It was with a sense of new beginning, a new LEASE on life as the saying goes,that she buckled down to the hard, focused LABOR of starting her own restaurant. She planned to use only LOCAL resources for this endeavor, hoping to generate a LOYAL and committed customer base. It made her both giddy and terrified to get started.

Georg’ann

Driving to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we stopped for lunch at a little restaurant just off the highway, about 20 minutes north, called The WHOLE Enchilada. SOLID fare, a LOCAL favorite.

My little sister, 23 years my junior and age 9 at the time, could not eat all of her meal. With matter of fact earnestness she asked the waiter to keep the leftovers stored in the refrigerator until we passed back by on our way home. The request was honored, of course. Who could possibly resist such a sincere and assured child?

After a day of being mesmerized by swaying kelp, delighted by sea otters, fascinated by innumerable sea creatures, and intrigued by the many patterns in the LORAL regions of numerous seabirds we made our way back to the restaurant where Kira was given her styrofoam box of chicken nachos to finish when she wished.

To this day my sister remains LOYAL to her values, never hesitating to make common sense requests in situations where simple solutions are rarely sought. No one can resist the direct look of her light aqua eyes or her velvety voice speaking with disarming confidence, so innocent and yet so wise.

Heather