The Church of Our Lady of Buda Castle (Matthias Church) - Budapest, Hungary

Sharon and I toured the Matthias Church on a Viking excursion on day eight of our trip to Eastern Europe. I used Gemini to take the people out of the picture of the church.

The Impossible Thing

My book for May is The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer. Our neighbor Michele mentioned the book. I downloaded it before our Viking trip to Eastern Europe.

The Impossible Thing (published in 2025) is an acclaimed literary mystery by Belinda Bauer, the award-winning British crime writer known for Snap and Blacklands. The book was named one of the Best Thrillers of the Year by The New York Times and The Guardian.

The novel is a dual-timeline story centering on a bizarre, cutthroat, and historically real obsession: the illicit underground world of wild bird egg trafficking. The plot unfolds across a century, connecting 1920s Yorkshire to modern-day Wales through the theft of a single, priceless item known as the "Metland Egg."

Due to the historical basis of the culture of egg-climming and the Metland Egg, I found the story interesting. The beginning of the story sucked me in. I found the ending a little rushed and unsatisfying; I was expecting a little more... I enjoyed the book and give it a lukewarm thumbs up.

Neighborhood Homeowners Association Meeting

With Sharon working Tom's polling place, I went to a neighborhood homeowners association meeting at the pool. At the end of the meeting, there was an effort to draft me into the open board seat. Oy Vey...

I do love our neighborhood.

Hacks - Season Five

Last week, Sharon and I finished watching season five of Hacks. We finished season four in June of 2025 and the first three seasons in February of 2025.

Hacks is a dark comedy drama television series created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. The series concluded on May 28, 2026, after five seasons and 47 episodes.

It follows Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a stand-up comedian, and her comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), as they navigate the evolving dynamics of their professional partnership and personal lives within the contemporary comedy industry.

Although season five wanders through a bunch of chaotic storylines that had me wondering where it was going, they landed the plane over the last two episodes. I have really enjoyed the series. I recommend it.

I continue to be amazed that Hannah Einbinder is the daughter of original Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman. She is very good in the series. Einbinder won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Hacks Season 4. It will be interesting to see what she does next.

PIckleball

In the midst of our death march to get ready for the rescheduled African Dinner Party next weekend, Sharon and I wandered down to Greg and Michele's house on Sunday morning to play pickleball. Jim and Debbie were also there. It is starting to become a Sunday morning tradition.

I ended up playing three games: Sharon and I lost badly to Greg and Michele; Greg and Sharon beat Michele and I; and Greg and I beat Michele and Greg.

John - Over the Years

Happy Birthday, Wallen!

FaceTime with Nooter

Friday morning, I FaceTimed with Nooter. We spent about 50 minutes catching up.

Banister Park Hike

Parking at Banister Park, Sharon and Jeana hiked to the Sunflower Cafe for lunch and back. They covered just over four miles.

At Ancil Hoffman Golf Course

Debbie, Jim, Sharon and I played nine holes at Ancil Hoffman Golf Course. We teed off at 2:54 pm.

The last two times that I worked on the driving range, I felt like I was striking the ball pretty well. Except for a rough start on the first hole, I feel like that carried over to the course. Except for the first hole, I was in the fairway for par fours and fives. My biggest issue continues to be chipping. Although I had two solid short shots on the last two holes, I probably gave away at least five or six strokes with my inconsistent short game.

With one mulligan and a gallery loss, I scored a fairly honest 58.

My Life 2025

Sharon and I have had some great travel adventures over the last thirty years. The trip to Africa in 2025 was amazingly unique. This picture was taken along the Sand River at the Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve.


All of the My Life Photos can be found here.

Elegant Elbe

In May, the Larkins did the Elegant Elbe Viking Cruise.

When they finished their river cruise, Larkin texted me that they were the last boat to complete the cruise. Water levels on the Elbe are too low. People planning to cruise this week will use the boat as their hotel and busses for tours.

This got me curious. I was surprised to learn that Viking uses a much different boat on the Elbe. It is much smaller than the longship that we had on our Viking Passage to E@stern Europe cruise!

Elbe Water Flows and Viking Cruises From Gemini
The Elbe is notoriously one of the most challenging rivers in Europe for cruise lines due to its shallow nature, and the late-spring 2026 season is following that trend.

Current Status & Gauge Readings

A dry spell through late April and early May has caused a steady decline in water levels across Central Europe.

• Dresden Gauge: The benchmark Dresden gauge dropped down into the 70 cm to 80 cm range in early May (compared to a statistical normal mean of 156 cm).
• The Outlook: While recent regional rainfall in mid-May has provided minor, intermittent relief, the river remains low. Other lines with standard river ships are actively struggling or canceling because their drafts require significantly deeper water.

