Four Birthdays and a Funeral

It's time for me to catch up a bit with our last visit to the States, mid-June through early August. We had the luxury of spending the most time Stateside in 4½ years, since coming back to Timaru in February, 2014. It was not relaxing, per se, but it was a very good thing. We were able to get a lot accomplished which was not possible on shorter visits.
The work-break began in LA, for my beautiful daughter Sofia's 28th birthday, which was the same day our equally gorgeous granddaughter Kimarra was promoted from the 2nd to 3rd grade.

We escaped the heart of South Island winter to the SoCal beach summer!

Grandson Isaiah (L) with his cousin Sam

In addition to Sofia, big birthdays were a major theme, from Fayne's dear friend Karen, a surprise planned by her daughters Mona and Phoebe, to Linnea (planned by her kids), to the Moo-fest that is early August for Athena (more on that later).

Karen and Family

Linnea's Cake

After a few days there, it was back to Fort Bragg, our home when not away from home since 1984, and the luxury of 2½ weeks in our our house and bed. For the first time since "commuting" to NZ for work I felt like we reclaimed our space. We enjoyed an unprecedented spell of fine clear sunny weather in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

From the trail along the Fort Bragg headlands

Details of mosaics of local fauna, some of  several artistic embellishments on the trail

Pudding Creek Beach

As loyal readers know, I LOVE the 4th of July Mendocino Parade, with good reason. This collage gives you a good idea of its essence: informal, relaxed, beautiful backdrop, very Mendonesian, and a chance to see old friends and acquaintances.

Allow me to focus on two of the images, and give a shout out to friends Haley and Nathan, who are spreading the word about their exciting new venture, The Fog Eater Cafe.

Fog Eater Bug

Haley in her natural habitat

Here in a nutshell is how the principals describe the Cafe:

Fog Eater Cafe is a vegetarian restaurant inspired by both the hearty recipes of the deep South and the fresh plant-based cuisine of Northern California.

Due to open soon in the village of Mendocino, keep a lookout for it and say "John sent me".
Keeping it all in the family, we had time to take in the improv show of The Hit and Run Theater group, featuring Haley's mom Christine and step-dad Doug Nunn (whose NZ visit was featured on my blog the post before last).

Christine (C) in a trance predicting the future, Doug (R) looking on in awe.

And while I am cross-promoting other ventures, Doug has started a new podcast project he calls  Snap Sessions. Click the link if you want to find out more. It is a magazine-type show featuring items from the news, interviews with locals, comedy, and commentary: in short, authentic Doug Nunnery.

Another annual coastal event is the World's Largest Salmon BBQ to benefit the Salmon Restoration Society (whose motto should be: "That which does not cook us makes us more plentiful") on the weekend closest to July 4. David N. flew up from Davis (with Donna R.) not once but twice  during our stay to provide crucial help in tasks like changing out a rusted in headlight on the 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser and repairing our 80 yo door chime. We were more than happy to treat them to the BBQ and later fireworks over the sea while devouring pizza.

BBQ time at Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg

As to the '85 Land Cruiser, it has been little used the last several years, and I finally had enough time to spiff it up a bit and sell it on eBay (a bit of an ordeal, but successful). We were sorry to see it go, but hope its new owners treat it well.

Adios dear friend

Summertime means baseball. Back in the Bay Area, I could finally take in a Giants v. A's game at AT&T Park with Dr. John Gallo (my original season ticket partner at the brand spanking new Pac Bell Park in 2000). The A's won, and are on track for their first post-season appearance since 2014. No hard feelings against the G-men, but all is good. I even attended another game in Oakland later.

Chi-Town

Mid-way through out visit, we spent a memorable week in Chicago. I attended a Mayo Clinic Neurology conference, but we had time for a rendezvous with family, sightseeing, and eating.

The Chicago River as captured by Laura Fayne Hedden

If you have never been to Chicago, it is a great place to visit. From the public art, to the world class museums, innovative architecture, live sports and entertainment, it is hard to beat. I have been to Chicago before but never before visited Cloud Gate, a mirror-like sculpture by Sir Anish Kapoor installed in Millennium Park in 2006. Referred to as The Bean by locals, it is true people magnet with ever-changing reflections of the skyline and the crowd.

