Time With Family and Friends

John Samuel Dunning, the newest member of our family!

We are now officially old as GREAT Grandparents!

After only one full day home from Spain and Portugal with just enough time to unpack, wash clothes and repack, Rob and I headed first to San Rafael for an ophthalmology appointment for Rob and then we drove north for a night with my sister and her husband in Potter Valley, near Ukiah, before heading to Eureka to spend the weekend with Rob's sister and brother-in-law and attend the 175th anniversary celebration of the Eureka First United Methodist Church. As I have been telling many folks lately, we camp host 9 months of the year and avoid our house in Colfax as much as possible the other 3.

The beautiful vegan pizza my sister made!

Rob saw this rainbow in the sunset sky out the window of my sister's house.

So we all went out to get a better look - September 18, 2025

A view west at sunset.

Here we are in front of one of the trees at Founders Grove.

On the way to and from Eureka I always want to stop at Founders Grove to hike the short nature trail there, and though I'm very familiar with that trail by now, I never cease to marvel at the grandeur of the Redwood forest.

The same tree cut we were in front of - doesn't look so big with out perspective.

Rob looks pretty small in front of this giant!

Interesting gnarly tree.

Ducks in the pond at Sequoia Park in Eureka - a short walk from Rob's sister and brother-in-law's house.

On Saturday morning, September 20, my morning walk took me to Eureka's Sequoia Park - a beautiful protected grove of some old growth Redwoods. I love that Dolores and Jerome's house is so close to this park. I tried to get there about once a week when we lived in Eureka, but it was about three times as far to get there. For my early morning walks I much prefer to just walk out the door wherever I am rather than driving to some special place.

On the trail in Sequoia Park.

More of the forest.

The entrance sign on the opposite side of the park from where I entered.

This is the place I entered the park when we lived in Eureka. As we walked into the dark forest it always felt like we were entering a very different world from where we had just come. The next picture is taken from the same location as this one, back towards the neighborhoods of town.

Not dark Redwood forest in this direction.

The spring fed grotto on my way back through the park.

A tree some refer to as the "melting tree."

The magnificent sky walk that goes through the park's canopy beginning in the Sequoia Park Zoo.

While in Eureka we enjoyed visiting with family and with the friends we made when we lived in Eureka for 8 years. The celebration at the church was well attended by folks from the Eureka Church and the other congregations on the North Coast as it recognized 175 years of Methodism on the North Coast. Rob and I are so grateful for the time we lived in Eureka, served at the church there, and for the opportunity it provided for us to spend time with his sister Dolores and her husband Jerome, and for the continued connections. After the celebration on Sunday we headed south, back to Potter Valley to spend the night with Elizabeth and Bill before heading home to Colfax.

Elizabeth's dog Newt surveying the scenery.

A stop to stretch our legs on the way home from Potter Valley on Highway 20.

We got back to our Colfax area home on September 22, and on Tuesday, September 23, instead of walking out our door for my early morning walk I drove 5 minutes to an access point for the wonderful trails at Weimar Institute.

Manzanita Trail at Weimar Institute.

Most of Tuesday after my morning's walk was spent unpacking, washing clothes and repacking for our next travels to Maine where we would visit son Scott, his wife Kristy, their sons Kyle and Alex, Kyle's wife Hale and our new Great Grandson John Samuel Dunning! We are officially old with the birth in July of our first great grandchild!

The Teddy Bear on Rob's Back was Scott's when he was a child.

Not sure why Scott's boys never had it, but it is now John's.

We had one large suitcase to check at the airport in Sacramento, but it was two pounds overweight so we needed to distribute some of its contents to our carry ons, thus the bear on Rob's back. It's the first time we've traveled with a full size suitcase, and it wasn't even loaded to its full capacity. I don't know what you could pack to fill it that wouldn't put it over the 50 pound limit. Ours weighed 52 pounds, and if we didn't lighten it we would have to pay $100! Our one carry on roller bag was carrying a mantel clock for Scott, we knew coming back home we'd have room to distribute the over the limit weight.

This is the mantle clock that barely fit in a 22" long carry on!

It was my parents and we finally passed it on to Scott.

Black bears of Maine - in the airport!

Scott and Kristy's sailboat on my early morning walk on Thursday, September 25.

Some fall colors starting near Scott and Kristy's house.

Colored leaves on the ground.

A closer up picture of Soarin' Free.

A lovely road nearby.

Turkeys in a neighbor's yard.

The same turkeys at the same house.

It seems these people must feed them because they are there often.

Scott and Kristy's house.

It's still under construction, but the inside is pretty well finished.

Fill dirt being dumped in the front circle.

Four Generations of Dunning boys.

