After 14 years together, Tom and I finally went to visit Tom’s parents in VT for a week during fall foliage season. Foliage season in VT is a little like the Holiday season in other towns – the hotels fill up and are charging peak rates, there’re a million people running around with cameras, snapping shots of pumpkins and other squashes, sheaves of wheat, and of course the colorful leaves.

When I asked Tom what he remembered of foliage season in VT, he said that he mostly remembered October as being rainy and grey. Sure enough, it rained every single day that we were there. Fortunately, the clouds broke enough on a couple of days that I was able to get out and see what the wash of color looked like in the sun. It was amazing.

The Sierra gets color too. I’d say that we are near peak now – several weeks after the VT foliage passed its prime. The gullies fill with gold, and here and there a bright yellow big leaf maple, or a rosy dogwood, flashes in the sunshine. Le Conte gully, in particular, is full of these small bushes that turn a brilliant shade of yellow in the fall. Stavast has a painting called Golden Armada, and I’m convinced that these are Golden Armada bushes, whatever those are. One of my rescuers recently told me that when they airlifted me out of Le Conte Gully three years ago, the rotor from the helicopter picked up a tornado of golden leaves, rising up into the air around me. Would have been cool to see.

But VT really fills with color – so much so that sometimes it seemed like my eyes were attracted to the small contrasting bit of green among all the reds, oranges, and yellows. There are more deciduous trees and fewer conifers than here, and more mountainous terrain than my home state of MN, all of which combines to create a scene really worth traveling for. We took a hike down near Waterbury Reservoir, taking in the scenery and being impressed with the people who once made a living in that steep and rocky soil. The Ricker family cemetery was particularly impressive, with three generations of Rickers, marked with headstones like the one for Phoebe Ricker who lived to be over a hundred. They must have been a hearty crew, although the nearby headstones for an infant and two other young children speaks to how tough living there really was.

Of course, the other reason to travel to VT, in any season, is the chance to visit with Tom’s family. Tom’s parents were wonderful and welcoming hosts. Denis rescued us in the middle of the night when our delayed flight meant that we arrived after the car rental desk had closed for the evening. We had a dinner with him, his family, and Steve C. one evening while we were there. Tracy, Ron and Julia drove up just to have some lunch with us. Julia’s list of 101 things to do before she graduates from high school, inspired me to try to come up with a bucket list too. I’m still working on it. Dinner with Steve and Mary is always a pleasure, and we’re hoping to see more of them on this coast now that Andrew is out here.

As always, vacation is just a bit too short. The day our departure flight was scheduled was to be the first sunny day that week, and we missed out on getting to sail in a race with Denis aboard his J-24. It’s not that I don’t love Yosemite, and being in the Sierra, but vacation is always good.

Tom and I have just gotten back from our weekend adventures, put the groceries in the pantry and refrigerator, and wolfed a bit of the fancy artesian bread we can’t get here with extra cheese and olives. It’s been a long and very full weekend.

I took the day off on Friday for my birthday (Saturday), and Tom and I left Thursday night after work for a quick backpacking trip. We saw many things, had great adventures, and hiked out Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon we drove into the Bay Area for a friend’s memorial service on Sunday. We talked about goal-setting, and listened to the first bit of Unaccustomed Earth on the drive. That evening, our friends who graciously opened their house to us, treated me/us to a birthday dinner at Plearn, a local Thai restaurant. Really delicious non-European food and the good company of friends is such a treat.

The service on Sunday was beautiful, and touching. The stories celebrating such a remarkable man went on and on. I’m still processing – and just remembering.

Afterwards, we picked up a bed frame at Ikea that we had been eyeing for some time, and then drove to San Jose to meet up with Tom’s family, pick up the car we’d lent, and eat some pizza at a place nearby, Amicis, that serves gluten-free, and vegan options.

Monday morning, we had brunch with yet another friend before making the long drive back to Yosemite, pausing for a bear jam along the way.

