A Magical March
New blooming friends have arrived on the splendid hills of green. The California state flower, known as the California poppy, is now giving vibrant pops of orange for the eye to swoon upon. Enchanting purple lupines are right in there too, mixed in with the orange poppies. The two colors together are simply exquisite as they blanket meadow and vale. And if I must tell you of all the wildflowers in bloom at the present moment, I would be here all day.
A moment for California’s poppies.
We had the most delightful time with Ben’s. The days fairly flew as we endeavored to cram everything into five and a half days. We were able to borrow a fifteen-passenger van from Lester’s so that doubled the fun. All in one ride, we toured beautiful California. Every last one of us stood inside a huge hollow Redwood tree and marveled at its enormity, we bumped along down the steep streets of San Francisco on the cable cars and spotted Randy and Theresa and family, we drove along the famous Hwy 1 and attempted to absorb the beauty, we watched sea lions bark and play and dive, we climbed 313 steps down to the Point Reyes Lighthouse and returned up those 313 steps, we enjoyed a picnic at the Golden Gate State Park accompanied by an extraordinary view of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, we stopped for coffee, we visited Santa Cruz, we stopped for more coffee, we ate crispy, flaky croissant sandwiches with a side of panoramic sea views, but most of all… we made memories and enjoyed each other’s company. I am still sad they are gone. The morning after they left as I was dressing Elliot, he looked at me and said, “Mom, I like Unker Ben. Him a sweet guy.”
Point Reyes Lighthouse.
It was Ballico’s turn to come for Sunday service this month. Bryce, Janae, and sweet Adeline, Dallas and Kristin, and Redge and Edith came. One of the smaller groups we’ve had for Sunday, but it was a lovely day. The guys played disc golf in the afternoon and we girls walked at the park. Ended up at a Mexican restaurant for supper.
On March 19, we picked folks-in-law up at the Sacramento airport. They were here for six short days wherein we retraced a lot of our steps from a few weeks ago when Ben’s were here. Highlights were as follows: 1. Seeing WHALES at Point Reyes. The whales are migrating to Alaska right now to feed. In late summer/early fall they will travel back through here on their way to Mexico to have their babies. 2. Mom-in-law got to see a few cherry orchards still blooming. 3. Perfect spring weather. 4. Visiting Napa Valley in all its spring splendor and stopping at the old, quaint Oakville Grocery store. 5. Sampling goat cheese and fresh Brie at the Marin French Cheese Company. 6. Getting in on part of San Francisco’s Tulip Day. Every year they transform Union Square into a massive garden of 80,000 plus tulips. It is a beautiful sight to behold all those blooming tulips. Everyone was walking down the sidewalks with bouquets of tulips in every delightful color. The tulips are free, but they limit you to eight bulbs. Yes, you get to take the bulb and the bloom. Just Dutch-grown bulbs, that’s all. Probably why the line was three blocks long. 7. Stopping for coffee and gelato and taco truck tacos. 8. Sitting around the fire in the evenings in the backyard.
Oakville Grocery in Napa.
As if March wasn’t brimming already, we decided to squeeze in yet another bit of fun. An overnight tract route to Reno, Nevada. Troy and Kayla Geisbrect from West Valley went with us. (And their two adorable girls, Miranda and Eleanor.) Troy had an Air B&B booked for us all in Reno. We met up in Truckee for lunch. Truckee is just over the Donner Pass. We drove through quite a bit of snow. The evergreens were dusted in fresh snow, a foggy mist was hanging around in and out of the treetops, the ski slopes were buzzing, and the creek that followed the road was bursting with fresh snow melt. We ate lunch and then the guys dropped us girls and the kiddos off at an indoor playground while they put in a tract route there in Truckee. Coffee just felt right on that drizzly cold day, so we found and savored a cup at Wild Cherries Coffee House before heading down the road to Reno. Once we were settled into our Air B&B, Kayla and I started on supper and the guys went out to do tracts. (Btw, Kayla was a Saul from Brooksville, so we both have southern roots and know a lot of the same people. So that’s fun.) The next day after the guys had spread the word around the town, we went out for pizza at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. Spent some of the afternoon at Scheels. That is an amazing place. They have a big Ferris wheel in there that Troy wanted to take Elliot on. Elliot was completely thrilled about this plan. A good day ended with fajitas made back at the Air B&B and then a drive up into the mountains to a lookout over the city and all the glimmering lights. We packed up our stuff Sunday morning and headed out. The guys had a coffee shop they’d put tracts in the day before that they wanted to take Kayla and me to. A cute little place with character and charm and a perfect London Fog. On down the road for home. We went home through South Lake Tahoe as the road over Donner Pass was snowy and calling for all vehicles to be equipped with chains. The drive through Lake Tahoe of course was a fabulous choice. That place just doesn’t disappoint in any way. Winter in Tahoe proved to be perfectly splendid. Snow-covered mountains encircling an unreal lake of blue shining water with little white-capped waves is an awesome sight. We had to stop at Ernie’s for lunch, of course. Goodbyes were said there. Troy’s truly went above and beyond helping us with this route. Their kindness will not be forgotten. We made some good memories to cherish along the way.
I hope you all are enjoying a beautiful spring just wherever your little spot in the world happens to be. Until next time…
