After a tiring day of flying back from Bulgaria yesterday, it’s time to recharge with a nice hike through Pogonip and over to the UCSC Arboretum with Charlotte. They have such an awesome collection of flowers, I just couldn’t stop taking photos. I particularly liked this plant and it’s amazing flowers. There was no end to the amazing stuff in bloom today. It was getting late and we were both starving for lunch, so time to get back on the trail. ...
Charlotte and I spend the morning down at the beach with Gracie. Except for the incident with the large dog that attacked her, she seemed to have enjoyed herself as much as I did. What a cutie.
The weather is blowing in hard again this weekend, and I’m really hoping that we don’t lose power yet again. It is a good chance to head over to Gordon’s in Capitola to catch the waves and wind. Not quite as big as the last storm, but not bad at all. We head over to one of Charlotte’s favorite Chinese restaurant stops with her dad. They use plenty of fresh broccoli for the food and for the trees. ...
Charlotte got tickets to the San Jose Opera performance of Rigoletto for my birthday. It’s been quite a while since I went to the opera, and I’ve really been looking forward to going to this performance. Another treat is that Monica will be joining us as well. The new theater is very nice, and quite a bit more comfortable than the old venue. Amazingly, the cast member in the role of Rigoletto was unable to continue after the end of Act 2. After a short break, the other Rigoletto was called in and completed the performance beautifully. ...
Charlotte took Nick and Monica up to San Francisco today to take a campus tour of SFSU. I think it will be a bit to urban for their tastes, but it’s a good idea to see a broad range of schools. Nick’s most memorable moment on this trip musy surely be the seagull that took a dump on him during the tour. Thanks for the memories dude. Not a bad view of the campus from up here. ...
With all the rain we’ve been having, I guess it was only a matter of time before it get cold enough for snow to make it to the summit. Charlotte took Gabe and Monica up Mt Charlie to check it out. Now this would have been an epic bike ride. It may not be much a hill by real snow standards, but it works! Now this is a rare site around here for sure. ...
It’s the last day for Charlotte and Lynn’s trip to Marin. Today it’s Muir Beach and some hiking along the Coastal Trail. Now that’s a nice rainbow. Some cool sites over at Point Bonita, along with just a wee bit of wind.
Charlotte and Lynn are staying at a friend’s house up in Mill Valley for the weekend. Today they’re off for lots of hiking. First they head down the Dipsea Trail down to Stinson Beach. I guess this giant irrigation pipe down a really steep ravine was quite a site. No funny comments please. Looks like a really nice hike to the beach. Now it’s time to head back up via the Steep Ravine Trail. Charlotte really liked the ladder portion. ...
Charlotte and Lynn are off to Marin for some quality girl time. They picked a great weekend between storms. First stop is at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Then it’s over to Sausalito. Having some fun in downtown Sausalito. Enjoying the view from up in Mill Valley.
A monster storm blew through the area today. A ridiculous number of homes across California were out of power, including ours for almost two days. Fortunately the only real casualty was our basketball hoop. Meanwhile Gordon in downtown Capitola got to witness some pretty huge surf. More devastation in Capitola. The waves were quite a sight. They were even coming over the top of the wharf. Charlotte went out again later to survey more of the damage over in Santa Cruz. Jack in the Box took a big hit, while Gracie is enjoying the car ride. ...