My decades of teaching grammar and composition force me to not just begin writing but to make an outline! (When will my students and my own kids ever learn the value of this?) I try to capture the special moments of our lives with photographs, so the obvious thing to do is to pull up this year's photo files to jog my memory. And, wow! I had forgotten how many places we visited and how many good times we had with family and friends throughout the year. We are so incredibly blessed with the people in our lives and so fortunate to be able to visit so many wonderful places in the world.
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| The American River below Nimbus Dam near our house |
The years of drought in California ended. The rivers were flowing high and there was record snowfall in the Sierras, so we were able once again to enjoy winter sports--snowshoeing and downhill skiing. Matthew skied with us during the Christmas holiday last year and during his spring break in early March. We also celebrated Peter's 60th birthday with a few friends while Matthew was home.
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| Snowshoeing with the Hallenbeck's |
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| Matthew beside the partially covered lift map on a mountop at Sugar Bowl |
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| Peter celebrating his 60th birthday with friends |
Katya was home for spring break later in March, and her vacation coincided with a visit from my sister Beth Ann, my niece Olivia and my dad. During the week that Beth Ann and Olivia were here, we packed in an abundance of sight-seeing: a couple of days in San Francisco and a day in Monterey; Old Sac and the Railroad Museum; and Lake Tahoe, where Olivia and Katya played in the snow while Beth Ann accompanied Dad to the casinos. In addition, on just one daytrip, we visited the Jelly Belly Factory in Vacaville, two wineries and the historic district of the town of Sonoma, Muir Woods and Sausalito! Dad continued to stay with us after Beth Ann, Livvie and Katya left, and he was happy just to rest for a few days. We took one other trip for two days to Yosemite National Park, which he had never visited. The record winter precipitation made the numerous waterfalls cascading off the cliffs into the valley more spectacular than usual.
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| Dad enjoying tea and scones at the Tuck Box in Carmel-by-the-Sea |
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| Oliva and Katya in the snow at Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe |
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| Dad and Beth Ann at the California Railroad Museum in Old Sac |
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| Peter and Dad by the Merced River in Yosemite National Park |
I flew back east with Dad after his three-week stay with us, and we enjoyed Easter with Beth Ann and her family in Ohio. Then I went on to Washington, D.C., where I stayed with my good friend Lori and was met by my friend Patty, who also stayed with Lori for a couple of days. We filled two days with museums and concerts and then took the train to New York City, where we stayed in a wonderful hotel in an historic building on the lower east side. We took two enlightening walking tours through the Tenement Museum, visited the Frick, found delightful places to eat, strolled in Central Park, and saw a Broadway musical. I also visited Hamilton's Grange and the Cloisters.
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| Sherri and Patty in the Infinity Mirrors art installation at the Hirshshorn Museum |
The spring was gorgeous in northern California. The lakes and rivers were high, and we enjoyed time out on the water in the kayaks and the canoe. Peter and I took a short backpacking trip in the Sierras in early May, hiking along raging creeks and rivers. We found a giant ground nest of pine needles beneath a towering ponderosa pine surrounded by copious amounts of bear scat. The tree's trunk bore claw marks from the nest's inhabitant that reached well above our heads. We couldn't locate the bear--probably just as well.
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| Peter examining the bear nest (the hump of pine needles around the base of the tree) |
At the end of May, the four of us went to Akumal, Mexico, for nine days. Matthew celebrated his 21st birthday in this tropical paradise. We stayed in a lovely casita by the water and enjoyed snorkeling with the fish and turtles just steps from our patio and walking along the beach. One morning we walked with two guides from the local environmental group who provided us insight into the nesting behavior of the four types of turtles that live in that area of the Caribbean. We also visited Mayan ruins, a Spanish colonial city in the interior of the Yucatan, and cenotes. Most of the time, however, we just relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine. (There are more photos and descriptions of our vacation on: https://brownsvisittheyucatan2017.blogspot.com.)
