'Tis the season

We walked two llamas -- Mac and Golden -- in the 25th annual Historic Downtown Sonora Christmas Parade. The parade is held each year the night after Thanksgiving. Last year the llamas wore packs with presents in them, while this year we put lights and bells around their necks.

Thousands of people lined Washington Street to watch the parade and get into the holiday spirit. We continued with the momentum of the parade by attending a Christmas craft fair today and tomorrow we'll cut down our Christmas tree. Not bad for it still being November.

Second fall

During our around-the-world adventure from February until July we stayed in a variety of accommodations: guest bedrooms, fancy hotels, cheap motels, historic homes, modern lofts, a chateau, a motor home, and so on. Now we can add another to our list: tent cabin.


This weekend we stayed in a canvas tent cabin in Curry Village, a longtime establishment in Yosemite Valley. Our heated tent was just a short distance from an area roped off (and now permanently off limits) due to a large rock slide last month.

Despite Curry Village being the site of a convention for recovering alcoholics this weekend, we managed to drink a bottle of champagne (and eat way too many chocolate-covered espresso beans) in celebration of my 27th birthday!



Earlier this year, during California's spring, we were in New Zealand during their autumn. So, really, we are experiencing fall for the second time this year. The crisp air, the foliage, it's amazingly similar whether you're in California or thousands of miles away.