Live Free or Die Hard

With Sharon in Austin for the weekend to do a walk through on a property, I watched Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth of the Die Hard movies, on DVD. The movie has some spectacular stunts, but the scene towards the end where Bruce Willis' character ends up on the wing of a fighter jet is just too unbelievable.

November 2007 Cub Scout Pack Meeting

Jack and I went to the November 2007 meeting of his cub scout pack. The program included a skit by the bear den, a brief awards ceremony, a presentation of how rain and fog are formed including a chance to make their own clouds using water and dry ice, a Christmas card workshop for their upcoming trip to the retirement home and a game of ghost in the graveyard.

 

 

Song for 1966

I grew up watching Clint Eastwood as the man with no name in the spaghetti western "Dollars Trilogy": A Fistful of Dollars (1964); For a Few Dollars More (1965); and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). I can not even guess how many times I watched those movies as a kid. I have always especially loved the theme song to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It has been a ringtone on my last couple cell phones.

The song for 1966 is Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!

What is this?

California Historical Landmark #176

Benicia Arsenal
California State Historical Landmark #176
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This landmark is located at the intersection of Adams and Jefferson Streets, Benicia, California in Solano County. There are 14 other California State Historical Landmarks in Solano County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 02.858 W 122° 08.361.

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

 

 

Captain Charles P. Stone, with 21 enlisted men, established Benicia Arsenal as an ordnance depot in August 1851. The first building, a small wooden powder magazine, was erected in September 1851. Between 1853 and 1863, Congress authorized $550,000 to be spent on the establishment, and some 15 stone and frame buildings were constructed. The arsenal was first called 'California Ordnance Depot,' then 'Benicia Arsenal Depot,' and finally, in the spring of 1852, 'Benicia Arsenal.' It played an important role in crises such as the Indian wars. Some of its original buildings are in use today. Descendants of the men who established Benicia Arsenal are still living in Benicia and other parts of California.

Aggie Get Together

Chabrier has been working to get a group of UC Davis Alumni together on a regular basis. We met in Healdsburg in June and at the first UC Davis Football game in September.

Monday night, we got together at Bistro 33 in Davis. This restaurant is located in Davis' Historic City Hall. The group included Chabrier, Hunter, Snipes, Al Greene and I.

Other than Hunter's stories of the Rugby World Cup Tour to France with Tomasin, Geselbracht and Swedberg, probably the most interesting discussion of the evening revolved around Chabrier's new job. He is Chief Marketing Officer for Puresense. Puresense's major product is a turn-key solution for irrigation management, including monitors and on-line software.

The evening's wide ranging discussion also included the California olive industry and the causes of cancer. Al Greene is very passionate about his involvement in the California olive industry, while Snipes had some interesting observations about the factors that do and don't contribute to higher rates of cancer.

NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 4

The Sacramento King's position in Marc Stein's NBA power rankings fell from 23rd to 25th out of the 30 teams.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association: How far have the mighty fallen? When the season began, Sacramento was actually third overall in winning percentage this century at .622 (including the 2000-01 season), behind only San Antonio (.720) and Dallas (.709).

Hairspray

Sharon mentioned that she wanted to see the movie Hairspray. Before we started dinner, I ordered the movie from Amazon Unboxed. It took about 1 hour and 40 minutes for the movie to download to the Tivo Series 2 in the bonus room.

We watched the movie after dinner. Sharon gave the movie a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. While it has some entertaining moments, it is not a film that I would go out of my way to see.

Back from San Francisco

After a second night at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, Jack and I got up and ran from the Ferry Building to AT&T Park and back along the Embarcadero. We covered a little over 2 miles.

When we got back to the hotel, we joined Sharon and her mom at Eclipse Cafe in the lobby for breakfast. From there, we packed up the rooms, retrieved the car and headed back to Sacramento.

Sharon's brother Tim had an adventure getting his car. Somehow the hotel had misplaced his car. It ended up taking almost an hour and a half to find the car. The hotel finally resorted to walking through the parking garage with Kathy's extra set of keys and clicking the remote to get the car to chirp in order to find the car.

Golden Gate Park

We spent Thursday night at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. After breakfast at the hotel, the group headed to Golden Gate Park. Tom had planned a couple of stops where they could take their mom in a wheelchair.

