Visit from Fran with Adam, and Rachel

With Adam and Rachel out for a visit from New York, we were lucky to have Fran stop by for an overnight stay on his way back from a training class in Marin. 3 hours of driving to get here on Friday night, 3 hours of driving to get back to the Sacramento airport on Saturday afternoon... all for 18 hours of quality hang-out time!


We had a great time playing with Spencer around the house and grabbing brunch at Bay Watch in downtown San Mateo.


It was a short trip for Fran, but he was able to fit in some special face-to-face time with Spencer...


...and got us caught up on the latest and greatest in his life.

Spencer's First Steps

We had an epic evening tonight-- Spencer went from not being willing to take even a single step without holding your hand to practically strolling around the room, all in cousin Nate's room at the Hills. Loads of fun-- check out the video here.

Williams 10-Year Reunion

We stopped by Williamstown for our 10-year reunion on our way back from Germany, part of our epic June travels. It has been 10 years since graduation, and at least 8 since either one of us has been back on campus. Lots of changes, including a new student center, a new theater, and lots of renovated dorms (we had it rough back in the day).

Click here for a slideshow...

It was a great weekend-- it's easy to forget how beautiful Williamstown is, and of course it was excellent to catch up with so many people. We slept in Mission, an old dorm where we spent our Sophomore year, and Eunice's short documentary, "New Beginnings" was screened at a special film event. Special thanks to Adam and Rachel, our "babysitters" who drove up from New York to allow us to attend the evening festivities!

Work and Play in Germany

After almost 3 years of Ryan spending frequent work weeks in Germany, we decided to take the opportunity to have Eunice and Spencer come along. We stayed in Heidelberg, a charming University town on the Neckar River, and spent the weekend in France wine tasting in Alsace. This was Spencer's first trip abroad, and he was a traveling champion!


Heidelberg has miles of cobblestone paved pedestrian walkways with sidewalk cafes and beer gardens. The center of the altstadt (“old town”) is the old bridge across the Neckar.

Click here for the full slideshow

We stayed at the Villa Marstall, right on the river. Our room was in the attic on the top floor, which meant lots of opportunity for banged heads for Ryan and Eunice. But Spencer was in paradise-- lots of low furniture for him to practice his cruising. Spencer was a great traveler-- he adjusted to the time zones better than either of us!

Our weekend in Heidelberg corresponded with a festival to mark the beginning of the summer. People and boats lined the banks of the river to watch a spectacular fireworks show. The show commemorates the burning of the castle, which is reenacted every year using colored lights, smoke and fireworks. We could watch all the action right from our hotel window-- the Villa Marstall was the perfect location. We were also lucky to be able to introduce little Spencer to big Spencer (Ryan's high school friend, a scientist collaborating with a lab in Heidelberg.)

We spent Saturday in France, driving the wine road of Alasce through several very cute little towns. The hills above the wine road are blanketed with vineyards, and each little town is a walled medieval village, a little different from Napa or Sonoma! The wine tasting was fantastic-- the region specializes in Reislings and Gewurtz, perfect summer wines.

What a great trip-- thanks for being such a travel champion, Spencer!