By Guest Blogger Sophie July 29, 2024
Hey everyone, it’s your honorary guest blogger, Sophie, Jim’s daughter-in-law, popping in here to write for the Rivian tour blog. I feel so lucky to share a snippet of our recent family adventure!
Ever since our Bali wedding adventure last year, Lori & Jim and my parents Mickey & Julie, have been looking for a good reunion trip to bring us back together. After some thought, we thought what better way to reunite than over our wedding anniversary, at my parent’s home in SoCal, so that we could celebrate with all our favorite people. The festivities kicked off with a bang, on the Fourth of July, with a backyard BBQ extravaganza. The highlights included: Jim & Lori meeting our adorable new niece Ella, Lori and my grandma swapping family gossip (Lori knows all the tea about the Mateu family now), and my cousin Rick who is from Pittsburg, eagerly putting his fellow Midwesterners to work with good old-fashioned corn shucking before dinner. It was a symphony of laughter and family chaos, just how we love it.
The following day, we set sail for Channel Islands, for a full day of adventure. Our favorite parts of the day had to be seeing hundreds of dolphins swimming alongside our boat, spotting the majestic Blue Whale (seriously rare!), and kayaking in some beautiful sea caves. The lowlight had to be when Lori accidentally tripped on our hike and almost went over a very large bluff! Thankfully she didn’t quite make it to the edge, so although half of us did have a heart attack, we are still considering the day a win.
The final day of our trip was Chris & my’s anniversary, and it capped off the trip perfectly. We started the day with a hike in the hills behind our house, went to a Malibu winery, and had an evening of wine-infused poolside chats—we couldn’t have had a better day!
Reflecting on this perfect trip, we’re counting our blessings for a family that not only gets along so well, but also shares our love for adventure and laughter-filled moments. Most importantly we’ve decided on continuing this tradition with an annual family trip, and we can’t wait for the next one already!
R1T Tour 