In the early 1940s my grandparents bought a cattle ranch on the San Francisco peninsula, in the Santa Cruz mountains west of Palo Alto, off of the California 35, which is also known as the Skyline Boulevard. My mom and her sisters and brother moved to the ranch at relatively young ages and did most of their growing up there. Eventually my grandfather left the ranch to pursue other ventures, while my grandmother decided to stay put and established on the ranch a nursery specializing in California native plants.
Category: Friends & Family
Meet ups with friends & family
No Cal loop #1
For those of you who read most of our posts or periodically peek at our map, you’re likely thinking, ‘If they’re going from Oregon to California, why are they heading north?’ Hmmm…
Chico
On our way back north, we stopped in Chico to visit David and Trudy. Dave is Katy’s brother and also Pete’s. Here in the Central Valley of California, folks grow food. Fruit, nuts, rice, cattle, and more. No surprise then that our sightseeing tour had a focus on food, with even some eating thrown in, and there were other aspects, as well.
My eastern Oregon vacation
A few weeks ago, I hopped on a plane out of Boston’s Logan airport, and headed towards Portland, Oregon. Once I landed, there was no stopping the adventures – I immediately jumped into Sue and Doug’s RV, and we headed off on our whirlwind tour through eastern Oregon.
Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Redwoods, Bodega Bay
Coming into California for me is kind of like coming home, since I was actually born here. I still have many connections to friends and family in this state, so we have some serious traveling ahead of us. Let us begin…
Continue reading “Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Redwoods, Bodega Bay”
Oregon City – like coming home
My list of people who were most influential on who I became as an adult certainly includes John and Sharon. They opened my eyes and heart to diversity, open-mindedness and life balance, allowing me to see a whole new world of possibilities. That’s a long story. The short version is that I was John’s tenant, renting the camper in his back yard in 1983-1984, when he met Sharon. Together with their kids Josh, then 5, and Michael, 7, and a few pets, we lived together as a funky alt-family. They married, and I met Doug and moved back to the east coast.
Portland – one more (urban) adventure
To round out her vacation and trip through Oregon, Mo wanted to visit a few specific places in Portland. On the last day of our week together, we set off on an urban adventure to see the city and find those places.
Cape Blanco
Mo needed to see the Pacific. Thanks to a tip from friends Dana and Muffin, we aimed for Cape Blanco, the westernmost point in Oregon and the continental US. Brilliant choice!
Crater Lake National Park
Doug had toured Crater Lake in his youth, and we visited together in 2012. Mo had never been. It’s one of those places that’s so amazing that you can visit over and over again. Let’s go! Except, uh oh, there were several wildfires just west of Crater Lake, impacting air quality and visibility. *Sigh*
Yamsi Ranch
My mother’s sister Gerda lives on a cattle ranch in southern Oregon, and has done so for close to all of her adult life. The ranch has been her family home since my uncle Hawk took it over from his uncle Buck and my aunt has been running the place with her family for decades. She is an honored cattlewoman and has been a strong matriarch of the family and the family business.