In Retrospect: Visit to the Bay Area

Background: After spending Christmas in NYC we took a flight to San Francisco and spent some time with family, visited with a few friends before we headed to our baja road trip. 

Memories: This visit was very special for me first because it had been several years since I was able to visit. But also because I have a soft spot with the bay area given that it was the first place I lived in when I moved to the US (back in 2000). Those years were so important, I was just fresh out of high school and moved to the US to learn English. It was so nice to visit and reconnect with the people that played important roles in my life back then, it made me realize how much I have grown and reflect on the direction my life has taken.  Hope to be back some day and take more pictures this time!

*This post of part of my retrospective series, to learn about them please click here.

In Retrospect: Christmas in NYC

Background: We left Cambridge visited aunt Gwyneth at the the convent in CT then drove to NYC to spend Christmas with family. 

Memories: Just looking at these pictures brings back some many feelings from that visit, feelings of gratitude and heartache.  Some months before we had planned this visit as part of our road trip to Baja. The plan was to spend Christmas with Grandma in New York. Unfortunately Grandma passed away a few days before Christmas. None the less we held a family gathering in her apartment, there was a Christmas tree, family cooking, amazing food, thoughtful gifts, memories, and conversation... all things grandma-like. We all thought about her, her legacy, how much we will miss her and how much she will be with us always.

*This post of part of my retrospective series, to learn about them please click here.

Julie

Hodges