Ooh La La...

In addition to taking the girls shopping, Ann took the girls to the hair salon. It wasn’t a surprise that Ashlynn had her roots dyed...

…but it was a shock that Veronica had highlights added for the first time, which you can see was pretty complicated.

They were both all smiles with the end results.

Love this shot that Veronica took. 

On Ashlynn’s final night in town, they got all glammed up...

... for a nice Thai dinner out.

Veronica went along by Uber with Ashlynn to get her final COVID-19 test before flying. They couldn’t communicate with their driver, so he dropped them off to walk through the drive-thru, which they said felt strange, and another driver had to pick them up to take them to the airport. Ashlynn flew back to Glasgow while Veronica hopped on a train back for another few days with Grandma. 

 

Back in Front of the Camera...

Ashlynn’s first shoot was with Anna Linetskaya at a garden in Fort Mason wearing designer clothes.

It’s always a surprise to see a test shoot image featuring a smile.

Ashlynn especially enjoyed the more casual shoot wearing her own clothes in Golden Gate Park with Nikki Gerdes. 

She had planned to use some of these photos to update her portfolio in hopes of possibly doing some modelling in the UK when she returned to Glasgow, but the IMG London office dropped the ball in helping her find representation in Scotland. Eventually she reached out to the IMG Paris office and they decided with Ashlynn that it was time for IMG to release her from her contract so that she can branch out on her own. She had contemplated this option for the last two years, so it didn’t come as a shock, but it was still a bittersweet decision to walk away from IMG who had helped her go to Tokyo, Paris, Athens, Seoul and Sydney, for which she and I will always be grateful. 
 

Off to San Francisco...

Although this looks like Holland, it was actually in Golden Gate Park when Veronica and Brett took the train up to San Francisco for a day of wandering.

They also went on a hike where they spotted the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

Most importantly they went to Boudin’s at Fisherman’s Wharf for soup in the best sourdough bread bowls ever. Of course, she couldn’t have their fantastic clam chowder. but Brett could. 

A few days later Ashlynn arranged to do some test shoots in San Francisco with two local photographers. She booked a bed at a hostel and was pleasantly surprised to find that she had a really nice room to herself—lucky girl to find that great deal. 

She especially enjoyed the shoot with Nikki Gerdes at Golden Gate Park.

While Brett was off on a one-week backpacking trip with some guy friends, Veronica and Ashlynn went to Oakland to meet up with the grandchildren of Grandpa’s best friend: Monique, who was home after her first year at Brown University, and Sarah, who was getting ready to start her final year in high school. 

 

Meanwhile in California...

Ashlynn arrived a few days before Veronica in the hopes of spending some alone time with Grandma. 

I was thrilled that it worked out for Veronica and Brett to make a quick stop in Martinez to say hi to Darlene and Mike on their way to Atherton.

The girls were thrilled to get to finally meet their cousin Nick, my stepsister Robin’s son who lives in Virginia. Ashlynn hopes that he’ll visit her in Glasgow.

Ashlynn was also excited that Brett gave her some driving lessons...

…and Veronica was excited to spend time with Brett in a place where she holds such fond memories.

 

Colorful San Jose...

After dinner, we took a long walk to check out the urban art. Here are many of the murals that we spotted while walking around San Jose. Of course, this one of George Floyd was very powerful. 

These murals featuring girls were quite sweet.

This one was quite poignant, clearly referring to immigrants trying to reach the shores for asylum: Will our boat ever land?

These two photos are from one very large 140-foot long mural on the wall outside the Lido nightclub, funded partially by the nightclub as well as asset forfeitures obtained by the District Attorney’s office. Phylum of the Free, by an artist who teaches at UC Santa Cruz, underscores the contrast between Silicon Valley and the natural beauty of the world. 

These last few murals were particularly colorful. I was so happy to end my trip by spending time with Darlene and Mike.

 

Seeing Darlene and Mike...

On my last day in California, Darlene and Mike picked me up for an afternoon in San Jose. After dropping off my luggage at an airport hotel (to make things easy for my early flight the next morning) and taking me for my final COVID test (the Netherlands required two tests at the time, which was complicated and quite expensive), we spent a few hours wandering around downtown San Jose. 

After years of growing up and avoiding downtown San Jose due to its reputation of being dangerous, it was refreshing to walk around with no worries. 

Selfies are clearly not my strong suit, but that didn’t stop me from trying. 

This was taken near San Pedro Square Market, a nice food hall where we ate dinner. 

This five-story tribute to the late Supreme Court of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was by far my favorite artwork I saw during my trip. It was created by a former biomedical engineer turned artist.

If you look carefully, hopefully you’ll spot the three of us on the left and RBG on the right.