We got up shortly before 7, had breakfast with Carolyn, and got our things packed, so that Mark could take off to see his son, Josh, in Palm Desert, about 8 driving hours from Santa Cruz. He left about 7:30 and got to Palm Desert about 4:15. He got to meet Josh’s new cat (which he owns alongside Yeti) and got to see the house that Josh is in the process of buying–up in the mountains near Palm Desert, with temps in the 80s rather than the 108 degrees that welcomed Mark in Palm Desert. They went out to dinner in Idyllwilde, where the new house is, and had an early night.
Meanwhile, I worked pretty much all day on various logistics and prep work, except when I had lunch (I made a salad for all and had it with a sandwich thin with chicken and pepper jack) & dinner (nice, catered Mediterranean food) and when I attended a panel and then later the first keynote lecture of the pre-conference that goes with the Dickens Universe. That way, apart from setting up chairs and tables for 200 people in a lecture hall and handing out folders to participants, I heard a couple of interesting papers, and the keynote was also quite good. I saw a lot of people I knew, but have not made any plans to have lunches or dinners with any of my old friends from Rice or from previous Universes. We were done for the day about 10 pm, and then drove to JoAnna’s house in Watsonville–thankfully without any delays despite the construction that is happening on that stretch of road. I was in bed before 11 and really ready for it.