Here We Go: Monster Rally Carmel Valley

OK, monsters, are you ready to rock and roll? The time has come, as the walrus hath said, to talk of many things – last minute things, that is.

Teri and Al's blessing ceremony is set for Saturday, July 31st at 12 Noon at the chapel; we'll form a Conga Line of cars from the Carmel Valley Lodge to the church parking lot, so you might want to fix up carpools and meet at the park's parking area across from the lodge around 11:30 AM on Saturday. The ceremony is coming together nicely; Music Dave is the leader of the Wedding Band (aka "All You Need Is Love Orchestra") – and we may have some informal jamming by our family musicians too, at the park picnic.

Reminder: we will need a final picnic attendance count by July 20 latest, so we Wenches can do a complete shopping job on the Friday morning in CV. If you've chosen to invite friends who like chaos, just let us know how many by that date.

If Saturday is pretty fully planned, the rest of the time from Thursday through Sunday is mercifully unstructured. We remember most fondly the open times in former reunions; they get filled up in many creative ways and allow time for real visiting in smaller or larger groups. We did designate the Running Iron Bar/Grill on CV Road at Pilot Road, as a possible meeting place on Thursday evening, but it probably won't hold all of us, so let's just keep in touch by cellphone to see what everyone is deciding to do – and then choose your venue accordingly. Friday noon might be a good time for a bring-your-own group picnic lunch in some open area at the park; but again, it's your option. Friday evening some of the Elders will be having dinner together somewhere, but we'll keep you informed in case any of you want to invade our space!

For help in finding people you know, once you arrive in the village and settle in, here's my best info to date on who is staying where:

Carmel Valley Lodge (831-659-2261): Teri, Al & boys; Julie & fam.; Souffle & fam.; Rosie & Linda; Jude & MJ;

Blue Sky Lodge (831-659-2256): Fran & John; Jim & fam.; Melissa & Frank; Bill Cooper and Celeste; Marie & Bob; Lisa & Steve & Lucy

Acacia Lodge B & B (831-659-2297): Frank & fam.; Niki & Lee; Leenie & fam.;

private house: Joe & Kathie, Josh, Peter, Kim & David (use Joe's or Kathie's cellphone numbers to reach the group)

In fact, you would probably use cellphones for contact, but just so you know who is where – there you have it!

We imagine most of you will be settling in on Thursday, and we are driving down from Boulder Creek/Aptos that afternoon. Last one in the pool(s) is a monkey's uncle!

PS: Open House at the Boulder Creek Cottage on Sunday afternoon, August 1st: a chance to see it finally for those who haven’t been up in our redwoods yet and anyone else who cares to come up; a chance to eat up picnic leftovers (hah hah) or sandwiches and lemonade. Stop by on your way to airports or wherever!