The World is My Oyster…

But sometimes I wish it wasn’t.

Some of my readers know that Stoker has health issues that have made travel difficult for us. I am happy to report that over the last several weeks she has been feeling much better. So much better, that last week she suggested we take a two night trip to Cambria to walk along the ocean and eat some seafood.

It has been a very long time, almost a year and a half, since we have spent the night together anywhere but on Brumby Road. Once we got used to the strangeness of it, we had a great time. We stayed in a nice motel on Moonstone Beach Drive, where the sunsets are about as good as they can get.

On Tuesday we went to Montana de Oro State Park to walk the Bluffs Trail. This is an easy path with spectacular views of the California Coast. We looked for whales but didn’t see any. We also looked at the 1,347-foot Valencia Peak. There is a trail from sea level (obviously) to the summit which, when we were younger, we did several times. Looking at the imposing mountain it is hard to believe. We certainly aren’t up to such an ascent now.

After a nice Thai lunch we took an adventure car drive from Cayucos to Cambria via Old Creek Road and Santa Rosa Creek Road. This latter road is very steep and narrow, and of course it started to pour rain making visibility and traction difficult. We arrived back to clearing skies and another hour of sunset watching, then it was time for dinner.

We ate at a really nice place and started with two appetizers: crab cakes and raw oysters on the half shell. There were 6 oysters: Stoker ate two and I had the other four; we split the crab cakes. I really like raw oysters and have eaten them many times over the years without any problems. There is a first time for everything…

During the main courses which followed I began to feel a bit unwell. It certainly wasn’t that I had overindulged on wine: we ordered a bottle but only poured one small glass apiece. The plan was to take the bottle back to our lovely room and sip the remainder watching our fireplace.

When the check came I told Diane I didn’t feel especially well, and she said I looked tired. On the 10 minute walk back the cold night air didn’t revive me; I felt even worse and my stomach really started to hurt. Then things really fell apart. I’ll spare the details, but after the immediate crises I normally would expect to feel much better. But my stomach distress and pain continued through the night. Stoker had to enjoy the fire and wine alone.

The pain was so bad it kept waking me up. I chewed at least 12 antacid tablets, but they didn’t seem to help much. Neither did sips of Pellegrino; I hoped the bubbles would help me burp away the pain but they didn’t. I was clammy and sweating and for some reason my nose was completely stopped up.

Finally around 4 AM I fell into a sound sleep, and when I woke at 6 I felt much better. No fever or stomach pain. My nose was clear, no stuffiness at all. I was hungry enough to eat a bit of breakfast and now, less than 20 hours after I was stricken, I feel fine.

What happened? I can’t prove it of course, but I think one (or more) of the oysters was tainted. Remember Stoker ate two of them and she had no trace of illness. I must say that I am really glad it was me that ate the bad ones instead of her. She is just starting to feel something resembling normal and she shouldn’t have to suffer.

I’m really sorry I missed sipping wine and enjoying the fireplace and Stoker’s company, but there will be other trips to the ocean. Probably not with raw oysters though, at least until the memory fades.