February is the birthday month in our family. Every birthday has a tendency to force us to stop and reflect. Austyn’s is not different. If I had been able to control nature Raun and Austyn would have been 3 years apart but as it went there four and a half years between them. I struggled…

I cried tonight at Jake’s. Jake’s, how does one describe it? Up until the 1950s it was the corner candy store, one of those great corner locations that appear to be built in a triangle. During the 50’s the candy went away and the alcohol arrived becoming the corner bar. In fall of 2006 Jake’s…

I am an organizer. Give me a problem and I can produce a plan that will cover all the bases. It’s how may brain works. I have apparently passed some of that on to Austyn as well. There is great fun is solving problems, putting plans together and watching them be executed. If not careful…

Sunday began just as Saturday had; maps, coffee and the Sweeney Todd soundtrack playing in the car. We made our way further north to see the elephant seals. They come up on the beach to sun themselves. It was a sight to behold; one ton seals laying ten feet below you, dead to the world.…

That evening we had dinner at the home of Jeff’s new employer and his wife. We would spend the next two days driving from town to town in hopes that we would find some place that we could call home. We set out Saturday morning with maps, the plan was to start at the south…

I found the car, found the directions and backed out of the parking space. I made my way out of the parking lot, turned left on Broad in search of Tank Farm Road, interesting name for a road as well as an interesting road; a few farms, a trailer park, a few warehouses, the north…