United States – Page 3 – Journey Toward Wholeness

Week 281 August 17, 2019

Published on August 16, 2019August 23, 2019 by Claire2 Comments

This week we enjoyed having dear friends came up to “our” cabin for the day. We had a fun picnic lunch, a good long hike topped off by ice cream, and, a light supper before they had to return home. We did see the enormous tree our AirBnB hosts had suggested we would see on this hike, but, we shouldn’t have taken the shortcut because it either required returning up a steep incline or — our alternative choice — scooting beneath a fence, which punished us with lots of unwanted stickers…

Then we — excuse me I, had a couple of wonderful days of hiking and boating around Pinecrest Lake with friends who are twins who have a cabin near us, and a couple of their friends. An osprey posed for us as we drifted by…

on the second day Loren joined us girls for a bit of a grueling hike.

It was worth it for the wildflowers,

and the wilderness lake that was our destination.

Even the return hike was worth it, then the girls and I had another short respite together at Pinecrest Lake.

Loren’s and my big night out this week was going to see a Linda Ronstadt tribute concert at the local Repertory Theatre. The performance was outstanding. Loren had had the opportunity to see Ronstadt perform while in college so he especially enjoyed it.

Those were the three highlights of our week. We have spent the rest of our time hanging around the cabin and taking walks around the neighborhood which comes complete with moose, bear, and other wildlife images.

We usually eat our cereal breakfast on the backyard swing chair. And we have read some — a luxury, or driven to town for internet or supplies. Ahhh.

Week 280 August 10, 2019

Published on August 10, 2019August 31, 2019 by ClaireLeave a comment

Loren and I are in Miwuk Village. I could say Me-Wuk, Mi Wok, Mi Wuk, Mi-Wuk, or Mi-Wuk-Village, I have seen it written these several different ways. Anyway, we are in a small populated region in the California Sierra mountains. Nearby, the community of Confidence boasts a settlement of just 50 people. At the start of the week, we drove nearby to stay overnight at the summer/winter home of dear friends. When we arrived, I was challenged by a friend of theirs who was teaching an informal pilates class. My muscles felt aftereffects for a couple of days, in a good way. We all then trekked the short distance to a memorial erected for our friends’ brother and nephew, who died in an avalanche on K2 in 2013, and who were renowned in trekking and in the local area.

Our friends’ community was also approaching the final days of a music festival. From our perspective no details were spared in excellence. We attended the Saturday dinner event, featuring a silent auction and a concert, then an auctioneer led a most vibrant bidding affair afterwards. The evening was staged in a medieval theme this year, and we were told that the most people ever participated in costume. Our friends gave me a special dress to play along. The next day, I was honored that my friend insisted I lead a Bikram yoga class. It might be the one I have had the most fun facilitating of the more than 250 classes I have taught, and I was impressed with how well they did with it. Afterwards we had a lovely lunch at a nearby lodge.

Then we attended the final Music Festival offering – a Beethoven Fest. We were treated to an outstanding performance by a 22 year old virtuoso pianist for the last four numbers of the orchestral performance.

From there, Loren and I were off for a backpack to a place we have been many times over the years. The first time we went it was a long Labor Day weekend, and we saw no one – not even one soul – the entire weekend, except two rangers on the morning we were leaving who were taking samples of the lake water. This time we were similarly treated to an experience of seeing not a single other person, except the several people who were out for a much shorter day hike on our way into our site as well as on our return hike out from the site. All along the way we were treated to an immense display of wildflowers. We named it our own “NorCal Superbloom.” Some of the varieties are:

Mariposa Lily, Lupin and Indian Paint Brush,

Pretty Face, Crimson Columbine,

Yellow Monkey Flower, Shooting Star,

and Corn Lily.