Cloud Gate- aka The Bean

Opened in 2004, Millennium Park is a great gift to locals and visitors alike, with art works, an open air pavilion with free concerts in the summer, food, etc. Crown Fountain (below) features two 50' tall towers with LED displays of random Chicagoans periodically "spitting" fountains into the rectangular pool between them.

Crown Fountain

Adjacent Grant Park is the home of the Buckingham Fountain (1927), one of the world's largest.

Buckingham Fountain

 Across the street the former Chicago Public Library (1897) has been re-purposed as the Chicago Culture Center, a venue for formal receptions , civic events, and a showcase for arts. The most astounding section is Preston Bradley Hall with the largest Tiffany glass dome in the world. This was originally where patrons checked out their library books. The photos do not do the hall justice. The wall mosaics are made from Favrile glass, magically iridescent  tiles set in marble displaying famous learned quotations in multiple languages. It is inspiring to see a public place lavishly celebrating learning and books throughout history.

Chicago Cultural Center

The 38' wide Tiffany Dome featuring signs of the zodiac

In another part of the building you will find 36 original panels of the monumental mural created in 1989 by internationally-acclaimed artist Keith Haring with the assistance of 500 Chicago Public School students.

Keith Haring: The Chicago Mural

Five minutes away is the world-renown Chicago Art Institute, home of too many masterpieces to name. The collection includes these three panels of Marc Chagall's America Windows (1974).

After visiting the windows, I became aware that several times I walked by without noticing the Chagall monumental mosaic (70' L, 10' W, 14' H) The Four Seasons (1974), installed outside the Chase Tower (home of NPR's news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! for nerd fans like me).

Not that the Windy City is all high-brow stuff. It is also the home of the Billy Goat Tavern, made famous in the 1970's by the classic "Cheezborger, cheezborger, cheezborger" sketches. It is located deep in the Chicago underground, below the Tribune Building and back in the day it was a hangout for newspapermen from the three major dailies. The atmosphere seems authentic and worth a drop-in from people of my generation. Expect playful rudeness, just don't expect a good meal.

"Cheezborger, cheezborger, cheezborger"

Another Chicago cultural touchstone for us was catching a classic film at the Gene Siskel Film Center, proudly displaying this iconic photograph.

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down photo by Victor Skrebneski (1986)

There was representation from both sides of the family during the week. Our niece Laura Fayne came down from Milwaukee to join her parents and us. They kept Fayne entertained while I was in conference with one of their favorite games: bed.

My Cousin Clay and his wife Michelle braved the stop-and-go Friday traffic to drive down for dinner in Greektown. Thanks to them and Mary, Fred, and LF for making the effort. It was fun.

The Funeral

Too many of recent postings contain sad news of people passing, Dr. Henrique Mayorga Nestler, the patriarch of the Nestler clan died somewhat suddenly in July with loving family at his bedside. He is irreplaceable, but at age 95, having survived many serious health challenges lately, it can hardly be called a surprise. I am so grateful to have had him in my life for 60 years, and I am glad I was in the States when this happened. His funeral in Watsonville was a subdued yet joyous occasion,  and exactly as he would have wanted. All of the Wallaces share his loss with all of the Nestlers.

The Nestlers and Wallaces

The photos at the memorial illustrated how deep our connection is. Nearly every important person in my life was featured: Fayne, Sofia, Kimarra, Isaiah, David, all the rest of my family. One of my favorite rituals with Dr. Nestler was after a meal he would pull out his wooden box and we would play dominoes. Whenever he won he would exclaim "Masterful!" in his unique voice. I will miss that.

Which I suppose segues into a visit with my dad, definitely NOT dead, in fact recently he turned 93. I went to San Diego for a day to see him and his wife Ruth. We spent a very relaxing day bay-side, played some gin rummy, and ate some tacos. He is slowing down a bit, but hanging in there.

