two thousand eleven, the year that patti got lots of german language practice – scouring that rusty brain for the last remnants of any of those impenetrable ten syllable german words. the exchange rate must have been favorable this year, so we had the good fortune to catch up with some old friends who thought it might be the right time to re-visit the good ole USA!
we headed off to sea ranch in march, renting a house to accommodate six, and looking forward to sharing some gorgeous california spring weather with some friends from germany. sea ranch is one of our favorite places on the northern california coast; a former sheep ranch located along ten miles of sonoma coast, it was purchased in the 1960s with the intention of developing a planned environmental community.
famous architects were a big part of this project to build houses that have site specific relationships with the landscape and that don’t detract from the scenery. all german architects/engineers (including bim) studied this project during their university years in the 1970s. it was quite innovative at the time and is still a joy to behold!
we settled in nicely to our rental house, enjoying the views of the stormy weather through the large windows facing the ocean… waking up the following morning to news of the earthquake and tsunami in japan, all eyes glued to the television and various laptop computers, receiving english and german news of the upheaval. a little closer to home, we watched the news of the surging pacific blast into the harbors of crescent city and santa cruz, and wondered what was going to happen on our little stretch of coastline. fortified with hot coffee and breakfast, we ventured out onto the bluffs, finding access to all the beaches blocked with yellow warning tape. yes, of course, we crossed under the yellow tape and walked down the steep stairs to a beautiful little beach, the waves crashing into the shoreline and receding in what appeared to be a normal day at the coast. until that one wave, the one that just kept surging toward the cliff with no retreating! we all scrambled up onto some rocks, hanging on to our precarious balance, breathing a sigh of relief as the wave washed back out to sea, and we retreated up the stairs and stayed up on the bluff for the remainder of the day! it was a very humbling reminder of the power of nature!
we returned to sea ranch to celebrate bim’s birthday in november,
enjoying every moment of the blustery weather blowing along the coast - from blue skies and brilliant sunshine, to grey clouds, followed by horizontal rain, repeat that sequence three times per day, and toss in the occasional rainbow!
we drove up to northern oregon in may to celebrate patti’s birthday at the beach, staying in the small village of manzanita on the coast, enjoying long (too long, according to bim!) walks on driftwood strewn miles of sand.
feasting our eyes (and bim’s camera) on the awe inspiring views in every direction during the return trip along the oregon and california coast extended our trip by at least one day!
we headed the opposite direction in june, flying into chicago to attend a wedding. since we had never been to chicago, we thought it would be a good idea to stay for a few days and sightsee. and then, since it was such a long way to go (!), we thought it would be a good idea to stay for another week and drive around and get a feel for the landscape. our first stop was madison, wisconsin, first order of business a visit to the AAA office to pick up some maps and get some travel tips. the people were very friendly, and during the ensuing conversation, the travel advisor asked us where we were from. when we told her we were from northern california, her mouth dropped open and she blurted out “why in the world did you come here? i hope you are visiting family”. we had a good chuckle over that, and merrily drove on our way to explore the wilds of wisconsin. to make a long story short, about the tenth time we were asked the question “why did you come here?” – we were truly beginning to wonder that very same thing ourselves! in all fairness, we really enjoyed the frank lloyd wright architecture we visited,
and were fascinated by our stumble into round barn and amish country, enjoying delectable treats purchased from farms with no electricity, meaning all the baking was done in wood fired ovens! an eye opening look at another way of life.
chicago was a big, noisy city full of incredible art and architecture, great public transportation, a few too many rude people, one good pizza, one very bad pizza,
stunning views from tall skyscrapers,
fantastic museums, and almost complete brain overload from all the new impressions!
the summer went by all too quickly, with a stream of european visitors passing through, while we continued working on the house replacing some doors and windows; all the while anxiously awaiting the summer to really and finally arrive so the tomatoes and everything else in the garden could begin to ripen. which did eventually happen about four weeks later than usual!
we need a vacation after that crazy year, so we’ll go to kaua‘i in december. it will be the first time we have been on the island of kaua‘i since we got married there twenty one years ago!
as the days grow shorter and we linger by the fire thinking of friends near and far, memories of wonderful times sharing our lives brings a smile to our face and warmth to our hearts. we wish you joy and laughter and a bounty of special moments with friends and loved ones this holiday and throughout the new year.
our memories of the ocean will linger on,
long after our footprints in the sand are gone...
