What a delightful day! I took the 9:45 bus to Santa Barbara and was picked up at 11:00 by Carolyn and nephew, Wes. We then went and got Betty at Villa Alamar and I was finally able to see her room. It's small, but has a nice kind of anteroom and a roomy bathroom (no tub or shower, as the residents are helped to bathe by staff). From there, we went to Carolyn's, where I met Wes's lady friend, Heidi. I like her a lot; she's also an attorney (on HEPA affairs) and has two daughters and a son. I was fascinated to hear she and her former husband adopted the son from Ethiopia and we talked about that.
Carolyn went out and got subs for lunch, then presented a birthday cake (it was Wes's 57th) and we sang The Song. I had just quickly pulled together something--two small bottles of wine, which I said was for him and Heidi--and he appreciated it.
What I appreciated--well, it was more like I was blown away with amazement and gratitude--was the Google Earth virtual reality set Wes had brought. He put it on m, gave me the hand controls and I actually visited Ventnor and Singapore! It's as if you're in--not a plane, but maybe a glider soaring over the land. You can also--which I did--go down to street level, turn here and there, then use a control to take a kind of snapshot of the area. I saw St. James, the house where I grew up on Rosborough Avenue, Betty's big house on Atlantic, Mom's on Washington, and so many other places. I saw where son Mike and family live in Singapore and was almost, but not quite, able to walk in. I want one of these--I do! Maybe I'll ask the kids to put together and get me one for Christmas. In fact, I could actually buy one myself--hmm...
Anyway, it was a neat day and it was wonderful to see the loving care and concern Carolyn and Wes show Betty, who is more faded mentally and more frail physically than ever.
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