Author Julie Carobini

Just returned from a hastily planned trip to Pennsylvania. My beloved father in law passed away, so we packed up and left California in order to honor his home going. He lived in the same small town nestled in the Allegheny Mountains where he and my mother in law - also in heaven now - raised five boys. FIVE boys. Can't imagine what that was like!

One thing's for sure ... once again, when we arrived, we knew we weren't in beachy Cali anymore. Here's a photo of our niece, our son, and one of our daughters as they chewed on sassafras leaves during a hike. They also picked wild blueberries and spotted bunnies darting out of brush. No palm trees in sight ...

The loss of my in laws is profound, the hole in our hearts unmistakable. And our kids have spent many vacations (most of them, actually) in a town of about 4,000 people where truly everybody knows your name. My son has red hair like his dad's (Dan's is white now), so people recognize Matt as a Carobini whenever we're in town. We're going to miss so much about Ridgway, PA ... but thankful, yes, so grateful for the memories.