NoCal

Most of the time we spent in California was spent at my Uncle's place in Vacaville, and my Grandfathers in Hopland. Hopland was famous for it's beer brewing and especially the aromatic Hops that gave the town its name. Beer has (with the exception of the Mendocino Brewing Company) moved on and now the dry hills are covered in vineyards.



We spend most of our time in the area on my Grandfathers property, driving tractors and shooting the lever action .22 at the copious beer cans my uncles provide.



Though there is a fair amount of exploring to do as well, there are a pair of creeks and a network of roads and deer trails in the area, so there are plenty of nooks and crannies to check out. On one of our walks down the road my Mom, Sister and I saw three skunks one right after the other. I had never seen a living skunk before, so I was pretty excited, even chasing after one of them. I didn't get too close though, so I managed to avoid being sprayed.



While not a skunk, my Grandfather's cat Elvira is a tad wild. She won't often come up close to humans, but I managed to persuade her to accept my pets.



While in Vacaville, my dad decided to break out the croquet set and teach The Youngest Cousin (TM) how to play. I avoided the game myself, as open toed sandals + beer + heavy balls + mallets = pain and suffering.



I have been trying to work on my portrait photography lately, and this is one of the results of that effort, I think it came out looking pretty good.

It has been a very busy summer for me, and my remaining weeks in the United States will prove even busier, with hikes and climbs and a road trip to the Four Corners!