43 of 100: Howler (mini-)reunion

I have written about my virtual writing group the Howlers elsewhere (here and here, for example). We have been meeting now—I should say "meeting" with quotation marks: every morning we check in on WhatsApp and then write, on our own stuff (or in my case, do whatever), for 90 minutes, all together, usually with Sherilyn as timekeeper—for... fourteen years now? (I'll find out. Kim will know.) We all met at Antioch University in their creative writing program, graduating respectively in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Kim and Sherilyn have Kauai connections; I was Kim's welcome committee when she started in the program. And we've stayed in touch—every day, except when travel or illness interferes—for most of the years since. It's a gift, of friendship and support.

And today, for the first time in years, the three of us met in actual person, all together! 

Our reunion started shortly after 8 a.m. on the shore of San Francisco Bay, outside Kim's hotel south of SFO. They spotted me and waved, off up ahead, while I stopped and took in the beauty of the place—the bay at low tide, wading birds dabbling in the mud:

After big hugs, we proceeded to do Howler-y things: starting with a hearty breakfast at Christie's in Burlingame, then a bookstore (Barnes & Noble, but still: bricks and mortar) and an art store (I bought some DIY 3D paper sculptures: a dragonfly, a lemur, and a chameleon—I will be sure to feature them here when they're done), before Sherilyn had to peel off around noon. 

Oh, but there were gifts: from Kim to Sherilyn and me—Kauai Salt Pond salt (which came with an amusing TSA story), Anahola granola, and a little handmade  accordion-style artist book, mine featuring insects and caterpillars as decoration. I feel so rich! 

Now just the two of us, Kim and I made a quick Trader Joe's run for snacks for her week in the mountains (she's attending a nature journaling workshop near Lake Tahoe with John Muir Laws that sounds very swell), followed by another bookstore stop (a much bigger Barnes & Noble), before heading to Coyote Point Recreation Area for a walk (and an International Geocaching Day souvenir cache). At 2 I dropped her back at her hotel, and the reunion was over—short but sweet. I then joined the throng of traffic southbound. (What took me 1.5 hours this morning stretched to over 3 on the return trip...)

Meanwhile, David has flown off to Cleveland and then Oslo for ten days, so it's just me and the dog and the cats. Fortunately, the fridge is loaded with leftovers. Maybe I'll get some serious work done? One can hope.

(I wish we Howlers had remembered to take a picture of the three of us, but we were so wrapped up in chatting and browsing and shopping, and then whoosh, Sherilyn was gone, that... it didn't happen. Next time, though—which I hope isn't as long in coming—for sure.)