Got to go to my first Golden State Valkyries game with my sister. What an incredible evening! I loved the positive energy of the crowd and the family friendly atmosphere. It was awesome to see all the kids, especially the girls, cheering their hearts out (we were doing the same of course!). We originally started out with nosebleed seats, but my sister was able to upgrade us very inexpensively to the first row in the upper level, which gave us a better view and extra leg room. Even though they ultimately lost, it was such a wonderful evening.
I spent the next few days working and looking after my sister’s dog Javi while she worked at the BTS merchandise booth at Stanford (Wow – those fans are something else!). I’ve been working on my gap year guide every day, sometimes for only 15-20 minutes, other times for a couple of hours, which has felt really good. It was really hard to get myself going when I tried to do a couple longer sessions a week, so I decided to make it a daily practice and do as much as I was up for. It’s been working pretty good so far. In between paid and volunteer work, Javi and I got out for a few hikes – up to the Miwok trail and around Tennessee Valley Rd.
Javi and I took Mom to Larson Family Winery to pick up my wine order on a gorgeous, warm Friday afternoon. It was pretty quiet when we first got there, but then a bridal party and a family reunion group arrived, which really livened things up. As usual, Javi got lots of love.
On Saturday, I drove to San Gregorio to meet a friend and check out the live music at the San Gregorio General Store. It was a beautiful day on the coast, so I got out for a little bit of a walk before we met up. There was a group of local ‘Woody’ enthusiasts congregating when we arrived, so we got to check out their gorgeous cars. We had a lovely time sitting in the back patio listening to music and catching up. I’ll definitely do this again – the food was yummy, it’s a relaxed place and only an hour’s drive (well, the drive back through the city in the afternoon was not so fast….)
On Sunday morning, Javi and I did a long hike from Pantoll up past the West Point Inn and on to East Peak where we had our breakfast. It was a clear, sunny day providing absolutely gorgeous views. From there we headed back down to WPI and took the Rock Springs Trail over to the Mountain Theater. On the way we encountered a group of Boy Scouts rebuilding a bridge as part of someone’s Eagle Scout project. At the Mountain Theater we watched a little bit of the Wizard of Oz rehearsal, can’t wait to see it in June! All in all we hiked 11 miles, a good push for us both.
On Monday, I took my mom to a dentist appointment, then listened to a webinar as I walked through Cascade Canyon sipping a delicious ‘Habibi latte’ (orange blossom and cardamom) from a local coffee shop. Later I did some abstract painting outside – mainly playing with colors. That evening, after working on my JNE report and finishing up a grant proposal, I took Javi to Muir Beach so he could frolic on the sand. (Ok, we both did!)
It’s been a great balance of getting out with friends and family to different places, hiking in beautiful spots and doing both paid and unpaid work.