We saw a rainbow around the sun on our way in, which I learned from another hiker is caused by very high, very thin clouds made from ice crystals. She thought it is called a Sundog, but afterwards I learned that is not what we saw. Actually known as a 22 Degree Halo or a Sun Halo, the ring is caused by sunlight passing through the ice crystals. There were also lots of butterflies, of white, yellow, orange and black, and, I managed to capture a photo of one of the rarer, small blue ones/

Loren and I never tire of the beauty visible from where we once again setup our tent and campsite. It is so quiet here. And the scenery around the lake was more green than we had seen here before.

We were treated to seeing a baker’s dozen of geese resting and feasting throughout our stay, and, hearing a cacophony of frogs croaking throughout each night. Loren noticed a deer and a fawn across the lake, and, we even saw the same toad near the same log each time we walked over that part of the trail.

Of a less appealing nature, we encountered a scourge of mosquitos. We also bailed out a day early. There had been a ring around the moon on our last night and the thunderhead clouds we had seen in the distance each day looked more and more ominous. As we looked back from a high peak on our departure, we saw the clouds dumping an immense amount of moisture off in the distance, so we believe we made the right decision. We left the area in sunlight on the downhill side, almost a calling for us to return again someday.

Week 279 August 3, 2019

Published on August 2, 2019October 7, 2019 by ClaireLeave a comment

Loren and I were finishing our visit at Clear Lake at the beginning of this week. The campground resort owner sent us his photos of our kayak ride from last week, and, Loren took a single kayak for a ride while I did laundry on our last day there.

We had a lovely dinner with special friends at the Blue Wing Saloon and Cafe in Upper Lake too. The restaurant is connected with historic Tallman Hotel, famous for its role as a stage coach stop in the distant past.

We then thought ourselves lucky to be leaving Clear Lake as the prediction was for weather in the triple digits. It turned out their weather did not reach that high and instead we spent the next several days cold at a coastal KOA campground in Manchester.

Regardless of the weather we made the best of it. We visited the Point Arena lighthouse, which was barely visible from the fog,

then went for a hike on the Stornetta public lands.

We felt fortunate that the sun came out before we hiked down to Bowling Ball Beach later that afternoon. A friend had suggested we visit here and to be sure to go at low tide as the unusual formations are only visible at when the tide is out. The sight reminded us of the Moeraki Boulders we visited when we were traveling through New Zealand.

This friend had also suggested we travel further South on US1 to Gualala, to stop in at Alinder Gallery of photographs which includes some of Ansel Adams’ work. It was fun to see Alinder’s photographs too. Loren then indulged me in a drive even further south, all the way to see Wright’s Beach. It was too exposed to enjoy our picnic dinner, but Loren soon noticed a wonderful shade tree with a great view not too far back up the coast.

We visited Point Arena lighthouse for a second time to see it when the sun was shining, then finished that day with a hike to the beach, finding a different view of the lighthouse.

The next day was our last full day on the coast. Loren offered it to be my choice of what to do. We first partook of the Rock Painting event at the KOA — mine is reflective of seeing bass and several fishermen on Clear Lake last week, and Loren’s rock choice compelled him to fill in the lips and face he visualized that were prominent on his rock.

Then we drove north on coastal US1, up to Fort Bragg. We had a delightful dinner at Cucina Verona. We were seated at a table for two in front of the accordion player for a most memorable evening. I just had to snap a photo of one of the storefronts in town as we returned to our car.

The next day we drove to Castro Valley. We ran some errands, then enjoyed a themed social dinner with Loren’s sister, prepared by the United Methodist Women with about 80 other members and friends attending their summer BBQ. Afterwards we pitched in to help her with some fertilization and trimming in her back yard. Now Loren and I are in Fremont, preparing to spend the next few weeks in the California Sierra mountains… internet availability will be a challenge, so please visit again – I will post here when I can.

Week 278 July 27, 2019

Published on July 27, 2019October 7, 2019 by ClaireLeave a comment

Last week, two dear friends were visiting Loren and me at our AirBnB on Clear Lake. After a day’s drive along the east side of the lake together, we finished the day having ice cream at a park with Mount Konocti in view, then taking a walk around town.

