Banana Slug
In July we took a weekend train, bus and bike ride to visit Josh and Heidi in Scotts Valley, nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Their small farmhouse receives frequent visits from deer which love eating grape waste from the winery in the basement. All around their house is redwood forest regrowth after the logging heyday in the early 20th century. Mags geeks out on a sun bleached full deer skeleton on the trail behind their home. Josh and Heidi are like minded activists and dear friends. We hope that we might live together some day.
Rocky Peak
Team RunStuRun!
After nine weeks of training with Mags as his running coach, Stu ran the San Francsico Marathon in record time! Four hours and seven minutes for his first formal running event ever! Stu was tempted to leave the course at mile 25 for free whiskey and rock music, but resisted the lure and ran on. We had a nice team of supporters at the finish line. Thanks to all who came out!
Helen and Pablo with our champion!
In August, we camped at Samuel P. Taylor State Park with Peter, Monica, and Adam. We took a few nice long hikes to the Pointe Reyes and Bolinas beach. The trails are amazing– brush and rolling green hills, forest and beaches all in a few minutes. Bolinas is a cute little town; tiny strip of independently owned mom and pop shops, barefoot surfers walking around, dogs running wild. A handful of art studios beckoned us in. We stayed at the only hotel/saloon that has been there since Gold Rush times. The water there is so clear blue and warm. It feels like another country rather then just 30 miles from San Francisco. We love the feel of a small town like Bolinas, but the Marin real estate is out of our price range.
Willamette River Gorge
In Late August, Mags flew to Portland for a Level 2 course on PT for Pregnancy and Postpartum Patients. She got there early and stayed a few extra days to visit friends and check out the town. Anna and her kids took me out to see the Multnomah Falls the “2nd longest Waterfall in the US” and we went for a swim and sang songs in the Sandy River. Anna’s hubby Chad brought me a loaf of Dave’s Spelt bread (so tasty!) Martha and John hosted me and made
Urban GoatsSidewalk Horserings for every house
Roasted Chicken, heirloom tomatoes, organic everything. Delicious!
me amazing dinners all week long. Tony introduced me to some of Portlands Finest Rock bands and we went for a hike on Portland’s dormant volcano. Portland is clean, beautiful, and progressive. It’s very bike friendly, arty, and real estate is affordable. It has so many things going for it, but we question our ability to farm and thrive in the cloudy wet weather.
Lampost to Narnia? Mt Taber