More California Dreaming

My week in sunny CA was filled with hiking and sailing. Two of my favorite hikes were Shiloh Mountain in Sonoma and of course, I jumped at the opportunity to walk the Dish, which was my regular exercise place when we lived in Menlo Park. Both hikes featured steeps to reach amazing vistas and Heidi and I in crazy workout gear, since we were never fully prepared for any of our many activities. We also saw one of the largest Oaks I’ve ever seen. Sadly, I didn’t think to shoot it with Heidi in it for scale, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. It’s a good thing we kept hiking, because we also kept dining. Since I was visiting friends down the Peninsula, I warned Heidi that I wanted to make a pilgrimage to Applewood Pizza. Marc and I lived in Menlo Park for years and our apartment was dangerously close to Applewood. It’s a strange and wonderful Pizza, sort of halfway in between thick and thin, but not in the it doesn’t know what it is sort of way, rather in the best of both worlds sort of way. I fell in love with their … Continue reading

California Dreaming

It turns out that moving away from California is a traumatic experience. It’s taken me a long time to get over it, and while I have loved every single place I’ve lived subsequently, I now know that a large part of me will always reside in California. I just had the pleasure of a week long Bay Area Vacation, and the sense of adventure and exploration that drew me out there in the first place, quickly blossomed and reminded me why it was so hard to leave. Going West, seeking the horizon, being near mountains and oceans, this is what my soul thrives on; and lots and lots of sun never hurt me either. I hit a perfect week of weather; much deserved I thought, after snowy trips to Austin, TX and Charlottesville, VA. Even my LA trip this year was rainy and cold. My week of plans revolved predominantly around visiting my sister in Wine Country, but I sneaked in a trip through Tahoe and on to Reno, NV to visit an old friend, a day in San Francisco and down the Peninsula to visit old haunts and friends, and enjoyed the delight of a day sailing on the … Continue reading