Back to the Bay, Part One
Nov. 21st, 2022 04:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shannon_aWe flew back to the Bay Area on Friday to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. The first few days we spent in San Martin.
It was a great family stay with my mom and Bob. Rob flew in the same night as we did from a work trip to Oregon, so we saw him that night, then Jason stopped by on Saturday, then the whole family was there on Sunday, so we got to see everyone.
There was much gaming. I brought _Railroad Ink Challenge_, _Boomerang: Australia_, and _Between Two Cities_ and we played all of them. _Boomerang_ was the biggest hit, with both Jason and Bob picking up wins at various times. _Railroad Ink Challenge_ was a flop, in part because Bob's drawing was so bad that it was indecipherable at the end. (It's also a more thoughtful and strategic game that takes more learning.) _Between Two Cities_ went well as always, and it's really a delightfully social game, with you always talking to your two partners, so I thought it was great for family play.
There was much eating. Sunday was a typical Thanksgiving dinner, held early because Jason, Lisa, and their family will be elsewhere on Thanksgiving proper. So, tasty turkey, mashed potato, gravy, cranberry, and crescent rolls (which I all love), plus stuffing and yams (which I didn't bother with because I'm not a fan of either, but that's one of the nice elements of a big family dinner). There was also a tasty shrimp dinner the night before Thanksgiving and a great pizza dinner the night before that and chicken sausages every morning, plus pancakes, bacon, bagels, and donuts on various mornings. So, much good eating.
There was much walking. Saturday my mom took me out on a great hike in the Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park (pick a name; our country is at war). We walked the Mummy Trail which was a nice ridgeline trail that gave us views of Coyote Lake to one side and San Martin and Gilroy to the other. Then today we walked The Loop, which is a paved path in a much nearer part of Harvey Bear. We of course took the dogs both times, and I got to walk Joy, who's really become a sweetie (other than what Rob calls the sonic-boom bark [or something like that]).
We also visited with goats, watched a few TV shows (the first episode of "Cabinet of Curiosities", which got a thumbs down, which is a pity because everyone on FB seemed to be loving it, and then "Bo: Burnham: Inside", which was an interesting comedy-special look at life during the pandemic).
Finally, I got to meet my nephew and other niece more than I ever had before. Julian is very smart and somewhat wild. Lucy is super sweet, and at one point insisted on getting in my lap so she could play with the animal pieces of the game Julian and I had tried to play (an animal stacking game) before he started playing with them in other ways. (Or at least those were my impressions from a bit of one-on-one interaction.)
Overall, a great couple of days. I was thrilled to get to spend time in San Martin twice in just a few months.
It was a great family stay with my mom and Bob. Rob flew in the same night as we did from a work trip to Oregon, so we saw him that night, then Jason stopped by on Saturday, then the whole family was there on Sunday, so we got to see everyone.
There was much gaming. I brought _Railroad Ink Challenge_, _Boomerang: Australia_, and _Between Two Cities_ and we played all of them. _Boomerang_ was the biggest hit, with both Jason and Bob picking up wins at various times. _Railroad Ink Challenge_ was a flop, in part because Bob's drawing was so bad that it was indecipherable at the end. (It's also a more thoughtful and strategic game that takes more learning.) _Between Two Cities_ went well as always, and it's really a delightfully social game, with you always talking to your two partners, so I thought it was great for family play.
There was much eating. Sunday was a typical Thanksgiving dinner, held early because Jason, Lisa, and their family will be elsewhere on Thanksgiving proper. So, tasty turkey, mashed potato, gravy, cranberry, and crescent rolls (which I all love), plus stuffing and yams (which I didn't bother with because I'm not a fan of either, but that's one of the nice elements of a big family dinner). There was also a tasty shrimp dinner the night before Thanksgiving and a great pizza dinner the night before that and chicken sausages every morning, plus pancakes, bacon, bagels, and donuts on various mornings. So, much good eating.
There was much walking. Saturday my mom took me out on a great hike in the Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park (pick a name; our country is at war). We walked the Mummy Trail which was a nice ridgeline trail that gave us views of Coyote Lake to one side and San Martin and Gilroy to the other. Then today we walked The Loop, which is a paved path in a much nearer part of Harvey Bear. We of course took the dogs both times, and I got to walk Joy, who's really become a sweetie (other than what Rob calls the sonic-boom bark [or something like that]).
We also visited with goats, watched a few TV shows (the first episode of "Cabinet of Curiosities", which got a thumbs down, which is a pity because everyone on FB seemed to be loving it, and then "Bo: Burnham: Inside", which was an interesting comedy-special look at life during the pandemic).
Finally, I got to meet my nephew and other niece more than I ever had before. Julian is very smart and somewhat wild. Lucy is super sweet, and at one point insisted on getting in my lap so she could play with the animal pieces of the game Julian and I had tried to play (an animal stacking game) before he started playing with them in other ways. (Or at least those were my impressions from a bit of one-on-one interaction.)
Overall, a great couple of days. I was thrilled to get to spend time in San Martin twice in just a few months.