Getting out of California, but one last trip to Yosemite

I know that I have not posted in a while, but we have very busy. I got a transfer to Washington...yes you heard right....we are moving to Spokane Washington next week. With the big news out, we have had a lot of friend get together's and Brenda has had her hands full with the social coordination calendar duties. My job is with the same company, but will change a little bit. We are very excited to move , but after 7 years in the bay area, it will be hard to leave the perfect weather and all of our friends, but change is good. This will be a very picture intensive post to try and catch all of you up with photos so it will be more interesting.

Here is our small group at our last meeting.
Lots of fun.

Brenda's sister and her family planned on coming out here about a week and a half ago and we had a chance to take some time off and go camping in Yosemite.

Brenda picked them up from the airport and headed for the beach. They had a great time.

Abby loved the water and was not scared at all. Maggie liked the sand...not the waves.
Here they are at the beach.

Here is the whole family.

We headed up to Yosemite on Thursday and it was perfect weather for camping. 75-80 in the day and 45-50 at night is perfect camping temps.

Here we are at Hetch Hetchy.

The water is very high and the falls are great.

Here is the view from Glacier Point.

You kind of got to keep an eye on the kids up here, because it is a long way down.

Dan and Sarah had a great time. It was Dan's first time to the park, and being from Indiana he kind of thought all of the mountains was very cool.

The same spot as the above picture, but just another angle...great scenery everywhere.

The camping spot was off of a forest service road and great as always. The usual spot was taken, but this was close to the river to, so we made it work.

The old woman and I had a great time as well. This early in the year their are no fires so the sky is very clear and every picture is a good one.

Same spot....different people.

We also went to the Mariposa grove. This is the base of a giant tree that fell over years ago.

Brenda on the trail....now that is some good scenery

Lower Yosemite falls trail hike.

This is right in front of the church. I would love to see this every Sunday.

Yosemite falls

Near the campsite there was this field of Lupine. Brenda was more than happy to pose for a pic....or 10.

Here are the girls picking the flowers for the table back at the campsite.

The sisters.

Here is Brenda doing an archeology dig with the girls. They found dirt and rocks, and even a stick. I was less then impressed.

Here is Abby playing around in the visitors center.

No people in this one...and it is still good.

Tree huggin girl. I think she is on the way to a long life of loving the outdoors.

After Camping we headed up to Redding to meet with Brenda's parents. We stayed in a cabin and had a great time.

Here we are playing mother may I. Hours of fun.

More mother may I where Jim is taking two robot steps forward.

Brenda and Sarah at Shasta
Brenda took a walk and then got crapped on by a bird...that is very very nasty. And to think I kissed her on the cheek when she got back to the cabin. She never told me about the crap until I looked through the camera about 5 hours ago. I think I should go get tested for something.

This was a great weekend. We had the most perfect weather possible and took advantage of it. We planned a cycle trip down the coast, but these plans were in question earlier in the week due to adverse weather, but it cleared and sunny skies prevailed. We left Saturday morning on the bike to go down the Hwy 1 coast to Atascadero for the night.

Classic coastal scene.

If you look closely you will see a waterfall into the ocean. Sweet scene.

Here is a closer look

The two of us...if that was not obvious.

Not a cloud in the sky.

There is an old Navy outpost on this rock.

The next day we went to Visalia to visit our friends Myron and Andrea. They had just bought a house there and the place is so sweet. The pool has a waterfall and a great spot to jump off of.

The backyard is awesome and with orchards all around it is about the perfect place.

They got a new baby as well. His name is Jacob. Brenda and I were able to play parents without all of the responsibility...just what we wanted.

Dinner on the patio and few brews and life was good.

That baby was a lot of fun...but I think we wore him out.

The water may look a little green in this pic, but it was clear. When they got the house recently the pool was so clogged with algae that it is a lot better now.

Here is Brenda and I posing with Jake.

Hey...baby.

Andrea and Brenda. We really had a great time and loved the new baby and house.

Cow underwear

Monday we drove through Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP on the way home. This was a great ride after the initial hour in traffic during the first section in the park. In Visalia it was about 90F and in the park there was snow and it was 65F...perfect.

That bike is so sexy...I...I...better not say any more.

