Monica and I spent nine days in May in Santa Rosa, Calif. Not that vacations should be a goal-oriented endeavor, but there were three things we wanted to do while we were there. First on the list was celebrating my mom’s birthday. Cate turned 85 May 25th. All four of us Sweeney kids, along with in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends were on hand for that. Enedina even flew out for the occasion. Secondly, we needed to be introduced to our grandniece, Ava. She was born last October, and Monica, Enedina, and I were the only relatives yet to meet her. The third was to do some exploring in and around Sonoma County. We did just that, hitting spots like Cazadero, Hog Island, and AT&T Park.

We punched every box on the list, and more. To call it “time well spent” would be understatement.

The next few posts on the blog will showcase some of those highlights from our trip to northern California.