I'll try, but a certain amount of yakyakyak is unavoidable. I apologize in advance to Tomas da Silva for the abundance of pictures-with-no-people-in-'em.

Our first trip of 2007 was to Monterey, California in January. I remember thinking that I felt pretty icky during this trip. I wasn't able to hike very far without resting and I was generally uncomfortable. Now I realize how much better I felt then than I do now. This only bolsters my desire to continue to do whatever I can, while I can -- no matter how small it feels (or I feel) in the moment.

The Monterey Aquarium was very cool, even though I usually have a take 'em or leave 'em attitude about aquariums. Look at these ethereal, glowing, jellies.

Point Lobos State Reserve was bee-you-tea-full. We saw sea lions, harbor seals, otters, and deer. Our picnic lunch was at a table that overlooked the ocean, and we saw many, many, spouts of water from whales.

It was good to be there with my adorable husband. Eric's presence makes the best places better and the worst places bearable. (I'm trying not to yak too much but some things must be said.)

In the early hours of January 21st we learned that Eric's father had passed away, just 11 days shy of his 73rd birthday. We were very, very, sad. I sent Eric off to the funeral with aaall of my love, but I was just blown away that I couldn't attend. Never in a million years could I have imagined that I wouldn't be there to say goodbye with the rest of the family and friends who loved him. And to not be there for Eric was very, very, difficult.

I see so much of Bob in Eric -- in the full force of his laughter, in the cute way he holds his mouth when he's making a particularly good joke.

The return trip from a late February stay in Reno turned into the craziest, slowest, roadtrip ever. It took us 9.5 hours to travel the first 90 miles -- baBUMP baBUMP baBUMPING in chains, stopping completely during whiteouts, and bursting into laughter every hour or so. Anyway, we made it.

Our weekend in Sebastapol was a happy diversion. We only visited a few wineries: Marimar, Dutton Estates, Iron Horse, Joseph Swan, and La Crema. It was a special barrel tasting weekend and many of the wineries offered us snacks and small plates. We were served yummy cheeses, chocolate, paella, ropa viejas, and pinot braised duck with polenta. Yay!

I searched & searched for wildflowers in the spring, but had little success due to low rainfall. On one sick & queasy, post-chemo Saturday in March we drove to Pacheco State Park. The wildflowers were modest but lovely, but the live oaks were gorgeous.

My darling and handsome Eric among the tall grass and wildflowers. Eric found the tall, green & golden grass, rippling in the wind, to be eerily beautiful.

Easter in Las Vegas with my family was a highlight of the year, even though my handsome husband spent Easter morning in an emergency room after slipping by the hotel pool. He spent the rest of the trip on crutches, but it sure did get us better service at the airport!

The flowers at the Oakland Rose Garden were more impressive. Look how beautiful! (The roses are nice, too!)

For the second year in a row we began our summer with a trip to Bucerias, Mexico -- it was a wonderful vacation. We swam, and swam, and swam. Playing in the surf for hours each day was exhausting and invigorating at the same time. It was just what I needed as I began recovering from 8 months of near-weekly chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, non-healing wounds, and 3-4 visits to the doctor/hospital a week.

Our 10 day stay was wonderful. The grounds were bright and well-maintained, the water was warm (sometimes just warm enough, but still warm) and the waves were perfect.

Unfortunately -- or, perhap happily, for you -- our camera broke early in the trip.

The fair is always full of silly fun. There's room for real life, too -- inevitably -- and so there were some difficult times as some of our friends struggled with their own challenges. But as for me... I recognized that my days of fun and frolic and "walking the eight" on Saturday night (a fair tradition that involves walking 'round & 'round the dark paths of the fair till the wee hours of the morning) are numbered. I was still weak, but felt oooooookay, and I was grateful for that.

I liked being in the car with Eric on our trip. We drove across so many deserts, all brown and grey with a few twisted, sparce, whiskery, trees. It was beautiful. I came to appreciate the desert landscape in a new way this summer.

Eric and I are good together on roadtrips (and cruises and work weeks and mornings, and evenings, and afternoons).

We chose to spend the first night of our road trip in Barstow, California. Why Barstow? It's a nice midway point to Las Vegas, and it's also home of Tommy's Original Hamburgers, that Los Angeles fast food classic. Behold the beloved Chili Tamale: a beef tamale covered in chili (no beans) and topped with a slice of American cheese. How it reminds me of the happiest days my youth!

Next stop? Las Vegas. We didn't stay at this hotel but I loved the sign.

Las Vegas was fun. It was good to see my family, and the gambling was lucrative -- look at the size of that win! It was also a terrific jumping off point for Arizona.

Arizona was wonderful. We went to the site of a giant crater, and saw the Petrified Forest and the painted desert. I even stood on a corner in Winslow, AZ.

The Grand Canyon was magnificent.

There are about 150 wild California Condors in the whoooole world, and this one swooped down so low over us at one point that I swear I could have touched it with a good ladder. Here it is considerably higher. A TEN FOOT WING SPAN!

Too many pictures! Page too long! We went to soooo many places on our trip -- Carlsbad Canyon, Balmorhea, Texas (my father's home town) and Disneyland! We went to a local carnival in a small town and won a lovely lemon cake in the cake walk. In short, my goal for the road trip was to revisit the places I had been. Mission accomplished.

Eric was a wonderful tour guide on the Big Island, where he'd spent so much time. We had fun -- walked in rainforests and hiked to waterfalls... dined in a fancy restaurant and enjoyed the local grinds. We love Hawaii... love the ocean, the pace, and the aloha spirit. Imagine my surprise to learn, upon my first trip to Hawaii, that there really is an aloha spirit! That first trip to Hawaii was one of my favorite vacations ever, and this one was also terrific.

I've been to some wonderful beaches in my life, but the beach at Hapuna is really something special. Eric had told me about it for nearly 20 years, and now I know why. Beautiful. Truly.

In Oahu we were both tourists. Our real reason for visiting Oahu was to see our friends Yoko and Luana. It was such a pleasure to see them -- it had been toooooo long. Here I am at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, where we made our way through a giant maze and rode a tiny choo choo train. I said we were tourists, right?

The memorial at the sunken battleship Arizona was more moving than either of us had anticipated. It made me think of my father, who served in the Pacific during World War II on the USS Chester.

Hawaii was wonderful, but by the end of our stay there I was truly exhausted. It had been a long summer of travel and fun and reflection. Taking a break from chemotheraphy was grand. I would make the same choice again. Unfortunately, just a day or two after our return it was apparent that my cancer had progressed with a vengeance.

And so I bid farewell to my hard won hair, and brought out the damnable box-o-hats. Oh, well.

And so the rest of 2007... from September to December... was mostly about work and chemo and not-feeling-so-hot. It's hard for Eric to feel so hot when I'm not, so that largely goes for both of us. We had a couple o' low-key trips to The Atlantis Casino and Resort, Every Player's Paradise... including an outstanding stay over Thanksgiving. What an amazing meal!

And, of course, there's always Christmas. Our tree was more challenging that usual, but in the end it was lovely.

2007 was a year that included loss, tangible and intangible. In the end, though, it was a good, good, year. A year with Eric, and friends, and family. I'll take it! And more.