Going home again: Novato, Calif.

Novato's City Hall. The town was named for a Miwok leader. 

In 1988, we counted our pennies and plunged into the real estate market, buying our first home in northern Marin County. The story is kind of funny: We knew what we could afford, but not exactly what we wanted. However, one pass through the pretty yellow house with the swimming pool was all it took.

"Let's live here," I said to Ken.

And so we did.

Mulberry trees hide the view of our little yellow house in Novato.

Novato, Calif., was where we raised our children, where I became an energetic school volunteer, where we immersed our sons (and us) into the world of Boy Scouts.

Our son Jake poses in front of Olive School, in my opinion, the best school
in Novato at the time he and his brother went there, thanks to
legendary principal Mr. Melendy and his amazing successor Ms. Ericson.

My sister-in-law Karen lived nearby and together we learned to be mommies taking frequent field trips to playgrounds, movies, the library and amusement parks.

"Aunt" Karen feeds her horse on our recent trip to Novato. She and I tried to
keep each other sane while raising our kids here in the 1990s.

Our years in Novato were a happy baker's dozen.

The hills behind our house were a favorite hiking spot when
grandpa Beck visited.

On our recent trip to the states, Ken and I spent the day in Novato, taking pictures as we remembered those blurry years of raising young children. A few weeks later, our older son and his girlfriend also visited the old neighborhood.

Something catches Jake's eye as he shows his girlfriend his old
stomping ground in Novato.

As we enjoy lunch at an outdoor table along Grant Ave., Ken and I both remark how healthy downtown seems to be: a nice mix of venerable old businesses and new shops and restaurants.

We would see $2 movies at the Novato movie theater when we first moved
to town ... about all our budget could afford. It seems the building has
been under renovation for decades.

Dr. Insomniac's coffee house in downtown Novato

I bet Buck's Saw Service has been here for a hundred years.

Watt's Music is another iconic Grant Ave. store.

Hmmm ... This is new! A modern sculpture/bench in downtown Novato

My next blog post will take one more walk down memory lane in California. Then it's back to France.