Lunch at Candelas on the Bay, Coronado, CA (sorry for the dark photo)

Octopus tacos

I planned this trip so I would be around for Athena's birthday August (BD # 4 this trip if you are keeping track), and it was worth it. Her dear friend Mary Powell is a well respected SF foodie, and we were included in a birthday eve dinner at Mary's. It would have been worth it just to see the commanding SF view from atop her high-rise apartment.

Athena preparing to extinguish flame

On her actual BD, Athena (aka; Moo) wanted to go to a small French restaurant we discovered while spending time in Sausalito, Le Garage. It was fitting to end this long stay with family.

It was a highly successful visit, and apologies to the friends and family we saw who are not mentioned here. It is mainly because I didn't take any photos that did you justice.

Fireworks over the Oakland Colosseum  after another A's win

Back to Timaru, but this time with special guests! Sofia and her family joined us for 9 memorable days which I will detail in my next blog entry coming soon!

Dr. Wallace Writes a Lot of Letters to Washington

Mendocino, CA 4th of July, 2018

Since starting my blogs in 2010 my content has mostly written as a diary to share with friends and family of our travels, not as any soapbox. Those that know me should have a pretty good guess as to my stance on positions of the day, but for the most part I have tried to avoid Op-Ed pieces. This entry is different, as I have concluded the the current US president deserves and needs to be impeached and removed from office. That said, I have tried to make my argument a non-partisan one and based on what I have thought were shared American attitudes about the nature of our government and Constitution, basic ideas from high school civics (do they teach that anymore?).
I love this country and always look forward to the 4th of July, a day that most of us could share to celebrate common virtues of democracy and freedom, of which the Mendocino 4th of July parade is an annual idiosyncratic example.  It started me thinking and led me to write this letter which was published in the July 12th edition of the Fort Bragg Advocate News.

"Deeply troubled by the state of our country, I did something this Independence Day: I read the Constitution. It is a document of few words, so we should pay close attention to them. I conclude that the current President deserves and needs to be impeached and removed from office. This goes beyond consideration of his stances on immigration, taxes, tariffs, women’s rights, world affairs, etc. about which there may be sincere and strident argument. Here is what I found.
Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 determines the Presidential oath of office to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  The current President has demonstrates ignorance of the constitution and agitates to undermine it with frequent attacks the free press, the rule of law, and guarantees of due process
Article II, Section 3 states the President “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”. He actively works to sabotage and subvert laws of the land such as the Affordable Care Act and environmental and consumer protections.
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 is the Emoluments Clause; “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State”. It was inserted as a way to prevent sitting leaders from accepting foreign gifts or payments, in order to ensure complete neutrality from outside influence and to prevent even the appearance of corruption. He fails this test too.
Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 describes judgement of impeachment as “removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States”. The Founding Fathers assumed that holders of national elected office would be people of honor and trust. The current President is neither honorable nor trustworthy.
As a spokesperson for the First Lady recently said, “there are no hidden messages” in this administration. It may be that 40% of the voting public will never see things this way, but if 60% are united and steadfast, I hope we can bring force to this or the next Congress to do their job under the Constitution."

This led to my "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" moment, a resolve to send letters to all 441 members of the US House of Representatives expressing these thoughts.  I could not believe how many hours it took me but I felt compelled to do this, and have always heard that overwhelming direct contact through mail of by phone is something that has a chance to influence some elected officials. Perhaps others independently are taking a similar action. I am not naïve enough to believe that this will turn the tide, but I am enough of a hopeless optimist/ex-Boy Scout to believe it is worth it.

The Office of the Clerk of U. S. House of Representatives conveniently provides mailing addresses for all of its members in a downloadable list formatted for printing labels, found here:
http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/

AT&T Park, A's vs. Giants, July 15, 2018

I hope all of can get back to enjoying baseball, hotdogs, Cracker Jack (or the vegan alternatives if you prefer). Thank you for your indulgence.

Visitors from Down the Block and Across the Sea

Pano view from the Auckland Sky Tower

Since first coming to New Zealand on ANZAC Day, 2010, we have been visited about once yearly from friends and family from the USA. 2018 will be remembered for the 13 days we spent with our dear Fort Bragg friends and neighbors Christine and Doug. More so than with other visitors we recapitulated a lot of our times in NZ. Appropriately, they came to Auckland shortly after ANZAC Day, the 8th anniversary of our first arrival.

