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Travels with Tucker

I'm not John Steinbeck and Tucker is certainly no Charley. But after our first year together travelling over 14,000 miles, criss-crossing America, hitting 17 states, I thought it was about time we started documenting our adventures.

Home for the Holidays

1/3/2016

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It all began with a Winter Solstice. December 21st marked the shortest day of the year, and humans of the ancient world celebrated the return of the light the following day. When religions began to form, there were other celebrations of light. And when the Christians hit the scene, they made it into an allegory. Not knowing the actual date of their savior Jesus Christ, they deemed it to be December 25th—when the Light came into the world.

Today, those beginnings are long forgotten as people sit in airports waiting for planes to de-ice and families pack up their children and drive from one relative’s house to another to say hello, eat a meal and share a moment. Commerce spikes as people have a reason to give gifts to those they love. People pile into their churches that they may very well have abandoned the rest of the year to hear the tale of their savior, or the story of the return of the Light into the world.

For me, personally, Christmas is about being with family and going to church. But it’s not the Norman Rockwell picture that I grew up with. My family is my canine kid, and waking up with him every morning is like waking up to the best Christmas present beside me.
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My Church doesn’t haven’t an address. It doesn’t hold services, and the sermon isn’t a twenty minute speech. My Church is Nature where the door is always open, and the sermon is in the birdsong. Tucker and I are avid church-goers. We don’t go just on holidays. But we try to make those holiday attendances a bit more special.

Our Christmas Church this year was Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. Although we live at the top of the hill, I took my landlady’s advice and drove to the bottom to begin our journey. A hike is a story. It begins with a slow ascent, and as you become attached to the characters and scenery around you, you become invested. So when you finally reach the climax and look back at all you’ve accomplished, the story becomes even more poignant and stunning.
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Tucker enjoys the view - and the break from climbing uphill.
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Windy Hill is the most diverse Church we’ve spent a day worshiping in. We climbed westward and just before the peak, turned to face the Bay to offer our reverence. Then as we crested the hill, we looked westward, and our gaze fell upon the Pacific Ocean and its vast limitless potential.
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On the way back down the mountain, we admired the details, for although it's a big life, we live life in the details. A balanced life is one spent equally admiring the past, gazing into the future, and living in the present.
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The downward path led us through the forest, canopied with century-old trees.
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Near the end of the path, a babbling brook offered us refreshment.
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After Church, Tucker took a short nap in his favorite spot: in front of the wall heater.
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He needed to regain his energy after our 7 mile church service so he could open gifts. No tree this year, but I never feel it’s right that a tree should lose its life just so we humans can feel closer to nature for a day. So instead, our gifts sat atop the mantel, the ornaments were fitting, and given to me by a friend:
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Tucker rose from his short nap, ready to experience the joy of unwrapping his Christmas gifts.
Tucker loved all his gifts, and there’s still a few left for him to unwrap.
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But that’s okay, because for us, Christmas isn’t just on December 25th every year. I get to wake up next to my best friend and canine partner every day. We go to our Church every chance we get. Tucker gets new toys as his old ones get broken, or when I see one I think he’ll enjoy. Gifts aren’t just bought and given in December.

And the greatest gift  - being with family, being with each other - is what Tucker and I are blessed with every day. Our family is larger than just the two of us, and through the magic of technology we can visit with them as often as we’d like. The geographical locations Tucker and I call “home” changes month to month and year to year, but Home isn’t a place to us. Home is each other, which means that wherever we are, we are always Home for the Holidays.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Best Wishes on this Winter Solstice. Celebrate the Light coming back into the world, and may you all be blessed to be Home for Holidays.
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    Posts

