San Luis Obispo

Tuesday. The beginning of my journey has taken on a slow start. I drove a total of 70 miles on Monday. 240 miles today.

On Monday I did not leave Napa until 4pm. Yes, I was dragging my feet. The last goodbye I had to say was going to be the hardest; and it was so. Tears fell from both of our eyes. It is kind of funny (in some strange way) that the last time I saw tears in his eyes was the time he told me, for the first time, that he loved me. We were standing on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean as the sun was setting from Patricks Point in Northern California. I turned to look at him and saw his tears as he said the words. It came as a surprise to me. Not that he loved me, but the moment took me by surprise. I said it back to him and meant it. As we walked back to our campsite in the dark, a smile crept up on my face that could have illuminated the way back. I'll miss him tremendously.

So with emotions safely back in the box, I made a grumble visit, today, to see PaulSF in San Mateo. My first thought upon walking into his shop was "Wow, very nice place." It's a beautifully laid out shop and pleasant to be in. If I were to own a frame shop, I would want it to be very much like that. Rob Markoff would be pleased to know, there was almost no framed art on the floor!

Paul is a very likable guy. It makes me sad that I will not be visiting him again. Also, Paul does more than picture framing. He makes some very cool pens. Check them out:

www.thegrumble.com

You may not be able to view the photos unless you are a signed in grumble member. The photo at the top of this post is one of Pauls handmade pens!



Lets go back to Monday for a moment. I made another grumble visit. Although, it was much less of a grumble visit than it was a visit to a friend to say so long. Doug, aka W.C. Framer, who is one of my fellow Napa grumblers, was in his shop eating lunch. Why do I have this knack of interrupting others during lunch? Anyway, I will miss Doug. I have enjoyed getting to know him in person as well as on the grumble. His sense of humor is like a dip in the hot tub after a long hard day; a relief. Thanks for all the smiles. And thanks for sharing some of the cookies sent to you from i-m-chickie!! They were yummy!

Another Napa grumbler, Carol Collins, will be missed, too. I was just getting to know her. I think we could have been good friends with a little more time. Carols frame shop is in the same shopping center as the frame shop I worked in. She was a welcoming respite during my walk back from coffee break.

The world of picture framing has some wonderful people in it. I have been fortunate to get to know so many of them.

Becky