The San Francisco Bay Area is always a touchstone for us. We love the natural areas and enjoy the cities, restaurants and wineries. We’re also fortunate to have much of Karen’s family and many friends from all parts of our lives here. Each trip is full of great times and never seems long enough!

Karen made a trip out to Santa Clara in June. With her sister Sallie, she spent time exploring the past through many old family photographs, slides, photo albums and scrapbooks. What treasures!

One accomplishment was the donation of the Beverly Walz Historical Collection to the Sunnyvale Historical Society. Karen’s mom Bev loved the history of California, particularly the Bay Area, and was an active member of this society. We’re happy that her collection of books, magazines and prints will be used by others who share this passion.

Most of the Walz family was able to gather in November for the first time in a few years. Cathy and Gary Walz hosted a huge and delicious Thanksgiving dinner at their home in Los Altos.  Then we all headed to Yosemite for a weekend family reunion. Our last get-together there was in 2008 – hard to imagine it’s taken so long to get back to our family’s favorite place on earth. We told lots of stories about the adventures our parents Len and Bev had here, with long-lost photos to spark the memories. We made new memories together on this trip as well. Hopefully Julie and family will be able to join in next time.

It was a big birthday year for Karen, who turned 70 in December. Her sister Sallie also had a big birthday a few days later so it seemed only right to have a series of big celebrations!

We try to catch up with friends each time we visit the Bay Area. These days always feature delicious meals and long, intense and entertaining conversations. Over the course of 2024, we were lucky to catch up with about 30 friends and family living in Santa Clara, San Jose, Palo Alto, and others from as far south as Pacific Grove (Monterey County), as far north as Sebastopol (Sonoma County), as far east as Pleasanton (Alameda County), and as far west as San Francisco. These are always highlights!

Our celebration continued as we shared Christmas with Karen’s sister Sallie and her son Tyler. We enjoyed fun times all over the San Francisco Bay Area!