China town

The entrance to China town was right across the street from our Hotel in San Francisco. We went down with our friends Lia and Serge. We saw Alcatraz, Angel Island, China town, Pier 39, Fisherman's wharf. It was a full weekend!

And the Golden Gate bridge...

CA state fair

From J & J Bates

This weekend took us to the Ca state fair. It was a beautiful, clear, hot day and we spent most of the day hopping between shady spots and looking for the fans that mist you if you stand in front of them. Unfortunately, we got there in the early afternoon, and all of the people who were already there were lined up in front of the misting fans so it took us quite a while to cool down. Once we were cool we got a neat little tour of the counties in California and got some great ideas for future trips. There was a farm animal nursery with baby, cows, sheep, and piglets. They were really cute, but it was a little sad that they were stuck in such a little pen.

From J & J Bates

Then there was a brewfest that featured a bunch of microbreweries represented. It was actually a really neat experience. Some of the people were real down to earth and if you asked about the beer they would tell you. Some of the people were really snobby and if you asked about the beer they would tell you about it, just a lot more pretentiously. All in all a really neat day.

Biking to Beale Falls

So Jessi and I said goodbye to Mom this morning. Parting is never fun, especially on such a short trip. Even though it was really short, it was a good one. Mom and I explored Grass Valley, the Mining museum, then Jessi joined us for a lovely dinner at Buonarroti's. We did Tahoe and Old town Pizza. And she made it home safely...which is always the best way to end a trip!

After Mom left Jessi and I loaded the bikes in the back of the truck and went to Beale falls, which is a 3 mile bike ride that ends in some beautiful waterfall scenery. This was our first bike trip together and it seemed a little ambitious on the way up, mostly because it is all up hill. We had a little snack by the river at the base of the falls and decided not to continue to the top. But the ride down was much easier and we were back at the car in no time.

Thanks for the great trip Mom!

Mom's Visit and Kayaking Tahoe

So this has been an awesome weekend. Mom came to visit for the weekend. We drank wine, talked and kayaked on Lake Tahoe. It was pretty fantastic. Most of my open-body-of-water activities lately have been done in the ocean, so it felt a little weird to not have waves and salt in the water. If you have never been to Tahoe, part of me wants to tell you to go, and the other part wants to tell you to stay away as it is already pretty crowded. But the weather was phenomenal, there was still snow on the mountains in the distance, and the water was just cold enough to cool the skin after playing in the sun. This was the third time that I have been Kayaking, so I am an old pro. There is something majestic about sitting on the top of the water and using your own strength to pull you gently through it. I think this is an activity I could get used to.

Bike ride to the River

I have been doing something recently that I think a lot of people do. I have been trying to lose weight...again, and I made myself a workout plan. I stuck to it on Monday and thought I was doing really well. Tuesday and Wednesday and I was still on the program. Thursday comes around and I was absolutely not going to do what I had planned for myself. So this morning I was mentally settling into the idea that I wouldn't work out, and I was perfectly fine with that. Instead of my strict workout schedule, I got on my bike and rode to the river. There is a motorcross track down there and a lot of little trails that run along the river that are only mildly challenging on a bicycle. I rode around for a half hour or so and then made my way back to the house. It was awesome! The thing that I had been doing was making working out into work. It doesn't have to be. It can be fun, if I just do the workouts that I enjoy. And I am going hiking tomorrow, so that is real good.

Sacramento

So Jessi and I have relocated to Sacramento. Actually, we live about half an hour from the city, out in the country. It is a nice little town where the people still drive big jacked up trucks and go to the river to cool down on hot summer days. We have started exploring and there is a lot to see. I will try to do updates and make this into an online journal...we will see how it goes!