The first weekend in May, my sister, Chrissy, my daughter, Emmy, and I took our nephews, Cam and Theo, up to Dunsmuir. We have given them a trip as a Christmas present the last few years, but usually try to go in the wintertime so we can play in the snow. But with everybody’s busy schedules, this was the first weekend that worked for the group. On the drive up we all got an education in ’90s grunge music because the boys love Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam. Definitely music that us older folks (Emmy included!) do not listen to.
We stayed in a lovely Airbnb right on the river. It was private, and the sound of the rushing water filled the house. It was so relaxing. The owner is a fishing guide, and also ceramicist, who specializes in ceramic fish painted with vibrant glazes that are shaped to look like they are in motion. There were dozens of them on the walls inside our house, and many more covering the outside of his house next door. It was a great spot, we even had our own private little beach. We puzzled and fished while we were there and enjoyed the lovely weather.
On Saturday we went hiking in Box Canyon at Lake Siskiyou. The boys loved all the old wrecked cars. We also took a side trip to Castle Lake, but it was much windier and colder there, so didn’t stay for very long. That night we decided to watch a movie and chose from one of the several VHS tapes at the house. We ended up with The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid. But first we had to rewind the tape! Apparently the last person forgot to Be kind, rewind. As we waited for the movie to rewind (it took about 10 minutes), we told the kids about how, in the old days, you would get fined a dollar if you didn’t rewind your VHS tapes and there was a machine that just rewound tapes. They just thought it was bizarre that you couldn’t just push a button and go to the beginning of the movie. Ahh, youth!
We hiked to a waterfall that you can walk under, where we saw a couple of little kids with wooden swords in scabbards, adorable! It was a fun weekend, though I had forgotten how much middle school boys can eat!
I’ve been making an effort to spend as much time outdoors as I can and to go on longer and more frequent hikes in preparation of my Camino de Santiago trip in the fall. I went from Pantoll up to the West Point Inn, then the Mountain Theater, where they were putting together the stage for the Wizard of Oz, this year’s Mountain Play, which I am excited to say that I’m going to be going to with some of my sisters and friends. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Wizard of Oz at the Mountain Play, so that’ll be very cool.
Another time, I hiked from home over to Muir Beach. then circled back through Green Gulch Zen Center and back home again. I’ve also walked out to Tennessee Valley Beach from home a couple of times, seeing deer, bunnies, quail and a bobcat! It’s felt really good to get some longer miles on my legs.
On Mother’s Day I went hiking in the Marin Headlands with my friends, Michele and Julie. A fantastic start to the day especially since I wasn’t going to see any of my kids that day. I did get to have a 2 hour video chat with Annemarie the day before though and heard from Kieran and Emmy. Later most of my sisters came over, we had brunch outside and celebrated our mom.
I’ve done some creative work, mainly collaging, and put up a clothesline for a rotating display my art. Also, I’ve got some photos in an art exhibit at the Mill Valley Community Center.
On Monday night I took my mom to the Tiburon Library to listen to an a cappella group called Marin Harmony. They sang everything from 50s doowop to jazz, pop and rock with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. On the way home, the fog was coming in over the water in Richardson Bay as the sun was setting, it flowed like smoke looking both eerie and beautiful.