This week started with the four of us taking another drive around the rest of the lake, along the west side. We began the day with a walk at Anderson Marsh,

then drove by the Dome home that Loren and his Dad had built 40 years ago, past the stalled refurbishing of Konocti Resort, and through Buckingham Park. We also stopped to see Bell Haven, a resort property that some years ago was in run down condition that Loren and I had seriously considered buying and refurbishing. Now, from over the gated fence we jealously admired the renovations that have been made. However we believe the costs incurred far exceed the vision that our own efforts likely would have produced.

Then we dropped in to see the salesman for Loren’s Dome kit, who still lives with his wife in their own dome home. We had a nice catchup visit, and learned he has recently established a new business downtown for slot car racing. While it loses money, it offers a place for kids of all ages to have fun. By the way, Clear Lake is the largest natural lake that is wholly in the state of California. It was fun over two days of meandering around to see some of the places that have been special in our friends’ lives over the years, showing them places here that are special to us, and making some new great memories.

Our last full day at the lakeside AirBnB was gorgeous – no clouds in the sky, and featured us hosting a BBQ. We were delighted that a cousin of mine who lives a couple hours away, and a long time friend of Loren’s who lives locally, were able to join us too.

Before Loren and I left the AirBnB, I caught a photo of one of the hosts’ many curio cabinets full of old phones. This one holds similar models nostalgic from my parents and grandparents homes during my childhood, especially the pink princess phone, and, the red and the black rotary models.

Then Loren and I were off for a lunch date with our friend who lives locally. His home was burned in one of the fires here a couple of years ago. He is just now having a garage built on his property, and, had tree trimmers come to shape up some badly burned trees.

Loren and I then relocated to van camp at a marina further north on the lake. On our first morning we went for a four hour kayak ride across part of Clear Lake and all the way to the end of Rodman Slough and back. Last week I was sure I had seen a pair of water birds walk upright on the lake, but the event ended so quickly I couldn’t point it out to anyone. I was excited then on Loren’s and my kayak ride to see several pair of what we now know are grebes, doing their mating dances which is culminated by walking on water. It was so astounding to me that I must share a video:

We must have seen at least a hundred grebes, dozens of great egrets and night herons, many great blue herons, lots of Canadian geese, a few North American geese, some ducks and cormorants, several raptors including osprey, a flock of pelicans, one bald eagle, and one black-plumed gray bird of some unknown-to-us sort, unless because it flitted out of sight perhaps it was another heron. There are a few noteworthy geese though that seem to be confused as to their “feather” – one American goose consistently seems to believe that s/he is a Canadian goose, and,

a trio of two American geese and a mallard who remain inseparable in the marina. Or, just maybe they all are teaching us that different cultures can live together in peace!

Loren and I have been additionally naturally entertained by a variety of fishing boats – a feature of Clear Lake is that it is a bass fisherman’s haven.

Another couple of highlights this week include going to the local cinema to see the new Lion King, which had me crying even more than the first version, and, driving to nearby Blue Lakes, where we had a refreshing dip followed by a picnic lunch in the shade.

Week 277 July 20, 2019

Published on July 20, 2019 by ClaireLeave a comment

At the start of this week Loren and I were still in Nebraska with Loren’s cousins. We enjoyed four educational days at the county fair with them this visit. We have always seen their many prized trophies earned over the years from 4H (Head, Heart, Hands and Health), and more recently FFA (Future Farmers of America), and this time we had the opportunity to experience firsthand what the trophy earning process is all about. We found it impressive! Loren’s cousin’s grandson earned not only first prize for showing one of his aunt’s goats, he also earned a coveted first place in a judging content.

You can see this aunt, who is Loren’s cousin’s daughter, being remembered by the local museum which had a booth at the fair. This is a photograph of her earning a prize for showing one of her chickens at the fair some years ago.

Our cousin’s daughter also coached our five year old cousin, who is a potential future 4Her, to show another of her goats. She has already learned well to always look at the judge as she parades the goat around the arena, one of the aspects of showing that the judge looks for, and, she was well prepared to answer the judge’s questions about the animal. He told us he was amused when she told him the goat was “…a pain in the butt,” however, he also said he has heard worse.

