Part 1: Nov 14-17 - LA

Nathan and I each ended the year with business trips, to Miami for him and LA for me. I arrived quite early the first day and took the train in from the airport, allowing me to visit a few new-to-me neighborhoods. I took a walking tour with stops to work in a teahouse with dim sum in Chinatown and a coffeeshop in Little Tokyo with matcha ice cream, plus a stroll through the El Pueblo district. Unfortunately I wasn't hungry enough to sample any tacos. 

After killing enough time to check in, I headed for my hotel in a more familiar part of the city - Hollywood. I didn't revisit any of the tourist sites there, but did get a nice morning run to the Hollywood Reservoir one day. I got to see some wildlife, a different view of the famous sign, and views back over the city.

I stayed there because there were no hotels anywhere near the conference venue, a villa on Mulholland Drive. Definitely scenic and residential, accessible only by Uber to me, and by exotic status symbol vehicles to other attendees.

Part 2: Thanksgiving in Petaluma - Nov 28-Dec 7

To take advantage of holiday time off, we had to use our Thanksgiving Day to drive from Eugene to the Bay Area. A well worn route from our days of traveling with the dog! We stopped for the first time by Mount Shasta for a very quick hike to the lake.

We spent Thanksgiving night reheating leftovers in a giant Home Exchange house in a quiet, private community with a little pond and lovely pastoral views.

The next morning we took a hike at nearby Bodega Bay. Again we encountered plenty of wildlife, including dozens of deer, hawks, sea birds, and bobbing heads of harbor seals in the distance.

Our friends from SF came up to meet us for an oyster happy hour and returned to stay at the house with us for the rest of the long weekend. We got to revisit the nearby town of Healdsburg to sample plenty of culinary delights, and took some home for a post-Thanksgiving feast. We also stopped at one of our favorite Dry Creek vineyards, Saini, for wine tasting. I needed to reload my gifts for our Home Exchange guests, who most often come from France, and these wines are always a hit.

After our friends returned to SF, we had the rest of the week in Petaluma to explore its cute downtown, river walk, and another short hike in the hills. One fun find was the most over the top Christmas popup bar I have yet seen. Time to switch holidays!

Part 3: SF Holiday spirit - Dec 8-21

We returned 'home' to SF to see it in all its holiday glory. We got to see Union Square, the Fairmont Hotel, and this year's new video light projection displays on some of the city's landmark buildings. Here you see the Ferry Building, where I also returned to my old volunteer gig for an event. We had a couple Christmas parties with friends, and visited with our 98-year-old uncle!

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Then it was back to Eugene and Seattle to celebrate with family.

Part 4: Haight Ashbury - Feb 7-15

After the holidays up North and our roadtrip through Salt Lake City & Kanab, Utah, we made a final stop in SF. We got to stay in a Home Exchange, but with the couple living upstairs. The week stormed, but we spent that working from the flat and running to our different meetings. Lucky us, the weekend was lovely! We spent it in Golden Gate Park - one day with friends and the other walking the full length from the Panhandle to the beach.

Part 5: A last stop - Mission District - April 13-19

Nathan's company is split between Seattle, SF and Europe. They wanted to get the 4 US people together while he was still one of them, and held their event in SF. It worked great for us to spend one last week there before flying out. We stayed in the Mission-Bernal Heights area, with its amazing city views and colorful murals. Another new piece of art is the 40-foot woman in front of the Ferry Building. Finally, we caught up with friends and family for an Easter party before flying out. The sun sets on our long stop in the US - off to London!