We – Robert and Mary, Olivier and Claudia, Jordi and Diane, and us – all met when our sons were buddies in high school. Our sons have gone their separate ways, but we four couples have remained friends – hiking, camping, and cooking together.

I call us the gourmet camper group because we don’t have typical camp food. We have had several types of paella, rack of lamb, braised Catalan pork, grilled salmon, Brazilian style beef, and sumptuous breakfasts. We all like to hike, read books, sip wine and catch up on our kids’ lives.

We left Wawona this morning to start our cross country trip. We are launching our trip from one of the most beautiful places on earth – Yosemite National Park. If you haven’t explored the Wawona area of Yosemite, try it sometime. We will be going through Tuolumne Meadows and up 395 to Reno to visit with Jackson.