Friends and Family Along the Way

One of our objectives for the road trip is to connect with friends and family who are spread out across the country—and there are a lot of them! Being able to have conversations with (or even stay with) people we adore has made everything richer so far. Sadly, there are a few folks that I forgot to take pics of, Mai-Li, Steve’s sister east of San Francisco, Daniel, a 90 Day Finn friend in Pasadena, and Scott, a classmate from RIT in Pasadena.

In this most recent visit: We had a wonderful stay with my brother, Dan, and sister-in-law, Amy, in Corrales, NM, and were served a very professional dinner by Paul, former owner of The Oasis, Corrales, and my second cousin Debbie. As Debbie says, “good memories were made,” but it was also quite nostalgic for me. I remember summer visits to California and playing with these lovely, fun California second cousins in the glorious sunshine.

Lisa at Maso Menos in Joshua Tree.

We visited my friend Lisa who is in the midst of an artist residency at BOXO Projects in Joshua Tree, creating super interesting graphical textile pieces. Lisa also provided us great perspective on America from a European perspective.

With Mary and Bill in the Descanso Gardens in Pasadena.

It was super nostalgic and fun hanging out with our former Seattle neighbors, now living in Altadena. Yes, this was the place with the horrible fires two years ago, and it was very unsettling to see the area where homes and businesses are just…missing. Thankfully, their place survived, and we got to stay in their cute house with a Doris Day bathroom.

Ladi and Sean poolside at the Turtle Conservancy in Ojai, California.

This was a super fast, but wonderful stop in Ojai to see Seattle friends, Ladi and Sean, who happened to be in town for their son’s Grandparents weekend at school. Here, we got to tour the gorgeous Turtle Conservancy, grounds, and cabins.

Gary and Sara a year ago at Rusack Vineyards 🙂 (sadly, where the tasting terrace is closed nowadays).

Gary, Sara and Aji, their adorable dog, showed us all of the ropes in Santa Barbara. Honestly, they were like our fairy godparents, sharing eateries like Yellow Belly and generally grand touring us through sites and practicalities

My great aunt Marguerite, gardening at 105 years old. This is her daughter Tina’s house who keeps an eye on all.

In Nopimo, CA, north of San Luis Obispo, we stopped by to see my 105-year-old great-aunt, Marguerite, who when we arrived was clipping rose bushes (maybe a new life goal?). When she dropped a gardening glove, she scooped down to pick it up before I could get to it! Marguerite is a huge Dodgers fan and gave us two of her Dodger-patterned hand-quilted coasters….so sweet because my mom and she used to always talk quilting…

Visiting Jim and Vicky in Soquel.

Hanging out in the sun with my second cousin, Jim, and his wife, Vicky, in Soquel, California after a crowd-favorite breakfast at Silver Spur. They also plugged us into seeing Marguerite and Tina in SLO.

Drinks with Grant in the Presidio, San Francisco.

Enjoying my old New York City roommate, Grant, all fancy in the Presidio.

With Mike and Susi in Portola Valley.

Bantering with Steve’s long time friends from college, Mike and Susie, living the life in the Palo Alto area of California, where every billboard is about AI agents…