Happy Mother's Day

To all the mothers out there -- whether you mother human children, animals, communities, the earth, or just yourself -- happy mother's day! (or is it mothers day? or mothers' day?)

The family treated me to a yummy breakfast, a rumpl blanket, and for the first time in ages we went to the Thai Temple for brunch. 

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Leftover Ridge Hike

Clara and I went on a lovely hike on Sobrante (Spanish for "leftover") Ridge this morning. It threatened to rain the whole time, but only started sprinkling at the end. We found a fun swing, some cool manzanitas, and a geocache.

Happy Birthday Opa!

We celebrated Opa's 3x4x7th birthday with flowers, ethiopian food, and lots of silliness. Here's to another trip around the sun, with lots of love!

Trinity Alps Trip - Part 6 - Hike out

We planned on staying three nights, but with the flat tire and the need to pick Clara up at a specific time, we decided to be a bit conservative and hike out after two nights, car camp the third night, and have a bit more wiggle room to get the tire fixed and back to the Bay Area in time to get Clara from camp. 

In the end it all worked out and we had enough time (and energy) to take a detour up to the Grand National Mine (that's the next post). Plus, we found some fun artifacts (aka trash) on the way out. Zach remembered drinking Shasta Creme Soda when he was a kid, although I think this can is even older than that since it didn't have a pull tab. 

Trinity Alps Trip - Part 3 - Hike to Tangle Blue Lake

At last! The hike to the destination. Oh. Wait. We got a flat tire. Even though the rental truck wasn't as tough as it looked (long story on why we even had a rental truck), it did come equipped with a good spare and jack set. We made it to the trail head before the tire lost all it's air, and we decided to change the spare then, rather than wait until our departure. As the nice ranger said: our future selves would thank our current selves (and they did!). 

One tire change and a little lunch later, we were on our way. Up into the woods, over creeks, and through meadows. There were beautiful wildflowers, funny frogs, hard to spot trail guidance, and a beautiful lake at the end! 

January Snow Trip

We've done lots of other things besides take Clara to gymnastics meets. For example, here's pictures from our trip to Serene Lakes with the Newmans back in January.