The Restaurant at the End of the Road

They moved to Southern California after the Nun's fire came close, but our Italian neighbor, Daniella and her husband, Federico were living in the house at the end of this lane (which is a private continuation of Wildwood Trail) when we moved here. She had some wonderful dinner parties squeezed onto the front porch on late summer evenings while she brought out dish after dish of delicious Italian delicacies and, of course, lots of  prosecco. It was wonderful. She looked after the elderly neighbors and If any of us had a birthday, we could count on Daniella to arrive at our door with her homemade specialty, tiramisu. She taught me the secret of making her delicious tomato sauce, where to buy the best Italian cheese and, at a couple of epic gatherings with all of her Italian friends how to party until the wee hours! 

One evening I told a story about a delightful bed and breakfast where we stayed out in the middle of nowhere in the Scottish Highlands at a place called The House at the End of the Road. As we sipped prosecco,  looked at the garden full of tomatoes and zucchini and watched the sun set behind the rose draped arbor, we all agreed that this should be called 'The Restaurant at the End of the Road.

The Glass fire roared down the hills that surrounded the house and burned it to the ground...other than some wonderful memories the last vestige of those magical summer evenings the delicious food, the prosecco and Dani and Fedde themselves are now gone. Our friendship remains and if we ever get to travel again, we will make sure we visit them, but there is nothing left at the end of the road now. For the first time this morning, we ventured down it to have a look. We got as far as the burned truck, resting on its rims, the tires having melted away, and the remains of the veggie garden and couldn't bear to go any further....

Whatever they are and whenever they are made, treasure the memories because sometimes they are all we have, and after all, they are what we are made of....