    All
    2016.01.03 Home For The Holidays
    2016.01.04 A Hike On Another Planet
    2016.03.25 Equality Is For Everyone
    2016.03.27 Our Easter Weekend Services
    2016.04.15 Just Des(s)erts
    2016.05.29 Max Patch
    2016.05.29 Rising To The Peak
    2016.05.29 Spring Adventures
    2016.06.11 The Best Of The Unexpected
    2016.06.25 The Ghostly Tale Of Greybeard Trail
    2016.07.03 Escape...to Storyteller Rock
    2016.07.05 A Salute To Asheville From Chimney Rock
    2016.08.15 Up
    2016.10.01 Since You've Been Gone
    2016.12.09 How We Spent Our Summer Vacation
    2016.12.10 Let The Sun Shine In
    2016.12.11 Eyes To The Skies
    2016.12.11 Where The Rainy Day Takes You
    2016.12.18 Waiting For Whistler
    2016.12.31 Only In Canada
    2017.01.10 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.01.11 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.04.22 Out Of The Desert And Into The Land Of Enchantment
    2017.05.05 Someplace To Be; Not Somewhere To Go
    2017.05.20 New Canada
    2017.05.28 Rise To The Challenge
    2017.06.18 Exploring The 'Hood
    2017.06.24 Bishop's Lodge: Anything But Heavenly
    2017.07.01 Finding Your Church
    2017.07.08 Mother Nature's Springs
    2017.07.22 Beside Every Great Woman
    2017.10.15 Finding (Water)Fall(s)
    2017.10.28 This Is 40... Part I
    2017.10.29 This Is 40... Part II
    2017.11.18 Battle Amidst Beauty
    2017.11.25 To The Looking Glass
    2018.02.25 Where The Dog Takes You
    2018.03.31 After The Rains
    2018.04.14 Truly Home Again
    2018.06.02 Just A Walk On The Beach
    2018.07.21 Ready? On Set!
    2018.08.04 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.08.11 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.10.27 The Forty-First
    2018.12.15 The End Of The Tour
    2018.12.30 Santa Cruz
    2019.01.05 Chasing Mavericks
    2019.01.20 Finding Your Soulspace
    2019.02.09 Muir Magic
    2019.02.23 The Point Of Point Reyes
    2019.02.25 From Muir To Mori
    2019.03.02 Our Own Monterey
    2019.03.09 An Irish Escape
    2019.03.16 Hidden Vistas
    2019.04.06 Our Life: The Carnival
    2019.04.20 One Man's Trash Is Another Dog's Art
    2019.05.04 Black Rock And Blue Skies
    2019.06.08 Water
    2019.06.15 In Conversation... With Nature
    2019.06.29 Go Tell It On The Mountain
    2019.07.06 Not So Yosemite
    2019.07.07 Magic Chimneys
    2019.07.20 The Long Way Around
    2019.11.23 All Trails Lead Here
    2019.11.30 Seeking Solitude In All Directions
    2019.12.14 Forest Friends And Soul-Places
    2019.12.21 The San Franciscan Canine
    2019.12.26 An Unexpected Christmas
    2020.01.11 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part I
    2020.01.12 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part II
    2020.01.12 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part III
    2020.01.19 From The Beach To The Bay... Almost
    2020.03.01 Livin' La Vida Local (SF Style)
    2020.03.20 A Place In Which To Shelter
    2020.03.23 Socially Distant
    2020.03.26 Shelter Of Majestic Beauty
    2020.03.28 Follow Your Heart
    2020.04.04 South For The Spring
    2020.04.21 Finding The Way Back
    2020.05.11 First Rate Second Choice
    2020.05.30 Trails Worth Taking
    2020.07.15 A Reflection Of The Bay
    2020.07.22 A Quarter Of The Way To Half Moon Bay
    2020.10.10 Mountain Air
    2020.11.21 The Great Donut Drive
    2020.11.26 Holiday Special
    2020.12.21 The Great Conjunction
    And Away
    But Not Far Away
    Comes The (Water)Fall
    Everywhere
    Maximum Wind Speed
    Nose To The Wind
    Not The Map
    Part I
    Part II
    Santa Clause
    Santa Paws
    The Look Of Discrimination
    The South's Answer To The Southwest
    Tucker Wescott: Interior Designer
    Up
    Water

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