Blogs from San Mateo, California, United States, North America

Up at 4:30 to get dressed and drag our mattresses back into the family room. Check-in went smoothly for the first leg of the trip to JFK but the security line was ridiculous (especially for 5:45 am on a Sunday!) Our tolerance for the indignities of air travel was already pretty much shot and this was most unwelcome. Ultimately we made it on-board with a few minutes to spare and had a reasonably uneventful flight (Lauren had a drunken passenger almost pass out on her, but the flight attendant steadied him in the nick of time). Austrian Air from JFK to Vienna also went smoothly. The interior of the plane was decorated in a comical collection of colors, and the flight attendants were all attired in blindingly bright red from head to toe – making them ... read more

Slept in, retrieved our luggage (required some persistence) and cancelled planned events in Vienna. All our work had been carefully tucked away and, with our house in disarray in preparation for floorwork, there was nothing to do but vacation at home. It was lovely. We sat on our front porch for the first time ever and enjoyed the beautiful weather locally, then had dinner and margaritas with friends.... read more

We have purposefully let a few days pass before trying to write the beginning of this tale, because it was an ugly start. It is a relevant backdrop to what follows, so here it is. On Friday afternoon, John and Sonia left work early to be home in time to move every last item out of the back half of the house ( all the bedrooms and office) to enable the floors to be refinished in our absence. We finished easily and had a relaxed departure preceded by a ritual suggested and led by our friend Maya – a brief moment when everyone sits peacefully before getting up to leave – a ritual designed to ensure a good trip. We arrived, perfectly on time, to the San Francisco airport and were quickly near the front of ... read more

Here are some of the action adventure books or book series that take place in Africa: Jade del Cameron Mystery Series by Suzanne Arruda. Historical fiction. Book titles include: "Mark of the Lion" (1919 British East Africa); "Stalking Ivory" (1920 Mt. Marsabit, British East Africa); "Serpent's Daughter" (1920 Morocco); "Leopard's Prey" and more. "Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure" by travel writer Julian Smith. Historical fiction, 1898 and current day. Young Adult books: "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer. Mozambique and Zimbawi. Novel of a great adventure in the wilds of Africa for 11-year old Nhamo, who flees from her village and a planned marriage in search of her father's family in Zimbawi. "Thunder Cave" by Roland Smith. Young adult novel that takes place in Kenya. A family reunion turns ... read more

Well we are on our way to China. We drove to San Mateo tonight and we catch our plain tomorrow at SFO. We will arrive in Beijing around midnight Sunday.... read more

Up at 5:15 AM and tired, we took a smooth and speedy taxi trip to the airport. With no traffic, we got there in plenty of time to navigate the airport process in our foggy state. Now on the plane home, as we chase the sun around the planet, after 20 hours of traveling, we should arrive in SF 10 hours after we left Athens. Everyone had fun and had some great experiences, but we are all excited about going home and sleeping in on Sunday! It is worth cataloging a few things about this year’s adventures: The replaceable things we traded for irreplaceable memories: Andrew lost his first pair of sunglasses somewhere in the hedge maze at Hampton Court. A replacement pair acquired at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul was broken somewhere in Crete due ... read more

By Melisse. What do you do when you need a tool you don’t happen to have? You may look to buy one or borrow one or just make do with what you have on hand. Or you may get inventive if you can’t find exactly what you need; if it just isn’t made, is no where to be found...you just might make one. Last week we visited a friend, John Lyddon, who I hadn’t seen or spoken to since the summer of 1979. We met in Sewall Hall, our freshman dorm at University of Colorado. Shortly after he graduated from college in ‘75 he bought and became steward of a gorgeous spread of land south of San Fransisco, overlooking the rolling hills that wonder into the gleaming Pacific Ocean. Since I visited him there in ’79 ... read more