Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The World is Not Enough

When Sharon was in Washington D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend, Jack and I watched The World Is Not Enough. Released in 1999, this is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond.

Bond is asked to play bodyguard to an oil heiress whose father was murdered in MI6 headquarters. The heiress was once a captive of a terrorist who is slowly dying and cannot feel pain. Unbeknownst to Bond, the heiress and the terrorist are working together to change the dynamics of oil supplied from Russia and Central Asia. The pair plan to explode a nuclear submarine in the Caspian Sea.

In addition to Pierce Brosnan as James Bond and and Dame Judi Dench as M, the film stars Sophie Marceau as Elektra King (an oil heiress who wants to make her mark on the world by sealing an oil trade route with a nuclear explosion), Robert Carlyle as Renard (a Soviet terrorist, Elektra's kidnapper and her father's killer), Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones (a nuclear physicist assisting Bond in his mission), Desmond Llewelyn as Q and John Cleese as R (Q's assistant and successor).

I am getting closer to completing my quest to watch all of the James Bond films.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Villagers - Twenty Seven Strangers

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Villagers - Twenty Seven Strangers

Code Expiration: November 26, 2010

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Outlaws 12U Scrimmage versus Oorah Baseball



Gearing up for the fall tournament season, the Outlaws scrimmaged Oorah Baseball.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored. In his first at-bat, he walked on six pitches, but ended the inning at third base. Jack hit a grounder to the left side in his second plate appearance and was throw out at first base. In his third at-bat, he walked on seven pitches to load the bases. Jack scored from first on Josh's bases loaded double to right center. With a full count, he drove a hard grounder to the left side in this fourth plate appearance; I was sure it was a single. The shortstop went deep into the hole, made a great stop and threw Jack out by half a step.

In the field, Jack played four innings at third base and pitched one innings. While at third, he only handled one ball. Jack took a high throw from Josh at catcher and tagged out a runner on the head trying to steal third. Jack pitched the fifth inning. It is only the second inning that he has pitched since April. He struck out the first batter. Jack then walked the next two batters. With runners on second and third, he got a grounder to short. Jeremy made a nice throw to Jullian at catcher for the out. Pitching to the next batter, Jack caught the runner on first leaning the wrong way and the runner was out in a run down.

The Outlaws won the game by a score of 12 to 5 in five innings. They will be playing in their first fall tournament at Tracy and Manteca over the Labor Day weekend.

Jack pitching against Oorah Baseball

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Under California Skies - Now Available!

From: Andrew Heringer
Subject: New Free Album - Available Now!

The Andrew Heringer Band is proud to announce that our new album "Under California Skies" is now available for free download. Go download the album now and then help us by reposting the link to http://andrewheringer.bandcamp.com on facebook, twitter, your blogs or forwarding this email to your friends.  
You can also pre-order the deluxe version of the album from the MERCH page for only $9.99. 10% of all royalties from sales will go towards scholarships for Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp. 
Our CD release show is next Saturday, September 4th in Sacramento. Come celebrate the release of this new album with us in an intimate "in the round" concert. Seating is limited and tickets will sell out. For more information about the show visit our website.  
Andrew will be on 90.9 KXJZ in Northern California this Tuesday morning at 10 am PST to talk about the new album. Listen live online at www.capradio.org.
The outpouring of support for our new album over the last 6 months has been overwhelming. Thank you so much for all your support! Help us now by passing around our new FREE album. 
-Andrew, Kellen, Arlyn, Jason and Jonathan
-----------------------------------------
http://andrewheringer.com

http://dawsonandmarie.com

Friday, August 27, 2010

Updated Reading List

I posted an updated version of my reading list. My goal is to read at least one book a month; I have reached this target every month since I started the list in April of 1992.

Since August 2008, I have been posting a short weblog entry for every book with some comments and observations.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Nevada Historical Landmark #196

When Larkin and I were in Carson City for Rod's golf tournament, I wandered around the downtown one morning after breakfast looking for waymarks, including a pony express stop, the state capitol and the mint.