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| Peter, Katya and Matthew getting ready to descend from the top of the Upper Temple at Coba |
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| Matthew, Sherri, Katya and Peter in front of the Upper Temple |
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| Katya relaxing in a hammock at a beach restaurant in Akumal |
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| Katya, Peter, Sherri and Matthew in the treehouse area of a beach restaurant |
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| Matthew with the resident cat in Akumal |
Matthew decided to attend the Sacramento Comic Con in June in costume, as the character Howl from
Howl's Moving Castle. He and I spent many hours shopping for fabric and items of clothing and then cutting and sewing to create the distinctive diamond-shaped pattern of his jacket. Later in the month, we all enjoyed a trip to a daylily farm in Amador County and dinner in the foothills for Father's Day.
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| Matthew as Howl, in our backyard |
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| Katya, Peter and Matthew on Father's Day |
Our former exchange student from Belgium, Sam, and his girlfriend Emilie came to stay with us for two weeks this summer. With them, we visited San Francisco, poked around Old Sacramento, kayaked on Lake Natoma, took a day trip to Lake Tahoe, and went to a drive-in movie with some of his friends from high school. It was a delight to have all "three" of our grown children home at the same time.
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| Sam and Emy in Old Sac |
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| Sam and Emy waiting for the Fourth of July fireworks |
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| Katie, Katya, Peter, Darren, Alex, Sam and Emy waiting for the drive-in to begin |
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| Peter, Sherri, Katya, Matthew (He picks up all cats!), Emy and Sam |
Peter trained hard in the spring and summer and competed in Eppie's Great Race for the first time in over a decade. With his old teammate Ron and a new cyclist, they managed to take third place in the over-60 division. Of course, to gain that competitive edge, Peter had to buy yet another, faster boat for this year's race to add to our fleet. Race day was fun, but I think that Peter really enjoyed reconnecting with his many paddling buddies on training days.
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| Ron, John and Peter with their awards for their achievement at Eppie's |
July ended with the annual Rodgers beach vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. This year, once again, our crowd was joined by my friend from Washington, Lori, and her two children and a friend. They are becoming honorary family members!
Katya was longing to go camping, so Peter, she and I went to Grover Hot Springs for a couple of days before she had to return to Hawaii. Soaking in the hot pools under the bright blue mountain sky was delightful. We also enjoyed a hike to Margaret Lake high in the Sierras.
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| Katya at Grover Hot Springs |
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| Katya crossing a stream on the way to Margaret Lake |
As soon as we had got the kids off to college--literally, the day after Katya flew out--Peter and I took off for Idaho to observe the solar eclipse. The initial plan of going north for a few days for the event blossomed into a great 25-day loop tour which took us through Elko, Nevada, into Idaho, and then, after the eclipse on August 21, on to the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks; Calgary, Banff, Yolo National Park, Revelstoke National Park, Lake Okanagan, Hope, Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia; and--back in the US--Bellingham, Olympic National Park, and down the coast along the Pacific in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. (More details and photos can be found at https://solareclipse2017brown.blogspot.com.)
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| Sherri and Peter at the Great Snake River Duck Race in Idaho Falls |
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| Peter fly-fishing by our campsite on the South Fork of the Snake River |
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| Peter setting up his telescope for the eclipse |
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| The beginning of the total solar eclipse through the telescope |
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| Sherri looking at the eclipse |
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| Peter at Banff Hot Springs Hotel |
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| Sherri, Peter and Pam, whom we visited for two days in Vancouver |
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| Peter crossing the suspension bridge 150 feet above Lynn Canyon, North Vancouver |
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| Peter, Sherri and John, whom we visited in Bellingham, Washington |
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| Warning sign in Forks, Washington, fictional setting for the Twilight series |
We went on a trip in late October organized by the Northern California/Reno Tesla Owners Club to Tonopah, Nevada, an old mining town. Peter and I stopped at Devil's Postpile National Monument near Mammoth Lakes on the way. Previous attempts to visit during other road trips had been thwarted by summer mobs or winter snow. On the next to the last day of the open season this year, we had the place almost to ourselves. The geology of the area is fascinating.
