Table Bluff, a visit to the South Jetty

We often go to the North jetty to look at the high waves or for nice walks when visitors come, but we had never been to the South Jetty. It is about 2 miles as the crow flies, but it takes about 45 minutes to get there, so it is no surprise that we had not been yet. The weather was pleasant for late January, so we decided to check it out on a Sunday afternoon.

the sun tries to shine through the clouds


CD and Holly ponder the dangers


love the self-timer

January 9th, 6.5 Magnitude Earthquake

Saturday afternoon our region experienced an 6.5-magnitude (on the Richter scale) earthquake. We were in San Francisco at the time, so we missed it. There was some damage: pictures askew, broken glass, books fell out of the bookshelf and an attempt by the wine rack to crush one of our plants.

Winter Break 2010

So, here we are in the year 2010 and our schedules have been very relaxed due to the University's long winter pause. Last year, we headed for the sunny shores of Mexico (which was great!); this year, we decided to stay closer to home. CD and Holly wanted to go snowboarding and Lake Tahoe came up: within a day's drive, midweek stay two blocks from the lifts, followed by a few days in the city!


While CD and Holly hit the slopes at Heavenly, I explored around the lake and found a great place to eat falafel while looking at the beauty of the lake. People were very friendly and I would love to go back in the summer time to enjoy the outdoor activities.


On our drive to San Francisco, we stopped in Truckee at a great lunch spot, Smokey's Kitchen and also paused to make a snowman along the road.
Whenever we go to San Francisco, we get to see lots of friends, eat good food and enjoy some of the nightlife that is lacking in Humboldt County. We ate delicious Thai and Ethiopian food. I visited with Melissa and Barb. We all got to enjoy sailing on Stu's boat around the bay. It's always fun to hang out with Wendy and Stu and we've been trying for a long time to get out on the water together, it was great to finally make it happen.


More pictures of all our shenanigans while road tripping and visiting the city here!

Christmas and New Years

We were so excited to go home to Minnesota for Christmas. We had so much fun with Dave and Paige! We went to see a production of A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie, did some sledding with fresh powdery snow, made the annual eggnog, hung out with friends Brian and Guy in Stillwater, got loads of nice presents and ate great, yummy food.

Dave on the hill:



Two great events marked our New Year's celebrations: the Graces hosted an 80's themed party and Chad and Patty came down to visit from Bellingham. As soon as they arrived, we picked out some costumes and headed out for a fun night of good conversation, food and karaoke! Chad belted out quite a rendition of Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'n' Roses. I wore my best goth imitation of the Cure's Robert Smith.


We enjoyed New year's day at a leisurely pace- late brunch out and a walk on the beach.
Before heading out, Chad and Patty wanted to explore a bit of the redwoods, so we took a quick hike around the Tall Trees Grove up north. The weather was fantastic!
I had just finished knitting a new hat and it looked so cute on Patty that I insisted that she take it! Here it is:


Wanna see all the pics? Click here!