Stop #6: Carmel Valley

Summer gatherings with my dad's side of the family have been a rock-steady tradition all the years of my life. But I think this was the first time I've met up with the west-coast contingent in January. It was also my first visit to Carmel Valley, where Aunt Linda and Uncle Steve recently relocated from Colorado. We collected cousin Colby at the airport in Monterey on our way south, so the family was all assembled. But the crowd wasn't complete yet; it also happened that my uncle's siblings were in town for a Goff family reunion that same weekend. Not my family, exactly (Aunt Linda is my dad's sister), but luckily they didn't mind me crashing the party.

Carmel Valley is lovely, with green hills all around and hummingbirds zipping past and winter-blooming flowers on the patio:

With the view as backdrop, there was plenty of backyard cornhole. (Of course.) And check out Uncle Steve's snazzy purple paint job on the target box:

Saturday afternoon, with the sun shining and the gang all here, we went hiking in the nearby hills:

The rest of the weekend unfolded at a comfortably laidback pace, with more cornhole, a fire crackling in the fireplace, photo albums and card games and puzzles, and endless rounds of a medieval catapult game that Colby and Tom resurrected, which was a huge hit with Melody (9) and Jordan (5), but also all of us in the middle generation, too. That's an image that's missing from my collection, for sure - the cousins faced off in two opposing teams on the living room floor with our plastic castles fortified with blocks and battalions, blasting little round discs with rubber-band-powered cannons and crossbows in an attempt to topple the sorcerer behind the walls.

Sunday night, just before heading back north, Tom and Deanne and Duke and I made a twilight excursion to the beach:

And then it was on to the airport in San Francisco for a late-night flight...and home.

Complete set of photos from the trip is here. And here's one last great big thank you to everyone I visited. It was wonderful to see you and to get a glimpse of where and how your days are spent right now. You know you're always welcome in Traverse City, and I'd love to see you again soon!