Geoff and I had the very good fortune of being invited by his dad, and his wife Robin, to join them in Kauai where they have a time share. It was a quick trip, but the days were fat with the nourishing nature of Hawaii. My goodness that place feels good! Mostly we were at the beach or in the water, but we did venture out to do a portion of the hike along the Napali Coast, which was beautiful.
Every night we watched the sunsets that looked like this...for reals.
That island is pure magic.
We went to a Mama Mia birthday party for Bailey and this was as disco as our costume box produced...pants and shirt are for about a 12-year-old, so it was a vulnerable night for me...(but a very fun party for one fantastic 17-year-old!) I took this picture to show Adele my outfit. Those little, blue tape bits int the top left corner are Geoff's tracking where they sun came up each morning as winter darkness faded out and spring's longer days moved in.
Cousin Taeya spent a day with Adele in New York.
Adele spent her spring break in Ithaca visiting Tennie's friend (and now her friend) Kate, who is a student at Cornell. She soaked up all the forests and lakes she could while there.
Tennie and Ceci went camping in Zion National Park one weekend with some of Tennie's friends for Tennie's birthday. That same weekend we went out to dinner to celebrate her. On her actual birthday she had class all day and a lot of homework, but since Ceci tries to visit her every week, she went down on the night of Tennie's birthday and brought her some take-out. Feeling a little stressed she didn't have a present for her as she was ready to leave, she went in her room and whipped up this adorable creation out of clay and acrylics.
One day recently, she went out to the park to draw Tennie a picture and in no time created this masterpiece in about 30 minutes. She is so good at stuff!
Ceci became active in the local Sierra Club chapter again (since before Covid), helping organize a march for Earth Day. She worked on a University of Utah student film project, realizing the skills she's gained at SpyHop are legit, and has continued to produce a few projects at SpyHop, including one for the CDC. She is gaining valuable experience!
We went to the Bay Area for Ceci's spring break. Tennie joined us for the first four days, then flew home for school. We used to do this drive multiple times per year when living in Auburn, California, but it was the first time in nearly ten years for Tennie and Ceci. They loved the rest stop near the Salt Flats.
At another rest stop in Dutch Flats, coming out of the Tahoe area, Geoff encouraged a little explore on a small road where we discovered the quiet, and very charming, small town of Dutch Flats itself. A very fun discovery.
Tennie and Ceci didn't want to drive through Auburn without Adele, so we drove past, yelling, "Skinny Little Emma" as we passed under the bridge given that name when we lived there, and which was yelled every time we drove across it.
Geoff's brother Ian and his family live in the East Bay. They are spending a year in Costa Rica, beginning this fall, so we looked forward to visiting their home before they move out and spending time with them.
We went to Stinson Beach one day and Muir Woods the next (one of the most sacred spaces I've been).
Geoff had some work one day, so Tennie and Ceci went into San Francisco and Liz and I went to lunch and on a hike.
After dropping Tennie off at the airport, Geoff, Ceci and I went to explore the Stanford campus. I had been there before, but never really ventured inside. And for some reason, I really appreciate how beautiful the campus is this time, with the architecture and natural spaces. It is so peaceful.
We went into the city with Ceci one day and visited the Palace of Fine Arts, admiring the grandeur, the variety of birds, San Fransisco's blue sky, and a fabulous climbing tree. Then on to the de Young art museum. I'll mention that we got a nail in the side of a tire a day or two before and had to replace all four tires on this trip, then after picking the car up this very morning, we got another flat and had to find a repair shop in the city. That was fun. We ate dinner at a delicious vegan restaurant called Wildseed. Yum!
We three ventured back to Stinson Beach, stopping for a little ocean-view hike along the way. There was an amazing eucalyptus tree in the middle of an opening right in the middle of the path. And it had a swing! Ceci brought paints along, and she and Geoff spent some time painting the scenery.
Cold water doesn't stop these superheroes!
And that is a wrap!
