Jessie and her crew, Old Adobe State Park, Petaluma

Since California is still waiting to hear which state parks (if any) are being closed, I can't report on whether you, too, can go visit lovely Old Adobe (or "obie dobie" as some of us have called it as kids) after Labor Day weekend. So go visit in now, just in case! Jessie and her beautiful daughter and lovely friend Hannah took me to the park for picnicking and history last month. I brought that trusty Yashica that I have been talking about so much lately, along with one roll only of 120 film (only 12 shots, agh!), and got some artsy shots I liked. So, yes, I ran out of shots by the time we went to cool Green String Farm (and even by the time Lennon woke up), but sometimes you just have to put the camera down and be there. Right?





Hannah impersonating the plaque General Vallejo, who settled this area for the Spanish back in the day (hint: he had a crazy mustache):





It's funny revisiting field trip spots as a grownup, because now I am often actually interested in reading the maps, curated info posters, etc., that I was supposed to pay attention to as a kid. Does that make me old and boring?

Pretty cacti:











On a sidenote, the day after Jessie's sister, Lauren, married her husband in one of the coolest weddings ever, Lauren's best friend from high school married her guy at Old Adobe! I love when weddings are in familiar, nostalgic places that you wouldn't necessarily expect.

Beautiful Petaluma summertime hills, teensy oaks and eucalyptus in the background, old old lichen-y fence in front:



And the actual old adobe clay bricks that make up the house (except where the mice have gotten in):



Here's Jessie letting me "test the light" and take this cute picture of her assisting me at Melissa and Brett's wedding: