Meanwhile in California...

After months of planning and many trips to REI, Veronica and Brett left San Diego on July 18 for 12 days of backcountry camping and hiking in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

While I was paranoid about the rampant wildfires spreading throughout California and the devastating drought affecting much of the state, no fires were nearby and they always had fresh water available. They were offline while out in the wilderness, but touched base with us every third day when they got back to the car and moved to their next location. 

Rather than share a tent, they each slept in their own bivvy (short for bivouac sack): a waterproof sack surrounding each sleeping bag with a bug net at the top. Depending upon the weather, they either slept under a tarp or under the stars.

One other thing that they had to take into consideration was bears and their uncanny ability to get into food containers. Brett carried all of their food in a special bear canister (seen here next to Veronica), which they restocked every three days. Not only did they never see a bear, they never saw any proof of bears.

Rather than attempting to retell Veronica’s stories, I’ll let you read them for yourself on her blog.

Instead, I’ll just show you some of the amazing images that they captured during their big adventures.

It is notoriously difficult to book a camping spot in Yosemite, but they lucked out and secured a spot in Yosemite Valley, where they car camped for three nights with Siena, who had driven up from San Diego. 

 

Reflecting on Naarden...

Naarden is surrounded by two star-shaped moats—making it a very remarkable European fortified town.

It was a perfectly still evening which created some incredible reflections.

 We’d definitely like to return to explore this city some more.

A Bonus Walk in Naarden...

When we finished dinner, our waiter told us we should go for a walk in the property directly behind the restaurant’s terrace. Ashlynn and I went to investigate and quickly determined that we should all go for a walk. 

It was so special spending this important day with our world traveler.

We were thrilled to find a nice path just behind the restaurant...

…which led up a small hill with an incredible view. 

 

Our 28th Wedding Anniversary...

When I realized that we’d be in Naarden on our anniversary, I searched for a restaurant for the four of us to have a celebration dinner. I don’t usually lean towards fine dining, but got excited when I realized that Acquavite was not only hidden in the ramparts of the old city walls but it was ranked first on TripAdvisor, which I had to turn to since there wasn’t a single listing on Happy Cow in Naarden. 

The entrance sure was impressive!

We started with bubbly, of course. 

Based on the online menu, I actually assumed that Ashlynn would have to order pizza, so I was pleasantly surprised when the head chef called me to discuss vegan options that weren’t on the menu. 

We all were able to order three-course meals with Jimmy and Ashlynn choosing vegan, Carlin picking vegetarian and I got to have some incredible seafood. 

We were all thoroughly impressed with the delicious food and the attentive service.

 

Off to Naarden...

Ashlynn was finally able to book an appointment to get her coronavirus vaccination in Naarden, but it was more than one hour away and not easily accessible by public transportation. Carlin came to the rescue and drove us there. Jimmy met us in town afterwards to celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary. Our first stop was the city hall built in 1601...

…where we saw this great old aerial shot of the city, which clearly forms a star.

The city dates back to 1300 and this map is from the early 1600s. Tickets were required to go upstairs for a special exhibit, but we had a nice chat with one of the volunteers...

...and got to see where city official business was held until 2015 when Naarden merged with some nearby cities to form Gooise Meren. 

Across the street was the Grote Kerk, dating back to 1479. Tickets were required there as well, but since it was almost closing time, we were allowed in for free.

 

We zoomed through the photography exhibit to look at the building itself...

…and a fascinating display of posters to try to wake up folks about the horrific conditions of refugee camps in Lesbos, Greece called Now You See Me Moria.

It was very eye-opening and heartbreaking; we felt bad that we had no idea that such a huge humanitarian crisis existed in the EU. 

We still had an hour to kill after the church and before our dinner reservation, so we popped into Cosa Wine Bar for a drink and appetizer. It had stopped raining by the time we were done.