I really enjoyed how you wove together your recent visit, the Spanish history of the state and your memories of activities growing up in our beloved Northern California. It is so interesting how we layer the history and deeper meanings of our home place after learning about their context from living away. And as much as I enjoy the anecdotes you do keep sneaking that history in! 😉 Thanks for taking us along on this wonderful description of our home state!
Thank you, Sabrina, for, as ever, your thoughtful comments. You put into appropriate and true words the feelings and fact of living away to understand what home means once you're gone. Thank goodness that our home state provides so much rich material and is a darn beautiful place.
Andrea. I love the evocativeness of this piece combined with the geographical history and personal history. You put it all together so seamlessly! So laden with rich meaning you made me want to read every bit. What great travels you do.
I love how you interweave history with your life anecdotes (and mine 🤣😘) and with cultural connections. 💃 This was a complex , interesting read. Thank you!
This is so informative, I really enjoyed reading this. There's so much here in this delicious read – landscape, aromas, California history, personal and family history – I learned a lot! I don't think I ever knew about the donkey cart and sweet Dad's labors during the night to help you and Beth finish it. What a dear guy.
Thanks so much, Nev, for your thoughtful comments. You were probably sound asleep while Beth and I were fumbling around in the driveway. I'd rather that these blogs bring up memories of Dad over missions and ranchos any day. Except of course when they had to do with family vacations.
What a fabulous montage of pictures (both visual and woven through words), historical information, personal morsels, treats and tantalisers!! I’ve also never appreciated the Spanish influence of our beloved northern CA!
You’ve got a gift and I look forward to reading each week!! Keep up the great work!!
Thank you, Betz. I really appreciate your kind words and your faithful readership and commenting. As Sabrina said, there's a lot we don't realize, understand, or appreciate about our home until we move away. You've probably had that same experience sometimes living in Australia.
I'm still mulling over your suggestion for a post. It will come....
Thank you for sharing this California history, Andrea. I too, after almost 45 years in NYC , still say I am FROM California. My great, great grandfather came to San Francisco in 1849 from England as an 18 year old, with dreams of discovering gold. Unsuccessful in that endeavor, he made his way serving the miner community as a tanner.
As a side note, AE Kent school also had a focus on studying the missions (State curriculum ?) and I adopted the Mission in Santa Barbara, where we spent our summers visiting grandparents on both my mom and dad’s side. I remain in awe of the richness of California and the privilege we had growing up there.
Thank you for your comments and thoughts, Dana. I,too, will always be FROM California no matter what. That's an intriguing story about your great great grandfather. It's interesting how that Gold Rush period nearly two hundred years ago shaped both our lives. They made us Californians. We were/are indeed fortunate.
Me encanta leer tus historias, porq ademas de estar muy bien escritas nos permite a los lectores sumerjirnos en tus aventuras, viajar en el tiempo, pero ademas nos trasmites tus emociones y propias vivencias. Disfruto mucho leerte. ❤️❤️
This is lovely, and an unexpected connection: while I haven’t met Dru, I’ve visited and toured Full Belly Farm (and had a wonderful dinner there) thanks to Sonya (who has met her). And needless to say I’ve gotten to know and appreciate Sacramento a lot better in the last year and a half, since I met Sonya; when I was a snotty Bay Area kid, I’m sorry to say, I thought of it as just that hick town we zipped through on our way to and from skiing or camping in the Sierras.
Thanks a lot for your comment, Martin. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
That's amazing that you've been to Full Belly Farm and on top of that had dinner there. Did you go to one of the pizza nights?
On one hand, this coincidence surprises me but on the other, not in the least. You do such a variety of interesting things and this fits right in there. Did Sonya meet Dru as part of a tour or dinner or something else.
Had I been in Sacramento longer, I would have reached out to you both for some tips of places to go and things to do. I stayed on a friend's recommendation in the Citizen's Hotel. The room was lovely and the restaurant ambience and food were great. The really tough part was the incredible number of homeless and down and out people in the park across the street and around the capitol. Very sad and discouraging.
Thanks, Andrea. Sonya doesn’t know Dru well (though her friend Carrie does); she met her at one of the farm’s “Hoes Down” events, and her daughter’s Waldorf class camped at the farm many years ago. It sure is a beautiful place.
Please do let me/us know the next time you’re in Sac (or in the Bay Area!).
I really enjoyed how you wove together your recent visit, the Spanish history of the state and your memories of activities growing up in our beloved Northern California. It is so interesting how we layer the history and deeper meanings of our home place after learning about their context from living away. And as much as I enjoy the anecdotes you do keep sneaking that history in! 😉 Thanks for taking us along on this wonderful description of our home state!
