June, 2011 Kannon's Birthday & Kristina's SF Visit

The end of May I made a very long drive to Pleasanton & Woodland to see grand kids and to celebrate Kannon's 9th birthday. It was over 13 hours and I was "dazed and confused" upon
arrival. Welcomed by Tom & Martie, I went to bed and arose to a fabulous breakfast and a visit to my 16 month old granddaughter's home. It was a wonderful week between the two residences

with time for the adults as well as the children. I even got to celebrate Tom Dote's 70th birthday at the Buckhorn in Winters before driving 1/2 of the long drive home.

Will and I had some time together before he left for New Jersey...for work. He had an audit he wasn't looking forward to but did get to see Phil and have dinner before he had to resume his work. I left, again for a very long drive, this time 10 hours. I met my friend Val Slankard from

the foothills of California and many fun times of my past, at Ashland, Oregon. We went to graduate school together for social work and the reunioning was a blast. We saw several plays.

The best was "August, Osage County" an intense story of yet another dysfunctional family from Oklahoma. Written by Tracy Letts' and given the Pulitzer Prize; the play is hailed by the New York Times as "probably the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years."

It was both hilarious and sad. 3 acts and honestly we couldn't wait to get back to the next act to see what was going to happen. Not only did I enjoy my friend's company and conversation but I forgot how wonderful Ashland is. I've been going there since 1973 or '74 so the changes are evident but the town has such charm. I had forgotten how beautiful it is in Summer. Many of my visits were in late fall. I only wished I could have stayed longer...both in Ashland and with Val.

I have two new friends, Betsy and Bonnie, both clinical social workers. Imagine that! We celebrated a 40th birthday (that's over 20 years ago for me!) and promised to get together more often (works for me!) soon. On Friday, June 24th we drove to Portland for a promised "Woodstock" weekend at Will's former boss' home. He lives in a beautiful Valley on 6 acres of green Washington country with 6 llamas, 5 cats and a black lab. His house is a gorgeous red/golden log cabin with at least 3 bedrooms and several fireplaces. We went to a Portland restaurant, and an old Theatre for a concert and totally enjoyed the ambiance of Dennis' home. We got home on Sunday and I left Monday for San Francisco to visit my cousin Kristina and her family from N.C.

San Francisco is such a fabulous town....we had both sun and fog. Kristina and Mark rented a 4 bedroom home in the Richland district not far from Golden Gate Park. The first day, Kristina and I took all 3 kids (her two: Kaitlyn 4, Jake 6 and her stepson Zach, 12) to Mill Valley to Muir Woods. Lunch in Mill Valley and then hiked the Redwoods of Muir Woods. Serene, quiet and filled with tourists, it wasn't as quiet as I recalled. As everywhere in the summer "too many tourists" which of course we were! We did so many fun outings: Moscone Center for a Children's Play shop, Golden Gate Park for the Children's play grounds, the Oakland Coliseum
via BART for a baseball game with Florida, Fisherman's Wharf for lunch at Alioto's and on to Pier 39, and the Japanese Tea Gardens where Tom & Martie, Will, Justin, Maia & Marly all joined us. We also took the kids to Max's on Geary for dinner with Tom, Martie, Will and I. It was fun to meet Mark's sister, Michelle who lives in the City, and to have dinner with my friend Debby Jeter in the "cool" Mission area at a Peruvian restaurant which Will and I LOVED but if you asked us for a dish description, we can only say it was fabulous! And desserts to die for.

So the last month feels like a whirl wind...and we are again settling in to "home sweet home...away from home." Will leaves soon for another audit in Ohio where the weather is hotter than here. Mary Peracca and Will's cousin Terri are scheduled to come visit soon. So come on up, weather's better and lots of water with our three rivers: Columbia, Snake and Yakima!