Other aspects of the fair included cheering for competing teams in such fun contests as bobbing for apples, searching for a toy chicken in a haystack, nailing nails into a board, and rolling enormous tractor tires end-to-end across a field. The evening concluded with a “Bohemian tractor pull” in which our cousin’s son-in-law took the lead on his team. He and his daughter had returned from Kansas City from a three day softball competition to participate in this brand new contest at the fair. Another first time event at the fair on a different evening was a team contest to catch a greased pig.

Our cousin’s granddaughter did not show animals this year — the first time in her life to not do so since she joined 4H. Her softball team team won the tournament. Then she and her dad stopped by at Loren’s cousin’s farm for a short visit between a private pitching lesson in Omaha and the start of an upcoming softball camp at Wichita State University.

Once the fair was over, it was back to farm work as usual for our cousins. I should clarify, the animal care chores were also accomplished on fair days, now the more time consuming work of checking and harvesting alfalfa could be attended to as well.

I had to snap a photo of the enchanting view from Loren’s cousin’s house of a neighboring farmhouse, a view I never tire of seeing when we visit the farm.

On our last evening in Nebraska, we enjoyed playing the card game, Pitch, with several members of the family. We went to bed with the weather report of “slight chance of thunderstorms” but we woke up to an ominous sky. As Loren’s cousin drove us to the airport, we encountered rain, which they do need for the crops, and which did not cause any delays or disturbance with our connecting flight through Denver to San Francisco.

Once back in the Bay Area, we had a lovely evening and dinner visit with Loren’s sister. As I was checking the battery in our van for integrity after it had sat idle a few weeks in front of her house, Loren received a message from our AirBnB host to not lock our bedroom because the lock was malfunctioning. We were surprised at the late hour of notice as we had been due to check in at 3pm. We were then grateful to Loren’s sister who invited us to stay overnight. The next day the lock was in working order. We enjoyed a dinner out with another AirBnB guest who we had become friends with from our previous long stay. Her sister manages the restaurant where we ate and it was nice to see her again too.

Then Loren and I were on the road again, this time heading for Clear Lake, northeast of Napa. It was nostalgic to see the blooming oleander along the more rural freeway. It struck me that all the freeways in the bay area had had roads similarly decorated when I first moved to California. That lasted until the increases in traffic necessitated removing them in the more densely populated areas, to make additional lanes for the people.

We had invited friends to join us at our AirBnB and they arrived not long after we did. We four spent today driving around parts of the lake where we all have memories. Most notable are the houses and apartment complex that one of our friends’ father built in the 1970’s, which are still in excellent condition.

We took along a picnic lunch and stopped at a roadside park to enjoy it. While there we had a different view of the most prominent feature of the lake – Mount Konocti. A few weeks ago I read something in the New York Times about spending 2 hours a week in nature… actually, I think we should spend 2 hours a day in nature when we can.

Week 276 July 13, 2019

Published on July 14, 2019July 26, 2019 by ClaireLeave a comment

At the start of this week, Loren and I were still in Ipswich, where our AirBnB host – who taught us about microwavable pancakes – took us for a kayak ride in Plum Island Sound. Fortunately she knew the water patterns and it was an enjoyable day, though we could see how easily it could have been grueling if instead we had been fighting the currents. We finished the evening playing a game of Scrabble together.

The next morning Loren and I took a stroll around Strawberry Hill. Unlike the trek we took on Poon ‘Hill’ in the Himalaya, this ‘hill’ is a flat walk on a mowed path to the water’s edge. Then we returned to the house for the Women’s Soccer Finals, where we watched the US defeat the Netherlands.

We also went on an historic town walking tour. Ipswich boasts several homes and buildings still standing from the 1600’s, 1700’s, 1800’s, reminding me how and where parts of early America was settled and claimed its independence. And everywhere tiger lilies are blooming.

