What, no kids on a holiday weekend? Time to pack a tent and hit the road!
Jeri and I had a wonderful weekend in the North Bay and Sonoma Coast. All campsites were full because of the 4th. but we had the perfect spot with our good friend Nansee, her vast and gorgeous garden tucked against the vineyards with a wide view of the valley.
We caught DJ Feral’s set at the Hookah Dome gig on Saturday night and woke early Sunday ready for a day of cruising and fun.
The day was well into the mid 90’s by the time we go moving but we found the cool spot at Bodega Bay and hugged the coast North through Jenner and on towards Fort Ross.
We took a random right turn of highway 1 to get back to the valley and were immediately on dirt tracks but pressed on feeling more than equipped in the Jeep and were treated to the most amazing drive through the coastal mountains eventually winding up in Monte Rio on the Russian River. We followed our noses to a fabulous restaurant (Village Inn) and had the most romantic dinner I can remember for ages.
Calling this a perfect day we headed back towards Sabastapol through Gurneville and were amazed to see the town packed with people before realizing that they were getting ready for fireworks. As we went over the river on our way out of town we couldn’t resist and found a choice spot on the bridge to watch the show…. put on, it seemed, just for the two of us.
Category: seasonal
I get it!
It’s not about the man in the red suit or the baby in the manger… it’s the “good will to all men” bit that’s the big deal.
Its an anthropological deep-rooted itch that all cultures scratch. it’s “Chrismanukkahwanzaadan”.
We send cards, emails and go to parties, “pinging” our tribal groups. We “unScrooge” with acts of altruism and charity and make our world twinkle in lights. Our Clan of blood and kin gathers, traveling and sleeping over; sharing food, joy, tears, love, babies, gossip and gifts. It’s a tactile time of hugs, back slaps and mistletoe, a four million year old relic of scent-trade bonding.
Homo Sapians needs Christmas… or what ever you want to call it.
I wish you a merry one.
It can also be breathtakingly beautiful, as we saw on Christmas Eve in Woodstock, Illinois.
We hardly need an excuse to gush some love around here, but for those of you who missed getting a card, here’s one form Ursula.
I grew up literally in the shadow of Pendle Hill, the place most associated with witchcraft in England. It is a sinister place even on a nice day, but in these winter months when the fog drops and the wind howls in the bare trees, it can be a truly frightening place
In the year 1612, the Lancashire witches; Alizon Device, Elizabeth Device, James Device, Anne Whittle, alias Chattox, Anne Redferne, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewitt, John Bulcock, Jane Bulcock & Isobel Robey were hanged at Lancaster gaol, for the crime of witchcraft.
The Pendle Witches, as they became known, were believed to have been responsible for the murder by witchcraft of seventeen people in and around the Forest of Pendle.
http://www.pendlewitches.co.uk/content.php?page=home
There is also a very strange curiosity that sometimes reveals itself to the lucky, sharp-eyed or drunk. As the snow melts in the shadows and gullies the witch is seen again riding over Pendle.
