Sojourner - Traveling with the “Canman”

Harbor below 1800's Russian Fort Ross settlement Van Damm Park Going back to where one grew up is a reflective experience. The Mendocino coast where  rural  grandeur is  unchanging  , cathartic and so relaxing to visit.    My aunt and uncle and their families still live there right where they were raised.   My Aunt Lil and her daughter at her ranch My Uncle Bob  My Italian grandparents and their kids on Little River homestead.  My dad on left and aunt in dress My uncle Bob is the baby in his mom's arms And just an hour inland, is my boyhood town of Ukiah-the same in so many ways with little impetus to grow and change.   The isolation, slow pace, manual labor and ignorance is what drove me to leave. The beauty and summer coolness is what draws me back. 1000 years from now the oceanside and redwoods will likely look the same.  What lessons can we draw? Perhaps to enjoy each precious day of life and don't fret the small stuff.   I'm the ringbearer at my Uncle Bob's wed

Want to go back in time and escape into a medieval Italian mountain village?  Try Bormio!  Nestled in the Italian alps near the Swiss border.  Bormio retains some of its medieval heritage with many old buildings.  More tranquillo, at least in the summer.  Winters it is famed for its skiing and dogsledding (site for the 2026 winter Olympics) . The watchtower bells (rung manually on the hour) set the tempo and could be heard far up in the mountains where I was hiking on my first day there.   Food is a mix of Swiss and Italian with a local delicacy being a buckwheat version of polenta called "taragna" served with sautéed fungi (mushrooms).  Another local favorite are fried cheese balls.  Vecchia Combo is a quaint restaurant that has been around a long time.  Mountain biking is ubiquitous and its easy to rent a bike of any variety for a day or weeklong trip.   One day bike trip gave me a little sampling of real mountain biking. I biked up and traversed the mountain bordering Borm