Adrienne and I left for a little adventure today – a few days at Yosemite National Park. Hurray, we took our bicycles!Because all the hotels in and near Yosemite were booked, we rented a cabin near Mariposa through VRBO – the Poppy Cottage.Very cute 2-bedroom cabin down the hill and across the gravel road from the owners.A very nice deck in the back.After settling in, we drove back to Mariposa to explore and have dinner.After asking a few shopkeepers about their favorite restaurant in town, we chose Castillo’s.

Yes, I ended up buying one! The Yuba Mundo is about 55 inches from wheel hub to wheel hub and would not fit on my bike rack, so Thais dropped me off at Practical Cycle in Old Sacramento and I rode it back to her house where it will stay. I am really looking forward to using it when I watch Sophia and Avery on Tu and Th afternoons.Later in the day, Thais sent me a few pictures. Rolling three-deep:Cousin Cameron also got a ride.

Every year, the Rio Linda Chamber of Commerce holds a fundraiser to elect an honorary mayor. There were three candidates running this year, each person represented a local non-profit organization and sold $1 tickets. Half the money raised goes to the C of C, half goes to the organization. Tonight, the winner was announced at a dinner held at the American Legion. The winner just received the symbolic top hat from last year’s H-Mayor; at right is the candidate from the Moose Lodge – and I have no idea who any of them are because I don’t hang out at either the Legion or the Moose, which are essentially two of Rio Linda’s bars.I supported the Rio Linda Food Closet and the three women who work tirelessly to make it a success. Catherine was their candidate.

L-R: Brenda Conover, Bev Doster Ward, Catherine Green

I met Linda and Adrienne for coffee today. Mary Gail Dorn came in with her grandson and stopped by to say hello.

I picked up Sophia and Avery after summer school at St Ignatius was over. We first stopped at Petco to see if there were any animals to look at. There were lots! Rabbits, hamsters, mice, amphibians, fish, birds!
The best discovery, however, was the adoption center where you can meet and play with kittens and puppies. Perfect! Sophia really wants a cat, but Mom and Dad are not so excited. Since there is NO chance Grandma would ever purchase/adopt/pet a cat (or any other pet for that matter), I am the best person to provide this experience.Our next stop was haircuts. Sophia went bold with a short style.Our third stop was Sophia’s ukelele lesson. Avery and I walked around the block. He managed to entice a local kitty to follow us for a while.I’m not sure how much fun Sophia and Avery had, but I had a great time today.

I went to Maria’s in Penn Valley for a couple of days – always so much fun! Maria’s experimental garden on the front patio:I walked each day, motivated by a FitBit Weekend Warrior challenge.Hole #1 for the Lake Wildwood golf course is across the street. Maria spotted Janice Pucci’s group on the green.And she came over for a visit afterward.As always, great food. Here three different dinner salads – yum!My experiment, frozen vodka using Ocean Vodka – organic and made in Kula Maui. Next time, I’ll make sure all the fish are right-side up!As it melted, the scuba diver became visible.Thank you Maria and Tim for everything!