San Francisco weekend

A friend I know from back in the day in Boston got married recently in Muir Beach, CA. Rina and I had planned a long weekend to attend the wedding reception and visit some other Cali friends, but unfortunately Rina's mother's husband, Chuck, died the prior week so she had to change her travel plans and return to Florida to be there for her mom. I flew solo for the weekend, staying in Mill Valley.
The morning of the wedding I ran a 30K trail run (Pirates Cove) that is part of the Pacific Coast Trail Run Series. It was spectacular! The course was on beautiful coastal trails in Marin on the headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Chilly to start, but as you can see it didn't keep the die-hard surfers away. I would recommend any of these races if you can ever swing it.

Chilly enough for a ski cap just before the start. Gorgeous sunrise over the lagoon, though.

Rodeo Lagoon at sunrise. You can see the surfers with drysuits and helmets in the background. Last year the race ended by running across the sandy beach. Luckily that was changed this year.

This guy made everyone chili after the race. I wasn't really in the mood, but it seemed to go quickly.

Judy and Brian got married on Mt. Tam with close family present, then hosted a cozy reception at the rustic Muir Beach Community Center overlooking the beach. It was really well done. Great food, music, and people.

The view from the deck overlooking the beach.

The happy couple on their wedding day.

The following day I met up with Jason & Diane and we had breakfast in the city before going on an exploratory walk through the Presidio and by Baker Beach. Looking across the bay you can see the headlands where the race was held and near where the wedding reception was. We saw a dog on the beach whose tail had such a kink in it that it almost looked like someone had slammed it in a door and it kept the impression of the door jamb in it. Diane tactfully walked up to it and snapped a photo of it. Dog didn't seem to care.

Mill Creek Yurt Trip #2

Slow and steady up the trail with that big pack, girl.
Walking a little more cautiously after rolling over in some animal smell and being unable to right herself. She struggled for a minute until she realized the pack was too bulky, then just gave up and gave us a look as if to say "a little help here!"

Lucy, Rina, Jeremy, and Jodi make their way up to the yurt.

Lucy, Zelli, and Jeremy catching the sunset on Big Water Peak. Thanks to daylight savings, we managed to get in a short tour here after getting to the yurt and unpacking.

Zelli looking cute as ever


Lucy getting face shots on a bluebird spring day. I guess that hard work to get up the canyon was worth it.

Lucy, Rob, and Rina atop Big Water Peak on the second day. We toured over to Reynolds Peak as well before returning to the yurt. Only the shaded north facing slopes still held the soft snow and we found some sweet turns.
Zelli, Jeremy, and Jodi enjoying the view.

Touring through the aspens en route to Reynolds Peak

Two well exercised dogs taxiing for take-off.
Only 4.6 miles down to the car girls!

Turn your laptop on its side or crook your neck for this one. I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video. That pack doesn't seem to slow her down on the downhill. She looks to be having a good ol' time.

Josephine turns 59 - again!

With a short 4 day trip to West Palm Beach from March 2nd to March 5th, Rob and I didn't want to waste any time. So, right after we landed at the Palm Beach International Airport at 6:09 pm, we headed straight to Cardello's Itialian Restaurant to have dinner with my Mom (Josephine), sister (Donna), and her husband (Eric), their daughter Tracy, Tracy's husband (Jay) and their two daughters Mariel and Ava.

Josephine's 60th birthday brunch. . . I mean 59th birthday (again) brunch. My brother, Thomas, was also able to take some time off from work and fly down from Hudson, NY for Mom's birthday celebration. The weather was quite warm and humid. But it made for a perfect time to spend outside enjoying mom's backyard garden. Some of the tomatoes are already ready to be harvested and it's only March!

Rob, Thomas and I went to the Lake Worth Beach for a walk along the beach and a very quick dip in the ocean. We saw a lot of these Man-O-War jellyfish washed up on shore and were very careful to avoid contact with their stingers.

Mom deals with the abundance of family and friends calling to wish her a happy birthday as we get ready to sing "Happy Birthday" at home.

Chuck (Josephine's husband of 8 years), Rob, myself, Thomas and Josephine getting ready to enjoy some birthday cake. Chuck was feeling quite ill in this photo as he had been battling with primary cancers of the colon, liver and lung as well as ephysema and congestive heart failure. A couple of weeks after we left West Palm Beach, he was placed in the Veteran's Hospital with pneumonia and then transferred to Hospice on Saturday the 15th. Sadly, he died this past Monday the 17th of March. Rob and I were thankful to have made this trip out to visit with Josephine and Chuck when we did.