Autumn snaps

This reservoir can be seen from the Huffaker Hills trail in Reno, Nev.

Each year we visit family and friends in the U.S., timing our trip to coincide with Thanksgiving — my favorite holiday. With the birth of our granddaughter in 2018, these trips have a new focus: to spend as much time as possible with her. Although I don't share photos of her on this blog or on social media (with a few exceptions), trust me — she's adorable and bright and is the apple of our eye.

Kids try their hand at panning for gold at Apple Ridge Farms near Placerville, Calif.

Speaking of apples, I accompanied Sweet Baby Vi and her parents on an outing to Apple Hill, a place I never got around to visiting when I lived in Nevada. It's an annual pilgrimage for many residents of northern Nevada and northern California, especially in the fall when the aforementioned apples are being harvested.

Our lunch stop at Bodhaine Ranch near Placerville, Calif., included
a slice of pie, of course.

Autumn flowers were in bloom at Delfino Farms in
Camino, Calif., on the day of our Apple Hill excursion. 

Families may enjoy picking a basket or two of apples in one of the many orchards that dot the hills near Placerville, Calif. Others will just want to browse the country-store-style shops and pay a bit too much for jars of yummy apple butter, donuts, or cans of (I swear this is true) alligator or snake bits to serve up on crackers. For us, it was a day to get outside, enjoy the sunshine, have a pleasant lunch alfresco (brisket sandwiches seem to be popular). Yeah, all that was great, but truthfully, I was mostly there for the pie.

Framed by sagebrush, Ken shows how much he enjoyed our first hike at
Huffaker Hills in Reno, Nev.

When we weren't babysitting, Ken and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather by taking some short hikes. We went to Huffaker Hills, in the heart of Reno, a couple of times. Named for Granville W. Huffaker, one of the area's original settlers, the open space provides rocky paths bordered by sagebrush and grand views of the Reno skyline.

Despite being colder, we still had blue skies for our second hike at Huffaker Hills
in Reno, Nev.

Our U.S. trip coincided with an appearance by a friend at the Pioneer Center in Reno. We met César Lozano at an English-language school at which we volunteered last winter. Right off the bat, Ken and I found César to be a very charming man. During our many hours of intimate conversations, he made each of us feel like we were the most important person in the world. We eventually found out that he is a big celebrity in Latin America and throughout the Spanish-language community in the U.S. Doctor/author/motivational speaker, César may be the most charismatic person I know.

We wish we could have spent more time with our friend César Lozano
after his appearance at the Pioneer Center in Reno, Nev., but there was
a line of fans waiting to meet him.

We stopped by before his show to say hi, and he insisted we stay for the whole evening. Although Ken and I couldn't understand most of what he was saying since it was in Spanish, the audience was enraptured, laughing and sighing and cheering throughout the evening. When we said good-bye afterward, a line of several hundred people were waiting to meet César and have him sign the books, DVDs, and tee-shirts they had bought. They had to wait a bit longer, because he was chatting with us, once again making us feel like we were the most special VIPs there.

Gray skies add to the atmosphere at the Emeryville (Calif.) Marina.

Our trip back to France began with a ride on the California Zephyr, the Amtrak train that runs from Chicago to San Francisco. We got to spend time with my brother before our plane left the next day. The weather was not so great, but we enjoyed a walk around the Emeryville Marina, a tranquil spot on the San Francisco Bay.

Seemingly deep in conversation at the Emeryville (Calif.) Marina,
Mike and Ken were probably talking about sports.

San Francisco can nearly be seen through the mist across the bay from the
Emeryville (Calif.) Marina.

We had the Emeryville (Calif.) Marina to ourselves on this cool misty morning.

Although our next trip is right around the corner, we are already looking forward to the following trip, and the one after that, and the one after that. Somewhere in there will be another trip or two to the U.S. After all, Sweet Baby Vi misses her grandparents.
 

Our U.S. trip always includes a few back and forths between Reno
and the Bay Area on I-80.

This is the Impossible Whopper from Burger King. Not too shabby!

Winter arrived during the last week of our U.S. trip. We pose along the
Truckee River in Reno, Nev., before seeing a movie, complete with
butter-soaked popcorn.