We left sunny Tucson in November 2021 and returned to California for the holidays. We had planned a number of holiday gatherings but with the omicron variant raging we limited our plans. We celebrated an early Christmas with Andy and Heather in Oakland and we visited friends near Paso Robles and family in Camarillo during December but otherwise we kept to ourselves and remained healthy.
During early December we stayed in a beautiful little craftsman bungalow in Martinez, along the Sacramento River delta near its exit into San Francisco Bay. Martinez is one of the older towns in California and it was once home to John Muir. We enjoyed walks around the old downtown and along the wetlands that border the delta. Click on the first photo in each block to view larger images in a slideshow.
We traveled south for the Christmas and New Years holidays and did some petsitting for friends in Ventura while they were in Italy. We watched a little dog and two cats. We enjoyed the warm weather, the abundant palm trees, and walks along the beach path in Ventura. No matter how far we travel, Southern California always feels like home.
After the holidays we settled into a small house for the winter. It is in Citrus Heights, an eastern suburb of Sacramento. It is only about a year old and it is very comfortable and stylish. We are still being careful with Covid so we keep to ourselves for the most part, enjoying daily walks in the area. We are hopeful that Covid will subside soon and we can enjoy more travel later in the year.