ANZAC Day at Timaru Cemetery

After greeting them on arrival at the airport, we spent the first two nights at the Waldorf Tetra in the Auckland CBD, our home for six months in 2012.  In addition to taking in the view from the SkyTower observation deck (above), we walked the same path I took to go to work at Auckland City Hospital, on across the Domain and over to the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the wonders it holds. 

The Auckland Art Gallery displayed a fascinating video installation Manifesto "starring" Cate Blanchett in multiple roles, described as:

The immersive 13-screen film installation Manifesto by German artist and filmmaker Julian Rosefeldt pays homage to the moving tradition and literary beauty of artist manifestos, ultimately questioning the role of the artist in society today

While Fayne and our guests pondered the complexities of that, I took the opportunity to make my first visit to the Maritime Museum, Auckland. Dubbed The City of Sails, my visit to see the 1995 America's Cup winning yacht Black Magic was long overdue.

NZL 32-Black Magic

Of course, there were many other odd nautical pieces that caught my attention.

Figurehead of the HMS Virago

The streets of Auckland have been invaded by 46 giant owls, part of The Big Hoot, part of a public art project to raise funds for childhood cancer.

Nobody rocks the party like my nearly surrogate son Florry O. and his little buddy Rocco, and we were fortunate he made time to brunch with us before we left the city.

All bow down to Rocco (at center)

Christine and Doug had less than a fortnight to spend in NZ so in order to show them as much as possible we had to be on the move. They wanted to visit Hobbiton, the one place on this trip we had not visited before. It's about a two-hour drive from Auckland. The place was first constructed in 1999 as the Shire for the LOTR trilogy, fell into disuse, but was revived due to tourist/fan interest and the subsequent bloated Hobbit films. They rebuilt it with more durable materials with an eye to creating the present tourist attraction. I have had some resistance to visiting because mentioning hobbits to a Kiwi is like asking the Irish about leprechauns: they are tired of hearing about them. Also, at $84 a pop, it is pricey. Despite those reservations, we had a lovely experience. Set in a idyllic dale, although most of the hobbit holes are exteriors only, they did create a serene setting.

Hobbiton stone bridge and The Green Dragon Pub

In front of Bag End, the Baggins Clan home burrow

After a quaff at The Green Dragon we were invited to indulge in a little cosplay, Hobbit-style.

Hobbit Gal and Guy

Wizard-in-training prepares for a grand adventure.

A short drive from Hobbiton got us to Rotorua, the geothermic heart of Maori culture and a prime NZ tourist spot since the mid-1800's. We had visited before in 2010 and were overdue for a return. Doug had put three things on his to-do list:

1. Hot water spa bathing,
2. Learning more of the native peoples, and
3.  Eating at the Fat Dog Cafe and Bar.

Check, check, and check.
Fayne and I are not spa people, but they had a delightful evening at the lakeside Polynesian Spa. I think it was a true highlight for both of them and they would recommend it to fellow spa-lovers without hesitation. (Two of my sisters also really enjoyed it in 2010).
We had dinner at the Fat Dog Cafe, the place for large plates of classic cafe meals. We started a trend that lasted the whole visit: we ate well, we ate too much, and we ate so avidly that I only thought of getting a photo after the meal was over.
Te Puia is a Maori-run one-stop tourist destination where one can see the Te Whakarerewarewa Thermal Reserves, an actual brown kiwi bird, a meeting house (marae) and cultural performances, and a new center for the teaching and preservation of traditional Maori arts and crafts. We all greatly enjoyed the entertaining guided tour of Rotorua's famous geothermic area, and the geysers were playful that day.

Ngā mōkai-ā-Koko (The Playthings of Koko) Mud Pool

In a separate building, you can watch artisans carving wood and stone or weavers at work and appreciate the fruits of their labors, both from the students as well as the masters.

