There and back again, then get thee to the Sierras!

Home at last, after nearly nine weeks touring America the Beautiful!

It was a tremendous experience to be able to take my time meandering through our magnificent country, taking the southern route east and then the northern route west.  Any of you who happen upon the chance to explore the highways, country roads, and hiking trails of our glorious United States, do yourself a favor and do it, at least once!

The first time I took a long cross-country drive was in December of 1980, heading out to Illinois to visit a friend.  This Southern California girl was only 19 and had never before driven on snow or ice, so much of the trip was slippery and not particularly pleasant.  To make the journey worse, that was the December that John Lennon was murdered in New York, so radio broadcasts were replete with memories of Lennon and his music, which created a fog of melancholia over the psyche of this child of the 60s, who had grown up with his music and whose grandmother shared the Beatles' working-class Lancashire County accent.  The bummer of Lennon's murder added injury to the insult of having my '73 Datsun 710 wagon pulled out of snow drifts along Route 66 by passing truckers.  The negative memories of that journey were destined to be counteracted.  In upcoming posts, I'll be recounting the wonderful ways in which that road-trip redemption has been accomplished.

Interspersed between tales from this Summer's adventures, there will be long-overdue postings about the adventures enjoyed by my sister Cynthia and I when we spent a month in Europe last Summer.

The final five days of my trans-American adventure was spent in the magnificent Sierra Nevada mountains camping out with family and close friends to celebrate the 94th birthday of my inspirational mother-in-law, Aida.  It is a tradition for us to sing to Aida on one of the Sierra trails for her birthday, and this year we did so about a mile into the trail leading out to Green Lake.  The last half of the 2-1/2-mile Green Lake trail involves crossing streams and climbing large rocks, which is dangerous for Aida these days, but she conquered the early portion of the trail, hiking poles in-hand, with her usual determined grace that inspires us all!

To honor and imitate our beloved Matriarch, some of us traversed the remainder of the Green Lake trail, and here is a peek at the grandeur to which we were treated when we reached the lake:

Here is a photo of me with Aida, who has me captivated with the wisdom and experience she is likely sharing.  There seems no end to what I can learn from her!

A safe and memorable Labor Day weekend to all of you!

Annie

"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well." -- Voltaire