A very enjoyable drive along the Western flank of the Sierra foothills brought me to Paradise around mid day today. Freddie and I used to come up here a few times a year with the dogs to spend a weekend with his parents Betty and Fred and occasionally other siblings and their families who were in town for the same reason. A few times we went tubing in a local river, but spent most of the time drinking beer, having great meals, and playing poker.


Freddie's sister Susie offers a bloody mary to the gathering crowd.


A large portion of the Seereiter clan on the lawn by the pool.

Betty and Fred are gone now, but the extended family comes together here every year and takes over a nice motel with a pool and spends the day drinking and eating, catching up and occasionally dancing on the big lawn.


Dancing girls...

Last year, I heard Mike and Freddie talking about this event, and saw some photos. I decied to try and attend this year if possible, and it worked out well with the other visits I wanted to have.


A tired dog (one of five here today).

Many of the family I had not seen for 25 years...some of Freddie's nieces and nephews who were in their early teens are now 40-ish. What a sense of time passing! Like the forest that has replaced a hayfield next to a childhood home I visited last fall.


Freddie and husband Mike (the legal kind!) in the pool. They have been together for 23 years.

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