Doug was obsessive in his desire for a New Zealand savory pie, and he sampled his first (but not last) here at Te Puia. Do you think he liked it?

A bit later he was seen digging into some aihikirīmi (ice cream).

 
From Rotorua we headed south to Wellington but broke up the trip with a night at the historic Chateau Tongariro in New Zealand's oldest National Park. Established in 1887, Tongariro N. P. is the fourth oldest National Park in the world. Built in 1929, the Chateau retains much of its grandeur and faded Old-World charm, and although Fayne and I have stayed before, it was a special treat for us all.

Chateau Tongariro with Mt. Ruapehu in the background (from a visit in 2014)

The front entry driveway perfectly frames Mt. Ngauruhoe, a.k.a. Mt. Doom to LOTR fans.

Mt. Ngauruhoe

Moving on from the center of the North Island, it was south for two nights in the capital Wellington. Wellie is always fun, lots of good food and things to do. In addition to the must-dos like walking along the harbor and visiting the great National Museum Te Papa, the 2018 NZ International Comedy was on there (and in Auckland and around the country). We went to a show of well-known (in NZ) Kiwi comics, Justine Smith and Ben Hurley. The accents and local references can be a stumbling block for visitors, but we had fun.

Ben Hurley(L) and Justine Smith(R) performed at the San Fran venue in Wellington

The same caveats apply to the new New Zealand feature film comedy, The Breaker Upperers, but we had the opportunity to go to a Wellington premiere with the stars on hand for a Q&A afterwards, and I was not going to miss that. It features some really talented and funny NZ performers. The premise: two friends start a business to help clients creatively end a relationship they may not have nerve to do on their own.

Click here to see the trailer

The film was shown at SXSW® (South By Southwest) to good reviews and I hope it gets a proper US release. For an extra treat, we shared our flight the next morning to the South Island with the same movie principals.
The theme of this visit, as you may recall, was to share as much of our experience here in a very short time. We flew into Christchurch and took the Inland Scenic Highway 72 across the Canterbury plains skirting the Southern Alps to Timaru, where we had two nights. The town tour included:

• Our Wee House
• My office at the hospital
• Local cuisine and sights
• Hosting a lovely and delicious schnitzel dinner (prepared largely by Doug and Christine) with my German colleagues, as both D&C are noted Teutonophiles.

A random lovely picture of Timaru

If you have paid any attention to my many past blog entries particularly when they include visitors, you may well guess the next stops on our South Island itinerary. Lake Tekapo (not pictured) was a must, and then on to Mt. Cook. For the first time when we visited we did not have a clear view of the summit, but even with low clouds and mist she showed her majestic beauty.

Tuesday we traveled Mt. Cook to Queenstown to stay at one of our favorite places and a Pub Quiz baptism for the tourists, then to Dunedin for Wednesday night, and Thursday up the Otago coast. We were lucky to pop into Fleurs Place on Moreraki Bay for lunch, a small dockside restaurant with an international reputation as THE place to get fresh seafood and other dishes. Fayne and I have been in the past, but today it was ideal: the sun on the sea, eating delicious food on the upper deck, and a photo op with Fleur Sullivan herself.

C&D with the eponymous Fleur

We couldn't pass by without a stop to see the Moeraki Boulders.....

.....and unique Victorian/Steampunk Oamaru.

After a pit stop in Timaru, featuring lots of laundry, it was up to Christchurch for Friday May 11 to see them off safely back home, but not until we shared a bit of Christchurch and kiwiana.

Iconic Christchurch Cathedral, still in ruins, its fate yet undecided

Love in the Paua House in the Canterbury Museum

We made the most of the time we had together and I hope Christine and Doug will have fond and indelible  memories of this beautiful (and delicious) country, and a better understanding of how and why we ended up spending so much time so far away from home.

PS- I wanted to include a picture of our Granddaughter's school project, a diorama featuring her chosen animal, the manatee. We tried to have some input based on our manatee experiences at Weeki Wachee Springs, FL. We could not be more proud of her (and we'll be seeing her in two weeks)!!!!

PPS:

Good luck to our Supreme Leaders. Have fun in Singapore.