March and April: Including a Wedding and a Pelican!

Ruth and Jody sharing their first kiss as a married couple.

But first I'll share about parts of March and April at Samuel P Taylor State Park.

The unique blossoms of Dutchman's Pipe.

Fairy Bells are Ringing!

Wild Cat Canyon on March 17, swollen by more rain.

On Monday, March 17, I joined Stephanie and her daughter Lauren who live at Samuel P Taylor State Park to partake in the Bay Area Yarn Crawl, a way of promoting 22 yarn shops in the San Francisco Bay Area. We made it to 8 of the shops in one day, including shops in Berkeley, Hayward, Livermore and San Francisco. I would visit the others later in the week, but it was a lot more fun doing it with friends.

Me, Lauren and Stephanie in front of our first shop of the day.

Stephanie is looking forward to her first grandson in August, and we are looking forward to our first GREAT grandson in July, so we were both focused on yarn and projects for babies.

Entrance Kiosk at Samuel P Taylor State Park.

Tuesday morning, March 18.

We went to our home in the Colfax area March 18-20 because of a meeting I had to attend in Sacramento. Walking on our road I heard more birds at one time than in any other places in our regular travels. I'm finally using and loving the Merlin bird identification app on my phone. It is amazing how it can pick up the sounds and identify the birds.

These are the birds I heard, and saw some of, on March 19.

And these are the radishes I picked from my experimental winter garden.

And these are pretty yellow flowers near the radishes.

Another Trillium back at Samuel P Taylor.

March 23.

Pretty Shooting Stars

Back near Colfax again on March 24.

And a turkey showing his plumage near our house, March 24.

One of the surprising things we've come to love while we are at Samuel P Taylor State Park is the community we've become a part of in a variety of ways. There are many local people who regularly walk, run, and ride bikes and horses right past our campsite. We exchange friendly greetings with many, and know several by name. We also enjoy interactions with the park staff and family members of those who live in the park. I attend a weekly knitting group at the Library in Point Reyes Station and we attend weekly worship at Point Reyes Community Presbyterian Church where I've even preached a few times. We will miss all these wonderful people when we leave the park on May 1, but will look forward to returning in November.

Werner and Wilma in their Tiburon home.

Picture sent to us by their daughter Barbara

Werner and Wilma and their daughter Barbara have become very special to us. Our first three years here Werner and Wilma came to the park twice a week by themselves to walk. One day Wilma approached Rob who was sitting outside saying she had "lost" her husband. Rob went on a search for him in the John Deere Gator and when he located him told him that is wife was looking for him, and his response was that he was looking for his wife. Rob reunited them and ever since we have greeted them warmly. In 2023 when we returned to Camp Taylor Wilma was now in a wheelchair with her daughter pushing her and Werner staying close by. We are always happy to see them and they to see us. Wilma just celebrated her 90th birthday.

And here they are with Rob shortly before we left the park for the season.

Big Leaf Maple starting to leave out, March 27.

March 28 was Rob and my 55th Wedding Anniversary. Leading up to it we kept wondering what we'd do to celebrate and decided we'd go out for pizza since that's what we did after we left our wedding reception and headed out on our honeymoon. As it turned out Rob didn't want to leave the park because we finally had firewood to sell and he didn't want to be gone at prime wood selling time. So instead of going out to dinner I went hiking on the Pierce Point Trail at Tomales Point with grandson Jacob and his girlfriend Emma's family and picked up pizza on the way back to camp.

Harlequin Flower on the trail.

Jacob and me with the Pacific behind us.

Looking out to sea!

On our way back looking at how far we still have to go to the parking lot.

Back at Camp Taylor - Giant Wake Robin Trillium.

March 31.

Water in Wild Cat Canyon Creek just above my morning bench.

April 2

Looking across to the green hill from the Pioneer Tree Trail

April 2

Fairy Bells along the Pioneer Tree Trail.

April 5

A Fairy Bell up close.

Feathery False Lily of the Valley - April 5.

And another Trillium, April 5.

April 8-10 I headed to the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos to once again serve as a small group leader for a program named "Called to Wholeness." This retreat is a gift to active United Methodist Clergy in our region available to them every 5 years. It's kind of like Camp Hosting in that it is work that is not really work. I feel like I am on retreat as well when I am there.

I managed to walk the labyrinth each of the three days while there.

The very present deer on the grounds.

Looking up to the sky - very different than the view above me at Samuel P Taylor.

A field of pretty yellow and green.

Sun rising over the San Francisco Bay, April 10.

The newly risen sun highlighting one of the majestic trees on the grounds of the retreat center.

The Big Leaf Maple leaves maturing at Camp Taylor, April 11.

Some pretty little Wood Violets.

More Wood Violets.

A couple more Trilliums, April 11.

Another pollinated one.

And some pretty little, non native Forget Me Nots.

