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Saratoga Sampler
Locals hit the road despite travel fears
By Mary Ann Cook
VENI-VEDI-VICI: Louise Webb and Kerstin Stone were the only two who stuck with the Sister City-sponsored trip to Italy that took off the week after the terrorist attacks, and both are mighty glad they did. They've got pictures, postcards and stories of Rome, Florence, Pompeii, Venice, and Sicily--memories to last a lifetime.
There's the picture Webb took of Stone in front of the leaning tower of Pisa. Only in this picture it's Stone who is leaning and the tower, said to be 16 feet out of perpendicular, appears to be standing straight. The tendency for the camera-tender is to unconsciously right the building, not the traveler.
The Baptistery in Pisa looks like a wedding cake, says Stone, who calls Taormina in Sicily her favorite landing point. It's a hill town with Greek theater ruins on view. The two hiked up to the convent and on the way saw 37 sports cars carrying girls in bikinis.
They had arrived in the midst of the Miss Taormina Pageant, so they stuck around for the festivities, which included a revealing evening gown competition, plus entertainment from 12 women Cuban musicians.
"I thought it was ironic that the only scare came when we arrived in San Francisco Airport and had to evacuate hurriedly," said Webb. They never found out what caused that scare on Oct. 4. On their arrival at the Rome airport, no one was there to meet them.
They had missed their connecting flight, so tour operators assumed they had canceled. Sleepless for more than 24 hours because of all the delays, they were tired and dejected. But their cabdriver drove them by the American Embassy where droves of flowers and messages were laid out, and that lifted their spirits--a most heartwarming welcome, after all.
WAVES OF RAVES: Mike and Kathy Scandling are still raving about their holiday trip to Fiji. They commemorated their 20th wedding anniversary with a week at the very posh, very private Wakaya Club, where guests are flown into the five-by-one-quarter-mile private island via private plane.
Sounds like the top of the line for luxury, privacy and pampering--no TV or telephone. To quote Mike: "When you arrive, they say, 'welcome home.' All you hear is the soft breeze through the trees and the gentle surf. At times we felt like we were the only ones on the island.
"A feeling heightened when you avail yourself of one of the private beaches. The picnic lunch of roasted lobster and shrimp, a salad of organic greens, superb wine and one of the world's best chocolate chip cookies assured us that someone is alive and well in the kitchen, however."
Tennis, diving, golf, deep-sea fishing and jungle hikes--all await the visitor. Bill Gates, Celine Dion, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Pierce Brosnan vacation there--and now so do the Scandlings.
TIME CAPSULE: The Saratoga Foothill Club and Saratoga Men's Club combined forces to plant a time capsule in the patio of the clubhouse on Park Place last Sunday. Both groups use the Julia Morgan-designed clubhouse. Items placed in the time capsule commemorated the clubs' key events of the past century.
Emily Dorr and Amy June Jorgensen wrote remembrances of the early days of the club; Dorothy Bowlin wrote about the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Information Age. Newspaper articles about the clubs' Christmas baskets, scholarships and Memorial Day services were included.
Capsule committee members were Dorothy Bowlin, Maxine Beck, Leah Purcell, Mary Grant, Jim Wenzel, Joe Cusick and Willys Peck. Peck's Stereopticon book was included in the capsule. The capsule is due to be opened in 2027.
BACK TO THE FUTURE: The 47th Mothers Guild Fashion Show for Bellarmine will be held Nov. 9 at the San Jose Fairmont. The show is a scholarship endowment fundraiser, and money from the event enables nearly 200 young men to attend Bellarmine each year.
In charge of fashion show production is Donna Beaupre of Monte Sereno, whose son, Ryan, is one of the models in the show. Ryan, a senior, is a hurdler on the track team and was editor of the 2000 yearbook.
DIABETES RESEARCH: Some 40 supporters of Liz Witte, 12, signed up for the walk for diabetes at Shoreline Park recently and raised $2,000 for their efforts.
MOTIVATING KIDS: Dr. Deborah Stipek, dean of education at Stanford, and author of Motivated Minds: Raising a Child to Love Learning, will speak at the Saratoga Country Club on Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m. It is a benefit for the Saratoga Education Foundation, and the cost to attend is $100.
Included is a pre-talk reception at 6:30 p.m. Checks are payable to SEF, 15042 El Camino Senda, Saratoga, 95070, by Oct. 28. For more information, call Judy Etterman at 408.354.1521 or Kelly Berryhill at 408.343.0763.
MEMORIAL SERVICE: Sacred Heart held a memorial service for victims of the attack on America, and the church borrowed candles made by San Jose schoolchildren to commemorate each victim. Many of the 5,500 candles had names on them to identify those recognized.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
