Fact: In America, traditional burials are slowly being replaced by cremation and alternative burial or ash-scattering services. According to the 2020 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report, in 2020, the cremation rate was 56%, surpassing the burial rate of only 37.5%.
Tomorrow we are going to lay Sue’s ashes to rest in the ocean just outside Newport harbor, so we spent today getting ready. Colleen was off to see her nephews and her niece play soccer and baseball, so Mary and I worked around the house and awaiting a call from Diane and Pay, who are flying in today.
While we were working, we got a text from Megen, and we saw her latest sushi effort. That young lady is talented! We are going to have to go up and get lessons from the master!
I told Megen, “I saw a 50% off sign on a sushi restaurant today. Sounds fishy to me.”
Dang, Megen has the hang of it already!
We went to the market and got some goodies for tomorrow after the celebration of life. We took the Star Gazer Lilies outside so they would open up before tomorrow. I took it easy to attempt to get the heel back in shape.
Pat, Diane, Hannah, Lisa, and Patrick came over about 5:00 PM, and we jabbered until 5:50 PM when we headed to the OC Mining Company just two miles away. In the autumn of 1974, some ninety-odd years after the last appreciable silver was coaxed from these hills, The Orange County Mining Company opened it’s doors to the public.
It was warm, but we were in the shade, a perfect location for our meal.
Dinner at the OC Mining Company
Lisa and Colleen hit it off, laughing and giggling the entire evening.
These two chatterboxes went on all night long.
Hannah and Lisa shared our bottle of Cakebread chardonnay while Patrick downed an Old Fashion.
Did You know? The old fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters and water, adding whiskey, and garnishing with an orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. It is traditionally served with ice in an old fashioned glass, which predated the cocktail.
We were happy Patrick could make the trip!
We were there! Often we forget to get pictures of us, but Colleen did the honors this evening.
Wow, we were here again, twice in two days!
Diane and Pat flew down from Saratoga with their daughters and a new son-in-law. We always have a great time with them.
Diane and Pat came down for the celebration.
Four feet from our table was the view. In the distance is Palos Verde Peninsula. It was still in the low 80s, even at 7:00 PM.
We had a spectacular view.
We had forgotten, but this evening was their first anniversary! Yeah, kids, we are ahead of you by three months!
Pat and Lisa’s one-year anniversary was today!
After dinner, we returned home, and Mary and I hit the hot tub so we could get a good night’s sleep.