Then we were off to New York. We first stopped in for a final — for now — Bikram yoga class in North Andover.

Once in New York we drove through Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonia neighborhood which we had seen last Thanksgiving, again in appreciation of his unmistakable home designs. Afterwards we read how UNESCO World Heritage thinks his works are extraordinary too, adding these eight of his innovations to their official list:
. Fallingwater in Pennsylvania
. the Guggenheim Museum in New York
. the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles
. the Jacobs House in Wisconsin
. the Robie House in Chicago
. Taliesin in Wisconsin
. Taliesin West in Arizona, and
. the Unity Temple in Illinois
We finished our day with a wonderful evening with my brother, his wife and younger daughter, then spent the night at an AirBnB in the Battle Hill neighborhood of White Plains, named for one of the sites led by George Washington in the Revolutionary War.

Our connecting flight the next day took us through Detroit, then we were on our way to Omaha. Dear cousins from Denver picked us up, and as we drove south, we were in Iowa for about one mile, which their new car’s navigation system loudly announced upon our brief departure and reentry into Nebraska. Along the drive we stopped for a lovely dinner together. Then we arrived at the precious farm where Loren’s first cousin lives.

We had a lovely first day at the farm, then while this cousin was attending to the needs opening the County Fair which she oversees, another cousin took us on a tour of rural cemeteries in nearby Rulo and Falls City to find family plots. Here I noticed markers proclaiming certain headstones as “G.A.R.” I came to learn that these denoted the soldiers who served in the “Grand Army of the Republic” during the Civil War. Over dinner with these cousins we toasted with “Bloody Beer,” a drink of tomato juice mixed in with beer.

In the morning we helped a cousin with a small part of his home remodel, holding up a mantel piece for him to bolt in place. Then we reminisced about the history of this home, which was beautifully preserved for the ages through paint on an old saw.

This is also where Loren remembers 50 years ago this month watching the old black and white television in this living room when Neil Armstrong said his famous quote heard over the airwaves on being the first person to land on the moon on July 20, 1969:

That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

He also proudly showed us the buckets of trophy home run balls his daughter has earned over the last few years, as she approaches her junior year in High School this fall.

We bade our Denver cousins a safe drive home before we headed off to see the goat showing competition at the County Fair… please read more on this in next week’s post.

Week 275 July 6, 2019

Published on July 6, 2019July 5, 2019 by Claire2 Comments

Loren and I spent most of this week in Massachusetts, still staying in North Andover at the start of the week. After taking a Bikram yoga class, we had an enjoyable breakfast date with the yoga studio’s venerable 83 year old practitioner. She is featured in the studio owner’s book for Bikram Yoga teachers, where she is quoted as one who takes daily yoga class instead of daily prescription drugs, unlike most of her friends. Afterwards I went to the local Red Cross office to complete a CPR course, then Loren and I enjoyed watching A Star Is Born at our AirBnB home.

That evening we had a delicious dinner and meaningful visit at the home of a dear friend who moved back to Massachusetts from California some years ago. She and her family commented on how their dog was so comfortable with me, as this only happens with those who are family members.

The next morning our AirBnB host fixed us a yummy breakfast, and I appreciated a walk in her yard just as light rain began. Loren and I then went to the yoga studio for a Yoga Talk but, with it now hailing, the only other attendee was our 83 year old friend. So it was half yoga talk and half social, or perhaps more social than yoga. Loren and I decided to stay for the 4pm class, then we drove on to our next AirBnB on the Atlantic coast in Ipswich.

We arrived before our host had returned home, and we delighted in seeing so much of the inspirational quotes, artwork, and imagery around her house that she has collected. Then we were treated to a beautiful sunset outside her window.

A friend from New York had previously suggested we visit Cape Ann, north of Cape Cod, and as it turns out, Ipswich is just next to Cape Ann. So far we have taken a long walk with our AirBnB host and a friend of hers at Crane Beach, which boasts six miles of undeveloped sand and dunes. We encountered numerous shore birds, as well as starfish and remnants of horseshoe crab along the coast.