The United States Mint
Carson City, Nevada

Nevada Historical Marker #196

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This marker is located about 100 West Robinson Street, Carson City, Nevada. There are 25 other historical markers in Carson City County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 39° 10.035 W 119° 46.035.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

Nevada Historical Landmark #196

The original Carson City building is a formal balanced, sandstone block edifice, two stories high with a centrally located cupola. The sandstone blocks were quarried at the Nevada State Prison.

On March 3, 1862, Congress passed a bill establishing a branch mint in the Territory of Nevada.

The output of the Comstock Lode coupled with the high bullion transportation costs to San Francisco proved the necessity of a branch in Nevada.

From its opening in 1870 to the closing of the coin operations in 1893, coinage amounted to $49,274,434.30.


Nevada Historical Landmark #196

Nevada Historical Landmark #196

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

ESPN 30 for 30 - Jordan Rides the Bus

Sharon, Jack and I watched Jordan Rides The Bus. This is the eighteenth installment of ESPN's 30 for 30 film series.

The film looks at the season that Michael Jordan spent playing minor league baseball. It examines his reasons for leaving basketball after he had won three straight NBA championships, primarily focusing on the murder of his father. The film explores and ultimately rejects rumors that Jordan was suspended from basketball due to gambling problems.

Jordan Rides the Bus makes the case that Jordan improved markedly as a baseball player and probably would have eventually made it to the major leagues. It also suggests that 1994/1995 baseball strike played a role in Michael Jordan returning to basketball.

It is an interesting, but not compelling film. Sharon got bored with it and wandered off after about 10 minutes. It would have been stronger if they had been able to get Michael Jordan to participate and be interviewed.

Jordan Rides the Bus was directed by Ron Shelton. Shelton signed a professional baseball contract with the Baltimore Orioles after graduating from college and played five years in the Oriole farm system. He has written and directed a number of successful sports movies including Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump and Tin Cup.

Bill Simmons has a podcast with Ron Shelton briefly discussing the film. They spend more time discussing Shelton's other films than they do discussing Jordan Rides the Bus.

This film is not yet available either on Amazon or in iTunes.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend

I finished reading Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend. I brought the book in July after seeing Willie Mays promoting the book on the John Stewart show. I had thrown the book in my suitcase on the way to Spain thinking that I might get Jack interested in reading it. On the plane on the way home, I ran out of books to read so I started reading it myself.

The book provides a very detailed look at Mays' baseball career. In spite of missing almost all of the 1952 season and all of the 1953 season to serve in the Army during the Korean War, Mays played 22 seasons in the major leagues. He played 6 seasons with the New York Giants, 14 seasons with the San Francisco Giants and 2 seasons with the Mets. Mays played in the World Series in 1951, 1954, 1962 and 1974; he played on the winning World Series team only in 1951. Mays was on deck when Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'round the World" against the Dodgers to win the 1951 to win the National League pennant. He played in 20 straight all-star games, earned 12 Golden Gloves, won 2 MVPs and was Rookie of Year.

Willie Mays' career serves as the backdrop for looking at a number of other interesting subjects, including the Negro Baseball Leagues, race relations in the 1950's and 1960's, the move of the Giants and the Dodgers from New York to the West Coast, Candlestick Park and the pennant races between the Giants and the Dodgers in the 1960's. Mays' comments about playing in Candlestick were particularly interesting.

My dad was not a baseball fan. As a result, although I grew up in Northern California, I never really started following the Giants until the mid 70's. Consequently, I was not that familar with Mays' career. The book paints a very positive picture of Mays as a player and a person. As the first authorized biography of Willie Mays, I do wonder how much negative information was swept under the table.

Tomasin had also read the book. He and I talked about it while we were at Shasta. We both agreed that the book is extremely detailed in covering the first half of his career, almost too detailed.

I was pleasantly surprised by the book. I started reading it primarily because I did not have another book with me, but I ended up really enjoying the book.

Willie Mays on Jon Stewart

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Willie Mays
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorHealth Care Reform

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Delta Spirit - Bushwick Blues

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Delta Spirit - Bushwick Blues

Code Expiration: November 19, 2010

Monday, August 23, 2010

PAL Flag Football

In 2004, 2005 and 2006, Jack played soccer. After he failed to make Jarrod Lassila's U9 select soccer team in 2007, Jack started playing flag football with CSD.

