California trip continued

I don't know what possessed me to think I could cram my entire visit to California in one post. If you want to read about how much fun Mythcon was, you can visit My Mythcon Report or read Mythcon Reports by other lj users.In my previous post I hinted that buying the paisley shawl at Macy's (I was freezing!) was a very good thing. The reasons for this are twofold. First, it's a great shawl and I got several compliments on it at Mythcon. Second, I have discovered by use that it is the exact shade of grey used by the Galadhrim in making their cloaks.Wow, I was mostly in the market for something practical to keep from freezing to death. Who'd've thunk that it would actually be pretty too? I actually already own a grey knit shawl, so felt a little guilty for buying another grey shawl. But this woven paisley shawl, with subtle metallic threads, is something I will definitely wear again. I just have to remember to pack it.The real test of the shawl came when I put it to the test of How Not To Be Seen.Our last night at the Madonna Inn (and I do intend to write more about the Madonna Inn), Stephan was checking his email after dinner and I got restless and decided to take a walk. I took my cell phone and wrapped my grey shawl around me, figuring I would go up the mountain as high as I dared by the lights from the hotel. I proceeded straight up up the hill behind the topmost building, only to be greeted with a barbed wire fence. Undaunted, I took a more diagonal path along the hillside, finding that there was actually a path of sorts. I could see route 101 and all the lights of San Luis Obispo, but had to stop a bit short of the summit due to that darn fence again.Out of trail; what to do, what to do? But I had a cell phone! I called Stephan, back in the room. "Hey, come out of the room and all the way to the north end of the parking lot and around the back and up the diagonal trail up the hill, it's cool!"He agreed to come join me. I looked for a rock to hide behind, but the pickings were pretty meager. If I went any further along the hill I'd be on really shaky ground or risk falling down the vertical slope to the back of the hotel. But I had a cloak! I hunched up close to a rock with my shawl wrapped over my head. He called again after leaving the room to make sure he understood which way to go, and I assured him that once he got past the silver van in the parking lot the trail would be clear.I risked a peek out of the shawl to see his form approaching the silver van. Quickly I pulled it back down over myself. Stupid! If you can see someone, he can probably see you. Even with the shawl, he was certain to see that the grey blob on top of the hill was me. Ok, so I picked a place with nothing to hide behind. I had broken the first rule of How Not To Be Seen. But I stayed under the shawl and avoided the temptation to peek out again. Between the grey threads, I could at last dimly make out his form, approaching. Surely he sees me now . . . But if he did, he was too polite to say so, until he was right next to me.Actually, he said he didn't see me at all and wasn't sure he was going the right way till he was almost to the rock I huddled against. Yay! We agreed it would have been funny if he was really close but couldn't find me, and called me on the cell phone, then found me when he heard it ringing. We enjoyed the view of the city and stayed on the mountainside for a while. Too bad about that fence. Though, as he mentioned, it was possible that the top of the mountain was not the property of the Inn. Actually, that's probably a smart practice. Never own the land all the way up to the top of the mountain. Then, when there is an earthquake, rock, or mudslide, and it falls on your property (heaven forbid), you have someone else to sue.At any rate, I am happy to find out that the shawl makes for good camouflage on a dry California hilltop at dusk. I will wear it next time I'm on a quest and hiding from Black Riders or husbands for sure.And there's more! At some point I must post about our 11th wedding anniversary dinner at the Madonna Inn, our waterfall shower, how the Madonna Inn has managed not to gild the lily but the other way around, dancing to live music with the "senior dancers," wine tasting and a winery tour, elephant seals, pelicans, hawks, and the incomparable route 1 up the California coast.