The first stop was the Conservatory of Flowers. Opened in 1879, this is the North America's oldest existing public conservatory. The lowland and tropics and aquatic plant galleries were the most interesting.

From there, we walked past the De Young to the Japanese Tea Garden. The tea garden was originally built as part of a sprawling World's Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. It is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States. We had tea at the tea house and wandered through the gardens.


From there, we walked around Stow Lake and eventually ended up back at the cars. Although I have been to Golden Gate Park a number of times, I had never been to the Conservatory or the Japanese Garden before.

We finished the day with dinner at Fior d' Italia. This restaurant claims to be America's Oldest Italian Restaurant; it opened in 1886. Located in the North Beach section of San Francisco in the historic San Remo Hotel, the Fior specializes in traditional Northern Italian cuisine. The food has good. Sharon, Jack and I had eaten there a number of years ago. I had Linguine Tutto Mare (Prawns, Scallops, Calamari, Clams and Mussels).

California Historical Landmark #841

The Conservatory
California State Historical Landmark #841
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This landmark is located at 300 John F. Kennedy Drive, San Francisco, California in San Francisco County. There are 48 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Francsico County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 46.338 W 122° 27.605.

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

 

 

California’s first municipal greenhouse was completed in 1879. Patterned after The Conservatory, Kew Gardens, England, it was a distinguished example of late Victorian style using early techniques of mass production and assembly of simple glass units.It was given to the City of San Francisco by public-spirited citizens.

Ferry Building from the 16th floor of the Hyatt

Ferry Building from the 16th floor of the Hyatt, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Thanksgiving 2007

We had originally planned to go to the Run to Feed the Hungry in the morning, but I was still feeling under the weather.

Sharon and her two brothers decided to do something different for Thanksgiving this year. We drove down to San Francisco in the late morning and checked into the Hyatt Regency at 5 Embarcadero Center. All three families plus Sharon's mom got rooms. The kids played board games, while the adults had a couple cocktails in two of the adjoining rooms.

Afterwards, we walked across Market and had Thankgiving dinner at One Market Restaurant. I had Portobello Mushroom Soup, Roasted Willy Bird Turkey with corn bread-wild rice stuffing and a Sugar Pumpkin Tart.

At the Hyatt in San Francisco

At the Hyatt in San Francisco, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Ratatouille

We finished the day watching Ratatouille. While we were getting dinner ready, I bought the movie in iTunes, downloaded it and transfered it to the AppleTV in about 40 minutes.

California State Railroad Museum

Although I was feeling under the weather, I got Jack out of the house and took him to the California State Railroad Museum. He enjoyed the toy trains on the second floor more than full sized exhibits on the first floor.

California Historical Landmark #780

First Transcontinental Railroad
California State Historical Landmark #780
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This landmark is located at 125 I Street in Old Sacramento, California. The plaque is in rear lounge area of California State Railroad Museum. There are 57 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 35.067 W 121° 30.239.

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

 

Here, on January 8, 1863, Governor Leland Stanford turned the first spade of earth to begin construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. After more than six years of labor, crews of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory, Utah where, on May 10, 1869, Stanford drove the gold spike signifying completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad, forerunner of the Southern Pacific Company, was planned by Theodore D. Judah and constructed largely through the efforts of the 'Big Four'-Sacramento businessmen Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins.

 

2007 Kings versus Suns

Jack and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Phoenix Suns basketball game. The Kings lost the game by a score of 100 to 98.

It was a very close and entertaining first half. With two minutes left in the first half and the Kings trailing 45 to 43, the Suns went on a run capped by a 33 foot three pointer at the buzzer by Brian Skinner to lead 55 to 47. It was Skinner's first career three pointer in his nine year career!

When Beno Udrih went out with a right quadriceps contusion in the third quarter, I figured that the Kings were done. The Kings trailed by 19 points with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Jack and I were sitting down low in section 122 in the end zone and we could hear Theus screaming the whole third quarter "no one-on-one."

The Kings rallied to tie at the score at 94 to 94 with 2:48 remaining, but just could not get it done at the end.

Artest had 33 points on 12 of 23 from the field. He had 12 rebounds and 6 turnovers. Amare Stoudemire had 26 points on 9 for 14 from the field and 13 rebounds.