Why Viking is Still Moving (The Built-In Advantage)

If you are booked on the Viking Astrild or the Viking Beyla (the two ships Viking operates on the "Elegant Elbe" itinerary), there is a reason to remain optimistic. Viking custom-built these two specific vessels—called Viking Longships of the Elbe—specifically for this river's erratic nature.

• Ultra-Shallow Draft: While standard river cruise ships require a water depth of around 140 cm to sail safely, Viking’s Elbe ships are engineered with an incredibly shallow draft of only 100 cm (about 3.2 feet).
• Lightweight Configuration: They are shorter (295 feet vs. the standard 443 feet) and hold fewer passengers (98 guests vs. 190), allowing them to skim over sections of the river that completely ground other fleets.

What Happens if Levels Drop Too Low?

Even with a 100 cm draft, nature occasionally wins. If the Elbe hits historic lows over the coming weeks, Viking uses a well-rehearsed contingency plan to preserve the vacation:

• The "Ship Swap": Because the lowest point is often the middle stretch of the river, Viking will sometimes run one ship on the upper half (near Prague/Dresden) and the sister ship on the lower half (near Wittenberg/Magdeburg). Guests are transferred by coach past the shallowest bottleneck, changing places to finish the itinerary on an identical vessel.
• Hotel Style/Bus Modifications: If a section becomes entirely impassable, the ship serves as a floating hotel, and guests are bussed to the scheduled excursions.

Interstellar

Sunday night, Sharon and I watched Interstellar. The film is ranked 89th on the New York Times list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.

Interstellar is a 2014 epic science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan. It features an ensemble cast led by Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Timothée Chalamet, Casey Affleck, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon, Lohn Lithgow and Michael Caine.

When Earth faces an environmental collapse that threatens humanity with extinction, a team of astronauts travels through a newly discovered wormhole in search of a habitable new home. Led by a former NASA pilot who must leave his children behind, the crew navigates mind-bending gravitational anomalies, time dilation, and uncharted alien worlds.

At the 87th Academy Awards, Interstellar received nominations for Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. It won Best Visual Effects.

I enjoyed the movie. While the plot is based on Einstein's general relativity equations, I have a problem with stories that play with time.

Pickleball

Sharon and I wandered down to Greg and Michele's house on Sunday morning to play pickleball. We ended up playing three games: Sharon and I lost badly to Greg and Michele; Greg and I beat Sharon and Michele; and Michele and I lost to Greg and Sharon.

Viking Honir Veranda Stateroom #335

It was not crazy about the our room abroad the Viking Honir on our Passage to Eastern Europe Trip. I felt that there wasn't anywhere in the room to sit and relax. I like to have somewhere to work on my blog, but the only small desk space in the room Sharon used as a spot to do her makeup.

The room is listed as approximately 205 sq ft including the balcony. A floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door opened onto a private veranda furnished with two chairs and a small table. We never used the balcony. I think that the balcony is 30 sq ft so that the room size is approximately 175 sq ft.

For comparison on the Viking Homelands cruise, the room on the Viking Venus was 225 sq ft. This included interior living space of approximately 185 sq ft. and balconys space is approximately 40 sq ft. Although it is only listed as 10 sq. ft. bigger than the room on the Honir, it felt a lot bigger...

I really liked our room on the Seabourn Encore for the Greece and Turkey trip. It was approximately 365 square feet. This included interior Living Space of 300 square feet and a private balcony of 65 square feet. It actually had a set of curtains that you could draw between the bed and the sitting area.

I never documented our room for the Nile cruise on the MS Antares. It was a fantastic room! I need to go back and do that in the future.

In spite of my dislike of the room, we will probably do another Viking River cruise. I am interested in a Viking river cruise on the Rhône River (Lyon & Provence) and the Douro River (Portugal’s River of Gold).

Survivor 50

In early February, Eric, Tom, Jack, Sharon and I did a snake draft of the contestants on Survivor 50. Thursday night, we got together to watch the finale.

This is the eighteenth consecutive season to be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. With 24 contestants, this is also the largest cast the show has had to date.

Several celebrity fans got involved with the game this season. Country music singer Zac Brown and YouTube personality MrBeast made appearances on the island as part of tribal rewards and advantages. Musician Billie Eilish and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon had their names attached to special advantages used this season.

