Ten Years Ago June 15, 2014

It was ten years ago today that the seeds of Almost Pi were sown.  My mother passed away on that day, and as she was only 25 years older than I, her death gave my own life more urgency.  She had had dreams that were unfulfilled, and I knew that it was now time to act on a big one of my own: to build a small home for myself and Annie somewhere in the magical grasslands of west Marin or west Sonoma counties.

I quickly vowed to look at every affordable lot in those two agricultural regions and to buy one by the end of that year.  This was not a whim – after all, I had been searching for property for six years – but rather it was a resolve to move forward.  I had to accept that it wouldn’t be “perfect”, but I knew that it would be very good and the catalyst for a great adventure. 

By August I had narrowed my search to two parcels, one in west Petaluma and the second here in Point Reyes Station, a small community whose charm increasingly provided the gravity for my weekend orbits.  One warm evening, I suggested to Annie that we drive out to experience the settings in the dark.  We couldn’t even locate the land on Spring Hill Road in Petaluma, so foggy was the night.  We then made our way to Route One, not far from Tomales Bay.  We stood on the bottom rung of the horse fence to look over the lot, a gently sloping horse pasture.  The downtown sparkled in the distance, the stars were out, and every once in a while, a car passed by.  “This one,” Annie declared.  “It’s safer.” 

That was it.  By October I owned 3.13 acres with a lovely view of the Inverness Ridge.  It took another 2.5 years to plan and to build, but as I sit here writing these words, looking out over the horses nibbling outside my window, I’m so glad that I followed my heart.   

It is Almost Pi, and it is almost perfect.