In early June, 2001, most of my extended family flew out from TX to CA and joined a brother, Pete, and my sister and brother-in-law, Alice and Ed, all of whom already lived in the state, for a combination family reunion and celebration of the 50th birthday anniversaries of Alice, Ed, and my Houston sister-in-law, Mary. A great time was had by everyone. Besides all the fun with relatives, swimming, or sampling the hot tub experience at Alice and Ed's beautiful residence in the hills west of San Jose, there were opportunities for fine wining and dining, trips to San Francisco, going to the Monterey Aquarium, watching whales, sea lions, otters, and surf at the beaches, hiking about the amazing University of California at Santa Cruz Arboretum, checking out giant redwoods, and taking in the great scenery at a number of interesting parks through the coastal region of central to northern CA. As the main purpose of our trip had been social, I did less photography during that week and a half on the Pacific Rim than I have in several other places. But here is a small selection.

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