Hot tub finally hooked up! Most of these are of the side yard, but we also are showing the front porch and the back yard in some of these.

As first-time homeowners, Shando and I are very invested in our community. Having moved during the Covid era and during fire season, we have spent a great deal of time on home improvement, but we have not been able to meet and socialize all that much with our immediate neighbors. Now that many are vaccinated, I’m hoping that will change.

Toward that end, I came across the newsletter of the Glen Cove Community Association, which had some very interesting content. I emailed them about my interest in the organization and they asked me to consider being on the board after I attended a few meetings. I did so and was very pleased with what they are doing to improve the quality of life. There are 3,000 homes in the various developments of this relatively new area of Vallejo, so that constitutes a lot of people with a lot in common.

Little did I know at the time I started attending the meetings, the that previous owner of this same house we bought had been on the same board, so it’s a wonderful tribute that I am resuming her duties. I’m literally filling her seat as one of two representatives of this development.

I’m very happy to start getting involved and the people I have met on the board (as well the neighbors we’ve all met in general) have been so wonderful. The Nextdoor.com website was very helpful in getting to know a bunch of people in advance, especially since we were on lockdown, but many have been very kind to stop by and introduce themselves.

Bocce ball event with Vallejo Gay Network, a Facebook group we found that was most welcoming to us as new gays in the neighborhood! Our friend Erick Flick started having a series of bocce ball events in the evenings when the days of long light were upon us, which was a great way to have casual competition, get out in the fresh air with the dogs and meet people just as we were all starting to get vaccinated.

First attempt at passport photo:

Dressed up for Zia Carla’s funeral:

Relaxing at home:

We’re so lucky to live right up the hill from this outstanding park on the Carquinez Strait, which connects the Sacramento delta with San Pablo Bay, which the Napa River pours into, and then San Francisco Bay and eventually the Pacific Ocean. It makes for great sunsets and the dogs love running around there.