My morning began, as it usually has when I have been here at the Ranch, with a mountain hike. All the trails have names, some of which are not particularly obvious. For example, the “Pilgrim Hike” which I took this morning is not a tribute to American Calvinists, nor is a supposed quote from a John Wayne movie. The hike is named after a Scottish woman, Phyllis Pilgrim, who has taught here at the Ranch for nearly 30 years.
The day was warm, even at six in the morning, which made it hard to climb the hills, but the views were, as usual, spectacular.
After returning from the hike, I took a much-needed shower and had breakfast. I did two Pilates classes and some Stretch. John did a couple water aerobics classes.
In the afternoon, we both took the Chant class with our friend Susana. It was a lot of fun. John did another session on memory writing, while I did Pilates Reformer and worked out in the gym.
All the meals at Rancho la Puerta are taken in the dining hall. At breakfast and lunch most people sit in small groups, but at dinner they make more of an effort to seat you with other people in group tables. It’s a great way to meet other guests.
For low-salt, low-fat, low-calorie vegetarian fare, the food is usually pretty good. These enchiladas, were only so-so, but I liked the presentation anyhow.
The big evening event tonight was “Bingo with Barry.” Barry, shown in the somewhat blurry picture below, has been on the staff here for about 20 years. His weekly bingo nights are a highlight for many guests who appreciate his somewhat edgy humor. He began by reading every complaint that guests had made about him in recent years as a way to suggest that if they were easily offended they should probably leave. They he started the serious business calling the numbers and making fun of the guests.
The first winner at Bingo was Elayne, John’s writing teacher.
Her prize was a Mexican ceramic sun. I have no idea how I got the settings so off on the camera here, but I really liked the effect that getting the aperture set wrong produced.
John also won a couple times. He passed on this ceramic moon in favor of a bag of cookies to take home. Good choice, John!
When all the prizes were gone, and all the guests had been insulted at least once, the evening was over.
