The framed photo of Mabel Watson Payne (taken about a year ago) was watching me while I got ready Sunday morning to meet her and her parents and her grandmother for brunch at the Cliff House, a very welcome Thanksgiving-weekend get-together, now that their travels are happily, safely concluded.
We arrived early, with the fog still surrounding everything. This is a popular place to bring out of town guests because the views from the dining room are amazing, and we knew it would be crowded later.
Mabel needed to visit each of the bronze starfish and octopuses installed to prevent skateboarding on the steps and ledges that descend to the restaurant.
We had a corner table. Mabel faced a vast window overlooking Ocean Beach, with the restored windmill in Golden Gate Park just visible at the extreme left below. It is the object the adults are pointing out, until Mabel too can spot it.