Jack played in the CSD flag football program in 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 2008 and 2009, he played both tournament baseball and flag football in the fall.

This year, Jack is going to play flag football with his school. His school competes in the PAL flag football league. He and I went to a brief parent meeting for the team and the first practice.

Jack is also playing tournament baseball this fall. It is going to be interesting to try balance the practices and the games for the two sports.

Friday, August 20, 2010

NBA Rookie of the Year Forecast

NBA offseason: Rookie of the Year forecast - ESPN
DeMarcus Cousins

Based on talent alone, Cousins could easily be the favorite to win rookie of the year. Just look at his Kentucky stats -- he's an efficient double-double machine who dominated college opponents as a freshman.

Still, you can't blame our panel for hesitating to crown Cousins king of the rooks. Not when he's going up against two No. 1 picks for the honor. Not when he's dealing with maturity issues. Not when he's competing with Samuel Dalembert, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson for minutes in Sacramento. And not when he's battling the likes of Duncan, Gasol and Yao in the West when he does see the floor.

But if Cousins overcomes those obstacles and plays to his potential, Sacramento could very well be looking at back-to-back ROY winners (Kings point guard Tyreke Evans won the 2009-10 award). The last team to accomplish that feat was the Buffalo Braves (Bob McAdoo in 1973 and Ernie DiGregorio in 1974).

Pick of the Week Goes Digital

Aug 20, 2010
by Andrea C., coordinator, Starbucks Entertainment

Some of my very first memories involve music. I remember learning the words to “Octopus’s Garden” in my first grade music class. The scratchy sounds of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” as it played on my parents’ record player in our den. REO Speedwagon on the radio as I played under the kitchen table while Mom cooked dinner. My dad bursting into our bedrooms on our birthdays, belting out “Birthday” off the Beatles’ White Album.

My love of music has stuck with me my entire life. When I came to work at Starbucks a few months ago, I was so excited to work on Pick of the Week, our program that lets you download a free hand-selected song on iTunes®. Even before I came to Starbucks, I looked forward to walking into my favorite coffeehouse (Northgate, hollaaa!) and picking up the newest Pick of the Week card. I love discovering new music and Pick of the Week does an amazing job of introducing me to music I’ve never heard before. Now that I’ve seen the whole Pick of the Week process, I have even more respect for the masterminds behind the project and the artists who participate.

That’s part of the reason I’m proud to announce that now Pick of the Week is available for digital download inside Starbucks stores. From any participating U.S. store location, users can now download the current Pick of the Week from our free Wi-Fi landing page. We launched this digital Pick of the Week with Eddie Vedder’s newest single, “Better Days” from the Eat Pray Love soundtrack.

Pick of the Week cards are still available in participating stores, but now there’s another way to download free music from Starbucks. So keep discovering new music and be sure to get your Pick of the Week today.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Nevada Historical Marker #194

Gardner's Ranch
Nevada Historical Marker #194

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This marker is located on South Carson Street, just south of Stewart Street, Carson City, Nevada. There are 25 other historical markers in Carson City County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 57.930 W 119° 50.390.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

Nevada Historical Landmark #194

On this site in the period from 1870 until 1918 stood the ornate two-story home of Mathew Culbertson Gardner, rancher and lumberman. The residence was headquarters for Gardner’s 300 acre ranch in Meadows to the Southward.

Here was located, 1870 – 1898, the Carson – Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company’s large lumberyard. During the 1870’s and 1880’s Gardner logged south of Lake Tahoe for the company and built the only standard gauge logging railroad in the Tahoe Basin. He maintained his home here.

Gardner died in 1908. The residence was destroyed by a fire August 20, 1918. Many of the old trees on the ground once shaded the Gardner family.


Nevada Historical Landmark #194

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

A Wild Couple of Months!

It has been wild nine week summer!

Jack got out of school on Friday, June 11.

On Saturday, June 12, we attended the Laguna Cal Ripken TOC award ceremony, went kayaking, attended an orientation for the Jesuit summer program, hosted a barbecue for Sharon's family and went bowling!

