In the town of Our Lady

Question from the previous post: "Would anyone care to guess the name of the California town that happens to be our meeting place . . . ?"

Love2learn Mom, the very first commenter, and Kristen Laurence both guessed it--the lovely Santa Maria, California!

Lissa and I had quite a few possible spots picked out, trying to pin down a meeting plan for months--Monterey, Carmel, and San Luis Opisbo, to name but a few. Still, we just kept coming back to Santa Maria as the one place with the right distance and available accommodations. It seemed fairly clear that Our Lady wanted us in her town!

Special honorable mentions go to Clarice and Lynn who guessed Carmel (we tried!) and Mariposa and Jennifer who guessed San Luis Opisbo (we really, really tried!)

And thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the extremely kind comments on "Back to the Future"! Here are some "couch baby" outtakes and other highlights from our all-too-brief visit:

["Here's something I couldn't do last year!" says Rilla.]

["Hey, come back!"]

[Watching arcade games at the Round Table Pizzeria.]

[The temporary twins watch too!]

[Margaret beams over her tenth birthday cake. She said that having Lissa and family there to celebrate was her "best birthday gift ever."]

[Rilla and Maureen took an instant shine to one another, hugging with the most solemn expressions.]

[They were so devoted that I could not stop taking pictures of them standing perfectly still, arms around each other in a comfy hug.]

[After a while, Patrick needed to get into the act!]

The best line of the whole visit came from my good-natured goddaughter Beanie who, after seeing Eileen for the first time in a year, came to me (with an earnest, irresistible expression) to report, "It is almost as if she doesn't remember me!"

Here they are the last time they were together:

Fear not, Beanie! The loving beam of recognition in the picture below shows Eileen won't be forgetting you anytime soon!

One final thought:

I am by nature, an optimist. Reading between the lines of this post, I would say that Lissa has put it on record that visiting me in New York would be even easier than meeting me in the middle of California! Lissa, I'll expect you at the Cottage on August 12, 2008.

[Brigid, we'll get her there yet!]

Comments

[Margaret in Minnesota]

Alice, I have so enjoyed seeing these photos of two would-be friends-of-the-heart and their sweet, sweet families. You two are something else, in the very best and most beautiful of ways.

Happy Feast of the Assumption to you and yours! I pray for the day when we ALL might meet.

[Love2learn Mom]

That's really too funny. Santa Maria just kept popping up on California maps we've had out here lately for my upcoming trip. I remember in particular being astounded that, at least in the AAA guide book, Santa Maria is at the borderline between Northern and Southern California, even though it's only about a third of the way up the state. (It's really striking on this particular map because many points in Northern California are marked, but Southern California is almost completely blank - they cover that in a separate guide book).

So, when your question came up, I immediately thought - Santa Maria - which seemed to fit your hints quite well. :)

That really looks like the most perfectly perfect visit imaginable. I love the outtakes.

[Kate in NJ]

What terrific pictures.
It is clear that you were all very happy to see each other again, thanks for sharing your happiness with us.

[Beth]

Aw, thanks for indulging your readers with more photos! How lovely that you were able to get together.

Alice, I have nominated you for a Blogger Reflection Award, come on over and read about it if you are interested :-)

http://womanofthetigermoon.blogspot.com/2007/08/blogger-reflection-award.html

[Janette]

What beautiful pics! I have thoroughly enjoyed following along as you've explored the west coast. Seeing you and Lissa together again makes me smile. :) (Not to mention that it also makes me wish I could see her again and meet you once and for all!)

[Jill]

The picture of the kids around the cake with the glowing candles is...
Well, I don't even have words for it. Wow.

[patience]

Happy birthday Margaret! Into the double digits now - how exciting. I wish all your birthdays may be so happy, surrounded by family and loving friends.

[Kathryn]

Oh yes! Yes! Get her to New York! All us eager readers would not only get to see two-year-old "twins" pictures, we would get to read about the journey too :).

[Heather]

I second Jill's comment regarding the birthday cake shot - it's amazing! The lighting and the faces are perfect!

[Mary Beth P]

Aug 12th 2008? I'll be there,too! (That's if you can handle 5 more kids). You two could use a few more boys for the next set of pics!

[Claire]

Precious! They have grown up so much, haven't they? Those alternating wise, pensive, and dimpling expressions...!

[Jennifer in TX]

Alice,
What a blessing your families are to each other!! What a fun time...