California July 2007 - 1

After packing up our entire belongings (so we can move to our new house with a complete and separate apt. with the parents when we return), Dad dropped us off at Stewart Int'l airport in Newburgh (a 15 min drive and our fav new place to fly out of) and we had 3 hours to wait for a weather delay..."What? You want us to sit here and not pack a thing for 3 hours...NO problem!" Three hours later, a nice and unexpected bump up to business class and we were on our way to Atlanta. After being spoiled by the expanse of room on our way south we just had to ask how much it would cost to bump us again for the long flight to SFO. Only $80 each? Oh, yes, we'll take two please. So what did we get each other this year for our 2nd anniv? Two wide leather seats and constant drink refills and pleasant demeanor of some flight attendants. Did you know that when you stand up in the aisle to get something, they WAIT for you to be done. They don't knock you over with a stern excuse me and pass you with an annoyed look on their face like they do in coach. It's glorious.

Below is our first night's accomodation just 8 blocks away from the ocean in SF. Thanks to Carrie's friend Daniel for putting us up for night one.

California July 2007 - 3

Our first week was glorious and all to ourselves complete with strolls along the little town of Half Moon Bay, days at the beach and a full day in bed! Just what we needed before starting training and camp.

And guess what we did on July 2nd (our 2nd anniv)? We married ourselves again in the very spot we had our wedding ceremony at Slide Ranch overlooking the ocean (and our turtle rock pictured above). We "a-newed" our vows to each other and then sat and watched the hawks fly and listened to the waves crash below. That's the benefit of not having (or being able to outside of MA) to get married legally--you can do it wherever, whenever and however you want. Below we are pictured in front of the yurt where we had our reception.

For our last wkd before camp started, we headed to as close to Carrie's birth mountain (Mt. McKinley) as we could get on a wkd drive and found ourselves in Kings Canyon National Park. Carrie had some woo-woo (as we affectionately call it) homework to do for her Shaman training there and I sat by the water, took some photos and tried not to pass out from the heat and the 6,000 ft above sea level altitude. We got to go right in the water near some waterfalls which dropped the heat down from 96 degrees to 75. On the way out of the canyon we stopped by her favorite family restaurant called Sals which has ridiculous mexican food.

It seems like we've been here forever and what's more odd is it feels like we aren't visiting at all...once we got to the East Bay it has just felt so utterly normal, it feels like we live here again. "Are you visiting Ca this summer?" "Oh, no, we live in Ca one month a year." Maybe someday we'll get to live here for a longer part of the year but for now, we are truly enjoying wearing all the neccessary layers (it's all about layers here with temps in the am at 58 up to 80 during the day and back to 60 at night) and soaking up the land and smells and fabulous food of our one month/year home.

California July 2007 - 2

Day two of our trip takes us south of SF to the Montara Lighthouse Hostel just a few miles north of Half Moon Bay. As we stepped into the office of the hostel we saw a sign posted on the wall that read "Kundalini Yoga Friday morning with John from England". Ok the sign said a little more but that was the jist. So later while walking down the narrow path from the back of the hostel that lead to the ocean I see a man and woman videotaping and photographing themselves, dressed in white by the sea. John is pictured on the rock (we found out they are filming for dvds that they came to CA to make). Later that night, Carrie and I introduced ourselves and spent hours talking to our two new friends, John and Lindsey from across the pond (John does both yoga and tai chi and Lindsey is becoming a tai chi teacher). The next morning we took John's class and afterwards sat down for breakfast. Lindsey shared her Korean green tea, another hosteller shared her cherries and we shared some of our Noah's bagels (or rather, dough-rings as my friend Gretchen calls these CA bagel imposters). John ate the largest bowl of oatmeal and fruit I have ever seen a human being consume. He said it's all he'll need for a good while.

Day three brought us only 3 more miles south to my friend Amanda's roomate's house in El Grenada (near HMB). Thanks to Amanda (pictured with us) and her housemate (and house owner) Marc, we are staying about a week here in this million dollar home, all to ourselves, for $25 a night. Oh, yes, it's good to have friends. It's now day four or five, I'm gleefully losing count...

Yesterday we wandered through Half Moon Bay and did something we haven't done in ages--we bought things for ourselves! I bought a beautiful colorful new sun hat and

four small square orangy colored candles. Carrie got these sexy burgundy bamboo salad bowls and we each got these funky white coffee mugs--one says "create" the other says "pause"...things we both want to be reminded of. Oh, but that's not all. Then I bought C a sanskrit chant cd and got myself a writers book about San Francisco. Shopping is FUN!

Right now while I type my beautiful wife (of two years tomorrow) reads a new book she bought herself at the airport. I have a great view of her perfect elbow and her sexy arms. And despite what many married couples keep telling us, we keep falling in love with each other over and over again, for as I said two years ago out on the bluff overlooking the same ocean that is now only blocks away from us, she is the best one.