The first day of autumn has passed and despite the warm daytime weather, the evenings are a little chilled ripe for warm pumpkin spiced drinks and wrapping ourselves in cozy blankets. It has been quite a while since updating you, my gentle readers, on my everyday adventures. So, make yourself a mug of tea, wrap yourself in a cozy wool blanket, and enjoy a quick read of this blogpost.
Optimism was high at the start of the year, but soon it was clear that the new year was starting similar to the dumpster fire that was 2020. Despite the COVID protocols and associated struggles, there has been many bright spots. My nephew, Matteo, and his wife Naomi moved to Sacramento in 2020. As much as I love both of them, I'm really only putting up with them to support one of my greatest joys, spending time with my grand niece Larkyn.
She is super cute, always cautious around her Guncles for the first 30 minutes or so but warms up pretty quickly and charms us all with her brilliant smile and sparkling eyes.
Larkyn enjoying her 1st Birthday with mom, and her guncles.
Of course it was unicorn themed...
A mini bundt cake will put a smile on anyone's face.
Easter, a day most sinners eschew. Our normal Easter tradition, spending the day at the Hunky Jesus contest in Alamo park in SF, has been foiled two years in row by pandemic mandates. In lieu of the Hunky Jesus contest, we share Easter brunch with our next door neighbors. Of course it is as you would imagine, lots of champagne cocktails, waffles, and more champagne cocktails. We also incorporate an Easter Bonnet contest. This year the grand prize was an actual trophy, coveted by all.
Family, weird but fun! Recycled Tiger King Bonnets, no one attends without a bonnet. (Fortunately there is no lack of bonnets in our household...a veritable basement full of them).
I don't care who you are...this is adorable. Larkyn's drag queen training continues everytime we buy an outfit, that's for sure.
Not quite an Easter bonnet parade, but marching in parades makes it more likely you'll spill your cocktail.
The triplets...All with homemade bonnets.
I've named my bonnet, Juevos con Jesus...a modest and classy chapeau.
This bonnet is flamboyant and mysterious, much like the fashionista wearing it.
Je suis Peeps, deux. Yosiell, ever the fashionista.
Our quirky and fun neighbors up for anything, after a few cocktails. DIY homemade hats.
Pablo designed his hat inspired from our story of another legendary hat...yes, the BLT Tacky party story of Wayne Wilson ripping apart a giant silver egg on his head as at least 100 peeps flew all over the yard. Je Suis Peeps indeed. Pablo made his hat so Peeps would fly out of the top. That's the kind of commitment we admire so of course he won the trophy. Pablo now gets to present the trophy to next year's winner...I'm not sure anyone else is going to get it because he loves that trophy ALOT.
Spring and the pandemic continued to rage. One of the positive side effects of the pandemic has been a shifting of our social priorities. The outings and the adventures are severely curtailed, one only wishes to chance an encounter with those that are part of your chosen family. We managed to find diversions and opportunities to see our closest loved one.
Sonoma wine tasting with the ever elusive Monique and Lance. A beautiful May day filled with good friends, laughter, and booze of course.
Michelle and Rusty sampling the local wines and strolling the Gundlach Bundschu grounds.
Buena Vista winery in all of our finery. Michelle, Lee, and Rusty tasting all that Buena Vista has to offer.
SF Gay Pride this year came and went without much fanfare. We did manage to catch a drink in the Castro to show our pride.
Gay pride drinks in a Castro outdoor parklette...
Rusty enjoying the rainbow splendor.
4th of July rolled around and we chose to enjoy it poolside with the incomparable and incomporably patriotic Lee and Michelle.
4th of July in the Pleasanton hills, enjoying the pool...
Giant Jenga! It's always fun until a wooden brick smashes into the glass table...
Deep thoughts on life, the universe, and whether there are any more pulled pork sandos.
Bring on the fireworks...said no one ever in the dry fire prone hills of California.
A complete picture of relaxation and patriotic pride.
An excellent way to spend the fourth for sure.
What to do in the middle of summer during a pandemic to take a little vacay? Follow every other Californian and drive to Oregon of course. During the month of July, Rusty and I did a pre retirement trip to Oregon, Both of us are still pretty far out of retirement age, but have decided to start taking trips checking out potential places to settle post our public service jobs.
First stop? Ashland, Oregon. A lovely college and theatre town with a cute downtown area. A great place to visit but due to excessive heat definitely not a place we would ever settle.
Trying to beat the hot weather in Ashland.
We sat down at a wonderful open air beer and cider bar, and met very friendly local residents to pick their brains on living in the area. Ashland is well worth a quick stop over, even without the Shakespeare Festival.
The highlight of our trip was taking a day trip to crater lake in Eastern Oregon. The lake was absolutely gorgeous. It is the deepest lake in the United States and I venture to guess the bluest lake, The whole scenery was absolutely breathtaking.
Absolutely stunning, the blues of the lake were so vibrant and mesmerizing.
Rusty completely in his happy place here on the side of the lake.
After a long school year of distance learning, sitting on the edge of this lake truly kicked in a state of euphoria.
After a day in what can only be described as heaven on Earth, we went to Portland. This was truly a pre-retirement trip researching places in and around Portland. We did find some very attractive small towns on the Washington state side of the river. Even though we were enamored with several of the towns, we didn't take any post worthy photos.
After a few days in Portland we headed off toward the Oregon coast and a brief stay in Astoria. An amazingly beautiful part of Oregon to be sure. Astoria is certainly a strong contender for retirement, the biggest drawback is the drive to the largest and airport is just over two hours, in Portland.