The weekend of June 19 and June 20 was the pre-state Cal Ripken tournament. The Outlaws had 3 wins and 1 loss. For the weekend, Jack was 8 for 13 with one walk, no strike-outs, 5 doubles, 5 runs scored and 6 RBIs.

The Outlaws won a tournament in Woodland during the weekend of June 26 and June 27. Jack had an inside the park home run!

Starting July 2, Jack played in the Northern California Cal Ripken Tournament and we spent a night in Rohnert Park. The Outlaws beat Rohnert Park by a score of 17 to 6, lost to Oakland by a score of 5 to 4 in eight innings and lost to Concord by a score of 2 to 1. In the Rohnert Park game, Jack crushed a home run over the left field fence.

Starting to feel under the weather at a meeting at Green Valley on Friday, I came down with the flu and completely lost both days of the weekend of July 10. I missed my chance to see Spamalot.

We left for Spain on Wednesday, July 14.

During the weekend of July 17, we were in Barcelona on Saturday and Madrid on Sunday.

After spending a few days roaming the Spainish countryside (Segovia, Avila and Toledo), we were back in Madrid during the weekend of July 24 and flew home on Sunday, July 25.

We took off for eight days and seven nights at Lake Shasta on Saturday, August 1.

We came back from Lake Shasta late on Saturday, August 8.

We spent Sunday, August 15 in the Napa Valley.

Jack started school on Tuesday, August 17.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

First Day of Seventh Grade

First Day of Seventh Grade

First Day of Sixth Grade


First Day of Fifth Grade


First Day of Fourth Grade
 

First Day of Third Grade


First Day of Second Grade


First Day of First Grade


First Day of Kindergarten

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Eddie Vedder - Better Days

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Eddie Vedder - Better Days

Code Expiration: November 12, 2010

Monday, August 16, 2010

Back from the Bardessono

While Sharon and Jack slept, I got up early and drove back to work in Sacramento. They had breakfast at the hotel and then borrowed bikes and rode around town and the surrounding area. It was almost noon before they checked out of the hotel and started to wind their way back to Elk Grove.

The Bardessono is a very unique hotel. Sharon and I both liked the room and the hotel grounds. The pool area also has an unusual layout. Unfortunately, the service was not very good. All of our interactions with the hotel staff were less than satisfactory. Talking about it at dinner on Sunday night, Sharon adeptly described the staff as immature.

This marks the end of what seems like a very short summer (I am planning to post a summary of the summer on Wednesday). Jack starts school on Tuesday.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

To the Bardessono

On our way to the Northern California Cal Ripken tournament in early July, we stopped for lunch in Yountville. We ended up touring the Bardessono; it is one of only three Leed Platinum certified hotels in the world. Sharon wanted to go back and stay for a night. With Jack starting school on Tuesday, we decided to end the summer with a one night stay there.

Leaving home about 10 a.m., we had an early lunch at Hurley's. Stopping at the hotel, they said that the room was not ready, but that they would call us when it was.

We decided to head to Castello di Amorosa. Sharon is a wine club member. The winery and tasting room are housed in a replica 13th century, 107 room, Tuscan style castle. We did an hour tour of castle and winery followed by a tasting.

From there, we headed back to the Bardessono and checked in. Interesting, they never called us to tell us the room was ready. I will summarize my impressions of the hotel and its service in tomorrow's post. After getting settled in the room, we spent about two hours hanging out at the pool.

After a quick not very good drink at the hotel, we finished the night with a late dinner at ad hoc. This has become one of Sharon's favorites; she and Janie had dinner there in the last couple months. The restaurant has a set menu each night. Sunday night menu entree was hanger steak. The meal was excellent.

Castello di Amorosa


Castello di Amorosa, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Wine tasting at Castello di Amorosa

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Jack on the wakeboard at Lake Shasta

Carson City County Historical Markers


Nevada Historical Landmarks in Carson City County
{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}


