Linda"s 90th

 

Last week, Linda, the birthday girl, celebrated her 90th. We voyaged to the Berkeley Hills for  celebration.  This essay is about the ,one and only, birthday girl.

After my morning run, we were ready to leave for  our Berkeley destination when Linda received a birthday call greeting from Tony and Debbie.  After her chat, we left home.  We got on Highway 80, but didn't look for Paul  this time because he was in Greece.  After a leisurely  2 + hour drive , we reached Berkeley. We climbed and climbed and finally reached our abode, which was very close  to Grizzly Peak Boulevard. We had a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate insight.

We unpacked and then headed for the golf links in Tilden Park.  We arrived and headed for the pro shop and talked with the young man at the desk.  He didn't recognize female golf legends from yesteryear.  I had him Google Patty Berg to enlighten him .  As a teenager, Linda was a member of a golf club in Kansas City.  She was a fabulous golfer and joined Babe Didrikson  Zaharias in exhibition. Babe was impressed with Linda's skill on the links.  She even talked about Linda joining her on tour.  That did not happen.  

Babe was a professional golfer and joined the LPGA at the beginning.  She had 48 professional wins ,10 major championships and was a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.  She  set world records, winning two gold medals and one silver medal  in track and field at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.  She competed in basketball and pool as well.  She even pitched a total of four innings in three major league spring training exhibition games.  She gave up one walk and no hits pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Brooklyn Dodgers..

 At the golf shop, Linda grabbed the seven iron and headed to the practice tee where she felt comfortable and familiar.  She made some terrific shots straight down the fairway and talked about hitting golf balls again. 

 Linda is also a water person.  We headed for the Bay for dinner and wound up at Skates on the Bay which was situated in the bay with, once again, a marvelous view.  We ate dinner that included a trio of shrimp, scallops and salmon.  We informed the waiter  that we wanted to share that meal and it arrived with two separate plates equally divided.  The food was terrific as Linda made the right choice.  We both agreed it was one of the best meals we've had in quite some time.  The setting, food, view , service  and company were excellent. 

After dinner we headed for Dreyer’s ice cream parlor in Berkeley.  However, it was  nowhere to be found.  The next stop was Fenton's on Piedmont Avenue.  There, we shared a huge hot fudge sundae to end the evening.  On our way back, the Grizzly Peak Drive was spectacular as we witnessed the gigantic fog headed inland.  It was simply breathtaking.

Next day Linda wanted to visit the Oakland zoo.  We spent the morning and afternoon at this facility . It had  the Wild Australia ,Tropical Rainforest ,African Savanna and California Trail System  locations . At each station, there was a description of animal habitat and specifics regarding extinction, balloon and plastic hazards , lifespan and social structure.  Animals are often found in herds ,packs or groups.  Some like a lion ,sleep a lot and then hunt at night.  In fact, I did not see the lion.  It was sad to see the Tiger playing with a large ball.  The elephant was just standing in one spot throwing dirt on his body.  Yes, the animals live longer  in zoos. But, they are caged and  their nature is being interfered with as they are captives.

Later that evening we headed back to the Bay and had dinner at The Berkeley Boathouse.  That restaurant was located in the  Doubletree Hilton Hotel.  The mahi-mahi  meal was tasty but not as spectacular as the evening before.  We talked with our San Leandro waitress regarding ice cream places . Humphrey's on College Avenue was recommended .  We headed for Humphrey's and found that little hole in the wall and to our surprise, we were delighted by their wide array of  exotic flavors . We enjoyed another   delicious  Sundae .  Humphrey's is now on our  do  it again list.

The next morning we headed home and stopped at her favorite gourmet eating place near The Monster of Massage in Newcastle for a pastrami sandwich.  We arrived home and retrieved Teddy.  

All in all, visiting the Bay Area's special with another memory being Linda's 90th.  Further,  I had forgotten that we had given Linda's golf equipment to Dave.  We retrieved them after putting on  Dave’ s putting green . And  the following day  headed for the links at ALT .  It was wonderful to see my beautiful young looking wife enthusiastically engage again  in the sport that she  once excelled.  Look out Scheffler, McElroy and Tiger as it may not take long for Linda to regain her magic form.