100K, music man and Le Mans

Two weekends ago we got an invite to the Ripon and visit to the Schenks. We took back roads out there and it was a perfect day to be on the bike. I knew the bike would cross the 100K mark and got this pic when it did.

100K at 100mph...the only way to go.

We went and saw the music man at the Schenks and Kevin hooked us up with front row seats. I guess it was pretty good for a Jr. High play. The real attraction was the Schenks.

Not very good signers, but what do you expect when you hit puberty.

This past weekend we got tickets to the Le Mans 6 hr race down at Laguna Seca. We went with Harry and Mindy. We arrived just as the race was about to start. Wow was it loud. The Corvette and the Jaguar were the loudest and pretty fast as well, but watching the Ferrari's go around and all of the sweet HP made for a great day. It was so loud, I was sitting next to Brenda yelling in her ear and she couldn't hear a thing...Awesome.

The infamous corkscrew corner.

So cool

I realize these pics may not look cool, but it was so sweet to be there. I just stood around with my mouth open.

This car went out early smoking something fierce.

Hanging out at the start finish.

I had a sailing race this Sunday. It was very windy. We did not do well, but that was mostly because another boat T boned us and put a hole the size of my fist in the side of our boat. I was at the bow when the collision happened and the boat heeled so far on the side that I floated all the way to the stern...while inside of the boats lifelines. I was not in any real danger, but since the whole side of the boat was under water I was floating. Not a great situation, but another good story to tell when we got up to the club. Racing is never dull.

Catchup on posts and Vote NO for Don

Lots of time has gone by and I have not posted...a resounding theme. Well last weekend we went up to this cool little town and made of day out of listening to bluegrass music and having a little picnic. Here is the steam train on the way there.

Steam locomotive...very loud and cool.

The dedication of the new train station in the town of Niles was a good time.

We also finally broke down and got a new bed. Somehow these salesmen always make me feel like I got screwed even if I think I got a good deal. The delivery was worth the price alone because that is not a very big space to fit it into and did not want to have to deal with that. Now....for breaking it in.

Brenda took picks of how they got it up the stairs so we can get it out again if we ever move.

Also got a chance to customize the bike. Yes that is a snakeskin on the air intake....sweeeeett.

This Saturday we went up to Muir woods and Mount Tamalpais on the bike for a quick day trip and hike. The view overlooking the bay was unbelievable and it was perfect weather.

The giant redwoods are something to behold.

Nice trail through the woods was just what I needed after a long week.

The flowers this time of year are so amazing. With all of the rain we have been getting it is just making it that much better.

Another pic of me pulling up the rear.
Again overlooking the city of San Francisco.

We also had the school auction this weekend and had a great time. This year we thankfully did not get the food poisoning that was present at the last auction. That was three days I would never want to relive again....ever.

The auctioneer and I got along well unlike in years past.
Here are the high bidders for the night. We came away with some raceway tickets and a giant basket of nuts. Nothing to write home about until we actually get to go to the race.

The below story actually happen and my commentary has been toned down with some helpful editing from my lovely wife...She strives to make me a bit more civilized, but somethings are a lost cause.

We also had a basketball game yesterday and won. This guy on the other team was such a jerk, and after we fouled him one time he went and got up in one of our players faces and shoved the ball in his face. This of course did not go over well and ended in both players having to be restrained, but the jerk from the other team getting a T and having to sit out a while. Fast forward to tonight and checking through the mail what does my wife see.....a political flyer for Donald Rocha...the idiot of the month and the guy who tried to start the fight. It is the same guy from the game. This guy is actually trying to run for City Council in San Jose. I read through the 4 page flyer and try to keep an open mind and sure enough, he stands for absolutely nothing. He is just as arrogant on paper as in real life.

I mean it actually says that his plans for the city include:

1: "Balance the budget and eliminate wasteful spending." (no S*&^ sherlock...I mean, isn't everyone for this. The real question is how are you going to do this. Quit it with the political catchphrases of the year.)

2: "Create jobs and stimulate our local economy" (pandering pandering pandering....what a tool. This statement actually says nothing at all and makes me want to puke)
3: " protect parks....and community center programs for children and seniors" (what about the rest of us? I guess you only care about kids and seniors. I assume he also wants programs for us as well so he can continue to start fights and build community).

Donaldrocha.com for anyone interested.