Kings versus Suns

Kings versus Suns, originally uploaded by heringermr.

The Presidential Physical Fitness Award

Jack is testing for The Presidential Physical Fitness Award at school. One of the events is a one mile run. He ran a 7:52 mile. While I am still running an occasional sub-7:30 mile with some of the young bucks at work, it is not going to be long before Jack is faster than I am. My guess is I have about two years before he can outrun me in the mile.

Wasabi Sushi & Hibachi Grill Again

We went to dinner with the Sanborn's at the Wasabi Sushi & Hibachi Grill.

Wasabi & Hibachi Grill

Wasabi & Hibachi Grill, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Sent from my iPhone

California Historical Landmark #880

Fischer-Hanlon House
California State Historical Landmark #880
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This landmark is located at 135 West G Street, Benicia, California in Solano County. There are 14 other California State Historical Landmarks in Solano County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 03.012 W 122° 09.538.

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

 

In 1849, Joseph Fisher, a Swiss immigrant, came to Benicia. After joining a butcher partnership, Fischer purchased this lot on July 1, 1858 and moved the house, reputed to be an old hotel, onto it. The building, an outstanding example of East Coast Federalist styling, illustrates architectural diffusion during the Gold Rush.

 

 

 

NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 3

The Kings position in Marc Stein's power rankings increased from 27th to 23rd.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association: Didn't see this coming: The only King yet to clash with the new coach might be Artest. That said, Sacramento has already generated a few surprises in the Theus Era, going 3-2 since Udrih became Reggie's QB.

2007 Kings versus Pistons

Sharon and Jack went to the Sacramento Kings versus Detroit Pistons basketball game. Fueled by Beno Udrih's 23 points, the Kings beat the Pistons by a score of 105 to 95.

Jack and Drew

Drew spent most of the weekend in Sacramento practicing with the band for the tour.

 

You Only Live Twice

We are slowly working our way through the James Bond films in chronological order. Saturday night, we watched You Only Live Twice. Released in 1967, this is the fifth film in the James Bond Series, and fifth to star Sean Connery as MI6 secret agent James Bond, 007. It is loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name.

After his death is faked (including a burial at sea), Bond is dispatched to Japan to look into the mysterious disappearance in orbit of American and Russian spacecraft. With one side blaming the other, the Cold War world is thrown to the brink of World War III.

Following an elaborate Japanese wedding, Bond goes undercover on a remote Japanese island. He ends up face to face with Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE. This film reveals the features of Blofeld, who was previously a partially-unseen character.

Vehicles and gadgets in the film include a Toyota 2000GT convertible, a heavily armed autogyro named "Little Nellie," and Gyrojet rocket guns.

You Only Live Twice became the quintessential example of the spy film particularly with the supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his aspirations of world domination and extravagant lair in a volcano.

Song for 1972

One song that sticks in my head from my freshman and sophomore years in high school is Don McLean's American Pie. The single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. I can remember trying to write down the words and learn the song.

The song for 1972 is Don McLean's American Pie.

You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!

What is this?

Half Dome Hike Maps

In September, Sharon, Jeana and Janie made an attempt to hike Half Dome. The weather did not cooperate and they turned around a little more than a mile from the top. Sharon was carrying her Garmin Forerunner 201. Using the data from the garmin, I put together the following maps and images from Google Earth of their hike.

click on the map for a larger copy!

The Morgan Heringer Quartet

Morgan sent out the following e-mail. Detour Ahead is posted on her website; this is my Song for 2007 in the Soundtrack for My Life. After dinner at the fall dinner party, I played this song for the group.

hey everybody!

i just finished recording some demos with a quartet for the iaje "sisters in jazz" competition, with the help of my good friend and recording master tom tierney! so of course i made a myspace, like everybody else in the world. you can find it here at:

http://www.myspace.com/morganheringermusic

let me know if you want me to email you the files because you dont know how to work the internet or something. but if you have myspace, add me as a friend!

now that i have a band, in the future i hope to record some more of my originals and twisted arrangements/reharms of old standards, which is of more personal interest than singing "have you met miss jones," though that is nice too. another thing: i love singing standards, if you know anyone who needs a straight-ahead jazz group for any sort of function, we will gladly play! i have a great rhythm section whom you can hear on the demos.

we are definitely playing at sarah lawrence college on december 16th. stop by if youre in the area!!

thanks!
morgan

California Historical Landmark #862

Saint Paul's Episcopal Church
California State Historical Landmark #862
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This landmark is located at 120 East J Street at 1st Street, Benicia, California in Solano County. There are 14 other California State Historical Landmarks in Solano County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 03.114 W 122° 09.397.