1 - Empire and the Carson River Mills
*25 - Nevada's Capitol - [map] - {39.164,-119.766433}
*44 - Carson City - [map] - {39.164083,-119.766717}
*70 - Bliss Mansion - [map] - {39.16723,-119.77213}
*71 - Methodist Church of Carson City - [map] - {39.1647,-119.76968}
*72 - Nevada State Children's Home - [map] - {39.16002,-119.76438}
75 - Government Building
76 - Eagle Valley
77 - Dat-So-La-Lee
78 - Orion Clemens' Home
91 - Stewart Indian School
134 - Trans-Sierran Pioneer Flight (March 22, 1919)
*175 - Stewart-Nye Residence - [map] - {39.164,-119.77063}
179 - First Air Flights in Nevada
180 - The Warm Springs Hotel
181 - The Washo Indians
193 - Historic Flume and Lumber Yard
*194 - Gardner's Ranch - [map] - {39.153,-119.767167}
*196 - The United States Mint at Carson City, Nevada - [map] - {39.16725,-119.7672}
213 - Lakeview
235 - Camp Nye
243 - Corbett—Fitzsimmons Fight
250 - State Printing Building
*252 - Rinckel Mansion - [map] - {39.16408,-119.76798}
258 - Weather Observatory
*259 - The Governor's Mansion - [map] - {39.16727,-119.77298}

List of Nevada Counties

Friday, August 13, 2010

Elk Grove Outlaws

Sharon, Jack and I went to an organization meeting for the Elk Grove Outlaws Baseball team.

After playing tournament baseball and going to Cooperstown with the Gunners from July 2008 to June 2009, Jack has played with the Outlaws since July 2009. The Outlaws are scheduled to play seven 12u tournaments in September, October and November.

It is going to be an interesting year. The Outlaws coach has said that he is not going to return to rec play in the Laguna Cal Ripken League next spring. Instead, he is planning to have the Outlaws play tournament baseball next spring. I have mixed feelings about this approach. While I agree that the rec league competition is spotty, I think that there are valuable life lessons in having to adapt to different coaches and teammates. Although the team's results have fallen short, I have also enjoyed the Northern California Cal Ripken All Star tournament over the last two years.

The team is also talking about playing in the Cooperstown tournament again in early June 2011. I would really to see the team go back to Cooperstown. Jack had a great time living in the bunkhouses and playing in the tournament, while Sharon and I had a wonderful time exploring the area. Asking Jack about his favorite baseball memory, he actually quickly responded going to Cooperstown!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest

On the way back from Spain, I finished reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest; it was a great diversion for the eight flight from Madrid to Philadelphia. This is the third book of Stieg Larsson's published trilogy. I finished the first book in late June and the second book on the outbound leg of the trip to Spain.

This book does a good job of tying up all of the loose ends created at the end of the second book as well as continuing to fill out the Lisbeth Salander character.

I enjoyed all three of the books. I seldom read a series of books consectively. Normally, I would read something else in between. The story was compelling enough that I read all three books without a break. While some people have said that they liked the second and third books less than the first, I got more engaged with each book.

Larson died before the books were published. It has been reported that he left about three quarters of a fourth novel on a notebook computer. Synopses of the fifth and sixth in the series apparently also exist. The series was intended to contain an eventual total of ten books.

California Historical Landmark #12

William B. Ide Adobe
California State Historical Landmark #12

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located in William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park, 3040 Adobe Rd, 1.5 miles north of Red Bluff, California. There are 3 other California State Historical Landmarks in Tehama County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 40° 11.790 W 122° 13.550.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

California Historical Landmark #12

This adobe house, built by William B. Ide reputedly about 1850, represents a typical frontier structure of the American period. Ide, who came to California with his family in 1845, was the first and only President of the California Republic under the Bear Flag Party proclamation of June 14, 1846.

California Historical Landmark #12

California Historical Landmark #12


Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Lake Shasta Run

On Friday August 6, Wallen and I did our longest run of the week at Lake Shasta. We covered more than 6 miles along the lake. Using data from my Garmin 305, I generated the topo and aerial maps, the google earth view and the google map. Clicking on the earth button on the google map provides a particularly cool view of the area!

I thought that we had run to the end of the inlet and started around the other side.  Looking at the maps, we probably had most another mile to go to get to the end of the bay.





