Rain!

Will's high school baseball game was in Yountville (near Napa) at the Veteran's Home, of all places. We went with Dana's family and Blake to watch the game. It is a beautiful facility, complete with well stocked snack bar, covered stadium seating and a view over the outfield fence of grape vines along the ridge of the hills outlined against the sky.. 

I took Blake out for a walk, and when it began to rain, ducked into a shuttle bus stop where we chatted  I chatted with a nice old fellow about the excavation business he ran for 30 years and the 13 foot deep hole he dug in which to bury his dog when it died, and Blake trolled around on the floor for anything interesting to put in his mouth. When his bus pulled up, it had stopped raining and the old fellow thanked me for chatting with him and told me to "be good".

A little further on we passed the dining hall where a row of scooters was parked outside the door. The grounds of this place are large and quite beautiful, and include a golf course, and a swimming pool. Outside the dining hall we met a man who carried a white cane and told us he had just had to return his guide dog because it was eleven years old and needed to retire. He was missing his constant companion of nine years and waiting to receive a new dog. I hope he gets it soon.

When we got back to the baseball game there was a line of veterans with walkers and scooters lined up behind the home plate fence watching the game. I don't suppose the veterans ever play baseball themselves, but it seems like an excellent, if unlikely combination of youth and experience. The vets seemed particularly quiet today, but Dana says they usually get quite involved in the games, razzing the umpire and cheering on the kids.

On the drive home over the Oakville Grade, a narrow twisty road with a couple of hairpin bends that drive the GPS crazy, we passed a Carmelite convent nestled in the redwoods, and I caught  picture of more dramatic clouds and rain over the hills.