Cascadia

Joel and I are in the Northwest for the New Year. It's not really like anything I'm used to. This part of the world always seems to be dripping, green, and cold. After a wild work whirlwind it's nice to settle into a steady rhythm of beach walks and roaring fires.

That Mighty Buffalo

A big, crazy group of siblings, cousins, boyfriends, girlfriends, aunts, and uncles met in Arkansas on our family property this weekend and we played hard. We floated down this river with whiskey coffee and a lot of jokes.

The North Shore

Unlike crazy Honolulu, the North Shore has stayed pretty country. The locals are protective of their paradise and rightfully so. Our days were a rhythm of morning swims, papaya breakfast, reading, cooking, and beach-hopping. On this particular day, we visited our favorite fruit stand off Kamehameha Highway and found this shady beach WITH NO ONE ON IT.

It was strange without our dad but it was a damn good vacation. My brother was in rare form and we were often laughing until we cried. We ate many beautiful meals and spent endless hours on our breezy lanai. We spent time just HANGING OUT. 

Thanks Hawaii.

Hawaii

I'm finishing up a crazy month with a family trip to the North Shore. We are staying in a green house with a wrap-around lanai and a koi pond. The plan is to cruise around the island and swim and eat mangos and make great dinners. It's been pretty glorious so far. This flower arrangement came from the garden !

My mom's best friend Martha is along and she is the best. She makes a nasty-good mai tai and swims naked in our little pool.

Engineer Pass

Joel and I took one last Colorado tour with some friends. There is a high pass from Silverton to Lake City and it's rocky and serious and my all time favorite. We're up to 13,000 feet in the middle of it. Joel let Tutti out on the slow technical parts and let her run next to the car.

Colorado has been getting RAIN and everything is wet and green. We spent a night in Crested Butte and drank tequila and the wildflowers were out of control.

Velocity Basin

Over the holiday weekend we camped out of Silverton in a big land-bowl called Velocity Basin. I've never been anywhere like this NOR have I climbed mountains quite so high. We swam in that turquoise alpine lake and Tutti hunted marmots until she was hysterical.

Charleston soon. I'll have superman lungs when I get to sea-level.

Telluride Wedding

Zack and Alia got married this weekend. The wedding was outside Telluride on a ranch at the base of Wilson Peak. The same one from the Coors can.

The ceremony was the kind that made you weep. The bride and groom were gazing at each other with big, deep, serious love and everyone felt it. We all changed into jeans later on and danced danced in a big white tent with jalapeno margaritas.

Durango Garden

The compound has this big 'ol garden. I haven't done any weeding since this infamous summer and so it's like seeing an old friend again. I came in last night at dark with dirty fingers smelling like mint.

In other news, there are large-ish fires in Colorado. We are up with the sun and the sky is orange and hazy. It's no good.