View Larger Map

California Historical Landmark #10

Site of Reading Adobe
Rancho Buena Ventura

California State Historical Landmark #10

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located near the entrance to the Reading Island Park, 213 Adobe Road, 5.8 miles east of Cottonwood, California. There are 17 other California State Historical Landmarks in Shasta County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 40° 23.480 W 122° 12.020.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

California Historical Landmark #10

Home of Pierson Barton Reading (1816-1868) - California Pioneer of 1843 - Major in Fremont's California Battalion, Mexican War of 1846, Signer of Capitulation of Cahuenga - Discoverer of second major gold strike 1848 - Adobe built here 1847, designated seat of Shasta County Government 1850-51, Kitchen Wing of Reading Mansion 1854-1881, Destroyed by Vandals 1942 - Best Stock Farm in California 1862 - Major Reading Buried Nearby.

California Historical Landmark #10

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Jónsi - Go Do

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Jónsi - Go Do

Code Expiration: November 5, 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Andrew Heringer Band - CD Release Show

From: Andrew Heringer
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 10:42 AM
Subject: Andrew Heringer Band - CD Release Show

The new album, "Under California Skies," is getting close to completion. Take a listen to "Roads" from a recent post on our Kickstarter page. The album will be made available for free download from our website in the coming weeks.
We will be celebrating the release of the album in Sacramento with a concert "In The Round." Tickets are limited and the show is sure to sell out so get tickets quick. Buy tickets here
Saturday, September 4th - Sacramento, CA
Fusion Yoga Studio
2310 Fair Oaks Boulevard
doors at 7:30 : show starts at 8:00pm
-Andrew, Kellen, Arlyn, Jason & Jonathan
----------------------------------------
http://andrewheringer.com/
http://dawsonandmarie.com/ 
Other upcoming shows:
8.27 Seattle, WA - Egans - 9pm
8.28 Bremerton, WA - House Concert - 8pm
8.29 Eugene, OR - Cornucopia - time tba
9.25 Placerville, CA - Carl Borelli Amphitheater - time tba

Monday, August 09, 2010

Tomasin, Snipes, Hunter, Heringer & Wallen

Twenty-five years ago at Lake Trinity

Twenty years ago at Lake Almanor

Eight years ago at Lake Almanor

Five years ago at Lake Almanor

California Historical Landmark #58

Old California-Oregon Road
California State Historical Landmark #58

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located on the southwest corner of Highway 99 and Spring Gulch Road, 1.7 miles north of Anderson, California. There are 17 other California State Historical Landmarks in Shasta County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 40° 27.950 W 122° 19.480.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

California Historical Landmark #58


This marks the location of the main artery of travel used by pioneers between the Trinity River and the northern mines of California and Oregon.

California Historical Landmark #58

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Danny doing a flip on the wakeboard



California Historical Landmark #148

Bass Hill
California State Historical Landmark #148

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located in the Bridge Bay Resort parking lot, Bridge Bay turnoff and I-5, 6 miles north of Central Valley, California. There are 17 other California State Historical Landmarks in Shasta County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 40° 45.270 W 122° 19.380.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

California Historical Landmark #148


On the summit of Bass Hill a remnant of the California-Oregon stage road crosses the Pacific Highway and descends to the Pit River. Because this was a favorite 'holdup' spot in stage-coach days, a marker has been placed there in memory of W. L. Smith, division stage agent of the California and Oregon Stage Company, and of the pioneer stage drivers along this road.

California Historical Landmark #148

Saturday, August 07, 2010

2010 Lake Shasta Day 8

The Tsasdi Resort has a check-out time of 9:30 a.m. I was up about 6:40 a.m. packing, washing dishes and cleaning the cabin. I was out by a little after 9 a.m.

The group has talked over the last two days about what we want to do next year. While there is still interest in going back to Lake Almanor, we decided to go ahead and make reservations for 2011 at the Tsasdi Resort, but a week later. We will be continuing to explore other options, but everyone felt good enough about this year that we would come back to the same place. I reserved a bigger cabin for next year. The Tsasdi Resort has the advantage of being big enough that we could drag in some other occasional families, such as Nooter, Geselbracht, Bachman, Charbrier, Connor or even more Wallens.

The departure was a little more fragmented than most years. I did not get a chance to say goodbye to most of the Tomasins.

Jack and I stopped in Redding and had a late breakfast with Wallen, Jill, Bob, Jenny and CJ at the Black Bear Diner. With a couple of stops for waymarks in Shasta and Tehama Counties, we rolled back into Elk Grove about 2:20 p.m.

