Our last day in San Francisco, in the middle of much needed rain, we took the ferry over to Alcatraz, the infamous federal prison site.  The name was originally given by a Spanish explorer who first charted the San Francisco Bay and noted that the island was covered with seabirds and gave the island an ancient Spanish […] Continue reading →

YOSEMITE!  We woke up early from our delightful “rustic retreat” called the Yosemite Bug!  Grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out the door.  We stumbled upon a closed “welcome center” and decided to look at the map on their wall outside just to make sure we were headed in the right direction.  We noticed a […] Continue reading →

In the early 60s, Bob Dylan wrote a song that became a hit called Mr. Tamborine Man.  Mistakenly, many people thought that song was about the drug-infused culture of the time.  Dylan constantly refuted that claim.  Rather, many, who knew Dylan well, have noted that this song is about the search for transcendence by a […] Continue reading →

Our son, Ben, took 55 of his closest friends to NYC for the Climate March last month and when he was home over Fall break, he spent quite a bit of time updating his mom and dad on the current status of Spaceship Earth.  It was very cool for us to listen to Ben’s passion […] Continue reading →

After spending the night at the Old Crocker Inn, a converted hunting lodge that has become a delightful bed and breakfast, and eating the promised hearty breakfast, we headed into wine country. Sally’s brother Jim and his wife, Jill had visited a vineyard two years ago and recommended Jericho Canyon to us. We were able […] Continue reading →

What a fabulous time we are having in San Francisco!  Staying with our friend, Maggi, and gaining a wealth of information about this city and community has been wonderful. Sunday morning, Maggi encouraged us to worship at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church where Sara Miles is a deacon of the church.  I (Sally) had read […] Continue reading →

On Saturday, we grabbed the grocery bags and headed to the Farmer’s Market.  A broad selection of fresh vegetables and fruits adorned a large market.  Maggie makes this trek every couple of weeks and folks from all ethnic groups, some of whom work the land that produces what is being sold in the market and […] Continue reading →

Sally and Maggie went for a yoga class while I caught up on the news of the World Series.  The city has been alive with the energy of having the home team in the championship.  When they returned from yoga, we headed out to eat at one of the city’s well-known eateries, The Plow.  After […] Continue reading →

John Muir once referred to the Sierra Nevada as the “Range of Light.”  Here is a quote from the first chapter of his book, The Yosemite:   And after ten years of wandering and wondering in the heart of it, rejoicing in its glorious floods of light, the white beams of the morning streaming through the […] Continue reading →

        After a good night’s sleep, and a couple of drip cups of coffee thanks to Maggie Henderson who is letting us stay with her, she directed us to a hike up Twin Peaks.  We left her house and found the stairs up to the road that leads to a path and makes […] Continue reading →