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

 

 

 

 

Designed in 1859 by Lt. Julian McAllister and built by shipwrights of the Pacific Mail and Steamship Company, St. Paul's is an outstanding example of early California Gothic ecclesiastical architecture. Notable for its fine craftsmanship, this building has continuously served the Episcopal Church since its consecration by the Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip in 1860.

His Majesty's Dragon

Since 1992, I have been keeping a log of everything that I read; I have updated the on-line version for the first time in a year and a half. My goal is to read at least one book a month.

I just finished His Majesty's Dragon. As part of the rounding that I am doing within my teams, someone gave me this book earlier this year. My taste in science fiction runs towards hard science rather than fantasy. As a result, I put the book in the pile on my nightstand. Recently, I noticed that the book was one of the finalists for the 2007 Hugo Award. I picked up the book, starting reading and was hooked. The book is set in England during the Napoleonic wars. The difference is that sentient dragons exist and are used as aircraft in the war. The book is a very good read.

NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 2

The Kings position in the ESPN Power Rankings increased from 30th to 27th, ahead of the Grizzlies, Supersonics and Timberwolves.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association: The league's longest sellout streak, dating to 1999, ended with the home opener. But the league's schedule delivered two early winnable games as consolation (Sonics and Wolves) and the shorthanded Kings won both.

Ice Skating Party Birthday

Jack and I went to a birthday party for one of the boys in his class and the cub scout den. The party was at Skatetown in Roseville. The kids ice skated for about 1 1/2 hours, took a break and had pizza and cake and then skated for another 1 1/2 hours. We were there almost 4 hours. Other than the dad of the birthday boy, I was the only parent who skated. Although Jack was initially not crazy about the idea of ice skating, he had a great time.

2007 Kings versus Timberwolves

Jack and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Minnesota Timberwolves basketball game. It was a close game throughout the night. Leading 90 to 89 with two minutes to go, the King pulled away to win by the score of 100 to 93.

Kevin Martin had a terrible first half; he scored only 5 points and missed 5 of his first 6 free throws. Martin scored 24 points in the second half to end up with 29 points. He was 7 for 17 from the field and 3 for 6 from three point range, but only 12 for 17 (70%) from the free throw line. After six games, Martin is averaging 28.0 points a game and is second only to Kobe Bryant in scoring average.

I noted after Tuesday's game against Seattle that the difference was Brad Miller getting some rebounds at the end of the game. Miller again got a couple of key rebounds at the end of the game. Miller ended up with 16 rebounds, including 7 offensive rebounds.

John Salmons continues to make me crazy. Too often, when he gets the ball, the movement in the offensive stops. Salmons holds the ball and then works to create his own shot.

Beno Udrih played for the first time for Kings. He was on the floor for 26 minutes. I believe that having a traditional point guard run the offensive rather than Gracia was a factor in their winning the game. Spencer Hawes, the Kings first round draft pick, also made a brief appearance in the second quarter.

The announced crowd for the game was 13,170. Given it was a rainy Saturday night against a winless team, a lot of people did not show up. I would be surprised if there was much more than 10,000 people in attendance.

Moblog Kings versus Wolves

Kings versus wolves, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Sent from my iPhone

Drew's West Coast Tour

Drew is working on putting together a West Coast Tour for January.

