port costa, california

I've moved from being a Big Sur gal to a Point Reyes hiker. Now I am in love with a new neighborhood, 25 minutes from my house, Port Costa. It's an old rowdy port town that's fallen from economy. Now it's turned into a haven for road bikers and motorcycle dudes.

We came out today for the best brunch ever, chicken and cheddar waffles! The Bull Valley Roadhouse, is the type of eatery that's just my style. Not too stuffy, lots of personality, and the food is amazing. We had dinner here once before and it was excellent! 

the general

I was desperate to see General Sherman, for my tree collection. I want to see the most famous tress before I die. Like Hyperion, Pando, Methuselah, and Tjikko. The General was up on my list. Last year, the last camp that we did was to Sequoia Park just to see the tree. I am very familiar with Coastal Redwoods, so it was very interesting to visit their Eastern cousins. The trees are scattered, not together like the redwoods. Its thick, cinnamon color bark makes it easy to spot while hiking.

petit pâtissier

Years ago, I stumbled across Herriott Grace. A beautiful photographer and also pastry lover, like myself. She seemed like the kinda girl I would be best friends with. Her father does woodworking and lovingly makes wooden plates, cake stands, spreaders, spoons, and rolling pins. They sell out really fast, so I emailed Nikole, the owner, and asked for the next rolling pin and if she had a smaller one as well. I told her that I wanted to give it to my daughter when she was old enough to bake with me. Kaia was shy of two at the time. Here's a snippet of the email exchange from years ago:

runawaygray	2/25/10
to herriott

thanks Nikole! I can't wait. I have a little girl I named Kaia Miette. Miette is French for little crumb, because I love baking so much and she's like my crumb and I am the cake! I am going to gift the smaller rolling pin to her when she's old enough to use it and I hope she passes it to her kids when she is older. :)

herriott grace	3/2/10
to me

Hi Tricia,

I've wanted to reply properly but, it's been a crazy last little while. Anyway, this message really made my day, I'm so glad you sent it. Really. Thank you for sharing with me, that's about the best name I've ever heard.

Hope your pins arrive soon!
Nikole

This Christmas, I thought it was time now for Kaia to start baking. So I had her rolling pin under the tree. When she discovered what it was, she was overjoyed! 

We have a tradition of making cinnamon buns for Christmas Eve morning and it was a perfect chance for Kaia to use her new tool. 

sixth at circus

For Kaia's 6th birthday we rented out Kinetic Arts. The kids got to do silks, trapeze, rope, and gymnastics. The ever-loving cat lover, Kaia wanted to be a tiger girl for her birthday.

a kinder first day

Kaia is now halfway through her first year in school. She is doing quite well! She is reading and doing simple maths. She very good in art and math.

Kaiser is located in a tony neighborhood on a hill. As Kaia was walking to school, she turned to me to say she was very nervous.

The school is small and services students around Oakland, it is not a neighborhood school.

Kaia giving us her game face.

No idea what this was about!

The first bell rang, time to line up!

Ms. Vineyard starts the day by telling the kids to say goodbye to their parents. This is Kaia's "what the hell did I get myself into" face.

lassen last year

Oh hello there! I totally forgot to update you all of 2014! It was the year of camping for us. Just to recap a few things, we went to Japan with Kaia, went camping all over the place from the Redwood Empire to Yosemite. One of our favorite places is this unknown gem, Lassen Volcano National Park. It was easy to get to, hardly anyone camping and very beautiful.

Lassen is the only park where all four types of volcanoes can be observed! Shield! Plug Dome! Cinder Cone! Composite!

This is the Bumpass Hell trail. Lots of sulfur activities happening. We saw mini geyers, bubble pots, and iron pyrite.