2023 Monday — Illumination

This day is one that always stands tall for us. Eleven years ago today we did our first “walk-thru” of this “shack” of a beach house. It was the only “For Sale” house in this town that we could afford, but we weren’t sure we could afford it.

Looking back now we realize — it is the ONLY house in this town that was made for us; we couldn’t afford not to buy it. This house was waiting for us to fill it with our hopes, our dreams, our future — our lives. It was waiting for us to put our fingerprints all over it; to decorate it with our uniqueness; to fill it with our brand of aroma; to give it a life like it had never had.

The front room wallpaper was and is 32 feet of windows that face the Pacific Ocean. The side windows make it into a panorama.

So this little shack has a point-to-point view of Estero Bay on California’s Central Coast. We can see the south Point Buchon and the north Point Estero. In between those two landmarks are the lights of the communities of Los Osos and Morro Bay and the huge volcanic plug that is called Morro Rock. Our little town has the pier that Captain Cass made famous or possibly it made him famous, the old “almost” abandoned Borradori’s Garage on the bluff north of the pier, the Vet’s Hall, now over a hundred years old, and Captain Cass’s House.

This evening we dined at Martin’s Restaurant (pronounced “mar-teens”). Every evening they not only serve Mexican food, but also delicious Italian cuisine. Mr. Fun ordered a taco, rice and beans meal and I ordered a small cheese pizza with pineapple added to it. Eight slices — I ate two and six were put in a “to go” box for later.

Then the delight of this entire day happened as we watched the moon rise in the south above Morro Bay and Los Osos to illuminate our coast and in some special way reveal to us the “pinch me — I can’t believe we live here” moments and memories that eleven years have produced. Breathtaking!

Eleven years has brought a complete restoration, refurbishing, home improvement to this beach shack property. The color is no longer drab gray but lavender; the windows are plate glass (no little square panes); the interior gutted and renewed; the backyard completely terraced into retaining walls with ramps to walk, flower beds for color, patios for leisure, and a fire pit for warmth.

And we named this place “Hank’s House.” What? Yes, “Hank’s House” because the gal volunteering at the art gallery at the Vet’s Hall asked us years ago where we live and we said, “Right here in Cayucos.” “Oh! Which house?” she asked. We told her and she said, “You are living in Hank’s House!” That became the moniker which allowed us to speak to each other about our coast place without telling others the purchase we had made. A statement like, “Oh look, wouldn’t that be cute at Hank’s House” meant nothing to others. Two years later when Mr. Fun retired, we casually told the story that was news to most of our friends.

And so we celebrate July 31st. In 2012 it was the day the curtain opened to a future that we couldn’t even imagine.

One final thought: this all happened because at the beginning of 2011 three young dogs were given to us and almost instantly our vacationing expenses tripled. The cost of kenneling three dogs was staggering. I casually said, “We need to buy a beach house where we vacation with our pups.” No one thought that was possible, especially Mr. Fun. It wasn’t possible in Southern California, but it was on California’s Central Coast.

That’s the story of July 31st.
Good night from
California’s Central Coast,
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol
and Chloe & Mitzi too!