This is a very special photograph from today’s Vallejo Fest, where Shea and I tabled for a few hours on behalf of the Humane Society of the North Bay. This fireman, who was helping us sell a fundraising 2026 calendar with Vallejo Firefighters and HSNB dogs, posed with Snoopy and me. He saved Snoopy (foster dog Peaches was also brought out to me, but it might have been from another fireman) when, sadly, five of my dogs died that horrible day. He understood that I have very foggy memories of that day, which was the worst day of my life, but he was so kind to Snoopy and me today. The story is mentioned in the November 2026 picture on the calendar that they posed for.
In previous years it was called Vallejo Waterfront Weekend, but this year it’s one day.
This media for the event is also special because it has our foster Marshall on the cover!
Generally the second day (Sundays) in years past was very slow. It’s a fundraiser for many non-profits here in Vallejo.
Combined video that Shea and I took at Vallejo Fest.
Today marks five years since I moved to Vallejo and closed on my home! While most of the last two years have been a nightmare, as I have NOT been able to live in my home that was severely damaged by fire. Supposedly I’ll be back before the holidays, but that’s still many months past the intended move. It’s still ridiculously too long by all accounts, but despite that major setback and the horrible loss of life that day, I am so glad I’m here in this town that has been so good to me with a community that really had my back when I didn’t realize I needed them while I was in a haze after the tragedy in January 2024. The good news is that I have the rest of my life to not live in temporary housing that is suboptimal for my lifestyle. I need my garden back, my hot tub back, my three backyard sliders back, my carpet-less floors back, my one story life back, my non-popcorn ceiling back, my spacious kitchen back, my better flow home back, my walk-in shower back, my three car garage back, my corner home, my flooding of light in all parts of the house and places to sit and nap in the backyard at all times of the day in or out of the sun, my back deck to listen to occasional rain fall while outside with my coffee, my smart home music system emanating from every corner when desired. I’m struggling with these last few weeks in this rental, but it feels like an ever-moving target because I’m a pawn between the insurance/claim adjusters with their agenda and whatever is happening with the contractor, which includes tariffs and supply chain issues that this most corrupt of presidential administrations has contributed to. On top of that, I’ve had to spend a lot of money out of pocket just to move things along, since I’m trying to do things the right way, without going nuts on the improvements. Due to poor American leadership, due to the idiocy of the majority of the American electorate, I’ve had to pay higher amounts than otherwise because of stagflation. I always remind people that all politics are local. This is an example. When I get a move-in date, I’ll scream it from the mountaintops. I’m so embarrassed by having to guess at a move-in date when people tell me, always adding the caveat now that “so I’m told.” The picture below is shortly after I moved in five years ago, with some Halloween decorations up (during Covid, so I didn’t expect any kids).
I stopped by the Vallejo JFK Library’s Joseph Room, where they were hosting a Health Fair. I tabled a bit with Tobacco Free Solano (see my T-shirt), who I’ve volunteered with as a Co-Chair for several years.
The video below is a little video panorama of the Health Fair that the Vallejo JFK Library was hosting in the Joseph Room earlier this week. I made to that Tobacco Free Solano was in attendance since it was only a tiny blurb in the Vallejo Weekly. This was early on as it was getting set up, but a very cool idea and networking opportunity for local agencies and other non-profits.
Another gorgeous January day was a good excuse to use our easy access from the Glen Cove Neighborhood to hike through Benicia State Park, which is one of the perks of living here. It’s great to have such good friends call us up for a spontaneous nature walk/hike.
The foster dogs didn’t know what to make of the journey. Hobbes was extremely nervous to get into the car. Unfortunately, the last few times he was in the car it was to get vaccinations or surgery, so we need to give them more positive experiences with car drives so he isn’t like this forever.
All four dogs got lots of exercise with a bunch of great smells. I keep reminding myself, especially with a blind dog in my life again, that dogs SMELL IN COLOR. When Shea was walking in front of me with the foster dogs, Calvin especially kept looking back to check on me and basically did a bunch of the hike walking backwards, which was endearing but worrisome. It kept getting him tangled in the tandem leash. Eventually I walked in front of them so at least Calvin was looking forward when looking for me. When the foster dogs were left on tandem and off-leash they were trying to stay so close to me that they kept wrapping around my ankles and almost knocked me over a few times.
Bonnie was terrific even off-leash for part of it. When she was on leash I even inspired her to run to catch up with the others for a while. For a blind dog, this is quite a feat, because she basically never runs for fear of running into something, especially in an unfamiliar location. She has to really trust me to keep up that pace. I intentionally ran with a heavy foot so that she could hear me better. Snoopy was also terrific when he was off-leash for part of the hike. He’s a perfect dog.
The views were terrific and I am so glad that we are so quickly moving to longer days, since it was just over a month ago that we had the winter solstice.
Shea still was under the weather, but I attended a great VGN potluck at Lou’s house again. The turnout was incredible despite the brisk weather, but we’re still very lucky to have this incredible climate with many hints of Spring in the air already (seriously). There are lots of trees in full bloom. No polar vortex here!
We attended my friend Andrea Sorce’s Victory & Swearing In Celebration at the Vallejo Museum with a great crowd looking forward to the many new leaders of this area, including a new county supervisor, new state senator, and several new city councilmembers.
Thanks to the fabulous Mark Kliem for hosting! After being deputized as the official photographer of the VGN holiday party, here are the results! Seeing people from various Bay Area counties like San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa and other parts of Solano County like Vacaville and Fairfield was wonderful. Our Vallejo Gay Network community and its allies have been a wonderful focal point for me since making the wise decision to move here.
