Have you ever thought about 'connections'? What are they and why are they important?  You may 'connect' with an old friend, 'connect' on the phone, could be facebook, maybe e-mail, you may 'connect' anything from 'Four' to 'the dots.' So, while thinking about all of the 'connections' we were going to make as we boarded our plane to join the crew in California, it was all about 'making connections' to arrive in time to make our 'connection' with Witt Nation. Well, as luck would have it, all of the 'connections' occurred, we won't say seamlessly, and two new crew members joined the ride, Jon Duraj '09 and me. After a swearing in ceremony, we were given the official secret password, knock and handshake. We are now crew members ready to engage Wittenberg alumni.

What a great start to our leg of the trip, a fabulous event in Sonoma to kick off our journey, hosted by Chuck '70 and Cathy '71 Williamson. They offered a beautiful venue for an event that included local wines, oven fired pizzas and great conversation. All had a great time and 'connections' were made. Of course, not an event goes by without a little fun, and this time we had everything from the Bobby Flay Throw Down where I challenged Ryan Williamson, son of Cathy and Chuck, to a pizza making contest- I think that I won hands down, a rowboat ride for Jon and Ben ending in a wet adventure, vineyard picture contest and to cap off the night, a treading water contest (Ashley Petersen won-sorry Duraj.) The evening was wonderful, and we are thankful for the 'connection' that made this Witt Nation stop possible and very grateful for our new friends in Sonoma.

After a quick spin, up and down every street in San Francisco in search of the Full House house, (Ben was hoping to run into Mary Kate and Ashley, and he attempted to trick us into seeing the filming location for Mrs. Doubtfire), we managed to hit the Pier for a quick bite to eat, a quick shop and a run back to the van for a quick drive to our next stop...Palo Alto.

So, I guess this is Witt Nation, 'connecting in California,' one event at a time.

Linda~

 Click this link to see pictures and video footage from California