Family of Certainty

Rich, Vaite, and Ryan Counting Kin My niece Vaite visited us last week. She’s Tahitian and attends university in France. She’d been home to Papeete for the Christmas holidays and planned a week’s stopover here on her return trip. We’d negotiated a schedule so that she could spend time with us, visit my daughter in […]


Family of Certainty

Rich, Vaite, and Ryan Counting Kin My niece Vaite visited us last week. She’s Tahitian and attends university in France. She’d been home to Papeete for the Christmas holidays and planned a week’s stopover here on her return trip. We’d negotiated a schedule so that she could spend time with us, visit my daughter in […]


In the Land of the Living

Cadence, Rob, Elaine, and Sawyer Happy Birthday, Rob! Our son-in-law Rob is 30 today. Yesterday, Elaine prepared a lovely party for her husband. Rich and I drove in the rain to San Diego to share in the merrymaking, arriving a bit early to help with last-minute preparations. Thus we had the pleasure of watching the house fill with […]


Hidden in Plain Sight

Elaine and I on a Motu off Tahaa, French Polynesia, January 2004 Right Under our Noses My daughter Elaine and I have traveled together to many places. We’ve visited French Polynesia three times. We’ve been to Hawaii, to Texas, to Las Vegas, and taken more weekend road trips than I can count. One of my favorite trips, […]


Faith Made a Mountain

PilgrimageYesterday, Rich and I drove to San Diego county and picked up our dear friend and co-grandma Judi. We drove two hours into the desert as a spectacular thunderstorm played across the sky before us. Our destination? Niland, California and Salvation Mountain. We were blessed to meet Leonard Knight, who built the mountain, and Kevin Eubank, who […]