Breakfast: Smoke is in the air. We are in Monte Sereno but the smoke from the fires raging north of here are blowing in our direction. It’s unsettling. We decided to take our troubles to the mall. We are not big shoppers but we wanted to pick up a few things for the wedding we were going to this weekend. Gary’s the officiant! Gary had hot water with Lemon and Agave and I had a Jasmine tea. Then we were off.
Lunch: If everything had gone right, you’d be seeing some tasty pictures of some items on the Fall Menu at Veggie Grill. Everything was going right at first. We each picked up some non leather shoes at Payless, Gary got a non leather belt at Ross and we picked him up a linen tie, and a tie clip at the Nordstrom Rack. We were feeling light and easy and ready for a nice lunch at Veggie Grill which was just outside of the West Gate Mall we had been shopping in. Then Gary checked his pocket for the rental car key and it wasn’t there. IT WASN’T ANYWHERE. We ran back to all of the stores several times, retracing our steps looking for that key. It was not to be found. After calling Hertz we learned they do not keep a spare key. Our only option was to have the car towed to their lot where another key would be made. We would be taken to the airport to pick up another car. That light and easy feeling was gone. The tow truck driver was able to break into the car so we could get our things. I had Ginger Chews. That was lunch.
Dinner: It took hours and about $400, but we got another car and everything was fine again. Smelling the smokey air, I kept thinking how fortunate we were. We retrieved our few possessions left in the car, nothing lost. Meanwhile there were many people so close by in Santa Rosa who had lost everything in the fires. Everything! We had nothing to complain about. Especially with the Vegetarian House so nearby. We rolled in their for our favorite dishes – Flying Buddha and Heavenly Salad and felt rejuvenated. Vegetarian House is one of the few places that serves Teaccino. This is Gary’s favorite hot beverage now that he is off caffeine. It was a treat. I had the house tea, a Jasmine Green tea.