Monaloca

Anyone who’s driven highway 128 through Anderson Valley out to the northern California coast knows about the spectacularly hidden wineries (some of our favorites) and gorgeous redwood groves. But for me it’s also a challenge to my lifelong battle with motion sickness. I always forget this until we’re half-way to Boonville, and then again by the time we arrive at Milo and Cassandra’s house just outside the village.

They’re expecting another little girl, and we took the occasion of Cass’s baby shower to take a family road trip. Kai had fun staying in a hotel next to the beach in Fort Bragg, Melina loved the fresh coastal air and new faces, and despite the rainy weather on the drive up, Joey and I enjoyed getting out of town for a couple days and seeing our friends. I also breathe a sigh of relief every time I see the rigid northern coastline. It never fails to rejuvinate and inspire me.

Ironically, I felt rather uninspired to take many photos, of people or the postcard perfect scenery on our sunny Sunday. Or more likely, I was too busy tending to two small kids. I didn’t get a single shot of 33-week pregnant Cass, but did capture her daughter Julia with her tongue sticking out – a la Melina – as Joey read her a story. Kai’s latest career ambition is “I wanna be a food photographer,” and he’s getting much better with the camera. He took the shot of Joey, Meli, and me at Navarro, where Milo works.

Cassandra was kind enough to squeeze in a brief photo shoot of Melina and us at the beach before we left on Sunday. Kai spent the time burying his fully clothed self in sand and running around with Julia, and Melina was busy drooling all over herself and wondering why the ground beneath her was so soft and uneven, so I’m not sure how they turned out. But I’ll post any worthy ones here.

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