In October, we finally made it to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, a three day music festival held every year in Golden Gate Park where bluegrass, country and folk artists come to entertain huge crowds of people from the Bay Area with their banjos and guitars. It was Lily's birthday and we spent a lovely afternoon with her, lying in the grass, soaking in the sun, and listening to the music.
As the year came to a close, we packed up our belonging, said a farewell (for now) to San Francisco and drove over the Bay Bridge to our new home in West Berkeley.
Though moving was a stressful experience, we offset this by taking a few days off with Pia to relax in a seaside cabin in Mendocino.
Because it was raining most of the time we were there, we spent many hours indoors, doing yoga and meditating or watching the waves crash against the rocks below. We did get a few hikes in, and the coastline area all along the North Coast is beautiful.
Our favorite was Glass Beach, a former town dump now home to a muted rainbow of sea glass.
Dustin, Courtney and Amine were in town for December/January so we were able to spend New Years Eve with them, and with Sascha, at our new home in Berkeley. The house we are renting is loaded with musical instruments including a harmonium, a sitar, numerous drums and guitars, and various other instruments of every shape and size, so we welcomed the new year with good food, great friends, and a lot of mediocre music.
Soon after, we left for Connecticut and Massachusetts to visit family. Candice just had a new baby boy, and we checked out the new family home being built by Christopher's parents. It was wonderful to be surrounded by our family once more.
Since our trip home, we have begun settling in quite nicely at our new life in Berkeley. We added a few new acomplishments to our skillset: Christopher just finished a two-day workshop and got certified in First Aid, and Pearl started Wing Chun classes a few blocks from our house and is learning self-defense. At present, we are helping Sascha put together his website for his healing practice.
The next few months will remain busy as always, but we are hopeful that we can include some hikes, music practice, and writing amidst the craziness. We’ll keep you posted of any adventures along the way!
