After a delicious lunch of egg rolls and stir-fry on Thursday, it was with sadness that I said goodbye to Yvonne from crafts. Leaving with her was Riley, from the nature center. They wised to give the nature center cats to a good home, so I flirted with the idea of taking one back for my grandfather, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, James from the kitchen fell in love with the calico, Snickers, and kept it as his own. While he started the adventure of taking care of a cat, I stayed in the crafts building to make my last project of the summer with Jenny, who left that night. It was a fiery vase of red, orange, yellow, and gold. The building looked wrong with the windows boarded up, and I hated to leave it.
My last day of work was marked by cleaning out the milk machine, a frustrating exercise as every time I scraped out ice, more would form. My last meal in the dish room kind of made me sad, as I was saying goodbye to so many of the staff I have come to love. I lingered in the kitchen once I had used up my hours, enjoying a fantastic frappucino one of my supervisors had made. Once he got off work, James and I watched Evita on the back steps of the cabin, his girlfriend Rachel joining us towards the end of it. As Buenos Aires went up in flames on the screen, we looked up to see the camp horses being led down the hill in a procession, almost like a parade.
Our boss, Norm, gave the three of us a ride down the hill to the Wawona Hotel, where James treated Rachel and I to a wonderful evening. Just listening to the pianist in the lobby perform "Georgia On My Mind" and "Mona Lisa" would have been worth the trip for me, but it only served to make the meal more spectacular. Sharing a bottle of Martinelli's in honor of a summer well spent, they feasted on steaks while I enjoyed a tasty eggplant dip, also helping them finish off some grilled vegetables and spinach salad they did not have the room to consume. It was all rounded off with delectable desserts--creme brulee, bread pudding, and tiramisu. Even better than the food, however, was the company; we laughed and talked and enjoyed telling stories to each other. We brought back a bottle of Martinelli's for our boss, but unfortunately in exploded in his car. James felt terrible about that, so Rachel and I went to an effort to cheer him up.
My parents arrived at the camp during the night, and although it was late, I was up to greet them. The next morning, my friend Ashley and I watched the staff DVD on Rachel's computer, and it brought back many of the wonderful experiences of the summer. After bidding my bosses farewell, my parents and I headed off to the Ahwahnee for lunc, where in their spacious, opulent dining room we feasted on such deligts as onion tart, gnocchi, and vegetarian onion soup before we took off towards Napa. I t was strange to look out my window and see wide stretches of flat land, then the familiar hills and waterways of the East Bay.
Finally, we reached the home of the Pedersons, where they greeted us warmly, thanking us for the mortar and pestle of banded onyx we gave them from the Ahwahnee. We shared a meal even more spectacular than the one we had enjoyed at the Ahwahnee earlier that day--cucumbers prepared in an Estonian recipe, eggplant with a homemade tomato sauce, shredded zucchini, corn and basil tart, home made potato chips with a light truffle sauce, and a dish of asparagus, green beans, and yellow beets were all among the offerings, rounded off with some tasty blueberry juice. All but the drink had been prepared by Mrs. Pederson, a true culinary artist. Dessert was incredible as well, a sundae made with fresh waffle cone, straight off the iron, a peach custard ice cream, home made whip cream, and caramel sauce brought over from Paris, where the Pedersons went this summer.
Over this, we talked at length, an excellent way for Elder Pederson and my father to touch bases about the coming convocation on September 15. This event will involve the Sacramento Philharmonic, Ralph Carmichael, and a chorus that is beginning to exceed 500 voices as more desire to be in it. Elder Pederson asked me to do the scripture reading on Sabbath morning of the convocation--who am I to refuse my conference president? I gladly accepted. Watching them work on this event fills me with anticipation--it will definitely be a day not to be missed.
Coming home at last, I was greeted vociferously by my beloved cats and a stack of mail that as been waiting for me. It is good to be home, if only for a month before I head off to college; just to hold my oboe in my hands and to play a few clumsy notes after a summer of no practice was an inestimable joy. I hope to see many of you soon, in one way or another, and hope that life is treating you well.
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