28.

this birthday weekend, all i wanted to do was be under the stars, overlooking the ocean, & camping in point reyes. since i fractured my foot, i've avoided being in nature. it was too hard to be somewhere when i couldn't experience it the way i have found feeds my soul. so i stayed away from these tremendous places i called my home...my love.

but the hills, they waited for me
and they continue to,
until i can run again.

backpacking seemed okay to do though. ;-) he he
so i planned a little adventure that started on friday morning and ended on saturday afternoon.

just under 30 hours of:
persimmon & fig finds, milk tea,
a coffee search in the city.
trekking to the campsite in light-but-adds-up-to-be-a-lot rain
to set up shop under a slightly harder rain
a dusk-to-dark walk on the sand along low tide crashing waves
lentil soup in the rain
a leak
sleeping under the markings of a storm
waking up at 3am under a full belly moon that lit up all that its glow touched.
we looked at each other blissfully
while i ate a beloved persimmon.
a morning walk to the beach,
tree swinging
and a trek so beautiful it transports me to another world i never should've known, but now know.
i see amy walk out of her complex, with a mission.
as soon as i see her, i know that we were meant to exchange life that afternoon.
tears, stories, love exchanged.
we bovine bakery it up and head back to the south bay
on a mission to get matt into a theater seat to watch harry potter.

i love that point reyes invites me to just be. i feel absolutely myself when i am in that space. it's refreshing in every way. it was the perfect way to affirm all of year 27, as i embark on year 28.

to remember my last days as a 27 year old, i asked my very talented friend matt to take a few snaps of me while we stood on that beach saturday morning. i dislike being in front of a camera (photographer's honest confession), but it's been such an incredible year...i wanted to memorialize it (even if it meant i had to wear a mustache).

& of course, thank you so much for exceeding my birthday goal of $2828 for charity: water.
we raised $3000 together and helped 150 bayaka people in CAR get clean water. what a tremendous way to start this new year. fantastic!