Some of our friends

We haven't managed to get a group picture of our friends here in SF, but we do have a few nice photos nevertheless.



Ben, Kristen and Parker at the SF Zoo



Betty, JoAnne and Adrienne post afternoon tea



The monthly "Supper Club" out for Eritrea cuisine (you eat with your hands).



Our Filipino friends - Trinidad, Buena, Emiliana, Betty, Cecilia, Alfred & Earl - after Union Sunday

Year in Review

It's been quite a year, hence the long silence - maybe we'll just do a quick rundown of the highlights... They go back to Feb 23, 2009 "Back to the Park!" Yes they are backwards if you start from here! We got caught up when we got settled.

Finally - a place of our own!

The trial stay with JoAnne ended in mutual agreement - we just weren't suited as roommates. So after a short stay with a friend in Fairfax, CA - an interesting and very walkable town - we decided it was time for us to take the leap and get our own place!







We're now reunited with our belongings that have been residing in storage for 17 months and it's a little like Christmas in March... except we're transitioning from a 2 bedroom apartment down to a 1 bedroom so there's some downsizing to do.



Of course, it rained the day we moved, but luckily the sun came out the next day so we were able to dry things out on our porch.

Short trip down Hwy. 1

With spring comes the many, many flowers - especially the carpets of ice plant - along with the urge to go exploring for more.



This particular exploration took us south of SF, down Hwy. 1, past the Pigeon Point Light Station, many ocean views, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz and ended in Capitola. I enjoyed Capitola much more than the more commercialized Santa Cruz, but each to his own.

Valentine's Day ski trip to Tahoe

No, I don't have any pictures of skiing - I stayed safely in the lodge... But from the yawns and wiped out expressions, you'll notice everyone else DID go skiing. Even still, a few of our really ambitious friends cooked up a Valentine's Day Fondue dinner for us that was delicious!

A solemn month

January was a solemn month, with 3 family deaths: cousin Bobby, Bob's Grandpa and Aunt Joy.

December on the road

Since JoAnne wasn't ready for us to move in until January, we thought December would be a good time to catch up with some people we hadn't seen in awhile.

First we drove to Montana and visited some folks...



Leon & Karen



Eileen, Seth, Amanda & Merryn.



Next we flew to New Jersey to see some more folks...



take a day trip to the American Museum of Natural History (and the tree at Rockefeller Center) in New York City...



another day trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania - it was cold...



and open some presents.





Then we flew back to Idaho to celebrate New Years...



And headed back to California with a stop in Portland, Oregon to see Craig & Laura...



And a tour of the northern coast of California - including some redwood viewing.