At "Home"—and homesick

Now that we’ve gotten the living room set up, we have actually had house guests. Last weekend, Patty, Dan, and Annie from the running group came over for the evening to play board games. Patty (the iPhone junkie) took this pic of us and the bug, with the kitchen wing of the cottage in the background.



I’ve joined up with a bicycling group that meets midweek after work. It’s a fun group of people, and there’s always dinner afterwards. We usually meet in Woodside, a cute little town that reminds me of Marine, and then bike through the hills.

The big challenge for me is CLIMBING. Unless I stay right by the bay, roads here go up and down hills, and they’re not just the little roller-coaster things we have in Minnesota. Climbs may be gradual or steep, but they go on for a mile or two. I’ve made it a point to go out at least once in between group rides to do a loop through the hills west of Menlo Park, and it’s paying off. I don’t slow down quite as much when I’m out with the folks on Tuesday evenings.


A favorite after-ride venue is Buck’s in Woodside. The waiters there are very patient with us, as we are boisterous and hungry. Sadly, as the days get shorter, the after-work rides will come to an end, but we will take up the slack with extra rides on the weekend.

As the days get shorter and cooler, however, there’s a bonus for me: the swimming pool is nearly empty! I went yesterday and enjoyed a leisurely swim in my own lane.

So, we are having some fun here, and there’s no question about it, we’re making some great friends. But it just doesn’t feel like home. This morning I saw that the new 35W bridge had reopened in Minneapolis, and I just got terribly homesick. I still miss seeing the Twins on TV, and as fall approaches, it’s weird not to see the trees turning colors.

I’m sad that Emilio and his buddies won’t be descending on the house at Thanksgiving, and the recent water crisis at the Paragon house made me wish I were there to deal with things in person. I guess the novelty of being here is wearing off, so besides climbing hills, I have a new challenge: enjoying the many things the Bay Area has to offer when I’d rather be somewhere else.

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