In Tonopah, we stayed for two nights at the historic Mizpah Hotel. On Saturday morning, with our fellow Tesla owners, we visited the practically deserted mining town--population, 11--of Goldpoint, where two of the residents opened the saloon just for us and regaled us with stories of the place. We stopped to visit the International Car Forest in Goldfield, a few acres of desolate desert with various old, brightly spray-painted vehicles at unusual angles of repose sticking up like monoliths. In Tonopah, we spent a few hours at the Historic Mining Park and wished we had more time to take it all in. Out in the middle of the desert, there is an amazing number of fascinating things to see and learn about. And then, there was live, excellent music in the hotel lobby that evening!
On the way home, we took the long way. We meandered around June Lakes, where the aspen leaves glowed in the sunlight against the azure sky, and then headed over Tioga Pass and stopped to climb Lembert Dome and then hike in Tuolumne Meadows in the late afternoon, watching the peaks take on a rosy glow as the sky turned shades of gold, fire-orange, pink, magenta and violet as the sun set.
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| Tuolumne River in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park |
Our friends Paula and Andrew had invited us to visit them at their place on Grand Bahama. Why travel to just one place when you get close to others? Peter and I stopped first in Florida to visit my best friend from college Sue and her husband Tom. We had a wonderful time going to local wetlands and birding. They also took us to a presentation by a wreck diver, who displayed many artifacts that normally can only be seen through glass panes in a museum. This was followed by a tour led by Tom, a history buff, of the Loxahatchee Battlefield Park, the site of two skirmishes during the Second Seminole War.
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| Tom, Sue, Sherri and Peter having one of the best meals ever at a restaurant in Delray Beach where Tom's son is a chef |
We spent nine days relaxing with Paula and Andrew in the Bahamas. Really, we relaxed a lot! But we also walked on the beach, went to a botanical garden, snorkeled in the crystal-clear water, went swimming in a cenote that we had to hike to, and enjoyed a few evenings out, including one with great local musicians.
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| Andrew, Peter, Sherri and Paula snorkeling in a blue hole (cenote) |
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| Paula, Peter, Sherri and Andrew at a restaurant in Lucaya, Grand Bahama |
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| Peter walking a labyrinth at the Garden of the Groves |
From there, Peter and I headed to New York City to fulfill one of my childhood dreams, to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Everything about our three days there was perfect! We stayed in an elegant boutique hotel just south of Central Park, strolled around in the crisp autumn weather enjoying the holiday store window displays and decorations, visited holiday markets in Bryant Park and Union Square, took a tour of the NY Public Library, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, went to Thanksgiving mass at St. Patrick's on Fifth Avenue, and serendipitously found great places to eat. But the very best parts of the vacation were the parade, which we watched from the front row, just behind the parade route barriers, and then, that evening, the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. I figured this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I purchased the best seats in the house--and it was worth it. It was magical.
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| Peter and Sherri in love in New York City! |
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| Sherri and Peter waiting for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to begin |
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| Peter and Sherri at Radio City Music Hall |
December has been a whirlwind of activity, which explains why this letter is getting completed so late in the year. Just cutting down the tree, decorating it as well as the inside of the house, and putting up all the exterior lights (Peter's job) takes a few days. And then there is shopping and baking and cleaning! We have enjoyed numerous parties and holiday concerts. At the same time, I have continued to tutor, volunteer at the library and play tennis while Peter keeps kayaking and playing golf a few times a week as well as volunteering with the Boy Scouts. Our lives are full, it seems, although we still find time to read and to play board or card games a few evenings a week.
As the year ends, we hope that you also can look back on many blessings and we wish you happy holidays and a joyous and peaceful new year.
With love,
Sherri, Peter, Katya and Matthew
11913 Sailor Creek Court, Gold River, CA 95670 USA
sherribro3@pacbell.net and peterbro3@pacbell.net
916-989-5184 (home); 916-205-5184 (Sherri); 916-207-5184 (Peter)
