This might be too cliché to say, but man is October flying by! And believe it or not, I just started penciling in some things for our holiday advent calendar, because that is going to come even faster.
These past few days have been a lot of fun: we took the kids back to Apple Hill on Wednesday afternoon, and yesterday and today were both classroom volunteer days for me—I got to play with clay with kindergartners and third graders. (Wow, what a difference those few years makes.) Tonight, Aron and I are going to a work-thing for him. And then Saturday… We got word on Wednesday that we’re hosting appetizers at our house for our school’s progressive dinner this Saturday, so we’re looking forward to that—but also ramping up our clean-house efforts big time! I think about 40 people might be coming by.
What do you have planned this weekend? Hope you enjoy it!
Somehow, perhaps because the holidays are flying at us faster than ever, our summer vacation already feels like far too long ago! And yet I’m just getting around to editing the photos. There are worse things, of course, than rehashing memories of tropical islands in the middle of October, but I apologize if this does feel a little out of order.
We were fortunate to find ourselves with another chance to return to the Aulani this past August—Aron’s family have a timeshare there, and so we joined his parents, his sister and her family (visiting from Germany) for four nights after our stay on Kauai. The resort is on the western side of the island, set in one of a series of four small lagoons that make up an area called Ko’Olina—near the town of Kapolei.
I’ve written two past travelogues (our first stay and an update) with all of my impressions as well as some of the tips I gleaned for a stay at the Disney resort, should you be planning a stay, so rather than repeat too much here I thought I’d mostly share some photos and highlights…
I routinely gush about our beautiful neighbor counties of Marin and Sonoma, so it should come as no surprise that I’d jump at the opportunity to join on a two-day trip to learn about (and sample) some of the delicious cheese and wine coming out of California in such a beautiful setting.
And while I’d wager that most people associate winemaking with regions like Sonoma, there’s a growing number of small specialty cheesemakers producing handmade, artisan cheeses in the pastoral coastlands and mountains of Marin and Sonoma counties. In fact, California has been making cheese as long as it has been making wine.
Aron and I have made a point of heading north and out that way—to points the likes of Point Reyes Farmstead, Straus Ranch, and Cowgirl Creamery—whenever opportunity strikes. And his parents (his dad retired from UC Davis after years of dairy science, and worked with many of the farms when they first started making cheese, and his mother is also a prominent food scientist) even honeymooned along those roads!
So if you ever happen to find yourself in this part of the state, I highly recommend you make a point to drive through those romantic pastures. There’s actually a Cheese Trail map with a list of farms (throughout the state) which you can tour, and list of suggested driving loops!
For my part, I appreciated the behind-the-scenes look I got with Real California Milk on this visit: I was once again impressed with the beauty and the local bounty of this place I’m lucky to call home, and I was moved by the multigenerational stories of the farmers we met.
