Our visit with cousin Randy Niemeir,

We left Rancho Cordova Wed. morning and had a lovely 3 1/2 drive to Redding, CA. We were surprised to see many rice fields along the w, ay because we never dreamed rice was grown in California. The mountains came into sight pretty soon and the interstate was lined with big bushes of blooming oleandas. We stopped at a rest stop and the kids climbed an olive tree. There are many olive groves along the highway in this area. When we got to Redding, Gil's cousins's Randy, Donna, his wife and another cousin met us for lunch. Then we ran some errands and followed Randy up the mountain out of town to his place.

Gil's cousin, Randy and his wife Donna, have a lovely home on an acre up in the mountains near Redding, CA. Randy has a huge garden with many berries, vegetables and herbs. Donna helps him put up the fruits and vegetables every year. They eat solely from their garden. She makes her own breads, and cheese from the goat milk. They have chickens for eggs and rabbits for eating as well as breeding to sell. They both enjoy the "critters" very much and love the mountain view they have from their lovel home. Their son Dan lives next door with his wife Deanna and their eight children, all of whom are home schooled (ages 18-1). We had a wonderful visit with them and enjoyed the meals so much. The kids had a great time helping with the evening chores, feeding the animals and milking the goats. The next morning (today) we met their dau. in law and the children. Dan, Randy's son has an electric contracting business so he had gone to work early. We left Randy's home reluctantly to go back down the mountain and to town to see Gil's other cousin who lives there. We will visit with Jacque this afternoon and then camp on the Sacramento River before heading to Oregon tomorrow.