Thought for the week: You can have everything you want in life: you just can't have it all at once.


Monday 15 March 2010

We said a reluctant good bye to the Keystones with a promise from them that they will come to NH to visit this summer and headed south to Davis where we spent a wonderful day with Deb and Mark VanDerList. Deb's father was our physician in Australia and delivered Robyn. We have kept in touch over the years and Deb and I play Scrabble on FaceBook. Mark is a veterinarian; so he and Buzz had lots to talk about. The smile of the day was provided by a squirrel that took a huge orange off their tree and sat on a limb eating it as though he owned the place.

We had a walk through the Davis Arboretum which is filled with the blooms of spring: daffodils, jonquils, rosemary, redbud trees, California poppies, and more. We got to meet two of their children and enjoyed a delicious dinner with the family.  

Tuesday 16 March 2010

We checked in to the Best Western in Dixon, CA last night. We will leave our car at the motel until Thursday evening while we travel with Joe & Mary. They picked us up around 10 this morning and we headed for Guerneville and the Redwood forests. We stopped in Sebastopol to buy lunch groceries. The Fern Grove Cottages are charming and comfortable. We rested for a while and went out to dinner at Chef Patrick's. Guerneville is pretty quiet this time of year...just the way we like our traveling!

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

This morning we enjoyed the breakfast in the main lodge and then went to the Armstrong Redwood State Reserve about five miles north of Guerneville. I have actually depleted my supply of superlatives. Majestic, amazing, imposing, stately, astounding, remarkable, are a few that apply. We walked around for a couple of hours and had our picnic lunch among the trees.  
In the afternoon we drove to the coast to explore the Sonoma Coast State Beaches. This part of the coast is rugged, very dangerous, and very beautiful. At Goat Rock Beach, Mary and I wanted to get our feet wet. We misjudged how far up the beach the water would come, and Mary almost lost her sneakers...they filled with water and sand! We stopped in Bodega Bay at the Surf Shack so she could buy a pair of flip-flops! I have taken so many photos today, I will never be able to edit them. A light meal in Sebastopol and some Hagen Daz back at the cottage ended a great day.

Thursday 18 March 2010

This morning we drove to Napa to meet cousins Art and Lucille Poskanzer and Bev Cunningham for lunch at Bistro Don Giovanni (delicious) and then a wine tasting and tour at the Rubicon Estate in Rutherford (owned by Francis Coppola). Bev planned the day for us, and it was delightful. It didn't hurt that the weather was perfect...80F, sunny and breezy. The chateau at Rubicon was built in the mid 1800s...60,000sf, just slightly larger than your average New England colonial! Every where you look in the Napa valley there is a vineyard. Joe and Mary dropped  us off back in Dixon in the early evening. We were so happy to have this family time and help Joe & Mary celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

Friday 19 March 2010

We had a delightful day in Sacramento with Lester Smith, my honorary uncle. He took us to lunch at a restaurant on the river in Old Sacramento, and we took a self-guided tour of the State capitol building. It is very beautiful. We spent a while with Lester at his apartment, and thanked him profusely for providing such fabulous weather for us! Back in Dixon, we found a good local place to eat, returned to our motel to repack our bags, and used up the last of our bottle of Irish Cream liqueur in our evening coffee. Tomorrow we fly to NH. 

Saturday 20 March 2010

It was a quick trip to the Sacramento airport, no hassles dropping off the rental car (we drove almost 900 mies in California), checked the bags, short run through security - no wands or pat downs - and then the usual wait for boarding.

Sunday 21 March 2010

Home Again!

With an hour and a half delay from Las Vegas and turbulence for four out of five hours of flying time, we arrived in Manchester at 12:30am. Forty minutes later we had our luggage and were picked up in front of the terminal by Robyn who was glad to see us and Noah who was overjoyed. It was a wonderful way to end our adventure.

If you have enjoyed reading about our travels even half as much as I have enjoyed sharing, this blog has been a success.