Saturday, April 12, 2025 - the creek is diminishing.

The big event of April was the wedding of our youngest daughter Ruth to Jody. They live in Roseville, but they chose South Carolina as the location because that is where Jody's 95 year old grandmother lives. Unfortunately the day before the wedding, Ersie, Jody's grandmother fell in her home and broke her hip so she was in the hospital for the ceremony. Ruth and Jody went to see her after the reception in their wedding clothes and were able to show her a video of the festivities a couple of days later. She had surgery and is currently in rehab - doing very well for someone who is 95!

Rob and I traveled to Columbia, South Carolina on Tuesday, April 15, and returned on Tuesday, April 22. Most of our family converged on Columbia for the big day, arriving at various times and staying in various places. Ruth, Jody and their children stayed in the home of Jody's aunt and grandmother. We rented a house that slept 12, and others stayed in hotels. All five of our children and 10 of the now 13 grandchildren (we acquired two new ones with the wedding) attended so we made up about half of those at the wedding. I was never quite so aware of just how big our family is until our week in South Carolina together! We came from 3 states and four countries!

Ruth and Jody had scoped out the area and had suggestions of things to do each day in the Columbia area, so in addition to celebrating with them we got to explore a new part of the world to most of us.

Wednesday, April 16

Some of the early risers began the morning with a walk at the Cayce Riverwalk Trail.

Here are the early morning walkers. (plus me taking the picture)

Those coming from Europe had the easiest time getting up!

The bride and groom on a lovely bridge on the trail.

Later Wednesday morning all of us who were already in the area headed to downtown Columbia to participate in the "Sally Salamander Walking Tour," as a way of getting to know this new place. Ruth and Jody divided us into teams where we would get one point each for proving we'd visited the 20, mostly historic, sites around town. Extra points were awarded for pictures of creative poses. It was lots of fun and a great way to see Columbia!

Rob, Jörn and Sheila recreating the pose on the movie poser behind them.

Katie Ruth and Helen looking for directions.

There were lots of historic markers like these that weren't part of the tour.

Rob and Avi "sleeping" in front of the visitors center.

Ruth sliding down the banister at the State House.

Rob petting a salamender.

There were bronze salamanders like these at every location.

Helen in a pose in front of the Villa Tronco Italian Restaurant.

Sheila posing - not sure how she got in or out of this one!

Eating the requisite ice cream at the end of the tour.

A Cardinal along our way.

Back at the rented house you can see Jörn preparing food for dinner.

Sheila's husband and all of their children are excellent cooks, so we depended on them to keep us fed. I said I'd buy all the groceries anyone wanted as long as I didn't have to do the cooking or wash the dishes. We did make several grocery store runs so that we would keep everyone supplied with their favorite breakfast foods and fixings for the lunches we packed with us each day.

Thursday, April 17

A Meer Cat at the Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

Most of the family spent the day at these beautiful grounds, but Rob and I only spent a couple of hours as we needed to transport folks, pickup one incoming on the bus and run errands.

Friday, April 18

Sheila and I headed back to the Riverwalk Trail System at sunrise.

She ran, and I walked

Later in the morning we headed to nearby Congaree National Park. Rob and I had been to this very interesting place on our RV trip across the country 2 1/2 years ago, but it was a first for all the others.

Cyprus knees sticking up.

A dragonfly holding a pose for me.

The bride and groom.

A family circle.

And a Barred Owl overlooking our picnic spot before we headed back to town.

Friday afternoon most of us headed to the local bowling alley for a sweet unlimited bowling deal. It's been several years since Rob and I have bowled, but we had lots of fun and just may take this activity up again. Top bowler of the whole group was Jody!

The Big Day!

Saturday, April 19

Many of us began the day by heading back to downtown Columbia to check out lots and lots of street vendors, and then we spent the afternoon preparing for the big event

Rob agreed to let Katie paint his toenails.

He figured it was OK since no one would see them.

Both of us with painted toenails.

Some of the girls spent time in the bathroom doing makeup.

And Jacob and Lukas spent time in the living room trying to tie their newly acquired bow ties.

They did a good job!

Some of the family seated and waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Rob walking Ruth down the aisle.

Saying their vows.

Exchanging rings

The new family following a unity ceremony in the service.

Cutting the cake.

Jody twirling Ruth in their first dance.

The dancing was wonderful, and I, along with many of the guests had a wonderful time dancing the night away! There was also a photo booth where some serious and fun pictures were taken.

Our five children.

Shawn, Scott, Sheila and Erin surrounding Ruth.

10 grandchildren being silly.

Missing were the two youngest and the one oldest.

Me and Rob in the photo booth.

Dear friend Becky and me.

Becky was our pastor in Colfax when Ruth and Erin were teens.

She and I retired from pastoral ministry together in 2020.