I’m back on a frequent-post kick, so expect to hear more detailed stories unfold over the next few days. I’ve had a lot to think about.

Ugh. Sick. I’ve taken a sick day from work and spent most of the day in bed. Thank goodness for nasal decongestants. At least it’s been a rainy inside sort of weekend. although Tom has managed a couple of day hikes with our guests while I slept and hid from the weather. Lots of down time means time to gather together a few loose ends over the last week.
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So many things are going on. The next generation is getting ready to head to college, and our nephew is relocating (much to our delight) to our end of the continent for work. It’s such a good thing to be able to get everyone together for a not-so-quick family picture. The only person we missed was Tom’s sister, who got hit with migranes late last night and couldn’t make it down for the family photo.

The birthday/Easter celebration went incredibly well, and I met so many of Deny and Maria’s good friends – many people that I’ve been hearing stories of for a long time. Maria’s memory may not be as good as it once was, but it was clear that her friends are so important to her, and she wandered the room, with Deny’s help, saying hello to everyone. The Easter Buffet at the Trapp Family Lodge was exquisite, and there was plenty of options for vegetarians, and even the Celiac’s among us.
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We’ve arrived safe and sound in Stowe, and have been spending a relaxing morning with family. The trip went very smoothly, no delays and no surprises – except that the San Francisco to Chicago flight got in about 20 minutes early.

The Fresno Airport has started putting their Giant Sequoia displays in. The California tree replica is already in place, and just needs some patching to get the joints together.

On the airplane from SF to Chicago I was seated next to a guy who was watching old episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and giggling so hard that it made the bench shake.

I spent most of the trip reading from an old book of classic short stories that was published in 1941. There are some great stories in that book, and so far my favorite has got to be the one called “A Municipal Report” by O. Henry, the penname for William Sydney Porter. Not only is it a great story with compelling characters, as many of the stories in this book are, but the story is just so tight – all the elements circling back around in importance in the end. In the story the narrator stops in Nashville to engage a writer for a literary magazine. He meets Uncle Caesar, the clever, and kingly old black man that drives the coach and Major Caswell, the boisterous drunk, and finally the author herself Azalea Adair, the wise long-suffering writer and learns of the relationships between the three. It’s the kind of story that I could really see the benefit of going back to study to see how the whole thing is put together. Will definitely be checking out more of his short stories.

Bags are packed and ready to go for a lightning quick trip to VT to celebrate Easter, and Tom’s mother’s 75th birthday with family. The plan is to drive down to Fresno tonight and spend the night at a hotel near the airport so that we’ll be ready to go early Friday morning for the big day of travel. Flying across the country from one small airport to another is no joke – our flight departs at 7:31am, and we stop in San Francisco and Chicago before we land in Burlington at 10:02pm and begin the drive up to Stowe – but it will be worth it to spend the time with family on this occasion.

The last time we made the trip, we either didn’t get any pictures, or have misfiled/misplaced them somewhere along the way. I’m definitely planning to travel with a camera (maybe a couple of cameras) this time, and hopefully my picture taking will start right at the Fresno airport with some of the new Sequoia displays that they are installing there (if they don’t have the area blocked off). Plus, going back through the old 2002 pics of our nieces and nephews was awfully fun. Aren’t they cute?

The ‘please help’ call came in from Tom’s parents over the weekend, and Tom has flown out to VT to help care for his mother. Things are developing there as they develop, so it’s hard to anticipate the future too much. For now, she has been moved from the hospital at Dartmouth to a rehabilitation center closer to Burlington, and family members. This center is only 15 or 20 minutes from Denis’ house.

US Airways has generously waived the change fee for tickets that we purchased to visit OH over the Holidays, and has given Tom a credit for the amount of his flight to be used between now and November 26, 2009. (It probably helped that the flight he booked to VT was also on US Airways). Depending on how things look on that end, I hope that Tom will still be able to make it to OH, just flying to and from VT instead of CA.

