bolinas

a weekend with sisters is always good for the soul, and last weekend was no exception. i have a sister in california and a sister in minnesota, and our geographical distribution prevents us from seeing each other as often as we would like (and my preference would be about every other day....ahem, sisters. move to madison. please?). last weekend was the first time we've all been together in over 7 months. we met in bolinas, california, which is an odd little place on the coastal edge of our continent, a few miles north of san francisco, but a few light years away from average american life. my sister anna lives in bolinas with a little ocean view, and in this winter of polar vortex weather weirdness, julia and i were happy for a sunny break from dangerous windchills, although no one in california is happy about the drought.

you know what i did? i slept in a little bit, got up and went for a run in the sunshine (no treadmill = sweet bliss), and then came home and sipped some coffee on the back porch, while taking in the backyard view of the pacific and the farallon islands. it was dreamy.

then the sisters and the nieces and i took a stroll into town, paused to take in the views of san francisco (those hills in the distance are the city),

sniff the bottle brush like a hummingbird,

and walked to have a little lunch with these pretty ladies.

the next day, it was joyfully rainy and i think the thirsty california earth was happy. we snuggled up (evidence of snuggling: this picture of julia and elsa) ,

and then we bundled up for a little rainy hike. here is anna, jeffrey, and their sweet girls, posing in front of a big ol' drainpipe and a rough stormy ocean.
 

the next day included more sunshine, running, lunching, strolling, and the additional joy of tide pool hunting with a 4 year old and a 17 month old,

visiting the un-manned 24 hour self serve farm stand for dinner veggies,

 (look at those pretty eggs!)


and a little sisterly hike along the tip of bolinas bay.

 

thank you, anna and jeffrey, for your generous hospitality. and thank you, nana, for your loving child care. and thank you, david, for being so good about packing me up on an airplane to sunny california while ramona puked on you. and thank you julia, for being an awesome travel companion.