Visitors from Germany

 

The weekend before last the Geek received a WhatsApp message from his cousin Matt, telling him that he and his wife will be in our area sometime the following week and whether they could stop by for a day. Of course we said yes - we always enjoy having relatives and good friends come visit. The visit, however, did last longer than just one day because we enjoyed each other so much. They arrived on Wednesday afternoon and left on Sunday morning.

Matt and Bri are on an extended journey through Canada and the US. In May they had shipped their Mercedes Unimog Camper to Halifax in Novia Scotia and had toured Canada for three months before they entered the US about four weeks ago. The Unimog just fitted into our driveway - and we were the talk of the town. 

It is a big vehicle! Of course we had to take pictures of all of us and the Unimog.

Both Matt and Bri are super nice and really easy guests. I often had to smile about the similarities between Matt and the Geek and the Geek's brothers. You definitely couldn't deny that they're family.

One day we took them to our favorite winery in the Anderson Valley, Navarro Vineyards.

We had made sandwiches, meatballs and pumpkin bread for a little picknick at the beautiful winery. Two bottles of wine rounded it out. This is my ticket for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday.

This winery is off the beaten path which means you don't need a reservation and they also don't ask for a tasting fee. Sadly, this is unheard of by now both in Sonoma and Napa County. We bought several more bottles of wine that we took home with us. 

Of course we had to take pictures.

Usually we are at this winery in late spring or early summer when there still aren't any grapes on the vine. This time, however, the grapes were hanging ripe and full on the vine, ready to be harvested very soon.

On another day we took Matt and Bri out to the coast. It was sunny and very warm in Santa Rosa, but when we came to the coast, it looked like this.

A very typical weather pattern in my corner of the world.

But - the fog burnt off and we enjoyed a pleasant sunny day on the beach.

I had never seen that many Brown Pelicans at the beach.

It was truly amazing. We stood for a long time and watched the birds as well as a couple harbor seals playing in the water. It was mesmerizing and we didn't realize how quickly time passed.

I always love to see the Brown Pelicans gliding just above the surface of the water. They are so elegant.

Driftwood could be found all over the beach. This particular one served as the backdrop for Kaefer's photoshoot at the same beach a few months ago.

Matt the rascal has to climb on a different big piece of driftwood.

And reflections in sunglasses are always interesting.

We packed a lot in those four short days. For us it is always wonderful to spend time with people we like AND who speak our native language. The conversations are just different, there is more humor involved and it's just so much easier for us to express exactly what we mean. We shared so many laughs together which we desperately needed. We didn't watch any news, didn't read the paper - it was pure bliss, like a mini vacation. 

Too soon it was time to say goodbye.

And there they go down our neighborhood street, toward their next adventure. They still have five more months of traveling.