Here is the current itinerary:

12/28/07 - Union Mine Theater - Placerville, CA
1/4/08 - Living Room Set - Novato, CA
1/5/08 - TBA - Monterey, CA
1/6/08 - Living Room Set - Fresno, CA
1/10/08 - Anthill Pub - Irvine, CA
1/11/08 - Room5 - Hollywood, CA
1/12/08 - Linnaea's Cafe - San Luis Obispo, CA
1/13/08 - Living Room Set - Santa Barbara, CA
1/15/08 - Infusion Tea House - Sebastopol, CA
1/17/08 - TBA - Eugene, OR
1/18/08 - The Global Bean - Silverdale, WA
1/19/08 - Caffe Bella - Seattle, WA
1/20/08 - Alberta Street Pub - Portland, OR
1/23/08 - Muddy's Hot Cup - Arcata, CA
1/24/08 - Le Salle's - Chico, CA
1/25/08 - Luna's Cafe - Sacramento, CA
1/26/08 - Living Room Set - Berkeley, CA

Musicians include:

Kellen Garcia - Bass
Eric Frank - Guitar
Max Haymer - Keys, Organ
Jason Galbraith - Tenor Sax
Jonathan McHenry - Drums

2007 Flag Football Year-end Awards

We went to the year-end flag football awards party at Roundtable Pizza on Bruceville. At the team skills competition last weekend, his team got third in their age group. The score was a cumulative score for all four of the drills; I was originally thinking that there would be awards for each of the drills. Since we left early for the cub scout outing, Jack got a certificate and ribbon for their third place finish. Jack and all of the boys got their trophies in a brief awards ceremony.

Jack had a great season. In eight games, he scored 7 rushing touchdowns and passed for two touchdowns and one conversion.

Song for 1973

I earned enough money working on the farm to buy a 1967 Ford Mustang when I turned 16. One of the first things that I bought for the Mustang was an 8-track tape player. The first tape that I bought for the player was Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Trilogy.

The song for 1973 is Emerson, Lake and Palmer's From the Beginning.

You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!

What is this?

2007 Kings versus Sonics

I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Seattle Supersonics basketball game. Over the last few years, I have made it a habit to try and go to the first and last home games of the Sacramento Kings season. When we did our season ticket draw, I did not end up with the first game so I bought a single ticket. The ticket was in section 113, row AA, seat 16. Located right behind the visitor's bench, this is as close as I have ever sat. The Kings won the game by a score of 104 to 98.

The Kings looked pretty good in the first quarter. Unlike last year under Musselman, it actually looked like they were running an offense; they were moving without the ball and passing. The Kings were ahead 26 to 25 at the end of the first quarter.

The roof fell in on the Kings in the second quarter. Wally Szczerbiak replaced Kevin Durant. Szczerbiak scored 18 points in the second quarter. He was 9 for 11 and the Sonics opened up a 20 point lead. With a mishmash of substitutions, it looked like the Kings stopped running their offense during most of the second quarter. The Kings were able to claw back and cut the deficit to 13 points at halftime.

The Kings started the second half with a 7-0 run and made the game competitive. They tied the score towards the end of the third period and then keep it close the rest of the way. Garcia hit a three with 29 second left in the game to seal the victory for the Kings. My seat was close to the baseline and I was looking straight at Garcia on the other side of the court when he took the shot. I was sure that it was not going to go in. The real difference at the end of the game was Brad Miller getting a number of rebounds.

In spite of my comments a month ago, I have to admit that I was impressed with Durant. He ended up with 27 points on 11 for 22 shooting and 3 for 9 from three point range. Durant also had 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Durant has a very, very smooth shot. Nevertheless, I would love to see Artest cover him for a game. It seemed like the Kings could have been more physical with him.

Szczerbiak ended up with 32 points on 12 for 16 shooting and 5 for 8 from three point range. He was just unconscious. I think that the Sonics made a mistake in the second half by not feeding him the ball every time down the court.

Kevin Martin had 31 points on 11 for 21 shooting and 1 for 6 from three point range. Martin added 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

All in all, it was a very entertaining game...

In an odd note, the 104 to 98 score was the same score that the Kings beat the Sonics by a month ago in preseason?!?

NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 1

ESPN's NBA Power Rankings after the first week of the 2007-2008 season ranks the Sacramento Kings at 30th out of 30 teams!

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association: Making the new coach's curfew? Apparently not a problem on the Kings' first trip of the season. The problem was finding a way to stay within single digits of the other team with Bibby out and Artest suspended.

California Historical Landmark #1001

Jack and I visited this landmark with his cub scout den while we were staying overnight at Indian Grinding Rock State Park.

Chaw'Se Roundhouse
California State Historical Landmark #1001
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This landmark is located in Chaw'Se Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, 14881 Pine Grove/Volcano Road, Pine Grove, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 25.490 W 120° 38.474.