We got the call last night, from Tom’s brother, Denis, that their mother was in the hospital following a car accident. She has a broken femur and multiple broken ribs, but is receiving good care, and got out of surgery this morning. We’re both sending loving, healing wishes her way, and wishing that we were a bit closer. Most of the time it’s great to be living in the mountains in CA, but in times like these it can feel like we’re just so far away from family.

Initially, I thought this site was going to be about things to do in Yosemite, but as it has morphed into just a little personal blog – the easiest kind to write – I might as well include my little vacation to Santa Cruz.

My parents came out to CA for a visit. I’m not sure what they thought of the Yosemite part of their trip. We went to Glacier Point and around the Valley, but they seemed mostly to be interested in sitting around our house and helping us with chores. Plus, I made them spend an hour picking up trash for the Yosemite Facelift. “Yeah, there’s Half Dome, ooo, and there’s an aluminum can, grab that.”

They arrived Saturday,and finally on Wednesday we were on our way to Santa Cruz. We drove in and walked the 3 (not 2 as the hotel optimistically claims) blocks to the Boardwalk.  It looks a little Disneyland for my taste, but it’s mostly closed and the beach is not at all crowded.  The groups playing beach volleyball stir a bit of nostalgia, but my volleyball-playing days are long gone.  Not only am I out of practice, but even the thought of diving for the ball makes my back cringe – even if I’m just hitting sand.

We would have had dinner at the Gilbert’s restaurant on the Wharf, but the rude  and stupid Maitre-D’ put us all off.  Tom was worried that there would be a table minimum, and asked if there would be a problem if only a few of us wanted a full entree.  The maitre d’ just looked at us, said, "Yes", then waited in silence for us to turn on our heels and leave. No apology and no explanation.  So there’s that.  I wish I were Seth Godin (or had all of Seth Godin’s readers), and could let loose on the stupidity of doing that to potential customers.

We went off to spend our money at a more friendly establishment that was serving Live Maine Lobster at a special rate.  That turned out to be a good decision anyway, because I don’t know when I’ve seen my parents more gleeful about food, and tonight when we walked by, I took some satisfaction in seeing the snooty maitre-d’ standing in front of many empty tables.  I wish them many more empty tables in the future.

Other than that, we’ve been enjoying our time in Santa Cruz.  This morning after a jog along the coast from our hotel, we headed inland to poke around the UCSC arboretum and campus.  This isn’t really the season for the arboretum, but we enjoyed the the exotic looking African and Australian plants, and the humming birds.  My parents wandered off without us, and while looking for them, we spotted a beautiful bobcat. Tom found out later that this is her second season in the arboretum, and was recently seen with kittens.  We found my parents later – they’d been enjoying the gift shop – and decided to take off up the coast.  The trip around the UCSC campus was a bit of a whim, and we were surprised at how spread out and hilly the campus was. Heaven forbid that you should have alternating classes at either ends of campus… unless you were looking for some exercise.

After that, we headed to the beach, relaxed and enjoyed watching some experienced kite surfers playing in the waves at Rancho del Oso. On the way back, we picked up a half-flat of organic strawberries from a fruit stand that we hope to return to before the end of the week.

During the second part of the week, we went down to Monterey to visit Uncle Daniel and Aunt Joyce, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Aunt Joyce is still recovering from back surgery, but she was her typical energetic and hospitable self, we took several family pictures at her house. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is always a pleasure, and the jellyfish tanks have always been my favorite. Uncle Daniel also suggested a drive south along the coast and a stop at Angel Point (if I remember correctly) where we saw a few wild otters, merrily playing hide and seek with a few kayakers fortunate to be out on the water.