I enjoyed the week a great deal. The week nourishes friendships that I have had for more than 30 years.

Both Sharon and I are scratching our heads wondering where the summer when. Between the Cal Ripken baseball pre-state and north state tournaments, a case of the flu, a trip to Sp@in and the week at the lake, the summer has flown by. Jack starts school a week from Tuesday.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Broken Social Scene - All To All

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Broken Social Scene - All To All

Code Expiration: October 29, 2010

Tsasdi Resort


Tsasdi Resort, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Friday, August 06, 2010

2010 Lake Shasta Day 7

Earlier in the week, Wallen and I talked about doing a longer run. We took off early Friday morning and ran slightly more than six miles south of the resort. As we were getting close to the resort on our way back, we passed Tomasin heading out.

Back at the cabins, everyone was moving pretty slow. With most of the kids sleeping late, none of the boats ended up going out in the morning.

Drew was planning to take off for a concert at the Greek Theater, but wanted to play some horseshoes. He rousted David out of bed and we eventually got David and Tomasin down to the horseshoe pits. Tomasin and I beat David and Drew two straight games. We ran away with the first game. Trailing 12 to 5, we came back to win the second game by a score of 21 to 17.

Drew took off a little after noon. It was great for Jack and I to have a chance to spend a few days with him.

Hunter spent the morning rounding everyone up to go out on the lake for lunch. While we were playing horseshoes, all of the boats took off. Loading up an ice chest, I eventually got Tomasin to take me out to meet up with the group. I had assured Tomasin that I knew where they were, but as we got closer it looked like they might have gone somewhere else. I was relieved when all of the boats finally appeared around the corner.

We spent a great afternoon barbecuing, visiting and swimming in the Lake. Wallen's brother Bill joined the group in their boat with his wife and three kids. We probably spent almost four hours on the lake.

Heading back to the resort, Jill and Snipes took the patio boat back to Antlers, while Wallen and I planned to drive around and pick them up. Passing the Basshole Bar and Grill, we saw Tomasin getting out of his car. We stopped and eventually convinced Tomasin to join us at Klub Klondike. While I waited with Tomasin, Wallen ran back and picked up Jill and Kurt.

Klub Klondike has a shuffleboard. I have always loved playing shuffleboard. Jill and Tomasin ended up beating Kurt and I two straight games. At this point, we decided just to bring everyone there for dinner rather than work to pull together a left-over night. Tomasin and I drove back and picked up our kids. Although dinner included some drama, we had a great meal. I had barbecued pork ribs (bone in), beans and a salad.

The Klub Klondike also has karaoke. With Hunter leading the way, this led to a group rendition of You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'.

Tomasin, Julie, Jack and I headed back to the cabins and crashed early.

Shuffleboard

Shuffleboard

Horseshoes


Horseshoes, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

2010 Lake Shasta Day 6

In a number of ways, this year at Lake Shasta has been very different than the previous years at Lake Almanor. There has been more emphasis on the boats and the lake. In previous years at Lake Almanor, we would play golf once or twice and Jack and I would ride our mountain bikes a couple of times. Lake Shasta is also warmer and calmer than Lake Almanor. Most days, it would get windy in the afternoons at Lake Almanor; Lake Shasta stays calm almost all day which gives everyone a much bigger window for going out on the boats.

While Jack slept until after 9 a.m., Drew went out on the Tomasin boat and wakeboarded. I started the day with a five mile run south of the resort. I could actually see Tomasin's boat on the lake from the road.

Back at the cabin, a large group hung out at the Tomasin's cabin while Julie made breakfast. Jack was not happy that he had missed going out with the Tomasin boat.

Chris eventually took the Tomasin boat back out with Danny, David, Rachel, Jack and I. Danny, Chris, David and Jack all wakeboarded. This marked Jack's fifth straight day of going out and wakeboarding.

As we pulled back into the resort, Jill was loading up a group on the patio boat. Jill and I ended up taking out a group of 10 kids on the patio boat, including Chris, Mikey, David, Rachel, Danny, Loren, Morgan, Keith, Drew and Jack.