Aubry Bracco was voted the Sole Survivor and won the $2 million grand prize. She defeated Jonathan Young and Joe Hunter (Sacramento Fire Captain) in a 8–3–0 vote. Hunter is married to Kayte Christensen; She is a former WNBA player and works as the Sacramento Kings television color analyst. Cirie Fields was awarded $100,000 as the winner of the "Sia Fan Favorite Prize."

I won; I had picked Aubry with my first pick. As I admitted to the group at the time, she had very high odds in the Polymarket and Kalshi prediction markets. This highlights the problem with prediction markets: they are riddled with insider trading.

2026 San Francisco - Day #3

After breakfast at the lodge, Donna, Kevin, Sharon and I hiked to the Golden Gate Bridge. We covered 3.2 miles in just over an hour and a half.

After making some plans to get together in the future, we checked out and loaded up the cars.

We had a great time at the Presidio with Donna and Kevin!

Sharon and I timed it so we could scoop Jack up in front of Trader Joes at noon. With a stop for lunch at Taco Bell in Cordelia and Raleys for some supplies, we were home just before 3 pm.

The three of us finished the day with a Survivor 50 Finale watch party with Tom and Eric. We got pizzas from Serritella's. More in separate post.

2026 San Francisco - Day #2 - Presidio Golf Course

After breakfast at the lodge, we headed to the Presidio Golf course. It is only about ten minutes away from the lodge. We had forgotten Sharon's golf shoes so she spent some time in the pro shop buying a new pair.

Although it is an odd driving range on a hillside, I felt very solid. We had a 10:10 am tee time. I got off to a strong start. On the front nine, I hit six of the seven par four and five fairways. I had a par, three bogeys and three double bogeys. I finished the front nine with a very honestly scored 51.

Something happens to my swing as I get tired. I started to struggle on the 11th and 12th holes. I used a couple of mulligans and only hit four of seven fairways on the back nine. Nevertheless, I felt ok about the back nine until the 18th. I had three strong shots to end up about 30 yards in front of the green. I then skulled my chip shot over the green in a deep bunker. I made an absolute mess of the rest of the hole. It initially soured me on the whole day.

I ended up with a liberally scored 60 on the back nine for a 111 total. If I had avoided the ten on the last hole and carded a 107 or 108, I would have been very happy with the day... It was disappointing because I have been pretty successful over the last few rounds of avoiding the big blow up holes. Kevin had an 83, while Sharon had a 108.

Back at the lodge, we relaxed in the room. Getting cleaned up, we wandered down to the evening wine and cheese reception.

Eventually, we wandered down the block to the Dalida restaurant. We ate there before with Holly and Van in February 2025. We split a number of plates, including: Breaking Bread [Hummus, muhammara, smoked yogurt, pickles, marinated olives, chubby pita]; Grapeleaf Duck Dolmas [Karkhazian leaves, rhubarb amba, pickled strawberries]; Dungeness Crab Hilopides [Squid ink hilopides pasta, fennel, oven-dried tomatoes, garlic breadcrumbs, avgotara]; Kayseri Manti [Butter-roasted lamb dumplings, garlic yogurt, Urfa-tomato sauce]; and Aleppo Half-Chicken [Sweet pepper glaze, gigante beans, sundried tomatoes, olives and caperberries].

2026 San Francisco - Day #1

When we were in Sea Ranch in February with the Gainsleys, we planned a trip to San Francisco to play golf at the Presidio. Rolling from Carmichael about 12:10 pm, we pulled up to the Lodge at the Presidio at 2:15 pm. Taking 80 to 37 to 101, the traffic was surprisingly light.

After getting settled in the room, we connected with the Gainsleys and did a short hike. Wandering across the Tunnel Top Park, we walked along the Crissy Field Promenade to Crissy Field and back. We covered just over two miles in fifty minutes.

We have a great view of the Golden Gate bridge from our room. We are in Room 218; I think that we have stayed in this room before.

Getting cleaned up, we took an Uber to the Holbrook House in the financial district for a drink and some hors d'oeuvres. We then took an Uber to the Delfina Restaurant in the Mission District.

Sharon and I shared a Insalata di Campo [chicories and greens, Delfina pancetta, walnuts, parmigiano, balsamico}. For entrees, I had Pasta alla Vongole [mafaldine, littleneck clams, 'nduja], while Sharon had Paccheri all'Amalfitana [HMB petrale sole, San Marzano tomato]. Sharon didn't like her entree...

After dinner, we got a Waymo back to the lodge. While Sharon and I have ridden in a Waymo a couple of times, it was the first time for the Gainsleys.

Hanging out in the Gainsleys' room for a bit, Sharon and I crashed just before 10:30 pm.

