Muir Woods

I got up at 4:45 AM before everybody...the Jet Lag always gets me.... I called Muir Woods and they said it was foggy but definitely ok enough to go. We got outside and it was SO cold....seemed to be about 50 degrees. By the time we dragged the rest of the crew out, it was like 10am.

It took about an hour to get to Muir...driving up incredibly windy roads (like West Virginia, except no strip mining), and even for a short time on Highway 1.

Muir seems to be situated at the bottom of a valley with only one way in. When we got there, Edie went into her princess baby mode and insisted that she was too tired to walk. Luckily they rented us a stroller, but we were now limited to the easy paved path.

For me this was almost as amazing as the Cliffs of Mohr. It was like Fangorn Forest from Lord of the Rings... I kept waiting for an Ent to attack! The trees were so ancient...they had a famous place where they have a cut-out of a tree and they show the what was happening in history as it grew. Nate climbed into a hollow tree and gave us his best I don't want to be here face. He didn't want to go, but he admited to me later that it was "alright." The pictures don't do it justice, and I wish we had twice as much time to walk around....all in all a great start to the trip.

After Muir we rushed back to the hotel, so I could get Nate over to the venue for weapon check and a lesson. After a 1 and a 1/2 hour wait in line, his cords and helmet approved, he fenced his buddies Farzaan and Jack for a while. He looked good out there, a good sign for tomorrow. Nate's coach Zoran told the boys to dream of their best move before they go to bed. Which is exactly what I am going to do!

Day 1 --Travelling to California

I have to say the flights were perfect. We had a 9:45 flight out of Boston to Phoenix and then had a quick change to fly from there to San Jose. Edie was just awesome on the plane....I had bought a portable DVD player...this was a real God-send. She just sat in her seat and watched her Cinderella II and Aladdin movies.
When we landed in San Jose, it was so cool! I 'm not sure we brought enough warm clothes!
We got to the hotel...its called a TownPlace Suites its really nice. Kind of like a Residence Inn...we have a 2 bedroom. We went to dinner with James and Jack...Farzaan and his family had bought groceries and were cooking...
Today our plan is to go to Muir Woods...which is one of the oldest and most famous Redwood Forests. I want to see the big red-woods....but its particularly relevant given the horrible fires that are going on right now in California. We had planned to spend the morning hiking and maybe pack lunches. But I'm not sure about that--I just saw a dry lightning warning for the area so our plans may be "up in smoke."
Then Nate needs to get to the San Jose Convention Center to check in and get a lesson from his fencing coach.