Terrific Fun Day

Did the neighborhood walk, had breakfast, and changed before Carolyn, Betty, and Claire picked  me up at noon. Off we went to Ojai, first to Ellen's to pick her up, then to The Farmer and the Cook for lunch.
The F. and the C., which is vegetarian, isn't my favorite place for a variety of reasons: It's always jammed (with the well-off former flower children, now middle-aged, who live in Ojai); it's pricey; and it's one of those places where you have to stand in line to order. We sat on the patio, with its rickety, mis-matched furniture (I swear, they do that on purpose, to show solidarity with the poor or something), and it took an age for Carolyn and Claire to get their burritos. However, I had a delicious salad, which included an excellent seasoned tofu and we all enjoyed our meals, so I'm now revising my opinion on The F. and The C.
We picked up Steve, Robyn, and Dex, who were staying at a friends' house not far away. Boy, we all loved the house, which up high and has incredible views. Then it was off to Carolyn's friends' house, James and his wife, which is only a short walk (but we drove, in deference to Betty's inability/refusal to walk more than a few yards) from Ellen's for the first stop on the Ojai Art Tour. His stuff is okay, I guess, but abstract and I'm sick of the genre. We chatted for a bit, and James recommended another artist, a sculptor named Ted Gall.
We went there and what a place! This guy isn't just some amateur; he has a huge estate up in the hills, with a museum quality exhibit building, as well as statuary outside.  We all loved his work, especially the smaller pieces that open up and reveal tiny figures. The big figures were spectacular, too--If only I had an idle $65,000, I would have bought one.
Steve, Robyn, Dex, Betty, and Claire went back to the friends' place, while Carolyn, El, and I toured a third place--a couple's, he painting "wheels," she shiny squares, both very abstract, and pretty damn boring, we three agreed.
We dropped El off so she could get her clothes out of the dryer and do some other chores, then went back to join the others. Had wine and good talk, El joining in an hour or so. We sat and chatted and, somehow, started talking about Shirley Temple. At that point, Steve put on a old"Biography" segment about her on the T.V. and we watched much of it. That sounds boring, but it wasn't--it was a lot of fun.
El and I went out to get salad fixings and ice cream to accompany Robyn's delicious (made-from-scratch, of course) chili. We got back to see some of our companions playing a game called "Brokus." El played the next time and it looked like so much fun, I'm going to buy one and bring it to Jersey, so we can play there.
Dinner, then more good talk and discussion on everything under the sun. El and I finally left at 8:00 or so, she drove me home, and--even though I didn't get as much exercise in as usual, I slept like a log and didn't get up until after 6:00.
It was one of the most enjoyable days I've had in months.