2005

There’s an award presentation ceremony at school today and Monica is racking up quite a few for herself. It’s been a good year academically and at track events. We’re awfully proud of her.

Charlotte’s off for a hike with her friends and had to try out the new camera. The Minolta Dimage we’ve been using finally reached the end of its productive life. Our new Nikon 5900 looks like it will make a great little camera for everyday use. I’m still itching for a nice Nikon D50 when the photos really count. A point and shoot camera sure is convenient, but they’re always a compromise. ...

I’ll be leaving for home tomorrow after a great trip to visit with our engineering team in Romania. Everyone has been great, and I’ve enjoyed the view from my office while I’ve been here.

Time to wander around the city to see what Cluj and Romania has to offer. My first stop is the Botanical Gardens on this very hot day. Walking in the gardens reminds me of the hikes around home, though with quite a few more people. Every city has to have a great park where you can take a break from things. Downtown is full of beautiful old buildings like the Catholic church. I missed the Orthodox church by one block unfortunately. ...

After countless hours crammed in coach seats, the day that started in San Francisco finally ends with my arrival in Cluj, Romania. I’m not thinking very straight right now since I can never sleep on the plane. A few shots from my hotel room at the lovely Hotel Transilvania, then a quick bite to eat, followed by hopefully many hours of sleep.

Charlotte and Paula discover fabled Bear Mountain in Roaring Camp during a hike in Henry Cowell. The girls are always in search of new paths through the woods, and today is no exception. Most people take the old steam train up to this spot, but not these intrepid hikers. A few shots from the observation post and then it’s back down to civilization. Back home the garden is just getting going. ...

Instead of the usual breakfast in bed thing, Charlotte’s idea of the perfect way to start the day is to go for a giant hike in the woods. Charlotte and Paula try a new route starting in Scotts Valley and going through Henry Cowell, Pogonip, and then down to Santa Cruz. The first big obstacle is getting across the swollen river. Of course they’re already plenty wet from the rain today. ...

Nick has company this year at track meets now that Monica is in 6th grade. Both of them have been doing very well with the short distance events. They both do very well with the shot put also.

This year’s 3rd annual SVEF century bike ride has finally arrived. It’s turned out to be an awesome fundraiser for our local schools, and a great local ride as well. Charlotte put in a ton of effort along with the usual crew and the effort has really paid off. We had more riders, and raised more money this year than ever before. This year we included raffle tickets as an option for donations. I sure would have liked to have won that Specialized bike CycleSport donated. ...

The sixth graders in the area hold a competition between the schools every year over at Soquel High School. Scotts Valley has the privilege of being represented as the USA every year, though I wouldn’t mind being the school that represents Wales or Jamaica instead. The big event starts with a march around the beautiful field. There’s plenty of action for many kids, while others wait around for their big event. Monica’s events are all later in the afternoon. Paula is there with her school representing Mexico. ...