Anthony and Julie joined us for the weekend, and brought their Wii with them. We spent Saturday relaxing with them, and my arms and shoulders were sore for days after playing a bit too much Wii tenis, and boxing. Aunt Grace came down from Rio Vista, and we all relaxed together Saturday. On Sunday, Anthony and Julie left to shop for supplies for won ton making lessons later in the day, but the rest of us returned to Monterey for lunch with Aunt, Uncle, and my cousin David and his family.

We got back from this trip September 8, but there has been so much going on in the interim, that I haven’t had any chance to post anything until now, and there’s so much to do still, that I’ll keep this short.

We flew from Fresno, CA to Logan airport in MA in a long and painful trip that was accidentally extended at 1:30 am when I locked the keys in the car in the middle of nowhere VT while changing drivers in the middle of nowhere VT. Keys, phones, money, everything was in the car. Fortunately, there was a pay phone nearby, and not knowing the AAA phone number, I dialed 911. They were surprisingly efficient, and called a tow truck for us.

Our time in Stowe was really wonderful. It included an outdoor concert with Tom’s parents and his sister’s family at the Trapp Family Lodge (the family of Sound of Music fame). Although I had been there many times for XC skiing, it was the first time I’d seen in without snow. Unsurprisingly, it is still beautiful. Sitting outdoors, enjoying some music, and watching the sun set made for a great evening.

During that week, we spent time with Tom’s parents, enjoyed conversation with Mary, Steve and Mariana (they persuaded me to join Facebook), as well as Denis, Pat and their kids who came up for the long weekend. We took walks with Tom’s mother, Maria, along the Stowe Recreation Path. Ate out at many fine Stowe restaurants, and went for a run along the Recreation Path which has measured distances. This is the first time I’ve really run a measured distance that I have any faith in. I’m slow. I averaged something like 11+ min miles over the 4 miles that I ran, and suffered to do it. One morning we hiked to the top of Stowe Pinnacle with Tom’s bro, Denis. The hike was beautiful – like a temperate rain forest wet and with beautiful roots, and brightly colored lichen and fungus everywhere, and so unlike the drier and dustier trails of California. I took a bunch of pictures, but they didn’t really turn out. I blame the camera.

We also went to Doug’s new house in South Hero, VT, and visited with Doug and Bridget. It’s a beautiful old farmhouse, on an enormous property that has necessitated a driving lawnmower to care for the sprawling green lawn. Bridget has started working for a local apple orchard that Tom used to work at when he was young, and they are thinking about starting a Bed and Breakfast at their home to take advantage of the extra space, and earn some extra cash. We tried to convince Doug that he wanted to run just a Bed, because the breakfast part really creates so much additional work, but neither Doug nor Bridget seemed much convinced.

On Friday, we drove down to MA for the second part of the vacation. Our friends, Rachel and Garrett got married in Salem, MA, a short drive from Tom’s sister, Tracy’s, house in Acton. Their wedding was beautiful, set outdoors on the coast, and we met many of their other friends, and family. I took a bunch of pictures of the wedding which also mostly didn’t come out. More and more momentum for the Canon dSLR and nice lenses on the wish list that probably won’t actually improve my photography. Fortunately for the bride and groom, their pro photographer got some great shots.

We also enjoyed lounging at Tracy and Ron’s house in between wedding events. Caroline and Julia are growing up so fast. We applauded Caroline’s interest in nursing, and tried (unsuccessfully) to get Julia to start a million-dollar Cell Phone Website. We strolled with Tracy, Ron and Dori to the dog park, and photographed the interesting mushrooms that grow in the park near their home. It was exceptionally wet from the rain brought by Hurricane Gustav, which is such a pleasure after the extra dry season that we’ve been having in Yosemite.

Unfortunately, the wonderful, relaxing vacation was capped by another marathon airplane journey back to CA. This time our flight arrived shortly after 5pm, and we managed to do a small amount of grocery shopping in Fresno before heading back to Yosemite.

I even managed to drop off a few of the Girls on Granite brochures that I’d brought with me. It’s late to get printed materials out for the September sessions, but there it is.