Northern CA

I realized I never finished my California series! We had such a very, very good time visiting our old friends and drinking in the beauty of Northern California. As luck would have it, all our friends live in amazing spots, and I begin to understand how someone would brave the ridiculous cost of living to make their home amidst all that natural beauty. And did I mention how much I miss our friends? Of course, it gives us the opportunity to visit these amazing places, but it means we are too far away from each other. Drat. This applies to East Coast friends, too. :-)

Not far from Scott and Charis's at Muir Beach overlook...spectacular!! We hung out at the beach, and we all had a blast playing in the sand and climbing rocks. Scott and I went photo crazy, I think...I have the most pics from there.

With Scott and Charis and the kids (who all got along famously) in front of their favorite breakfast place in Fairfax. Scott and Charis live tucked away in a hill. We went to the top and had views for miles!
At the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol with Tina and Adam's oldest. Tina and Adam live on a lovely little farm with chickens and gardens...including grapes, which is only fitting since they are in Sonoma County, I think!

At Steve and Lucy's, the twins and M and M put on a whole play in very short order, called "How to be a Nerd." This was the bow. Steve and Lucy live on top of a hill with spectacular views. They have put in a tremendous amount of work to make their house beautiful! And they have a pool! The kids were in heaven. By the way, Steve and Lucy look exactly the same...not fair!

One thing that was so lovely to me on this portion of our trip was how well all the kids got along. At home where the kids have lived their whole lives, they have certain established dynamics with their friends. On vacation, there is none of that. There are no preconceived notions...they all just had a fantastic time with each other. We all need to be free of our usual roles once in a while, no?

More CA

If you are ever in the LA area, you must...you MUST...visit the Getty Museum!! I think it could be one of my favorite places, and I've barely been inside a gallery! I've mostly been outside...but look at the outside: on a hill, Pacific Ocean to the west, LA spread out below you, amazing gardens and landscaping, amazing architecture. You only pay to park, then you take a cute little tram up the hill and voila! My only regret is that we had very limited time there. We shall return.