The fully dressed bear I made for Scott many years ago.

A woodpecker on my morning walk on Saturday, September 27.

Soarin' Free the same morning.

Walking along the beach at low tide.

Pretty water in the bay.

A "Fairy house" next to their road.

Rob pushing baby John when we visited Kyle and his family near Portland.

Grandson Alex and Son Scott at Bailey Island in Harpswell, Maine.

Harpswell where Scott and Kristy live is a small town, but huge area, with lots of coastline.

A Monarch butterfly in the asters at Bailey Island.

The Monarchs here are differently patterned than the ones we see in California.

Scott, me, Rob and Alex in front of a statue on Bailey Island.

Sunset from Scott and Kristy's house, September 29, 2025

Early morning, September 30, 2025, between Scott and Kristy's house and the bay.

I love this stand of trees - it was just beginning to show fall colors.

Our last morning in Maine.

We were booked on a flight from Portland, Maine to Quebec City on September 30. We were going to Quebec to join friends Richard and Diane in preparation for taking a cruise with them from Quebec to Miami. Richard and Diane were campground hosts with us At Samuel P Taylor State Park for 3 of our seasons there, but they moved to Alabama 2 years ago so they could help Richard's elderly parents. Several months ago they asked us if we'd like to join them on a cruise they were planning to take. We enthusiastically said yes, especially since it had been so long since we'd seen them.

The day before we were to fly I was checking the airline to confirm our flight and noticed that our tickets were refundable. I hardly ever buy refundable tickets! When I mentioned it to Scott he suggested we cancel the flight and he and Kristy would drive us to Old Quebec City, less than a five hour drive from their house and a place they'd never been to. So instead of a long day dealing with airports we took a road trip.

The colors along the way were beautiful.

Crossing the boarder into Canada.

When we traveled across the country in 2022 including visiting my cousin in Canada near Detroit we had planned to visit Old Quebec City, but instead we stopped at Niagara Falls and then crossed into New York on our way to visit Scott and Kristy in Maine. So when Richard and Diane invited us to join them on a cruise from Quebec to Miami we realized we'd finally get our chance to see the Old City. We would have three nights there before joining Richard and Diane on the ship. Scott and Kristy spent one night and we enjoyed a day of touring the old city with them.

The beautiful and iconic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Old Quebec City.

Looking down the street from our hotel.

A very touristy street with lots of shops to grab your attention.

Rob and Kristy posing with Pinocchio.

An elaborate mural along our way.

Guess who!

Under the umbrellas.

Another view of a narrow street.

One of many interesting sculptures.

And another.

Our hotels.

Scott and Kristy got a room at the last minute in the hotel next door to ours.

Theirs is the one on the left and ours is the one with the sign hanging.

Our room was a third floor walk-up - a bit of a challenge with a heavy suitcase!

The landing outside our room where I went early in the morning to write in my journal.

There were lots of churches in the old city, predominately Catholic of course, but we did happen on an Anglican Church, and lots of interesting places to explore.

Cathédrale Holy Trinity.

This is an Anglican Church.

Another Catholic Church.

On the afternoon of October 1, we took advantage of Scott and Kristy having a car and we traveled a short distance from Old Quebec City to Montmorency Waterfall. We had a good walk in the park and viewed the waterfall from several angles including walking across a bridge over the falls.

In the park by the falls.

A side view.

And here are Scott and I near the bottom of the falls.

We said goodbye to Scott and Kristy in the late afternoon so they could drive home before it was too late and met Richard and Diane for dinner at their hotel, a former monastery now operated by Le Monastere, a non-profit organization. It was a very interesting place with lots of history and good, healthy food. Thursday, October 2, Rob and I continued to explore Old Quebec City.

My early morning walk on October 2 took me up to the Citadel above the city.

In the Plains of Abraham Park.

Later Rob and I went back to the Plains of Abraham and visited the museum there to learn of the history of the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham, a decisive battle between the British and French that led to the British takeover of New France.

Rob joined the historical figures on the wall.

Interesting art depicted the history.

A beautiful mosaic in the museum.

Walking back to the walled city.

Our entrance into Old Quebec.

Another view inside the city.

Looking across the river from Old Quebec.

In the afternoon we visited the Museum of Civilization which had many interesting exhibits including ones about the indigenous, or First Peoples, of Canada. I realized how ignorant I am about much of the history of settlement and nationhood in Canada. It was a lot to try and absorb in a day or two, but still we felt our time in Old Quebec City was well spent, and two days was enough to feel we'd seen it.

No day is complete without ice cream.

We would board our ship on Friday afternoon, October 3, so I had time for one last long walk that morning. I went back up to the Citadel so I could explore the vast Plains of Abraham Park a bit more.