After breakfast we drove a short distance to the Pfeiffer Beach. A small and winding 2-mile long road connects State Route 1 to the beach, but we were told the parking at the bottom was full so we would have to walk down. So we did and enjoyed watching the wild waves and crazy rock formations at the beach. Then, dreading the hot 2-mile climb back up the road, John decided to go find a ride up and then drive down and get us. By this point a whole informal ride share system had developed and people were offering rides…

On our third day, we drove from Monterey to San Luis Obispo, taking in the full north to south stretch of the Big Sur region. Our server at a fun tiki restaurant in Monterey recommended we get up early and drive to Deetjens in Big Sur for breakfast, and that was a tip that really paid off! We had another tip to go to Nepthene, but in the end didn’t have to decide because Deetjens was the only one of the two open at 10am. First, a view along the coast. Inside the dining room at Deetjens. Dressed in plaid and ready…

After breakfast at our hotel in Mill Valley, we drove south across the Golden Gate Bridge and south toward Monterey. We drove along the coast as much as possible and had a lunch stop in Santa Cruz. Here are Liam and Miles along the way. The breeze was cool in northern California – super sunny out but chilly air. We walked along the wharf and had lunch there in Santa Cruz. Point Lobos is a state natural reserve in the northern part of Big Sur. To back up a bit, Big Sur is a large region along the coast that is…

I think most readers are aware that we were on vacation in California recently. Thought you might like to see some of the sights! We flew in to San Francisco with the goal of driving along State Route 1 along the Pacific coast south to Los Angeles, stopping at various points along the way over a week. To provide a quick summary, the trip was really fantastic, California is as heavenly as everyone says, and I only wish we’d had about 3-4 more days to spend. Anyway… on with the first stop: Muir Woods! Muir Woods is a national monument…

Our tomato plants have needed some attention for the last few weeks, so I decided to make them priority number one this weekend. Of course I had to have a talk with these guys first to reassure them that I love them very much, but the tomatoes simply needed me more this weekend. They took it pretty well. So here’s the deal with the tomatoes. When I planted the 6 seedlings into 3 boxes, they were so small and I was so forgetful/ unbelieving about how much they would grow, that I put the boxes way too close together. They…

The annual Tour de Fat bike festival was held today in Palmer Square, which is a short bike ride from our house. We went to check out the always festive and wacky scene, and it did not disappoint! The circle of crazy bikes is always fun. I stayed out of the ring and enjoyed the scene, and had fun taking a few videos and photos of John, Miles and other brave cyclists. The first video takes a while to get going, but that’s understandable given the challenges of the bike! Stick with it and they do get moving: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPSjLOmZ_5c&w=560&h=315]…

We’ve had so much rain this summer I haven’t been riding my bike to work. I learned last summer that getting caught in the rain on a 14-mile trip is a drag so I’m pretty careful about watching the forecast! This week was really lovely though and I rode to work and back twice. We’d done some long rides in the last few weeks so it didn’t seem too hard at all. It does take me a while though, a minimum of 1 hour 15 minutes each way, even longer when I keep stopping to take photos! On Friday morning…

Somehow myself and Cynthia managed to get free tickets to our company box at the United center to see U2! And if that wasn’t good enough, we were blown away by what an amazing show they put on, really impressive!

Thought I should post some photos from my recent trip to the world advertising festival in Cannes in the south of France. Many of you might be thinking why it’s held in the south of France, isn’t that expensive/far away? Well, if nothing else, Cannes show the power of advertising to fund an amazing boondoggle to a place like Cannes! One of the best parts is all the celebrities we somehow persuade to speak to us at the conference (again the power of advertising!) The folks behind the podcast “serial”, al gore, the guy from entourage, 12 years a slave…

Miles and Liam are back into dinosaurs! They have been playing a game on their phones related to Jurassic world. Here’s miles taking a break to review the Jurassic World plot.