San Diego

The Pirate House took most of our time but we did spend one afternoon at the beach in San Diego. Lovely -- wish it was more time. We also spend Dia de los Muertes in Old San Diego. Brian got his facepainted and we were shocked that he was able to go through airport security that way!

 

The Pirate House

Come October Brian wanted to return to San Diego to help his friend Dan with his epic pirate-themed Halloween event. Leslie went along, to see what all this fuss was about. It was indeed epic, with what seemed like half the youngsters in the city attending. 

 

Bay Area redo

We took some extra days for the ash-scattering to get more San Francisco time. We stayed in AirBnb in Pacifica. Of course, we went to Chinatown, which was half-closed down from COVID (businesses anyway). We spent time in Golden Gate Park (first time) and just meandered. We met up with Brad's girlfriend Layla for a brief hike/visit and walked the amazing tiled staircase in one of the city's lovely neighborhoods. 

 

Monterey Bay: Thanks for the memories

Finally, six years after his death, we were able to scatter the ashes of Stephen where he wanted them: the ocean of Central California. We flew down to San Francisco and met his widow Jana for the event. An old friend of Stephen arranged for everyone to board a large sailboat owned by a sailing buddy of Steve's. We took it out in Monterey Bay and spread his ashes. It was a relief, after so much time and a lovely evening. 

 

Comic Con 2021

Comic Con was a bit smaller this year, both in terms of our contingent and overall. COVID shrank the event, but Leslie did attend for a short hour just so she could see what all the fuss was about. 

 

North Cascades

We had a short "vacation" in late July, meeting the Hicks family to stay at an Airbnb for hiking outings. 

When B was a teenager, he backpacked with the Hicks every summer so there was a lot of nostalgia. Leslie stayed back with Dan's mom when the main group did long 10-plus mile hikes but joined everyone for the shorter jaunts. The rental was on a sheep ranch with expansive views of the Cascades. 

 

Summer in PC

 Only a few trips to Pacific City this summer but for one we were joined briefly by Kristin and Steven. We took them out in the Amy M. on the river and Kristin was able to try out her new stand-up paddle board. 

July 4

 

We took a mini vacation and spent nearly a week at Leah and Michael's house in Tacoma for the holiday weekend. Nancy was there, as she was still staying in Portland to help Leslie. The weather was lovely; we went out in the speed boat several times and in the kayak once. Fireworks were amazing -- the whole bay was on fire. There was also a great air show over the bay on the 4th.