta Gamma Anchor Man” by the sorority one year. I can’t wait to do this trip again!

We stopped by my Mother’s favorite bakery, “Alpine Pastry”, in Concord. Lea was the first to discover it during her frequent times she visited Amalie! This was very close to where Mom lived and she loved this bakery and the visits. I inherited her sweet tooth.

Lea found some of her favorite treats and Marla and I ordered some “Princess Cake” for us. I have a dangerous thing going on about Marzipan!

Our rental casita had a beautiful outdoor area, but it was too chilly when we were there. We will return during a warmer month next year.

More exciting Northern California adventures coming soon.

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.