End of CA trip

Sorry I didn't post this before, its so much easier to write the blogs when you are on a roll...

Lets see on Saturday 7/5 it was a slow and easy day...we slept in and I took Nate and Edie to see Wall-E. Great movie...best I've seen this year and one of my all time animated favorites...great for adults too. Meanwhile Amy went for a ride on Steve's Harley Davidson.

That afternoon, Amy and I got a chance to wander around San Luis Obispo for an afternoon. One of the highlights was this bizarre restaurant called the Madonna Inn. The place is beyond tacky...and the bathroom has a trough, which you have to see to believe. That night we took Stevie to dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse...Edie loved watching the food being prepared by the juggling cook.

Then we went to a playground at the coast with an amazing view. Our last night in the area...it all went by so fast!

The next day was a travel day. We took off early for San Mateo where we were going to have a barbeque with Amy's cousin's from her Mom's side (Stevie is from her Dad's side). We got there at about 1pm and had a very nice family reunion with Carol, Larry, Jen & Chris, and of course Herb, Holly and little Lucas. Nate had a blast playing Guitar Hero and Amy got to catch up with cousins.

We took off at about 4ish to do San Francisco, whirlwind style. We took the kids down Lombard Street (the crookedest road). Then down to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square. Nate wanted to see Alcatraz. Unfortunately no time for a tour but it was definitely cool to look at even from the wharf. My camera was focused on Nate vs the old prison.

There was a tourist shop on the road in Fisherman's Wharf that had a wooden pirate. I had the kids pose in front of it then off we were to SFO. We took the red-eye back and even with the change in Pittsburgh everything went as planned. What an awesome vacation! Thanks for reading..

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Independence Day

Stevie and I decided to get in 9 holes that morning at the Pismo Beach Golf Course. It was an “executive” course meaning it was a Par 3. After 8 holes Stevie and I were tied at 38. The wind was absolutely brutal but my putting had killed me today. Stevie hit his 3 wood about 20 yards short of the green. I hit my 5 iron, pin high but just about 20 yards left of the green. 2nd shot Stevie chips on the table, about 25 feet away. I flub my chip, and the worst 3 words in golf were uttered in my direction: “you’re still away.” I chip on, but still a good 30 feet away. Stevie then nails the putt, and says, “that’s how you do it my boy.”We headed for Leslie’s tennis club for an afternoon of swimming and a barbeque. Leslie works at the Avila Bay Athletic Club so she gets a free membership. Edie and Nate had a great time swimming and we all enjoyed the barbeque. Of course I almost got Leslie thrown out of the club by walking into the Ladies Room. First time I had ever done that, but no one saw me, and I didn’t see anything either! The club was closing at 6pm so we headed back to get ready for the fireworks. Edie was looking mighty tired so it became just Nate, Stevie and I going to Pismo Beach to watch the show.
We took Stevie’s old jeep and parked in an RV rental store parking lot across from a camp grounds. Walking through the RV’s, tents and trailers we bumped into a big man with a blanket. We asked, which way to the beach, he said, “follow me.” Five minutes later we came over a hill and onto a beach packed with people. There were fireworks going off for 2-3 miles in each direction. They were loud and incredible. Nate walked right up to a group lighting some, and went running when it turned out to have a short fuse. Finally the big fireworks started about a mile to our right. It was just as good as Boston, but add in the sunset over the Pacific, the sitting on the beach and the amateur fireworks. Only thing Boston has over this one is the Pops.

Oceano Dunes

We got a slow start on Thursday…didn’t really get movin until 10ish or so. It looked like a beautiful day and Nate was particularly excited because Stephen was taking us ATVing and Dune buggying. Stephen has 3 ATVs and a Sand Rail. A Sand Rail resembles a drag racing car, but its specifically built for riding on the Dunes. The beach near Steve and Leslie, Oceano Dunes allows off-roading…apparently the only beach in California that allows this. By 11am we started our two trips to the beach. The trailer could only carry either the Sand Rail and one ATV or 3 ATVs. Nate and I stayed with the Sand Rail and one of the ATV’s while we waited for Steve to reload and grab Edie, Amy, and Leslie.

Everybody cordons off their own section with police tape of the beach…there are literally hundreds of RV’s parked on the beach. Behind the beach is about 2 square miles of some of the most spectacular dunes. I kept thinking about Camp Massapoag when I was a kid; we used to go to Dunes near my overnight camp and jump off the dunes into the soft sand below. Well nobody was walking around these dunes; it was all dirt-bikes, sand rails, and ATVs.
First Stephen showed Nate and I how to ride the ATVs. It was really easy, but amazingly powerful. You have to be really careful or you can get hurt on these things….they can go about 60 MPH. I was certainly more cautious then Stevie and Nate….when I went around a big loop, I slowed down too much and almost tipped.
Meanwhile, Nate announced that this was the new best day of his life (replacing the 1st time he went skiing with Larry). Edie got into the act when Stephen took her out on the Sand Rail. At first she was scared then as she got her first jump, she kept saying “faster, faster!”

