Bits of the week / VMC Tamales Bay 2022 trip

A few things that happened over the past week..

Sora is improving on her flips, roundoffs and cartwheels.
She's eager to advance to the next class level.

Kai continues to do well in BJJ.  He's very scrappy
even if he's one of the smaller kids in class

Pandemic is slowly lifting.. I went to the gym without
a mask!  And Costco (though only a few were unmasked there)

The Connicks came over for dinner.  Kegan wrestled with all
the kids.  I used to do that but I'm feeling my age these days .. sigh :p

I think Kegan asked us if how old we felt (as opposed to our actual age) and I think I'm averaging about mid 30's.  Physically maybe late 30's, strength-wise, I'm about as strong as I've ever been, though my stamina is less than it was before, aches and pains also last longer than they used to.  Mentally early 30's, I'm more cautious and less open than I used to be but  also still trying to learn and adapt, still trying hard to have fun and enjoy life.  I'll let Amy add her own feelings here ... :)

The biggest event this weekend was our Annual VMC trip.  We had hit 13 years (14?) years in a row for annual trips with the interns from Valley Medical Center until 2020 then the pandemic killed us for 2021.  This year, with Omicron surging, during the planning stages, we decided to do a smaller trip to Tamales Bay, up north of SF.  Ray did most of the planning and did a great job as usual.  It was really fun to see everyone, many of whom we hadn't seen for quite a while, and get away, even if for just 2 days.

We started the afternoon with a wildlife "safari" in Tamales Bay State Park.  It was
led by Daniel, an engineer turned tour guide, and his wife, who is a wildlife photographer.  
Really fun and we saw all sorts of animals from Tule Elk to Kestrels to Elephant Seals on the beach!

The whole crew except Wei, QA and Timmy.  Really nice that Mukesh
and his family made it up from Sac!

Up on the cliffs near the lighthouse.  Super windy

After the safari, we hit the Heidrun Meadery for a tasting.  The mead
was really good, sparkling like champagne actually rather than thick or ale 
like as I would have expected. Very tasty, we got two bottles to share.

After getting slightly drunk, we went to a pizzeria in Marin Station, a small
town nearby, for some good pizza while the kids played in the nearby field

I think nobody drank enough water that day and by the end of the day, I was almost feeling sick.  We stayed at the Marriot in Petaluma and passed out quickly.  There was an attempt to hang out but no one had the energy (except Ray who texted at 12am about where everyone was at? :)

Amy still snuck out for a run around the marshlands
while the rest of us had breakfast in the lobby

We headed out to pick up 200 oysters from the
Tamales Bay Oyster Company.  Expensive and indulgent
but we don't do it everyday :)

Shucking oysters is not easy!  They were tasty but
honestly, I could only eat about a half dozen

Wei grilled a few for QA

The kids had a lot of fun in the sand and water

We were at Heart's Desire beach on the east side of the bay.
It was cool to learn that the bay is basically formed by the
San Andres Fault and each side if moving in opposite directions!

We made it back home on Sunday evening where David made us all mashed potatoes.  He's really stepped up his cooking game and we really appreciate all the effort he's making to take care of us and the kids.  Happy to eat his cooking experiments and trials :)

Everyone is enrapt by David's new toy (stand mixer)

Til next week!