Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend my mom, sisters and I headed up to Guualala for our annual sister’s weekend getaway. On the way up Mom and I stopped at Spud Point Crab Company in Bodega Bay to get some of their delicious New England clam chowder. The weather was gorgeous for our drive – blue sky, sparkling ocean water. Just lovely, especially after all of the cold, overcast days we’d had. The place we stayed was in the banana belt of Gualala and was pretty warm, which was good, since it was only heated by a wood burning stove. When we arrived we found there was just firewood, no fire starters or newspaper or kindling. I quickly got that rectified and we settled in. We spent most of our time hanging out at the house. We got dressed up in wigs and glasses while we FaceTimed my sister Lori, who was sick, and wasn’t able to attend in person. I got out for a walk by the ocean with a couple of my sisters, and later enjoyed a beautiful sunset there. One of my sisters brought a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, and some of us got really stuck into it, me in particular, especially on Saturday night when everybody was watching the 49er game. My sister Christina had brought a fascinating book along, Family of Spies, and read a few chapters out loud to all of us. That was such a treat, especially on Monday morning when we lost power for a couple of hours when a transformer blew. It’s been so nice over the years to have this weekend to just hang out together.
One morning after we got back I was on an early morning walk and noticed the sunrise glowing in the Richardson Bay Bridge, it was so beautiful. I found a lovely spot to sit, sip my coffee and enjoy the view. Another morning I had a little wander around a part of Mill Valley I hadn’t been before.
I spent a few days at Kieran and Kourtney’s house looking after their animals while they had a getaway to Lassen. On the way there, I stopped in Davis to stretch my legs, walked past a house with cool art, including a bathtub planter with a ceramic woman in it. Bentley was very excited to have Grandma there to throw the ball for him and take him for walks. Kieran gave me some fish from his fishing expedition in Sausalito, it was absolutely delicious. On Friday afternoon, I drove to Chico, which was the closest place that was holding a No ICE protest. It was great to be with a group of passionate people supporting the folks in Minneapolis who are going through a horrible time right now. There were people of all ages, students from Chico State, local parents and kids, and lots of older retired folks. On my way home on Saturday I stopped by the levee in Davis and walked on the trail there. What a beautiful spot, not far off the freeway, but it felt like I was far away from city life.
On Sunday, I went on another hike with the Rainbow Sierran group, this time hiking from Fairfax over to Phoenix Lake, then up Bald Hill and back to Fairfax. Even though it was overcast the views were absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed a challenging workout. The group this time was a little more cliquey, but I managed to chat with a few folks. I slept well that night!