Thank you, Sabrina, for, as ever, your thoughtful comments. You put into appropriate and true words the feelings and fact of living away to understand what home means once you're gone. Thank goodness that our home state provides so much rich material and is a darn beautiful place.
Andrea, my first read of the day! I love your writing style. You weave so many layers together.
Andrea. I love the evocativeness of this piece combined with the geographical history and personal history. You put it all together so seamlessly! So laden with rich meaning you made me want to read every bit. What great travels you do.
Wow, thank you, Diana! Your kind comments as well as taking the time to read these posts mean a lot to me. I'm honored.
Wonderful links - Spain and California- thanks!
I love how you interweave history with your life anecdotes (and mine 🤣😘) and with cultural connections. 💃 This was a complex , interesting read. Thank you!
I appreciate your comments and that you provide such good fodder for these blogs--at least the recent ones. I hope there will be more.
This is so informative, I really enjoyed reading this. There's so much here in this delicious read – landscape, aromas, California history, personal and family history – I learned a lot! I don't think I ever knew about the donkey cart and sweet Dad's labors during the night to help you and Beth finish it. What a dear guy.
Thanks so much, Nev, for your thoughtful comments. You were probably sound asleep while Beth and I were fumbling around in the driveway. I'd rather that these blogs bring up memories of Dad over missions and ranchos any day. Except of course when they had to do with family vacations.
What a fabulous montage of pictures (both visual and woven through words), historical information, personal morsels, treats and tantalisers!! I’ve also never appreciated the Spanish influence of our beloved northern CA!
You’ve got a gift and I look forward to reading each week!! Keep up the great work!!
Thank you, Betz. I really appreciate your kind words and your faithful readership and commenting. As Sabrina said, there's a lot we don't realize, understand, or appreciate about our home until we move away. You've probably had that same experience sometimes living in Australia.
I'm still mulling over your suggestion for a post. It will come....
Thank you for sharing this California history, Andrea. I too, after almost 45 years in NYC , still say I am FROM California. My great, great grandfather came to San Francisco in 1849 from England as an 18 year old, with dreams of discovering gold. Unsuccessful in that endeavor, he made his way serving the miner community as a tanner.
As a side note, AE Kent school also had a focus on studying the missions (State curriculum ?) and I adopted the Mission in Santa Barbara, where we spent our summers visiting grandparents on both my mom and dad’s side. I remain in awe of the richness of California and the privilege we had growing up there.
Thank you for your comments and thoughts, Dana. I,too, will always be FROM California no matter what. That's an intriguing story about your great great grandfather. It's interesting how that Gold Rush period nearly two hundred years ago shaped both our lives. They made us Californians. We were/are indeed fortunate.
Words and pictures 🙌✨✨✨
Thank you, Jolene. I'm pleased to hear that and, coming from you, am honored :)
Me encanta leer tus historias, porq ademas de estar muy bien escritas nos permite a los lectores sumerjirnos en tus aventuras, viajar en el tiempo, pero ademas nos trasmites tus emociones y propias vivencias. Disfruto mucho leerte. ❤️❤️
Muchas gracias por tus comentarios muy amables. Me hacen sentir feliz y me da mucha satisfacción que me acompañen en estos viajecitos.
This is lovely, and an unexpected connection: while I haven’t met Dru, I’ve visited and toured Full Belly Farm (and had a wonderful dinner there) thanks to Sonya (who has met her). And needless to say I’ve gotten to know and appreciate Sacramento a lot better in the last year and a half, since I met Sonya; when I was a snotty Bay Area kid, I’m sorry to say, I thought of it as just that hick town we zipped through on our way to and from skiing or camping in the Sierras.
Thanks a lot for your comment, Martin. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
That's amazing that you've been to Full Belly Farm and on top of that had dinner there. Did you go to one of the pizza nights?
On one hand, this coincidence surprises me but on the other, not in the least. You do such a variety of interesting things and this fits right in there. Did Sonya meet Dru as part of a tour or dinner or something else.
Had I been in Sacramento longer, I would have reached out to you both for some tips of places to go and things to do. I stayed on a friend's recommendation in the Citizen's Hotel. The room was lovely and the restaurant ambience and food were great. The really tough part was the incredible number of homeless and down and out people in the park across the street and around the capitol. Very sad and discouraging.
Thanks again for writing.
Thanks, Andrea. Sonya doesn’t know Dru well (though her friend Carrie does); she met her at one of the farm’s “Hoes Down” events, and her daughter’s Waldorf class camped at the farm many years ago. It sure is a beautiful place.
Please do let me/us know the next time you’re in Sac (or in the Bay Area!).
Small world. Camping there must have been a great experience for this eager little students.
I certainly will let you know next time I'm in town. Looking forward to it.