That evening we four attended a talk in Rockport at the point of Cape Ann, that was given by our AirBnB host’s renter, an ecological expert and accomplished author. His talk was arranged for the local garden club. Earlier in the week some of the gardeners had created floral impressions of the art on display. It was also fascinating to see some of the pieces that were still on hand.

Afterwards we walked around the quaint streets of Rockport, then out to the wharf to snap photos of Motif #1, a building thought to be the one most often painted in all the world.

The next morning Loren and I were up early to travel to Maine to see more friends who have relocated from California to a senior living community in Topsham, said top-sum. We were surprised at the large size of their new home, impressed with the tour they gave us of nearby Bowdoin College in Brunswick, and, appreciated spending time with them and some of their neighbors who were also interested in seeing the Women’s FIFA semifinals that ended up ensuring the US a place over England in the finals.

That evening Loren and I continued on to see BoothBay Harbor – a place Loren had been thwarted in seeing the grandeur of 40 years ago due to overcast skies. We were fortunate to have clear skies this time. This allowed us to share clam chowder, scallops and lobster outdoors, while being treated to a view of the harbor, before our return drive to Ipswich.

The next day Loren and I watched the other soccer semifinals match, resulting in it being the Netherlands who will face our US team on Sunday. That evening we attended the opening event of a month-long art show in Ipswich titled, “Americans Who Tell the Truth.” We were tickled to find our AirBnB renter among those being recognized. We followed up the event with a stroll on the Ipswich RiverWalk, where we encountered an enormous mural depicting aspects of our country’s early history.

By coincidence, the next day was Independence Day. Loren and I hope you too had a wonderful 4th of July, celebrating a Happy Birthday to us in the US. We spent the day by taking a Bikram yoga class, then heading out of town to visit yet more special friends – another couple who have moved to Massachusetts from California. We were treated to a delicious lunch, a dip in a nearby pond, and a tasty BBQ dinner, all while catching up on each others’ lives. We learned a new word from them to add to our vocabulary – Loren and I are peripatetics, because we travel from place to place.

We have just a couple more nights in Massachusetts. It is claimed that “Everyone in Ipswich is Buddhist,” or so said the long term renter/award winning writer at our AirBnB. At the least our AirBnB host practices a form of Buddhism. In honor of Ipswich, Buddhism, and, us being peripatetic, I will include this inspirational quote that Loren came across a couple of months ago:

On an ancient wall in China, where a brooding Buddha blinks
Deeply graven is the message, “It is later than you think”
The clock of life is wound but once and no one has the power
To know just when the hands will stop at late or early hour.
Now is all the time you own, the past a golden link.
Go cruising now my brother, it is later than you think.
– Anonymous

Week 274 June 29, 2019

Published on July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 by Claire2 Comments

It was more than a full week, spent in memorable times with my cousins, and with me taking a robust Bikram Yoga seminar. Hence this post is more than a little late…

Loren and I began our week still in New Hampshire, where the state license plates proclaim: Live Free Or Die. We had another good visit with my cousin and her husband, this time including their children and grandchildren, and her mother. I found a photo of my great-grandfather holding my mother’s cousin – my cousin’s father, on display in her mother’s room. We also helped setup for the big family party to celebrate my cousin’s husband’s 65th birthday.

Later that afternoon Loren and I took a drive around Lake Sunapee, where I had hoped to be able to spot the cabin I had visited a few times with a dear friend some years ago. Alas, without the address and directions, it turned out to be simply a nice drive around a large New Hampshire lake.

That evening our AirBnB hosts offered us a ride around the smaller Lake Horace in their motor boat, something they often do with their dog. It was a nice way to finish our day.

The next day was the big party. It was awesome to have more chances to visit with each of them, their children and spouses, see the grandchildren play, and spend time with their extended family members, neighbors and friends.

We enjoyed lots of good food and games, and the next day we returned for a delicious brunch, thoroughly enjoying more time to visit together.

