Family Shots

Here are some random shots of my family that were taken over the last 4 months. The pictures include Madeline (my 8-year old granddaughter), Cole (my 3-year old grandson), a group shot of my family at Christmas, Morgan (my 4-month old grandson), and Cecelia (my 2-year old granddaughter).

Family Visit to Chico

December 21st found us on a family visit to Chico to visit with Dan’s son and his family. It was a dry and not too cold day for December, so the plan was to take a short hike in Bidwell Park, picnic by the creek, then back to Jim & Mary’s to exchange Christmas gifts. We headed out to the park with family (Dan, me, Jim, Mary, Hannah, Madeline, Atticus) and dogs (Olive and Penny) in tow, plus a great vegan lunch of baked tofu sandwiches, pickles, olives, and chips. We hiked for about two miles to the edge of the creek, a perfect spot for our picnic, with a big climbing tree nearby that was fun for the kids. We took lots of pictures, talked, ate, and lounged for a while, then headed back to the cars and back to Jim & Mary’s. Christmas gifts were exchanged and exclaimed over, rounding out the day with good Christmas cheer. It was so nice to see everyone and catch up on all their activities. The kids of course grow up so fast, it’s hard to keep up with them! I’ve included some pictures of our Chico Christmas visit.

Visit to Weott, California

One of the advantages of being in the Sacramento area is both Dan and I have a lot of family that live nearby. We are taking advantage of this time to touch bases with as much family as possible before we take off again in March. In December we drove to Weott, a small town in Humboldt County in Northern California to visit with Dan’s sister and her husband (Becky and Alan). Weott is right in the heart of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and as you can imagine, the gentle giants that are the Redwoods inspire humility, awe, and delight. The weekend of our visit was pretty cold, and in fact on our way back we ran into a snow storm on Highway 101, so we didn’t get outside too much. But we were able to make the Avenue of the Giants drive a couple of times, get out and touch the trees, and take some pictures to preserve the memory. We also enjoyed our time with Becky and Alan, they were marvelous hosts! In addition to visiting and catching up with each other’s families, they took us to Eureka for a day of shopping, sight-seeing and dinner out at Bless My Soul, a soul food restaurant. Hard to believe how fast time flies, and we were grateful we had the opportunity to spend some time together while we were nearby. Above are some pictures from our weekend visit.

Pt. Reyes National Seashore

The last hike we took in 2008 before the cold weather really settled in was to Pt. Reyes National Seashore. Point Reyes was established to preserve and protect wilderness, natural ecosystems, and cultural resources along the diminishing undeveloped coastline of the western United States. This is another favorite hiking spot for me and Dan. We’ve been here a handful of times, but the beauty never ceases to amaze us, the views never get old, and the gentle rolling hike from the Bear Valley Visitor Center to the edge of the sea is always breathtaking. We were there on November 21st, and it was a clear crisp day, perfect for hiking. After hiking 5.5 miles, our stop for lunch was welcome and since it wasn’t very cold, we were able to spread out on the rocks on the bluffs at the end of the trail very comfortably. After lunch we hiked back to the trailhead and headed back home. This will probably be our last hike in this area for some time to come, as our travel plans take us the other side of the country for awhile come March. Our pictures will help us remember what a lovely time we had that day.