Josh and Joanna wedding!!

The big event finally arrived! We were off to the rural hinterlands of Virginia, in the shadow of Shenandoah National Park, to see Megan's older brother Josh marry his fiance, Joanna. This would be the longest flight that either of the boys had taken in quite some time (and perhaps ever), but the trip was easy, and a lot of fun.

We stayed close to much of the rest of the extended family in some rental cabins near the wedding site. Our cabin had a swing, which was a hit.

It was great to see Aaron and Karis and so much of the rest of the family as well.

We also had a hot tub, which was a magnet, especially for the under-7 set.

Ranier got up close and personal to some of the local fauna.

We got to see the wedding site the day before the actual event as part of the rehearsal... it was a sunny, warm day, with great views of Shenandoah National Park out the back. The site itself is a working goat farm. It was very, very green.

Joanna's nephews, Evan and Carter, were also in attendance, and the four boys immediately formed a posse, which lasted the entire trip.

Megan was really excited about the whole affair!

In theory, the wedding was to take place in front of the hitching post. The warmth reminded Megan and myself of our own wedding in Tucson, where the day before it was really warm and sunny and we were worrying about shade. Like then, the forecast for the wedding day showed some potential for rain. Ha! They should be so lucky!

It really was a goat farm!

Inter-species communication.

After the rehearsal, we all went to a grand BBQ at a local county park. Megan and mom, Anne-Marie, both looked lovely and festive.

Lots of Halls and Kinds and friends present. Dinner was a whole roast pig, among other goodies. Yum!

Jeremy, always in style.

Megan, Ahrash, Jeremy, and Erin managed to get away for a hike the morning of the wedding. Shenandoah was lovely, with a late-Spring feel. We couldn't get too far given time constraints... just off the ridge and down a bit before turning around. But we did spot a toad and took time to check out flowers, trees, poison ivy, etc.

Well, in fact, their luck held and it DID rain! At times, quite hard. Here are Joanna's parents heading to the ceremony.

The cake was topped with a custom wire-art piece. Awesome.

Megan looking beautiful.

Karis looking beautiful as well.

The decision was made to hold the whole event in the covered area, which was very colorful and airy (literally, being wide open on all sides). It was a good call... the increased closeness livened things up, I think, and it still really felt like we were outside, if not wet.

Proud dad and groomsman.

Ranier found ways of keeping himself entertained until things got going in earnest.

The ceremony itself was really lovely. The backlighting made it hard to get good photos with a small camera. This shot wasn't bad. There were many smiles and tears over their self-written vows and chosen readings.

A post-ceremony cuddle was in order.

Aaron and Karis, no longer the "new couple."

Megan and dad, Phil, ready to dance!

Joanna making the rounds with attending Hall family members.

Joanna giving her feet a break, shows off her wedding shoes.

The kids table is always the place to be!

Dancing, dancing! Turns out ALL of the kids were wildly enthusiastic, and quite good, dancers!

Ranier taking a turn.

Everyone wants to dance with Joanna!

We found a brief moment when we were all in one place...

The day after the wedding, many of us stuck around for the remainder of the weekend, so we got to enjoy (another) hike in Shenandoah National Park, this time along a stretch of the Appalachian Trail. It was a misty day, sometimes wide open and sunny, and sometimes closed in and foggy. Great hiking weather.

A view from the trailhead.

Another view.

Where there are rocks and uncles, climb and clamber!

We miss everyone already!

Henry Coe State Park

We've been wanting to do some lightweight backpacking this year, both because you can never do too much backpacking, but also because we feel like the boys are old enough to really enjoy it. We discovered that our friend Sebastien, father of one of Dahrius' kindergarten classmates, Aurelien, was thinking similarly, so we made plans for a late Spring trip somewhere in the Bay Area. First thought was Pt Reyes, but the campgrounds were full, so we decided to check out California's largest, yet little known, state park, called Henry Coe. It is just Southeast of San Jose, so 1.5 hours away without traffic; much farther with traffic.

It turned out to be a fantastic choice.



The park is rugged. The soft, rounded hilltops drop into sheer canyons, several thousand feet down in some places. The open grasslands are a reminder that this was all ranch land until it became a state park.



We awoke both mornings we were there to brilliant sunshine at our camp, and could see the dense fog filling in the valleys and coast below.



The legacy valley oaks are absolutely stunning, freshly leafed out for the Spring. It was warm but not hot - really, just about perfect.

The boys were great hikers. Even Ranier managed to do most of the hiking...

...most of the time.

The park, like many of the East Bay parklands, is famous for its wildflowers. We were there somewhat late in the season, but there were still flowers, and wildlife, in abundance.

Harvest Brodeia, a favorite native.

The manzanita in this park are freakishly large. Many of them were full-on trees. They are not a different species from the usual bush-like variety, so I guess the conditions here are perfect for them

This is a view from above our camp back down and to the south, looking toward Monterey Bay.

This Valley Oak was particularly impressive. These trees are hundreds of years old.

Ranier found a special perch.

The hilltops, even in the lower western part of the park (where we were) get high enough to support good-sized stands of Ponderosa Pines. The vegetation is an interesting mix of coastal and Sierran foothills species.

At the proverbial fork in the trail.

Another view of the fog below.

Aurelien and Dahrius were a good match as hikers.

Ranier was mostly just joyful.

Mule Ears, a flower I associate with lower alpine wilderness.

Wild California Irises.

Being silly.

Dahrius spotted a Gopher snake on the trail. Earlier, Aurelien had discovered a rattlesnake. It was nice for them to be able to get a good look at the differences.

So we picked it up. It was a juvenile, and quite calm.

I can safely recommend Henry Coe to anyone! We will certainly go back. It apparently gets brutally hot during the summer, but I'm willing to bet there are benefits of a visit any season.