Good Friends, Good Times (West Coast Style)

I’ll start by saying happy Thanksgiving to you all!  Each year it becomes clearer how much there is to be thankful for and how much we take for granted.  It was definitely hard being away from our families, unable to celebrate the “normal” Thanksgiving traditions; however, technology saved the day and we were able to spend some time with everyone via Skype. 

Not a bad turkey dinner for our party of two!
Thank you Crock Pot!

Despite our distance from home we were able to connect with great friends on the west coast that we rarely get to see.  So as Charlie indicated in the closing paragraph of his last blog, our trip south along the west coast had the purpose of landing us in San Francisco to spend the weekend with Michelle Davidson, our colleague, buddy, and one of Charlie’s roommates from PT school. 

It was a refreshing weekend spent catching up and getting a glimpse of Michelle’s world as she opens a new outpatient PT office that she is managing.  Our exploration of the city included a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, excellent dining, drinks with a view from Top of the Mark, a Trolley ride, a walk through Golden Gate Park to see the bison (yes, bison in San Francisco = bizarre!), a chance to visit with Jamie (Michelle’s hilarious younger sister), a ferry ride to the historical and intriguing Alcatraz, and we cannot forget the time we spent avoiding panhandlers (always awkward!). A bonus at the end of the weekend was the appearance of Michelle’s boyfriend, Chris who’d been gallivanting around Malaysia for work. 

Anyone would be this happy after a Burmese eating experience!
Jamie, Michelle, the O'Malleys

 

Robert Luke, former inmate of Alcatrez who was
present to give a talk and open to answer questions.
This was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

 

The time came to move on, but luckily we had another friend to visit in Sacramento…the one and only Sarah Barnes!  Sarah and I met on our annual family vacations to Vermont (Quimby Country) and have been friends and pen pals since we were 7 or 8 years old.  Charlie hadn’t met Sarah, and I hadn’t met Sarah’s fiancé Eric, so it was an overdue visit!  Sarah and Eric met as apprentices for Soil Born Farms and spent the last year co-managing a small farm in Sacramento.  We stayed with them for two nights at the Farm on Hurley Way. We were all feeling an itch for some outdoor adventure…this landed us in Lake Tahoe for a beautiful afternoon spent hiking through Emerald Bay State Park in South Lake Tahoe.

In addition to the fresh air we spent our time on the Farm drinking a ton of delicious tea, eating fresh greens grown in their garden, sausage that was the product of their recent pig roast, and freshly caught salmon (thanks to Eric’s mountain-man-like skills); additionally we learned about the trials and tribulations of farming.

Lake Tahoe, Eric, Sarah

 

Dinner is served!

 

This short but sweet visit was a perfect transition to our next stop...Yosemite National Park (NP #9 for the O’Malleys)!  We weren’t exactly sure how much of the park would be accessible because November often means snow and road closures in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, but we lucked out with more great weather and had access to all park roads.  I’ll let Charlie expand on Yosemite and get us current.  Until then…THANK YOU to our wonderful hosts, Michelle, Sarah, and Eric!