Sojourner - Traveling with the “Canman”

Aunt Lil 2022 At the conclusion of the family reunion, I headed up the northern California coast to Mendocino.  My aunt Lil (my dad's sister) passed on while I was in Italy just 4 days shy of her 96th birthday!   Gilda Lillian Drinkwater was a grand lady, way ahead of her time, and a role model for me throughout my youth.  She and her husband (my Uncle Homer) had several hundred acres they had purchased for peanuts in the 1940s.  I had spent much time there many summers and wanted to pay my respects to someone who for which I have great respect.  Aunt Lil's obituary is here Aunt Lil on her porch overlooking  the Laguna Ranch in 2019 Upon arriving, I booked a room in the iconic Mendocino Hotel on the Main street.  The Mendocino Hotel was established in 1878, during the Victorian era. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mendocino was a thriving logging town. The hotel, in its prime location overlooking the Pacific Ocean, became a hub for...

It's been 20 years since I last attended the Canclini/Reginelli/Paoli reunion.  Now in its 40th anniversary, it is still going strong at the same Odd Fellows redwood park in beautiful northern California, near Guerneville.  I had just returned from Italy but was quite happy to leave the hot purgatory of Texas.  Arriving in Santa Rosa, I jumped into a car and drove toward the Pacific coast and the familiar sights of giant redwoods and cool breezes along the placid Russian River.  My youth swirled around me.  I understand why most of my clan never leave.  It's a throwback to an idyllic time, with a small-town feel that moves at a slower pace surrounded by lush beauty.  I traded stories with distant cousins and met many of the younger generations.   Odd Fellows Park The Russian River 60 miles downstream from where I grew up A Reginelli distant cousin La Fagmilia The surnames keep expanding but the attachment to roots remains.  There is some...