Summer Retreat

Planning for this year’s summer getaway to Humboldt began months ago, as we established which three-day weekend would work best for the group. In the end, just about everyone was able to make it, so we were a group of eight staying with Chuck. Two students whose weddings I had officiated brought their spouses, which was very sweet.

Knowing how long the drive was this time, we set off at midday over the bridge and into the toasty interior. The temperature cooled as we turned to the coast; but it was still lovely when we arrived about six, and waited for the others. Everyone made it in time for dinner, and those who were camping could put their tents up in the last of the daylight.

On Saturday I woke up very early, and sat for about two and a half hours as it got light and the sun started shining in to the cabin. Everyone was there by seven, when I was determined to get up and make coffee; we enjoyed a huge breakfast together, then repeated our hike to the ocean. The beach was somewhat foggy and windy, but we stayed for a while, and a couple of folks went running down the beach, making their own way back. We had dinner on the deck again, and sitting followed by a talk from Zachary.

Sunday felt much like Saturday, with the added bonus that most of us would be there for another twenty-four hours. We sat, ate, and then headed into town for the market. One carload went back to the city with those who had Monday morning commitments, the rest of us had lunch, then went down to the swimming hole we had just looked at last year. Again, it was a little cool and windy, but the water was warm, and wading up on the gravel bars, then being propelled by the current through the deeper sections where the river met the rocky bank was delightful.

In the evening I gave a talk, without notes. It was mostly a try-out for my Zen Center talk on the 1st. I got through my main points, and then a series of questions from the group and one of Chuck’s students, who I had worked with down at Tassajara work period last spring, helped flesh out some of the other things I wanted to communicate. I will listen to the recording, and hopefully be able to piece together something coherent.

Having spent most of Sunday morning’s sitting wondering how it would be outside, I put it to the test on Monday morning. It was cloudy as it got light, and there was even a sprinkle of rain. Once we had had breakfast, cleaned up thoroughly and said our goodbyes, our car set off through the redwoods, where it was damp for a while, and then the long haul south.

It was a pleasant surprise to find clear skies in San Francisco, which stuck around, mostly, for a few days, though you wouldn’t really call it warm.