California

 

Mom and I traveled to California for Gail Withun's memorial service. Gail was Mom's first cousin, daughter of Bill Hartman - Memaw's brother. 

Day One: 

Early flight out of Austin, direct to Sacramento!

We flew over the Grand Canyon

and Lake Tahoe! So pretty!

Dawn, also Mom's first cousin, picked us up and took us out to eat on the river near downtown Sacramento. 

Then gave us a driving tour of downtown and over to her office at Morgan Stanley to show us around and pick up some donuts a client had sent her.

After we checked into the hotel, we headed over to Dawn's for dinner. Katelyn was cheering at a home football game that night, so we were able to pull up the Poth ISD YouTube channel and watch for a bit! So fun!

The next day Dawn & William, her husband, picked us up and we headed to Burson, CA to Gail's house. Where her son's, Harry & Tom, my 2nd cousins, were and we looked through old pictures and they gave us a tour of her house. Which she and Bill, Gail's late husband, built after moving back to California from Maryland, where they lived for most of their adult life. 

The memorial service was held at her church, First Congressional Church in Murphy, CA.

It was a very nice service with a reception after. Just look at all her accolades. She was one smart, sweet lady!

Later that evening, we went back to Gail's and talked and reconnected.

Gail's house at night....we really loved it! 

The next morning we got up early and headed up the coast line to Anchor Bay. And we got to meet Liam, Dawn & William's grandson. I believe he would be considered a 3rd cousin to my kiddos. 

We stopped to stretch our legs here, so pretty! Yet, nothing compared to what we were about to see.

Uncle Bill's cabin that he built all by himself many years ago in Anchor Bay, CA. I wish I had taken more pictures of the cabin. Tom, his family, and Harry spent the night here, so we stayed with Dawn and her family just right up the road. 

It was a gorgeous, foggy day!  The coast line is off in the distance, but all you can see if the fog.

They gave us a tour of Anchor Bay, which mostly consists of a general store, Fish Rock Cemetery, a camp ground, and two restaurants that were both closed. You have to be a property owner to be buried in the cemetery, so it's pretty small and special. 

We took the small hike down the cliff to the beach to take a peek and I am so glad we did. The fog made for some beautiful pictures!!

Someone left a cute hut for the next kid to play with.

That evening we went to the neighboring town, Gualala, to eat at the Vue. They went all out and had "Gail" treat us all to dinner each night. Thank you Gail!

The next morning, we hiked the .2 miles down the road to Fish Rock Cemetery where they held their own personal memorial service and buried Gail's ashes. I was very sweet and memorable.

William Ferrell (photo credit)

Top: Me, Dawn Ferrell , Kat Withun, Mimi, Charles (Bill Withun's brother)

Bottom: Harry Withun, Liam Ferrell, Tom Withun, Harper Withun, Camille (Gail's niece from Bill's side)

That afternoon we grabbed sandwiches and Anchor Bay gear from the general store and headed to the beach to hang out. This was Mimi's first time to fly anywhere for 10 years and the first time to put her toes in the Pacific Ocean! Little did she realize, the next weekend, she would be putting her toes in the gulf coast shoreline too while traveling to a cross country meet!! World Traveler, she is! :)

We gathered some driftwood and succulents from around town and came back after enjoying the beach to decorate Gail's tombstone. 

Evening dinner at St. Orres, a Russian themed restaurant and hotel just barely south of Anchor Bay. 

We had a fantastic trip, reconnecting with our Hartman family. We definitely need to plan another trip to go see them soon, this time with my whole family! The next morning we woke up before the sun rose to start our drive to the Sacramento airport. Once the sun rose, the fog was so thick we couldn't even see the ocean. We were above the fog for quite a bit of the drive and it was so neat to observe. 

There's some water!!

Thank you Dawn & William for hosting us! We can't wait to see you all again soon! The kiddos love their Anchor Bay sweatshirts!