The semester seemed to be moving in a positive, constructive direction. My dry land training for swimming was going well. The University of Tennessee had one of the more successful programs in the country at the time. To be on the team each male swimmer had to run two miles under 12 minutes. That seemed like a challenging but possible and meaningful fitness goal. I was making good progress toward that goal.

One of my major goals for returning to school was to improve my grades. Prior to Anne, I was a C college student. Working together on our math homework not only improved my math grade from a C to a solid B, but brought up my over all average to a solid B. At the same time Anne achieved an A which is part of what she needed to transfer to UCLA the following year,

As a bonus, we were not only becoming good friends, but were getting more and more romantically involved. We had great conversations during our study sessions at the dinner table at her house and during our dates. We had open frank discussions about everything including sex and so were wonderfully comfortable with each other.

For our next date after North Beach, we went again to San Francisco on a Saturday. We drove to the Legion of Honor, one of the most beautiful museums in the city. The courtyard had one of my favorite sculptures – The Thinker by Rodin. The museum had a great Rodin collectuion including The Kiss. We enjoyed a special kiss in honor of Rodin’s classic sculpture.

After touring the museum, we walked down Land’s End trail until we could see the Golden Gate Bridge. Arm in arm we enjoyed the spectacular view.

We then drove the short mile and a half drive down to the Cliff House. We were seated at the window table I had reserved with a  great view of Bird Rock. As we were getting ready to order, the sun began to slowly set igniting glorious reds, oranges and yellows. We held hands as the sun set.

After a wonderful dinner we drove home, re-enjoying the high lights of a special day. Making out in the car was warmer and more affactionate that ever before. We talked a lot about the next step in our relationship.

For our next date we dressed up as though we were going out dinner dancing. Instead we drove to the La Quinta Inn at San Francisco airport about ten miles away.

After checking in, we stood and slowly and gently kissed for awhile. Then we slowly and somewhat selfconsciously undressed and neatly hung our clothes up. Smiling and giggling, we climbed into bed naked. We gently began to kiss and slowly embraced. Feeling Anne’s beautiful silky body against mine for the very first time almost took my breath away.

For the next several hours we explored, talked and laughed. Anne was so warm and affectionate and relaxed. Everything we did felt so natural. It was a fun, exciting and magical night. We wanted to snuggle all night.

For the Christmas break between semesters, we planned a special getaway: Carmel-by-the-Sea. I reserved a cottage and made dinner reservations. I appreciated how much the money I had made the previous summer in the oil fields allowed us to enjoy these special escapes.

We liesurely drove the 100 miles south from San Mateo to Carmel. Once we hit Highway 1, the drive just got more and more spectacular with the waves breaking on the coast.

We checked in then headed out. I wanted to explore together a very unique place: Tor House. I had been turned on to the poet Robinson Jeffers and a famous poem of his “Apology for Bad Dream” in an Honors English class my senior year in high school.

In 1919 Robinson Jeffers bought a piece of land on Carmel Point  overlooking the Pacific Ocean. With help of a contractor,dered  he first built a house (Tor House) out of native stone. Over the years he continued to build adding Hawk Tower. Holding hands, we did a guided tour and learned of this remarkable man and his  family. This was where he wrote his poems and became a significant American poet. We were both deeply moved by the experience.

We wandered around the quaint shops of Carmel and had dinner at a local restaurant The Hog’s Breath owned by Clint Eastwood.

With tummies full of delicious food, we snuggled all night.

It was an amazing feeling to wake up snuggling naked with Anne.

Like a couple of kittens or puppies, we played under the covers until we got hungry. Then we liesurely walked into town and got brunch. It was a clear cool day with clouds racing on the ocean breeze.

After brunch we drove to Cannery Row to see the famous Monterey Aquarium. We were not disappointed. Huge spectacular tanks with a dizzing array of sea creatures swimming majestically. We then walked to the back deck to see the tide pools and the otters in cavorting in the kelp beds.

We found a great sea food restaurant a short 5 minute walk from the aquarium. Overlooking the water with wonderful views, we relaxed and had a wonderful dinner. By the end of the meal, we were both getting pretty eager to snuggle.

We no sooner got back to our cottage when it begain to rain. Perfect timing: we built a fire in the fire place and snuggled in. As we relaxed and enjoyed each other, the rain on the roof and the fire crackling made the night that much more romantic. We both realized how lucky we were.

The next day was cool, crisp and sparkling clear. We snuggled in our toasty bed till was time to check out. We drove the 17 mile drive to absorb even more of the Monterey coast. After the rain storm, huge waves pounded the coast.  In this unique place on earth over the last few days, we reached an even  deeper appreciation of each other and what we had. We were both experiencing a level of joy that neither of us had ever experienced before.

Life is so mysterious. We could have never guessed that a phone call to get together to work on math homework would change both of our lives forever. To this day I am forever grateful for Anne’s call and the gift she brought into my life – a warm, generous, sensual being who opened up my world.

Thank you for listening.

As always, I wish you and your family the very best of health.
Joe