Then Loren and I were off to Massachusetts, where the state license plates proclaim: The Spirit of America. Loren had a mostly relaxing week at another AirBnB, while I attended the seminar each day, well into each evening. I have now taught over 250 Bikram Yoga classes – of those I taught well over 100 just in the past year, so it was time to take my experience and skills to the next level. It was also great to see three of my teacher training Littermates from our 9 weeks spent together in 2014.

Another teacher brought her family along for the week. It was fun to see her studio’s advertisement for Bikram Yoga on her son’s t-shirt. On one of the days, Loren had the opportunity to participate in a private lesson demonstration for us, and he actually took several classes with us this week.

Our week ended with a fun visit to nearby Hampton beach,

followed by a delicious “lobstah” dinner, ice cream desert, and, my first viewing of the The Princess Bride from 1987 with Peter Falk, Billy Crystal, Andre the Giant, and others.

Not only did we have a fulfilling week, I expanded my knowledge for future classes and Loren and I met and got to know more wonderful world-wide Bikram Yoga teachers.

Week 273 June 22, 2019

Published on June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 by Claire4 Comments

This week we celebrated Father’s Day with my brother and his beautiful family at their lake house in New York where we were staying. Despite the overcast and on-and-off rainy weather, my brother was still able to go out on his boat and fish a little. It was his wife who caught the fish while out on the boat with him.

Otherwise we spent the day relaxing, celebrating his upcoming birthday and enjoying a scrumptious mix of takeout and home made dishes for dinner.

My only disappointment that evening was there was no Warriors v Raptors Game 7 to watch… Congrats to the Raptors once again.

The next day, after a too short but memorable visit with my brother and his family, Loren and I drove 4 hours north to visit in New Hampshire. This is the view of Lake Horace from the deck of our AirBnB. Loren has enjoyed kayaking a couple of mornings.

We enjoyed taking lunch nearby to my cousins here and seeing all the additional work they have put in on the house that they moved into last summer. We also admired the beautiful birds who visit her generous feeders – and she can differentiate all the species!

Then we had a fun evening with friends who live in New Hampshire who we had met in Italy a couple of years ago. They suggested a restaurant in Manchester that is “an institution in the area—started years ago by a Greek family.”

The next evening my cousins joined us at our AirBnB for a dinner I prepared, including a desert to celebrate both her husband’s and Loren’s upcoming milestone birthdays…

While in New York and here in New Hampshire I have enjoyed taking some Bikram Yoga classes, which is what Loren and I did the next morning. We were treated to a class by one of the visiting teachers from my teacher training in Los Angeles in 2014. I love it that I can enjoy the same yoga class when we travel to areas that offer the Bikram yoga style!

That afternoon Loren and I visited the Currier Museum of Art, and we were both enraptured by the glass paperweights display from the mid-1800’s.

We finished the day visiting another Frank Llyod Wright house that is owned by this museum, donated to them by the original and only owners, the Zimmermans.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to my cousin’s big birthday bash!

Week 272 June 15, 2019

Published on June 15, 2019July 5, 2019 by ClaireLeave a comment

Hello from New York! And, Happy Father’s Day tomorrow to all our family and friends who are Fathers!

Before leaving California last Saturday night, and after packing up our belongings at our AirBnB, Loren and I enjoyed a delightful meal out with special friends who we made at the AirBnB where we stayed just 3 days shy of a full year.

While we were in the restaurant, we received a text message that our flight leaving San Francisco airport that evening was delayed. It was long enough to interfere with our connecting flight and to cause us to be late for our scheduled rental car pickup. We called the airline only to find it would be at least a two hour wait time to speak with an agent…

A dear friend had offered to drive us to the airport, and we only pushed back our ride with him by half an hour to have enough time to speak with an airline representative at the airport. I am grateful we went early and had the delayed flight because, when we arrived at SFO, I discovered I had forgotten my ID. Loren was kind to me about all the effort it took for us with round-trip public transit and Uber rides to retrieve it. We were also able to rearrange our rental car pickup time. When we returned to the airport, our flight had been further delayed due to severe thunder storms in Georgia. We had actually needed most of that extra time. We ultimately left San Francisco 4 hours late, spent 4 extra hours in Atlanta, and arrived safe in New York 8 hours later than scheduled. I smiled on seeing an advertisement from the amusement park of my youth at the airport.

