Goodness me, San Luis Obispo County is one hoppin’ place to be
“How much freezer space have you got in there?” he asked, breezing up to the RV window where Racy Verna was perched in the rolling green mountains north of Santa Barbara County. Curiosity opened the door, and there was Kevin, the Ice Cream Delivery Man, today, but the Traffic Controller at César Chavez School in Santa Barbara the day before. Kevin had seen Matt and Steph running along the roadside, and popped in to share a few pints of his family’s local brand of ice cream. Well, I daresay we had all kinds of freezer room!
And so it was rather happily that we pulled in at dusk, to Sally and Gene Kruger’s home away from home (www.bridgecreekinn.com), east of San Luis Obispo. By morning a mist tucked us into the mountainside, and we set out in twilight to a school event and errand-filled non-run day. The grassy knolls and meadows of this near-coastal stretch of California afforded us a calming pace to catch up.
And we did just that with Steph’s Uncle Doug, via a private tour of the sprawling Cal Poly campus he helped to build (as Executive Dean of Engineering) since the 1950s. It was Thursday night when we cruised through, and downtown San Luis Obispo was alive with its weekly Farmers’ Market traffic (attendance measures in the thousands). But we were headed to The Madonna Inn, forged by Highway 101 (a familiar stretch of pavement for Run for One Planet) engineer Alex Madonna way back in 1958. The baroque dining room and adjacent dance floor swirled delightfully around us while the band played us back a decade or few. What a way to experience town!
Taking in Sally’s popovers with lemon custard at breakfast the next morning, we got our education in local water politics. Turns out our host is a woman about town when it comes to water protection, and her tireless work has kept the community’s consciousness high when it comes to water supply and usable supplies. A toast to Sally, in her ongoing efforts to make what’s right what is.
So pleased you were able to see Doug, the Campus and the Madonna Inn. SLO is a very special place!
Comment by Steve — Monday, April 6, 2009 @ 6:57 pm
Go Steph and Matt! You inspire the world through your actions. We love the photo of you and Doug in beautiful SLO. Very best wishes from Sydney, Australia for the “home stretch”!
Comment by Dave H — Tuesday, April 7, 2009 @ 1:53 am