Beautiful but chilly evening on the coast.
Amazing sunsets in Astoria.
The Oregon Film Museum, it's pretty much the Goonies film museum. This old courthouse was in the old 80's flick, the Goonies.
This grand Victorian was also in the film Goonies, and played the part of a museum.
After wandering all of the locations in the Goonies, we took a few hours to climb the Astoria column. The column has a narrow staircase going all the way to the top. Not for the claustrophobic or those afraid of heights.
Here we are on top of the Astoria column. The gift store sells balsa wood flyers. Lots if kids and adults were tossing the flyers off of the column trying to fly down to the bottom of the hill. (Most were stuck in the trees and I guess environmentally not too bad since the flyers actually break down eventually into mulch).
Panoramic view from the top.
You gotta appreciate a place that puts a huge phallic symbol towering above all. One has to wonder whether the column is a good omen for a place to move.
Elk on the side of the road? What?
Not just one, but a whole herd.
On the way out of town we stopped at Haystack Rock. A spot also featured in Goonies (although from the movie one gets the impression this natural feature is only a bike ride away from town, it took a good forty minutes to drive there). A little know fact, this is the only known place on this coast that puffins are known to nest.
As we were searching for puffins through our binoculars, we noticed a bald eagle flying from the forest and trying to grab a midday seagull chick snack. The seagulls went to war over this and drove that eagle unceremoniously back to the forest. An exciting show courtesy of Mother Nature.
After, we travelled down he coast and back toward our humble lives in California. On the way, we stopped several places, including a random spot that boasts an arch rock.
In complete awe of the staggering beauty available to those who stop and take it all in!
"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air," Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Unusually bright and warm for a summer day on the Oregon Coast.
Mature gents taking a stroll on the beach recharging our souls starved by COVID 19 quarantining.
Sea life just hanging out at the beach.
As we continued down the coast, we spent a day in the Redwood National Park. This was checking off a box for me as I have a plan to visit every one of our National Parks. There are sixty two parks and so far I've visited eight.
Rusty standing in front of a Redwood that is over 1,500 years old. Humbling to be sure.
Lush, green waterfall. The face of two happy hikers to be sure.
Alas, the vacay eventually had end, and we headed back reluctantly to our home on the bay in Oakland. Being a school site principal is no easy task during this age of pandemic mania. This start of the school year has been perhaps the hardest beyond my first year as an administrator. We are reinventing all that we have known abut educating students and often making it up as we go along. As difficult as it has been, each educator takes comfort in the fact that we have been in person. Our students are resilient and have been slowly getting back their sea legs on the big ship that is public education.
Beyond work, we have been taking full advantage of the fall. We attended a very scaled back Oakland Gay Pride, with pretty big name drag queens, La La Rie and Trinity K Bonet (Front the ATL).
Enjoying the warm October weather. Oakland Black Pride actually put the event on and although small we certainly enjoyed the event and the focus on our LGBTQ POCs.
La La Rie lip syncing the house down!
No matter the time of year, we often find ourselves wine tasting at our favorite spot, Buena Vista in Sonoma.
Ir is clear we spend waaaaaaaayyyyy too much money here. We made a reservation for wine tasting with Liz and Paul, friends near and dear to our hearts, and they sat us in the reserved tasting room. We felt like huge ballers...
Paul insulting the wine steward with his Boones Farm Tickle Me Pink tastes. Rusty and Paul went to high school together in Fayetteville, NC...40 years ago...This is a 40+ year friendship...how cool is that?
Rusty enjoying the fruits of someone else's labors.
Liz and myself enjoying the luxury of which we have quickly become accustomed.
And before you know Halloween is upon us.
This years creepy mantle courtesy of Yosiell and his talented design skills.
Spooky home to terrify on Halloween night.
Our annual Halloween house decorating with the next door neighbor kid, Pablo. We try to do this every year for Halloween and Christmas. We get to sugar the kids up and send them back home...best guncles ever.
Theresa constructing a baking masterpiece, worthy of the Great British Bake Off.
As we wrap up this extended Blog Post, a few odds and end to share.
Recently, we went to the Bearisson Street Fair. And at the end of the afternoon and were treated to Big Dipper, a large bear rapper that is absolutely hilarious and absolutely talented. With hits like La Croix Boy, Chunkita, and Thiccness. He espouses body positivity and is a great representative of the Bear Community.
Big Dipper hitting it hard, he has an amazing amount of energy. I venture to guess that he may be replacing my favorite street fair performers, The Ethel Merman Experience, and Polkalicious.
Well, gentle reader you have been patient during this data dump of random 2021 experiences. Just one more interesting tidbit, a few months ago I was thinking of my Army days and my thoughts drifted to my best friend from those days, Jeanne Robinson. Jeanne reached out to me recently and what a joy it was to get a phone call from this amazing woman with whom I have shared so much in my young impressionable days, including a few sordid adventures, only shared by me sitting in a dive bar drinking one too many bourbons.
Jeanne and I in front of the Frankfurt Opera fountain, late 80's. Such wonderful experiences and friends that have shaped the person I am today.
Well, gentle reader, thanks for staying with me for this long and rambling journal. We are looking forward to the holidays, starting with Halloween - in our neighborhood we get about 300 kids coming to the door, that's alot of candy! Although the pandemic has not ended, I'm hoping the holidays inspire us to reach out to each other and reconnect as much as possible. Enjoy the remaining days of Autumn.
