Story

Kid leashes drive me crazy. I don’t get it. Sure I understand that parents don’t want their kid to run away, but putting them on leash? It just seems plain wrong. Maybe I am just weird but whenever I see someone with there kid on a leash I just stop to watch. I part of me is slightly horrified but the other part (the bigger part) is laughing. One thing that just cracks me up about these leashes is that they are disguised as cute adorable little backpacks like this one. The kid sees a fuzzy little monkey when truthfully it is a direct tie to mommy. Even when the parents are yanking the kid around I really don’t think the kid gets why he is being held back. They just don’t connect the two things and go on with life believe their parents just got them a cute backpack, not a tether. ...

While driving through Oregon my mom and I happened upon many signs claiming there were elk in the area. For three days we drove through Oregon and guess what we didn’t see? ELK. So we decided the people who made those signs were liars. LIARS! We didn’t believe there were elk in Oregon at all. And you know what? We didn’t see any elk in Oregon. But we did see elk as soon as we crossed over into California in the Redwood National Park. There was a pile of elk just sitting on the side of the road. We decided Oregon sign makers are liars and California ones are not. Yeah for California. ...

It’s the time of year again for everyone that rides in Scotts Valley to raise money for our local schools while enjoying our great mountain roads. This year we’ve got a few changes. Charlotte got a lot of help from Aura, Mike, and others in pulling off this great SVEF event. And this year Gabe joined me in riding the 50km route. I’ll miss doing Mt. Charlie with the usual crew, but riding with Gabe is a treat and there’s plenty of climbing to enjoy. ...

I was watching you at the beach doing somersaults. You seemed so serious about it though. It wasn’t a game I could tell. To most people a kid doing somersaults is a whimsical thing, but with you it was different. There was nothing really childish about it. I wonder why it seemed so serious a thing, maybe you aspire to be a professional gymnast one day. It made me a little sad to se you though. Have fun sometimes, it isn’t all serious business. You were at the beach, be a kid and have some fun playing in the sand. Good luck in the future and don’t forget the present on your way.

Yesterday my mom and I walked from our home down to Capitola. All in all coming to a 7 mile hike. It was fun but my feet still hurt and I definitely need new shoes now. On our excursion we spotted a little lemonade stand that we decided to stop at. Fun stuff. This little girl was a adorable and I felt horrible for her because while we were there the balloons they had floated away and got caught in some trees. The poor kid started hyperventilating. It was very sad. I liked her sign… ...

Nature’s gradient is a beautiful thing. The slight variations of color that follow you through the woods. The slow transition from one thing into the next. It is everywhere, it is always changing into something better and newer.