Our trivia group (XEDITors, then Bingo Slytherin) started playing together at the Britannia Arms nearly a decade ago.

One of our first members was Twon; he was a lot of fun to have in the group and brought a deep and useful knowledge of obscure music along with him, along with good conversation and some interesting hobbies like trying to visit every county in the country. He also brought his girlfriend Leslie along and she quickly became an integral part of the group.

Time passed; the Brit’s trivia changed (no more general knowledge), and the group moved to another bar for its general knowledge trivia. Diane and I visited the Brit once in a while, but it wasn’t the same.

Twon died earlier this year; Leslie wanted to get us together for a gathering to toast Twon – and the only appropriate place was the Brit. And tonight was the night.

Rest in peace, Twon. Thanks for all the laughs – and the answers!

The charger for our EV-6 arrived today, so I had to make room for it in the garage, which meant moving around a lot of boxes and bins and other kipple. I guess I haven’t tried to clean out that area in quite a while!

The job’s not done yet.

Tonight was the Silicon Valley Shakespeare Donor’s Reception for King Lear. Doll Piccotto, SVS’s Dramaturg, usually gives a talk at the reception, but since she’s playing Lear, she was a little busy – so she recorded her talk and made it available as Episode 28 of Shakespod.

SVS’s Artistic Director, Angie Higgins, told us a bit about casting Lear with an all-female/non-binary cast and some of the reactions she’s gotten to it (and similar casting in previous seasons). Then she took us on a backstage tour, including a chance to get up on stage for a photo op.

We’d seen SVS’s Lear a couple of weeks ago and Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s production on Thursday, so we decided to head home after the reception. It was strange driving home from Sanborn Park while it was still light outside!

We started the day with another South Bay Striders Year Round Walk, one of our favorites – the Natural Bridges walk in Santa Cruz. The start point is the inland entrance to Natural Bridges State Beach, where there’s plenty of free parking (and lots of campers and RVs with full-time residents); the first kilometer or so takes you to the Butterfly Grove.

Naturally, there weren’t any butterflies there (it’s a different story in the fall and winter); instead, we saw a wild turkey crossing the boardwalk.

We continued onward to the viewing area overlooking the remains of the natural bridge that gave the park its name; it collapsed in 1980.

Most of the walk is along the West Cliff Drive seaside path; you can go as far as you like before turning around; today, we went all the way to the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf, giving us a 13km walk. The scenery was, as usual, delightful – and there were far fewer people on the path than we usually encounter.

West Cliff Drive was partially washed away during the January bomb cyclone and flood; I’m not sure when they’ll have it completely reopened.

Some of the natural bridges remain, but only the birds get to use them.

We thought about turning around at the Surfing Museum, but the wharf beckoned.

We ate a late lunch at Riva Fish House on the wharf; we were lucky and got a window table so we could see people enjoying the water.

On the walk back to the car, we saw a few wing foilers; it was a new sport to me!

This evening, we saw the last of the three shows that Santa Cruz Shakespeare is doing this summer: The Book of Will. It was funny, touching, and very enjoyable. I wonder what they’re going to present next year?