Watched the sunrise this morning, absolutely gorgeous! The sunrise took about an hour from the initial red dawn until the sun actually came up, it was an amazing site to watch the Bay Area wake up. I sat on the deck with a few of the other guests. Hummingbirds came out and treated us to…

Today I headed to Mount Tam for some hiking on the ridge trail and to overnight at the West Point Inn. I parked at Pantoll and hiked about 2.5 miles down the Matt Davis and Coastal trails, it was so clear I could see the Faralone Islands. I only saw one other person on the…

I got up early this morning to hike on part of the Ridge Trail nearby, and what a delight! Had the trail mostly to myself. Later Mom and I went for a walk and the neighborhood, her first longer walk since she had her knee surgery. We checked out some of the houses that have…

Today I got to spend time with all three of my kids together, some thing I have not been able to do in over 2 1/2 years. We just hung out at Emmy’s house, not doing anything in particular, but it was so wonderful for me to have them all together. Emmy’s dog, Winston, was very…

Today was another Ridge Trail hike with my trail goddesses. We did the next leg of the Bay Area Ridge Trail from Bolinas Ridge down to Samuel P Taylor State Park. It was a mostly downhill hike which made the 13 miles feel much easier than last weeks hike. The drive to the start of…

Went on a couple of fantastic hikes at Jack London State Park with Julie today. In just a few miles we wandered through the ruins of the winery, into eucalyptus groves, past vineyards flashing their fall colors, then into a beautiful redwood forest. Later we checked out Jack London’s gravesite in a peaceful knoll (his…

While we were in Arcata Annemarie had a great time catching up with friends and visiting old haunts, I loved getting to explore a new place. It was gorgeous and foggy on my morning walk which made for beautiful views. Annemarie had a good time with Poncho the cat who came to say goodbye to…

This morning I saw the full moon on my morning walk. Annemarie and I drove out to Fern Canyon, part of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It was a sunny, blue day, the coast was gorgeous with the sun sparkling on the water. It is such a cool drive out to the canyon, about 7…

I was able to spend a good portion of today outdoors, despite the on and off rain. While Annemarie was still sleeping I walked around the neighborhood while it was still relatively quiet. I love all the old houses in the area and how artistically many people have done up their houses and yards. Annemarie…

Annemarie and I headed up to Arcata today for a few days of catching up with friends (her) and hiking (me). We had our usual stop at BurtoNZ in Windsor to pick up bread and New Zealand food – I got a sausage roll. I can’t wait to actually have one in New Zealand soon!…