Catching up with Colleen and John: September 2026

What better way to celebrate August than by visiting the grand, expansive peaks, glaciers and fjords of Alaska and hike trails to lakes and waterfalls! We had the beautiful pleasure to cruise the inside passage with friends Abbe and Tom on Holland America.

Gold was the early industry and the towns were filled with history and tales of men and women, filled with adventure, lust for life and a love for the outdoors. We learned so much about the formation of land, flora and fauna and left feeling like we only scratched the surface of this ancient area.

Everything slows down when you take time to be in nature; the pace of our walk, the time spent viewing expansive mountains, sitting watching the summer sun set late into the evening sky. Learning how deeply Alaska Native people have lived in connection with the land was a powerful contrast to the fast pace of modern life.

Before the cruise began we spent a couple of days in Vancouver Canada. What A Great City! Walkable, bikeable, good food and we did it all. Plus our friend Jeff Oster who is a talented, amazing trumpet player was performing and we were able to see him perform. He’s performing with Blue Eternity locally at the Back Room in Berkeley on 9/17. If you can attend, we highly recommend it! We’re planning on being there so come say hello :-) !

We helped two clients each buy a condo in San Francisco as well. They are sisters who just moved from the east coast and are excited to be able to walk over to the other’s new home. That was fun! 

Lastly, we toasted to summer with our clients and dear friends Jerome and Sue Ann at Flowers Winery in Healdsburg. Their grounds are so pretty and we enjoyed a tasting of four wines from extreme coastal sites accompanied by elevated food pairing bites crafted by their in-house culinary team.