Great Aunt Barbara’s Funeral

Back in April I went to California with my parents to attend my Great Aunt Barbara’s funeral in Monterey.  The whole extended family came to attend.

Near the cemetery there was some sort of a Tea Party protest going on.  It was tax day so I suppose that’s why a few hundred people were out.  Interestingly enough, out of several hundred people, I saw no one that was any other color than white.  Certainly in the greater Monterey area, this group of people was not anywhere close to representative of the population at large.

At the San Carlos Cemetery.

The green thing and brick are covering the hole that my great aunt ended up interned within.  Just behind it is where my great grandmother is buried.

More tea party people causing a minor traffic jam.  I wonder if they realize that the road they were protesting next to and the sidewalk they were standing on was paid for with tax dollars.

Driving along the coastal road between Pacific Grove and Caramel.

The mini van we rented for the trip.

At the memorial service.  Great aunt Barbara is in the little package next to the flowers on the table.  The paintings on either side of the table are hers.  She was an artist her entire life.

Cousin Hamilton getting ready to preside over the burial.

The cemetery guy was very nice and quite helpful.

Some of the crowd in attendance.  Lots of family, some of Barbara’s friends, etc.

Getting ready to roll in the mini van.

At a late lunch after the funeral.

Hamilton, my grandfather, and my grandmother.

Sailing in Tomales Bay

Before I returned home to Oregon I decided to take a quick detour to Tomales Bay for a sailing excursion with a friend from working at JPL. I also crashed a yacht club party while I was in town. This was actually the second time that I visited the yacht club and bay over the summer. The first time was about a month prior.

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Sondy shoving us off from the dock at the yacht club.

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Ahead full!

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I’m on a boat!  I’m on a boat! Everybody look at me cause I’m sailing on a boat!

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Midway out on our sail some of Sondy’s friends motored up alongside and handed across a beer using a net.

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A cute little sailboat chugging up the bay.

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On a beach where we stopped to walk around for a bit.

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I took a turn at driving.

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Then I got demoted to crewing again.

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Cleaning up the boat and getting ready to put it away.

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We sailed in the Blue Bonnet.

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It sure is beautiful out on Tomales Bay.