California: Visits with Family & Friends

lWe drove west from Utah and Zion National Park, speeding past the lights of Las Vegas to the Mojave Desert Preserve where we boondocked our first night. in California. 

We parked in a grove of Joshua trees in the desert.

 ​After sunset, the desert came alive.  Coyotes prowled and rodents scattered.  By chance, a couple was holding their marriage ceremony nearby and we could hear the lovers pledge their hearts to each other under a white memorial cross, then depart for Las Vegas.  We didn't want to crash their party, but got this photo of the cross and the raven who made it his hangout.

This cross is a memorial to those killed in war. The night we were there it doubled as a wedding venue.

​The next day we headed to an RV park in Los Angeles county, just outside the city. From our hillside perch in a county park, it was hard to believe that the city could be seen on the horizon.

​We came to do some work and to see family, especially our new grandnephew, Jack, his brother and parents. Tiffany and Danilo and their sons AIden and Jack hung out with us for two days giving us a rare chance to catch up and play with our two grandnephews. 

Danny, his son Aiden, and Mark fooling around in the park. Below, Danny and Jack on left; Me, Jack and Tiffany on the right!

Seeing family was our mission when we drove north through the Central Valley, headed to Santa Cruz, where we parked in the town’s famous harbor.

A dolphin statue in Santa Cruz harbor.

​Our nephew Jackson was on hand to show us the beaches at sunset and to eat sushi with his friend Nathan until we were all stuffed. We had breakfast then headed north to the Bay area the next day.

It's fun to talk about how humans communicate when we hang our with our nephew Jackson who has a PhD in linguistics.

After driving over the tortuous Santa Cruz mountains, ​we arrived at my sister and brother-in-law’s house in Concord, where we were greeted by Ricardo’s mother, Carmen.  The Meyer lemons were ripe and the flowers were blooming!

We missed my sister who is in Maine caring for my mother, but we all had a lovely meal at a Peruvian restaurant with my brother-in-law Ricardo and his mother, Carmen.  The next day I took care of car maintenance and other errands.  Despite a howling rainstorm that evening, my niece Deirdre and her partner, Justin, drove over and we had a barbeque!  Ricardo cooked a great meal under the downpour!

My brother-in-law Ricardo, his mother, Carmen, and me!

​After two days in Concord, we got back on the road. Our next stop was Sonoma, where our long-time friends Fran and Mary hosted us for the weekend at their beautiful new home.  Here’s a view of their garden.

Fran, hiding behind overgrown chard plants.

​On Monday morning, Fran and Mary left for work and we piled into the rig, heading north to our next destination: the Redwood forests.

Fran and Mary. We have been friends since we worked together at CNN in Atlanta.