Our Winter Break

I hesitate to say we've been blessed with beautiful weather this winter. As much as we enjoyed the past week for all it's warm, spring-like days, it no doubt came with a cost: my East Coast friends are being pummeled with relentless storms. My girlfriend in Boston and I kept swapping pictures of scenes outside our windows. She had a two story pile of snow engulfing her house last week, and complained of all the liquor stores being dry. My pictures were of clear blue skies, and my only complaint was that the rope from our hammock was still a little stiff. Truth be told, us Californians all know deep down inside that this summer will bring a deeper drought awareness than any of us care to acknowledge this month. 

So...like I was saying, we've been blessed with beautiful weather this winter.

We spent our winter break in West Marin with friends, observing the local wildlife and digging in the sand...

...we played on Mother Nature's playground...

...and marveled and the wonders, both big and small. 

We got to boogie board in the Pacific, 100 feet away from a grey whale that was swimming surprisingly close to shore...

 

...and we ran through the tall grass, playing tag and hiding-go-seek while the dogs ran free on the beach (until the ranger came and asked us to put them on leash). 

We hiked everyone's favorite trail...

...and were kicking ourselves that we'd never done it before. 

West Marin was beautiful last week. It's been a tradition in my family for several generations, and we are making sure that continues for at least one more.