Sarah Graduates!

On Friday, May 20, 2011, Rich and I left Emeryville and drove up to Portland, Oregon via an overnight stop at Medford. On Sunday, we spent some time with Jesse walking about downtown Portland.

Sunday evening, Doug and Nancy Hansmann joined Rich, Jesse, Sarah and I at Papa Hadyn's for a celebratory dinner. Rae was flying back from Montreal for a Bar Mitzvah so she missed the laughter and jocularity that always accompanies a meal when we get together with Doug and Nancy. The meal was excellent and the desserts afterwards were sinful but we all enjoyed every minute and morsel of it.

Monday was Graduation day. We gathered for breakfast at Gray's center. Jesse and Rae joined us and we got our seats for the ceremony. As this was the 97^th commencement of Reed College they are practiced with Pacific Northwest weather and all of the ceremony was under a large white tent so everyone was shielded from the intermittent rain. Colin Diver, the president of Reed College, gave the introduction and Pamela M.J. Cox '75, vice president of the World Bank for the Latin America and Caribbean region, gave the address. Following the speeches, the graduates received their diplomas, according to department. Sarah received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from the department of Mathematics and Natual Sciences.

Several students present Colin Diver with a memento when receiving their diploma. One student gave him a mounted deer's head. We are still not sure what this was signifying. Others presented him with posters, leis, a bottle of vodka, etc. There are two assistants at the graduation that are there just to collect these items. When Sarah received her acceptance letter to Reed in December, 2005, the envelope was contained not only the letter but was filled with confetti. She saved that confetti and when she accepted her diploma, she asked Mr Diver to bend over and she sprinkled a handful of this same confetti over his head. Below is a video clip that Doug took of this event.

After all of the graduates received their diplomas and to the standing ovation of the parents and friends, the recessional proceeded out the tent and the sun began to shine, at least briefly. The faculty lined the pathway and clapped as the graduates walked by. We were able to get a few pictures of Sarah before she went off to congratulate friends and we adjourned to the nibbles and champagne tent.

We are proud of Sarah and her accomplishment. She is not sure where her next path will take her but we are looking forward to her joining us on Windarra for at least part of the summer.

Celebrating and Wine Tasting in Napa

On April 29, our friends, Dan and Madeline Sego, flew down to visit us for a long weekend. On Saturday morning we drove out to Napa to check out the winery scene.

Our first stop was a tasting at Mumm's (http://www.mummnapa.com/). The weather was sunny and warm so we sat outside on the patio, sipping 3 samples of bubbly and nibbling on nuts, dried fruits and crackers while looking over the vineyards.

Our next stop was Silver Oak Winery, where life is a Cabernet, near Rutherford (http://www.silveroak.com/ ). I played designated driver while Rich, Dan and Madeline tasted various red wines. We watched minibuses and limousines deliver and pickup groups for wine tasting and posing next to the statues on the grounds near the tasting room.

This strenuous activity required a late afternoon nap at the hotel and an even later dinner in downtown Napa.

Sunday morning we drove to Castello di Amorosa winery (http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/). The castle is 14^th century Tuscan style with 107 rooms and winery. There is even a small chapel, Saint Catherine of Siena, where they have Latin Mass on Sunday morning at 8:30am. (We passed on this experience) The winery specializes in Italian style wines. After a self-guided tour of the castle we went to the tasting room. Dan and Madeline selected wines for a case to be sent back to Seattle, plus 2 bottles and we were ready for our picnic.

We drove across to Rutherford Hill Winery and a small picnic area with a beautiful view of the Napa Valley. Wine, cheese, salami, fruit, bruschetta, bread and crackers made up the picnic as we celebrated both Dan and Madeline's anniversary (30 years and growing strong) and Rich's birthday (65 years and growing stronger). Cheers!

Monday morning we drove through San Francisco for a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Unfortunately the clouds and wind were coming in and it was a might chilly. We had lunch in Sausalito to recover those calories we lost during the walk!

In the afternoon we dropped the Segos at Oakland Airport for their flight back to Seattle.

Friday, May 6, was our 27th anniversay. To celebrate we drove to Carmel for lunch and some sightseeing. After lunch at Merlot's, we took the 17-mile drive around the Pebble Beach area. The views were gorgeous. We continued to Monterey and checked out the marina as it has been 10 years since we were here last. We plan to stop here again some time this summer on our way south.