As Loren said, “It was a journey just trying to leave!”

Fortunately Loren and I had both been able to sleep some on the overnight flight. We rented the car, and drove to Pennsylvania to arrive at my junior high school friend’s place where we had a lovely visit. We extended our stay an additional night, to make up for how late we had arrived. We played cards together and I put together an easy puzzle which nearly had me feeling like I had visited the Jersey shore.

While in Pennsylvania one evening, we went to a local bar to watch the NBA Finals’ Warriors vs Raptors Game 5. This lounge had 10 televisions, with 8 of them showing the basketball game. Loren and I were thrilled when our team won!

On returning to New York, Loren and I enjoyed a wonderful Mexican dinner with my brother, his wife and their younger daughter. The waiter prepared our guacamole to order at our table. Similarly he prepared a fiery table-side display for my niece’s desert.

The next day I drove to the upstate village where my father had said his father was born. My brother and I have known little about my father’s side of the family because his parents both died young. I had driven my father to this town once in recent years before he died, but I had not learned much from that trip. This time I stopped at the Village Clerk’s office and was rewarded with seeing the handwritten record of my grandfather’s birth. Now I know the exact month and day of his birth – in addition to the year which I had previously learned from his headstone – as well as the names of my grandfather’s parents. Then I went to the village cemetery and was fortunate to find not only my great-grandfather’s and great-grandmothers’ tombstones, but also this great-grandmother’s parents tombstones. I was so touched to find these special ones’ graves.

On leaving the area, I was treated to a great blue heron sitting on a rock in a pond on the side of the road, and just had to snap its’ photo. That evening Loren and I were sorry to see our Warriors lose the Finals to the Raptors in Game 6 of the series. Our team had suffered several injuries in the post season, and another key player had to leave that game due to an injury, dashing the team’s dreams of wining a three-peat championship.

There have been other aspects of nature that also caused me to pause to snap a photo this week – from a colorful bush that reminds me of Australian eucalyptus, to the density of dogwood blossoms this season, to a cardinal and bluejay on adjacent tree branches.

The next day Loren and I had an hours-long lunch date with another dear friend of mine. She brought photos of she and me from before I had moved to California. I was shocked to be reminded how I had looked thirty years ago when we had visited Cape Cod together one summer. That evening Loren and I went to see The Secret Life of Pets 2, which was as amusing as my recollection of the first Pets film that I had caught most of during a long flight some year or so ago.

Today, we had another wonderful time with my brother, his wife and their younger daughter, in driving to and taking a guided tour of historic West Point. We learned its location was strategic at the time of the Revolutionary War to take advantage of a particular narrow passage of the Hudson River, preventing the British to pass between their ports in New York and Canada. It was a lovely day and we were grateful for the information imparted to us with the high caliber of our tour guide – might I even label her a guidess?

Tomorrow we look forward to spending Father’s Day with my brother, who is a great Dad to two beautiful young women.

	Claire on Home Again January 4, 202…
	Doris on Home Again January 4, 202…
	Linda Galbraith on Home Again January 4, 202…
	Varvara K. on Week 300 December 28, 201…
	Claire on Week 299 December 21, 201…
	Tim Custis on Week 299 December 21, 201…
	Claire on Week 284 September 7, 201…
	Claire on Week 295 November 23, 201…
	Varvara K. on Week 295 November 23, 201…
	Claire on Week 291 October 26, 2019
	Margaret Rich on Week 291 October 26, 2019
	Claire on Week 284 September 7, 201…
	Mariarosa Rinetti on Week 284 September 7, 201…
	Claire on Week 282 August 24, 2019
	Jeffrey Neubarth on Week 282 August 24, 2019