Fall colors pop in Northern Michigan. Biking with my dad near Bellaire at Glacial Hills! Exploring Glacial Hills Mountain Bike Path with Jane and Jeremy. What a cool spot. Must be fairly new, it wasn’t around when Jane and I were in high school. I took my dad back the following week.

Fall has arrived in full regalia to Charlevoix, Michigan. The rolling hills are blanketed in golds, reds, and oranges, and glow in the afternoon sun…when it’s not raining…which is half of the time. We spent the week with both sets of my parents, my dad and Diane, my mom and Denny. Hiking, biking, kayaking, eating…

As we were leaving Seattle on Wednesday, we drove down I-5 along the east edge of Lake Union, overlooking the boat houses nestled along the waters edge, and the distant skyscrapers downtown. Van windows rolled down, sunshine reflecting off the water, the city felt like home. But we headed east on I-90, which transects America…

Santa Cruz has been one of my favorite costal California cities since the fabulous evening my brother, sister and I spent eating sushi at the Pink Godzilla. We were on our way back to Chelsea’s apartment in San Francisco after a weekend diving in Monterey. This time around, Felix and I camped at New Brighton Beach State…

Venice Beach was a great surprise, beautiful sand, great vibe, surfing at the pier. Alison lived just a few blocks from the beach along the canals. When my mom was young and visited Venice Beach, hippies lived in little shacks along the canals. Things have changed! We loved staying with Alison in her little bungalow…

Next stop: San Diego, where my mom grew up, my granma lives, and my cousin Steve and his fiancé Thilinie make plans for their future. AND the water is so warm, no wetsuit is necessary! Finally, back to surfing in a bathingsuit! We love it! We stayed with Steve and Thilinie for a few nights in…

Lake Tahoe Felix, Robin, Erwin and I left Burning Man on a Tuesday morning before the sun came up. We drove into Reno to put a few things in storage, wash our clothes and the van, and eat a lot of vegetables, something we were all lacking on that dry, desert lake bed. Then we headed…

Our next adventure was Burning Man. Chelsea and Dave have been going for years. They love Burning Man, organize a large camp, and begin planning for the next Burn almost as soon as this years is over. I usually can´t go because it occurs the last week in August and the first week in September…

After a few days in Seattle, we headed south to Oregon to explore the coast along Highway 101. We took two weeks, and made it as far south as Eureka, California, camping, hiking, and checking the coastline for surf spots. The first week, wind and lack of swell made for poor surfing. We jumped in…

  Last week we took a three day road trip, a trial run in the new van. Chelsea and Dave helped us stock our supplies – guitar, bocci ball set, solar shower – and we headed southwest, out to the base of the Olympic Peninsula, to Westport. We heard that this quiet fishing village has one of…