Frances Ha

Saturday night after we got back from the Donum Estates Spring Celebration, we watched Frances Ha. Sharon is the reading the Lena Dunham memoir and the film is mentioned in the book. The film is ranked 90th on the New York Times list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.

Frances Ha is a 2012 independent film. Directed by Noah Baumbach, the script was written by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig. It stars Grewig with supporting performances by Adam Driver, Michael Zegen and Mickey Sumner.

The film follows Frances Halladay (Gerwig), a 27-year-old apprentice for a dance company living in New York City. Frances is a terminal optimist, but her life is a bit of a chaotic mess: she isn't really a dancer, she doesn't quite have an apartment, and she is fiercely, codependently attached to her best friend from college, Sophie (played by Mickey Sumner).

Before he became a massive household name through Star Wars and Marriage Story, a young Adam Driver played Lev, a wealthy, trendy hipster who briefly becomes Frances’s roommate. Michael Zegen (Joel Maisel from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Benji is Lev’s roommate—an aspiring sketch writer who lives off a trust fund and spends his time watching television and making fun of Frances.

The film received several notable accolades and nominations across major industry awards and critic associations, primarily recognizing Gerwig's breakout performance and the film's editing. In particular, Greta Gerwig received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

Sharon liked the movie more than I did. I got bored. While it is an interesting piece of Baumbach and Gerwig's career, I don't recommend it.

Pickleball

Sharon and I wandered down to Greg and Michele's house on Sunday morning to play pickleball. Jim and Debbie were also there. I ended up playing in three different games: once with Sharon and twice with Jim. With a gusty north wind blowing, it was a fluky morning...

Donum Spring Celebration

Sharon and I spent the day at the Donum Spring Celeberation. We have been wine club members there since February of 2017.

Donum Estate is home to The Donum Collection, one of the largest accessible private sculpture collections in the world. It features over 60 monumental, site-specific works dotted across the landscape by globally renowned artists such as Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama, Keith Haring, Louise Bourgeois, and Richard Hudson. The newest piece is Look III (Show) by Antony Gormley.

'LOOK III' 2016 | Antony Gormley (1950, UK)

Antony Gormley’s Slabworks extend the language of his earlier Blockworks and explore the human body as both structure and presence. Composed of interlocking planes that build a body, these works hold a tension between inward reflection and outward orientation. Cast in solid iron as a single form, the Slabwork 'Look III' conveys weight and permanence, while its open, stacked construction introduces a sense of balance poised against vulnerability. Originally conceived in response to a commission for Pilane, an ancient burial site along the Baltic coast of southern Sweden, the Slabworks were developed in dialogue with an expansive landscape: open ground, distant horizons, and vast skies.

Their form recalls both the precariousness of a house of cards and the enduring mass of megalithic structures, binding contemporary urban sensibility to deep historical memory. At The Donum Estate, 'Look III' is sited on a hillside, where its verticality and shifting planes engage directly with the surrounding terrain and long vineyard views. Set within an open landscape, the figure becomes at once a solitary presence and a point of connection—anchored to the earth, oriented toward the horizon, and in quiet conversation with the land.

Fogo De Chão

Friday night, Sharon and I met Phil and Marlene at Fogo De Chão in Roseville. Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse is a high-end, authentic upscale churrascaria known for its continuous tableside service of fire-roasted meats. The dining experience centers around traditional Southern Brazilian culture and gaucho-style cooking. Sharon and I ate at a similar restaurant in Florida more than twenty years ago.

We all had the Full Churrasco Experience. This selection features house specialties like Picanha (prime part of the top sirloin), filet mignon, ribeye, lamb chops, and beef ribs, all seasoned and roasted over an open flame.

For the price, Sharon and I weren't impressed with the food. We probably won't go back.

At Ancil Hoffman Golf Course

Trying to tune up for a round at the Presidio next week, Sharon and I played nine holes at Ancil Hoffman on Friday morning. We had a 7:32 am tee time. We got paired with two brothers from Roseville: Len and Shane. Sharon and I both walked.

Hitting a few balls on the driving range, I felt very solid. I started strong. I was on the green in regulation on the second and third holes. I parred the par four third hole. I struggled a little with the wet rough and greens, but was very happy with how I was playing.

The wheels started to come off on the fourth hole. By the seventh hole, although I was making good contact, I started pushing everything hard left. I thought that I had fixed that problem, but it came back today as the round progressed... I have got to sort this out over the next few days.

With a gallery loss in the ninth, I ended up with a fairly honestly scored 57.