Such a special treat to have her travel from southern California to attend Ruth's wedding.

The Day After

Easter Sunday, April 20

Waiting to go into worship at Main Street Columbia United Methodist Church.

The church goers - 14 family members and 2 friends.

We definitely made a boost in the attendance.

Sunday afternoon all who were still around headed to Jody's aunt's house for a "California" style Barbecue. Once again, Sheila and Jörn's children pitched into prepare the food and wash the dishes!

The parents with the bride and groom.

Sunday afternoon

Jacob at the barbecue.

The family pass time - playing a game.

And at it again, this time at the rented house.

Monday, April 21

Ruth, Helen, Sheila and I headed out early to the Saluda River Walk.

Another beautiful trail.

A family of geese on the river.

Ruth under with one of the many art pieces along the trail.

Later we all headed out to Saluda Shoals Park for more walking, playing in the playground and sitting by the river.

And of course there was another game!

Tuesday, April 22

Time to go home.

But first, there was enough time for another early morning hike on the Cayce Riverwalk Trail System.

The beautiful creek we crossed.

We kept hoping to see an alligator, but no luck!

There were lots of squirrels and birds.

Rob and I got back to San Francisco and Samuel P Taylor State Park on Tuesday evening, April 22, and then on Wednesday I headed east to our house so I could be at an appointment in Roseville the next day. I was delighted to find lilacs blooming in the yard. Lilacs are my favorite domestic flower, and I've never had success getting them to grow or bloom, but Ruth's efforts produced four bushes with blooms this spring, and I was so happy to see, and smell, them!

Lilacs in the front yard.

Lilacs close to the house.

And this beauty that bloomed for the first time this year.

There was also a super bloom of lupine where the lawn used to be.

And a deer eating leaves off the apple tree outside the parlor window.

Thursday morning, April 24, while having our car serviced in Auburn I decided to find the site of the old Highland Hospital where I was born, so I headed for a walk across town. I had a vague idea where it was, but did some research and found the address.

Where I was born!

Lubeck Mansion, formerly Highland Hospital.

I walked around the grounds of this lovely property that is now apartments and when I saw someone exiting I was able to confirm that this had indeed been the Highland Hospital that served the community of Auburn until Auburn Faith Hospital was built and opened in 1964.

Celebrating Sophia's (on the right) 12th Birthday.

We joined Naomi and Sophia with their parents at Mel's Diner in Pinole on Thursday evening.

Mel's seems to be these girls tradition for their birthday dinners.

Naomi after throwing the ball in.

Soccer Field in Richmond, Saturday, April 26.

Saturday morning I headed over to Richmond to watch Naomi, our youngest grandchild, play soccer and then I brought her back to the park where she hung out with us for the day, played games, rode bicycle, and worked on a jigsaw puzzle. Naomi is quite a soccer player, and her whole team has improved tremendously from when we saw them play last year. They won this game, as well as many of their games this season. Their teamwork and skills were awesome to watch! It was wonderful having most of the family together at Ruth's wedding for a super family reunion. But there is also something very special with one on one time with one grandchild at a time!

A Pelican!

At Samuel P Taylor State Park!

Sunday morning, April 27, a park visitor knocked on our door and said there was a pelican outside. We went out to check, and sure enough there was indeed a pelican in our campsite. It had apparently been in the park for awhile with lots of folks calling into the entrance kiosk to report its presence. We are several miles from the coast, not a likely place for a this bird to be, and it was not flying. The humane society was contacted and came to the park to retrieve the pelican and take it to Wild Care for evaluation and possible rehabilitation. But it the meantime we didn't want to loose track of it or let it get hit by a car or attacked by a dog. Dogs are supposed to be on leash at all times, but folks don't always follow the rules. Rob did Pelican watch duty while I did our noon campground check. At first it looked like the Pelican was just going to stand and sleep and Rob positioned his chair to watch and protect it, but eventually it started walking around and even flying short distances so Rob was kept busy following it and relocating it after each short flight. The humane society eventually arrived and captured it. Speculation was that it was young, possibly malnourished, definitely disoriented and possibly sick, but did not appear to be injured.

Rob on Pelican watch duty.

A very colorful camper in the park.

With only a few days left in our season at Samuel P Taylor, I wanted to get in one last hike to Barnabe Peak. On Tuesday, April 28, after doing morning camp check I took the long way around to get to Barnabe Peak by first hiking the Pioneer Tree Trail, then Cross Marin Trail to the Barnabe Peak Trail east of the campground. Coming down I would take the newly reopened Bill's Trail, then walked along Sir Francis Drake Blvd. to the employee/resident only bridge across Lagunitas Crreek and back to our campsite via the South Creek Trail. All together it was well over 10 miles with a total elevation gain of over 1,500 feet - a good training hike for my next big adventure in May! There were lots of beautiful wild flowers and views along the way,