Catching Up

Since it took a long time to complete our amazing adventures in Africa, I omitted many other trips and photos between May 2018 and now, July 2021.  

Here's an overview.

We took Jane and Dave to Yosemite in June 2018.

 Overnighting in London before flying to Greece, we stepped inside the Tate Museum in the beginning of October 2018.

                                                                Don't look too closely:

Stopping in Vassiliki, Lefkas, Greece for lunch, we drove around the island in October 2018 while we waited for recuperating Elena and John to arrive.

It is traditional to have happy hour on Saturday night with all the sailing cruisers before they leave for their home ports on Sunday.  We had finished our week sailing north of Lefkas towards Korfu and were already planning our return trip to Greece in May.

Returning to London we rode around on a bus from Greenwich to the British Museum a few times.

 We toured a Frank Lloyd House in Lakeland, Florida in December 2018.

Due to lots of rain, Laurel Creek flooded our backyard in February 2019.

 .Iconic Palm Springs and great weather drew us to meet up with old friends in February 2019

One of the most interesting museums is the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida in March 2019.  I was only taking a photo of Jim, but it turned out much more interesting.

Once again we stopped in to hear music at The Spotted Cat in New Orleans in April 2019 on our way home.

A new striking, but uninvited, annual plant made its appearance in our backyard in May 2019.

We returned in May 2019 to Greece to sail with John and Elena.  It was cold the whole time!

Near the beginning of our driving loop through the northwestern US, we stopped at Burney Falls, California, in July 2019.

Continuing to Sandpoint, Idaho, we spent time with Marianne and Kenny on the Pend Oreille River just outside their house.

We continued driving through Washington to visit Rich on Camano Island and Jon, Jana, Nate, and Samantha in Camus, Oregon to see its southern coast, and the redwoods of northern California to visit Jane in Santa Rosa

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There was a surprise visitor in the yard next to us.  He had to have come from California or Mission Street. 

In Florida in November 2019 we visited the Tampa Zoo and saw live seahorses.

Girls lunch at Bahama Breeze in Florida included me, Maggie, Jane, Karen, and Sue in December 2020.

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 In March 2020, the Pandemic shut nearly everything down.  Our new clock recorded the time.

Back in Santa Cruz in May 2020 after five mad days of driving straight home, the beach is nearly empty.

We bottled our 2019 malbec wine in July 2020.

The goats made their yearly visit to Neary Lagoon, just down towards the beach from our house in July 2020.

Having increased his yen to play golf, Jim practiced at Panoche.

In July 2020, there was a fire at Panoche covering 1400 acres.  Fortunately, it was west of our house and contained within 24 hours.

Jim worked on his solar power array for a water pump at Panoche.

The lightning-started fires outside Santa Cruz in August 2020, created eerie light inside our house that we closed up due to the smoke in the air.

We took a break for a short camping trip to Big Sur and Monterey in August 2020.

During a driving trip to the Eastern Sierras, we camped some, toured through the Alabama Hills, visited some of Manzanar, soaked in several hot springs, hiked in the ancient bristlecone pine forest in the White Mountains, stayed a night in Mammoth, and drove through Yosemite in September 2020 to commemorate Jim's birthday.

 

Walking at Wilder Ranch and seeing Old Landing Cove was a great outdoor activity in September 2020.

Panoche had entered fall and was prepping for winter in November 2020.

There used to be an arch here at the Natural Bridges State Beach before the 1987 earthquake.  I had just gotten off my bike when it struck. 

Just the two of us enjoyed Thanksgiving Dinner at Panoche 2020.

 

 A walk at the top of Mt. Umunhum has amazing views.  This looks towards south San Jose in December 2020.  A US Air Force community used to exist here, but little remains because it has been returned to its origins as a sacred indigenous site in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve.

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Nothing but gorgeous are the views of our Pacific coastline from Wilder State Park in December 2020.

Christmas dinner was again just the two of us at Panoche 2020.

Hiking/walking is nearly a twice a day activity.  Here was a new trail for us in Santa Cruz in the new year.

The Red Baron Peach tree in our driveway was in bloom in February 2021.  Wonderful peaches drop in late July.

After completing our doses of the Moderna vaccine, we drove to Florida in March 2021.  We went to the beach in Louisiana which is no easy feat considering the state has little beach area.

New Orleans is always a must stop for us.  We had three lovely days there.

We love riding on the St. Charles Street Car.  It will take you out beyond the Audubon Zoo, Tulane University, and the Commander's Palace, a wonderful restaurant.

St. John's Pass in Madera Beach is one of our favorite places in Florida. While eating lunch you can watch the bridge open and close for sailboats.  Dolphins and pelicans cruise the opening, too.