The Sand Rail is so smooth, its fun without the work of the ATV. When Stephen took me out, we almost got stuck as we went over a pit that was a little tight…we thought for sure we would be stuck. Amy thought the Sand Rail was “great; it was fast and exciting and risky…fun fun fun!”

The wind, however was becoming a real pain. Although it was warm, the Santa Ana Winds were blowing at like 40 MPH, making visibility a problem and any kind of normal beach fun very difficult. I still managed to take Edie in the Pacific, but sand was getting in everybody’s eyes. After about 4 hours we packed up the first load and Nate and I got another hour of ATVing in while we waited for Stephen to bring back the trailer. An ambulance sped by on the beach; reminding us of the dangers of this sport. Nate was a very good driver and didn’t want the day to end.
We loaded up and went back to Steve and Leslie’s for burgers and dogs. Then even though everybody was tired, we went to San Luis Obispo for the Farmers Market. Every Thursday in the Summer San Luis shuts down the main drag and Farmers set up booths. But its not just that, they have entertainment, games, and food booths. Also there were vendors selling their wares. We got ice creams and walked around….it was quite a scene…with the holiday weekend, people were in a jolly mood. They had a Karaoke set up on one corner and we watched on guy do his best Topal impression of Fiddler on the Roof’s, “If I was a Rich Man.”
Finally we headed back to the house and crashed…what a full day!

The Road

The next morning we packed up and got on the road by about 10ish. Our plan was to go to the famous 17 Mile Drive from Monterey to Carmel. If you’ve never done it, its worth the $9.95 admission….its essentially a loop along some of the most spectacular Pacific coastline you will ever see, all surrounded by the most fabulous houses and the Pebble Beach golf courses. It covers both nature lovers, and those who love the rich and famous. Unfortunately Edie wasn't that into staring at the lonely Cyprus and the kids were getting ancy so we couldn't stop at every view.

We decided to take the the kids to the Hogsbreath Inn, the Clint Eastwood burger joint in Carmel. Amy and I had eaten there back in 1990 when we came out to celebrate Amy's Grandmother's 90th birthday.

After lunch we started down Highway One towards Big Sur. Our plan was to take the kids all the way down Highway One to San Luis Obispo and our final destination, Leslie and Stephen's house in Arroyo Grande. That plan was killed when we ran into a big sign: "Highway One closed, due to Forest Fires: No detours." The wild fires had killed our day! Of course, they are also killing thousands of acres of forest land. So we had to back track to Highway 101 to go directly to our final destination.
At around 5pm we arrived at Les and Stephen's. Stephen took us out for a quick preview of the next day's fun in his Jeep. This was the first time I had ever off roaded on a beach. This is the only stretch of beach in all of California where you can drive right to your spot on the beach. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about driving an ATV and riding in a Sand Rail, but I knew it would be a fun experience.
Back to the house for dinner...then Nate dragged me to The Incredible Hulk. This is the unusua approach of recognizing that a movie was disaster (Hulk) and redoing it right. Very cool with Ed Norton from Fight Club.
The next day would surely be a new experience for all of us!

The Nationals--July 1

Nate’s Coach, Zoran or Z as we call him, wanted the boys to all have “Peasant” breakfasts, meaning hearty. So I made Nate a 3 egg cheddar cheese omelet (well done) and he snarfed it down pretty quickly. Our plan was to go separately; Nate and I would go with Farzaan’s family and Amy and Edie would follow later after the Pools were over.
Nate got dressed in his knickers (fencing pants) and we headed to the San Jose Convention Center.
The drive was uneventful. Z wanted the boys to start stretching around 10am and be fencing “electrically” by 10:30. Registration closed at 11am, which meant given the size of the event (140 pre-registered fencers), it would be close to noon by the time fencing would begin.

Let me give a very brief explanation of how tournaments work. The fencers are all divided into “pools” or groups of between 5-8 fencers. They all fence each other to five touches. Then all the fencers records (wins, losses, touches made, touches received) are tallied up and the fencers are ranked and stacked. Then they do essentially a sudden death tournament with touches to 15. That portion is called the “DE’s” (Direct Eliminations). So with 140 fencers they divided the boys into 20 pools of 7.
Nate’s pool included a very good fencer that we have become friendly with, Jonathan Jacovino. Last year we had went to their house while on vacation in Moultonborough. Nate went 3 and 3 in the pools beating Jonathan 5-2 and another good fencer in a close bout. He also lost to two fairly weak fencers…he basically fenced to whatever the level of the fencers he faced. After the pools Nate finished 75th out of 135 (there were 5 no shows).
Nate got a bye and then had a terrific comeback bout to get to the final 64. He faced a fencer named Snell and had a lead but alas Snell came back to win 15-13. All in all a good day…but he definitely could have beaten Snell. Snell went on to get the Silver medal so he fenced much better after the bout against Nate.
Amy had showed up with Edie after the pools were over and Edie had a hard time watching the fencing…at one point she almost ran right into a bout. We aren’t in any rush to bring her to a bout again anytime soon.
We went back to the hotel and decided to go for Afghan food at a little place called the Kabul Kebab Grill. It was like Helmand but less atmosphere…
An exhausting day but lots of fun. Tons of upsets at the Nationals…a kid named DeJesus won…he hadn’t won anything before.