The Remmers Family News: Happy New Year!, Part 4

October 10 - I continue to ride my bike at sunrise, but not all my pictures are worthy of the family newsletter. This one, however, I think is pretty spectacular!

October 11 - I have a friend who is a food blogger and receives all sorts of freebies to try. He got a batch of vegan chocolate that he needed feedback on. My friend Suzy and I were happy to oblige!

October 26 - This may be most incredible sunrise I have ever captured. It happened on a day I had a big job interview, and I thought it was a good omen. Unfortunately, I didn't get the job.

October 31 - Still depressed from not getting the job, I drove to Philadelphia for some soul searching. I attended the temple there and ate at a cool vegan restaurant. It was a great trip. I came back refreshed and filled with answers and direction.

November 6 - Riding the escalator at the mall, I found $20!!!! The Universe is smiling at me! (And frowning on someone else, unfortunately...)

November 15 - Headed to Monterey, California, for a three-day 50th birthday bash for my friend Regis, who was one of my best friends from college. When I first arrived, he drove me and another friend of his along the coastline.

November 16 - I spent most of the day studying in my hotel room (I had decided in Philadelphia that I would become a process improvement professional and had just started a class toward my certification), but took a lunch break and walked down to the beach.

I wasn't planning on returning to the beach, but I discovered that I had accidentally dropped my phone adapter, which I would need for the plane ride back. So I walked back down in the evening, catching the beginnings of the sunset. I never did find my adapter and had to purchase another one before I left.

That night, Regis hosted a tapas night at a local hotel. I got to meet friends of his from all aspects of his life. It was really fun.

November 17 - With no formal activities planned until 1pm, some of Regis' friends from Chicago and I decided to do a little hiking along the bay. Our first stop was Point Pinos Lighthouse, which is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

It still has the original 1855 lens.

Along the way, we came across a sea lion, lying on the rocks just spitting distance away! We thought it was dead, but it wasn't.

The first planned activity of the day was a whale watching trip. Regis had been out several times and had never seen any, but they came out for his birthday! We saw hundreds of humpback and a couple of grey whales, including a mama and baby. No pictures of the whales--they look just the same as you would see anywhere on the internet. Ha ha!

It was a beautiful day to head out on the water!

My former college roommate, Sylvia.

Me and the birthday boy!

That evening, Regis hosted a catered dinner at another local hotel, which included a slide show of his life. He even performed a musical number for everyone. It was a great time.

November 18 - The final day of the 3-day birthday bash was a catered brunch at Regis' home in Carmel. Afterwards, some of us went to the mall to get me a new phone adapter, then headed to the beach to catch the last sunset of the trip. Unfortunately, we forgot we were on a peninsula, and the sun set on the other side of us!!! Oh well. No good pictures, but it makes for a good story. After the beach, we brought Chipotle back to the house and had a fun time with the few remaining guests. Regis and I sang a duet we had performed for a talent show in college. It was a nice way to cap off the weekend.

November 22 - Thanksgiving! This year, I got to fulfill a many years long dream of eating with the Vegetarian Society of DC. I had already purchased my ticket when Dan said he was planning on going out of town and asked if I could take John for the holiday. John did not want to go with me, so he spent Thanksgiving with some friends from church. I was grateful that they took him in.