We headed north of the resort and benched the patio boat in Doney Creek. Everyone swam and played catch with a rugby ball. Nate's dog roamed the beach. Drew and Nate took out their guitars and played for about 45 minutes. All told, we spent almost three hours hanging out. It was a wonderful, relaxing afternoon.

Jill promised Tomasin that we would be back by 4:30 p.m. We gassed up the patio boat at Antlers and then headed back to the Tsasdi Resort.

The plan for the evening was head into Redding dinner. Sans the Tomasins, we had a group dinner at Gironda's. I had some seafood risotto that was not very good. Afterwards we met at Tomasin's mom's house for dessert to celebrate David's graduation from Mississippi State.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

2010 Lake Shasta Day 5

We got out on the water before 9 a.m.; the earliest time so far this week. Jack, Drew and I went out on the Tomasin boat with Tomasin, Chris, David and Rachel. Everyone except me wakeboarded. Jack went twice. This is the fourth day in a row that Jack has been out on the wakeboard. He is really enjoying it and trying hard to emulate some of the stunts of the older boys.

After a quick bite to eat, Tomasin, Chris and I headed to the store. There is actually a small market in Lakehead about two miles from the resort. It is my turn to make dinner so I wandered the store trying to figure out what they had that I could make into a dinner to feed 30 people.

It was a very lazy afternoon with a number of me, including me, taking naps in their cabins. A group eventually headed down to play horseshoes.

Starting in the early afternoon, I worked on pulling together dinner for the group. I made a large salad, buttered sourdough, spaghetti, meat sauce and sausages. Drew and I fired up the coals and Jack helped Drew cook the sauages.

After enjoying the evening on the patio, almost everyone headed to the Basshole Bar & Grill. We spent a couple of hours playing pool. I played with Snipes and Jenny. It is honestly the worst that I think that I have ever played. Julie and Mikey rolled back from Windsor and made a quick stop. It was after midnight by the time we headed back to the resort in a whirlwind of drama...

At the Basshole Bar & Grill


At the Basshole Bar & Grill, originally uploaded by heringermr.

California Historical Landmark #117

Home of Mrs. John Brown
California State Historical Landmark #117

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This landmark is located at 135 Main Street, Red Bluff, California. There are 3 other California State Historical Landmarks in Tehama County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 40° 10.370 W 122° 13.870.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

California Historical Landmark #117


In 1864 the widow of John Brown, the famous abolitionist of Harpers Ferry, came to Red Bluff with her children. So great was the admiration for John Brown in that area that a considerable sum of money was raised to provide his widow and children with a home. Mrs. Brown lived there until the summer of 1870, when she and her children moved to Humboldt County.

Drew and Jack


Drew and Jack, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

2010 Lake Shasta Day 4

Sharon and Janie got up at 5:00 a.m. and started home to Sacramento! After helping them load the car, I crashed until a little after 7:00 a.m.

I went out for a 4 1/2 mile run south along the lake by myself. I cannot run with Wallen every day; it would kill me.

After sitting and watching Joy make a late breakfast for a herd of boys, Jack and I spent the middle part of the day on Hunter's boat with Hunter, Debbie and Danny. We headed up to an area north of the Antlers resort. Jack, Danny, Debbie and Hunter all wakeboarded. Eventually, Tomasin showed up. The two boats spent some time drifting together on the lake with everyone visiting and swimming.

Jack wakeboarded a second time. This is the third day in a row that he has wakeboarded. He is getting stronger and more confident.

Back at the resort, I had committed to participate in a panel interview for work. I spent about an hour and 15 minutes on a conference call sitting on the patio boat looking at the lake. I was actually amazed that I was able to hear the interview and participate via a cell phone.

Towards the end of the call, I started the patio boat back to Antlers. I had texted Drew to pick me up there. I returned the boat, walked off the dock and Drew and Jack were pulling up to pick me up.

Hunter and Debbie made a great shish kabob dinner. I ended the night visting with Snipes, Joy, Hunter and Debbie on the deck with everyone talking about their overseas travels.

David and Drew playing cribbage

David and Drew playing cribbage

On Lake Shasta


On Lake Shasta, originally uploaded by heringermr.