QOTD: "I was in Hitchock's Lifeboat. So was Tallulah Bankhead, who didn't wear panties, and each morning when we climbed into a lifeboat up on a mechanical rocker, she gave the cast and crew a hell of a view. Eventually, someone complained to Hitch, who didn't want to get involved. He explained it was an interdepartmental matter involving wardrobe, costume and possibly hairdressing." - Hume Cronyn
Reading: the Sunday L.A. Times
Listening to: The Capitol Steps, Unzippin' My Doodah
Decluttering accomplishments: none, sigh
Early Friday morning I headed north, out of Los Angeles. The traffic was moderately heavy on 101 through the San Fernando Valley, but that's only to be expected. Things had thinned out by the time I reached Ventura County and, other than a couple of spots near Santa Barbara and a brief slow-down just south of Santa Maria, the drive up the coast was quite pleasant.
My destination was a storytellers' retreat in Cambria. Since I had Friday off anyway, I decided to take advantage of being in the area to go to Hearst Castle. I've lived in California for over twenty years, so it was silly that I'd never been to such a major tourist attraction. I'd called and made a reservation for the tour, but that doesn't seem to be strictly necessary on a March weekday. The "experience tour" includes a reasonably interesting National Geographic movie about William Randolph Hearst and the castle. Then you take a bus up the hill and the guides lead you around a small part of the grounds and sections of the guest houses and the main house. The Neptune Pool is justly famous - very grand, with a Roman temple setting. Though I'd probably have preferred swimming in the indoor pool, which is modeled after Roman baths, with fancy tiling everywhere. The outdoor setting may be nice, but it was bloody cold and windy.
At any rate, everything is grand enough, but Hearst comes across as a very weird person. The notion of buying up things like huge fireplaces and entire church ceilings and the like and storing them for years until you can build the right room for them is beyond me. Though, I suspect that if I were that rich, it would be hard to refrain from the temptation to just buy anything that appealed to me. Fortunately, my fantasy environment is far more comfortable and casual. For example, I'd never buy an antique chair since I long ago figured out that any chair that is comfortable enough to sit on doesn't survive to become an antique.
I'd also say that, architecturally, Hearst Castle is impressive, but not as impressive as, say, Cardiff Castle. (Which is comparable, as it was built in the 19th century as a rich man's fantasy.) The view, however, is incomparable. And it's amusing to watch other people's reactions to all the grandeur.
After the tour, I drove to Cambria and managed to find Camp Ocean Pines, were the retreat was being held. Another person showed me where the cabins were and, after leaving my sleeping bag and pack on a bunk, I went down to the lodge to meet the other people who were there. Actually, I already knew four of the other thirteen attendees. But there were people from the Bay Area and one woman from Sacramento who I'd never met.
The whole plan for the weekend had been rather nebulous. That proved to be a source of frustration for me, as not having a schedule makes it hard to figure out when you can go off and take a nap or a walk without missing something. And I felt that we spent more time talking about what we should do than we spent actually doing anything.
I did have a reasonably good time, despite the chaos. If nothing else, it was good to spend some time just sitting on a deck overlooking the ocean and watching deer running along the coast. We also saw some whales spouting. Steve (the retreat organizer) claimed they were humpbacks, but I think it's far more likely that they were grey whales, since greys are migrating up the coast this time of year. I heard a few good stories and told a couple of my own. I can't say I really learned anything about storytelling, though I did learn how to make a rattle out of dried kelp. Cherise (one of the Bay Area attendees) had brought along a bunch she made and explained the process. They're really quite unusual and a good example of artwork whose form is driven by the materials.
I was also disappointed in the facilities. It didn't bother me that the bathrooms were in a separate building and I don't expect camp mattresses to be anything other than lumpy. (Other people did complain a lot about these aspects of the weekend.) But we spent most of our time in the lodge. The chairs there were uniformly uncomfortable, which is just annoying. The real problem was the temperature. The cabin we slept in was straw bale construction, which is nicely insulated and I was cozily warm in my sleeping bag. The lodge, however, had the least effective fireplace I've ever experienced. People had to get up every several minutes and stand by the fire to warm up. Which disrupts the conversational flow. It's a pity since the place has a great setting and has the potential to be really nice.
The retreat actually went on until lunchtime today, but I took off just after breakfast. I'd planned to do a Volksmarch in Pismo Beach. Unfortunately, it was raining fairly heavily by the time I got down there, so I decided that it would have to wait for another time. I made pretty good time getting home, where I ran a few errands and took a nap. Going away for the weekend is nice, but doesn't help in the continual fight against the entropy in my apartment.
Copyright 2002 Miriam H. Nadel