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

In a village, the roundhouse served as the center of ceremonial and social life. Constructed in 1974, the Chaw se' roundhouse continues this tradition. With its door facing the east, towards the rising sun, four large oaks are the focal point of this sixty-foot-in-diameter structure. Today ceremonial roundhouses are the most significant architectural manifestation of the continuing Miwok spiritual heritage.

Roundhose - Hun'ge

The semi-subterranean assembly and dance house was the largest structure in the principal village or capital of the tribelet and was owned by the headman.

The sacred hun'ge was the community center for dances, meetings, social gatherings, and religious ceremonies; it is analogous to churches and other houses of worship.

The construction and care of the roundhouse was guided by ritual and great moral obligation that only a headman or "captain" could bera; therefore, roundhouses were either destroyed or abandoned after the death of their owners.

The four large center poles and beams support the roof, and thus are important structurally, but they are also important spiritually.

Near the rear wall and between the two rear poles is the foot drum tu'mma. Traditionally, a half section of a hollow oak log was placed over a pit and stamped upon by the drummer to set the rhythm for the dancers.

In the old days the hun'ge was 40 or 50 feet in diameter with a earth covered roof.

The hun'ge here at Chaw'se has the essential features common to traditional roundhouses, and is actively used throughout the year by the Native American community.

Amador County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County
{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}
@NO. 28 MAIDEN'S GRAVE {38° 37' 54.42", 120° 10' 16.80}
*NO. 29 Volcano - [map] - {38.44254,-120.63155}
NO. 30 LANCHA PLANA
*NO. 31 Drytown - [map] - {38.44215,-120.857667}
*NO. 34 Pioneer Hall - [map] - {38.34906,-120.77448}
*NO. 35 Fiddletown - [map] - {38.50455,-120.760333}
NO. 36 MIDDLE BAR {N 38°17'54.96" W 120°45'0.94"}
NO. 37 CLINTON
NO. 38 IRISHTOWN
*NO. 39 Butte Store - [map] - {38.32565,-120.735117}
*NO. 40 Kirkwood's - [map] - {38.70274,-120.0724}
*NO. 41 Big Bar - [map] - {38.312828,-120.72049}
*NO. 118 Jackson Gate - [map] - {38.367964,-120.775486}
*NO. 322 Sutter Creek - [map] - {38.39212,-120.80276}
*NO. 470 Plymouth Trading Post - [map] - {38.48128,-120.84673}
*NO. 506 Methodist Episcopal Church - [map] - {38.3503,-120.93405}
@NO. 662 OLD EMIGRANT ROAD {+38° 38' 15.30", -120° 8' 32.40"}
*NO. 715 Astronomical Observatory - [map] - {38.442804,-120.6313}
*NO. 762 D'Agostini Winery - [map] - {38.532817,-120.754767}
*NO. 786 Argonaut and Kennedy Mines - [map] - {38.36465,-120.78718}
*NO. 788 Daniel Stewart Co. Store - [map] - {38.35283,-120.93314}
*NO. 865 Jackson's Pioneer Jewish Synagogue - [map] - {38.35115,-120.77318}
*NO. 867 Preston Castle - [map] - {38.3654,-120.95039}
*NO. 1001 Chaw'Se Roundhouse - [map] - {38.424833,-120.641233}
*NO. 1007 Knight Foundry - [map] - (38.39337,-120.80032)

List of California Counties

Back from Indian Grinding Rock State Park

The boys started to stir and make noise about 5:00 a.m. We worked unsuccessfully to get them to go back to sleep and not wake up the whole campground. I eventually moved Jack back into the tent with me, but by 6:30 a.m. everyone was up and moving.

We put together a group breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage and some cold cereal. Afterwards, the boys rinsed and cleaned all of the dishes, pots and pans.

While the adults worked tearing down the tents and packing up stuff, the boys explored a couple of trails in the park. We also spent some more time working on their Citizenship badge.

We finished the morning taking a short hike on the South Nature Trail in the park. We headed back in the late morning and were back in Elk Grove just after noon.

Overall, it was a very successful trip. It was the first overnight trip that we have done with the cub scout den.

With the American River 50 behind me this year, I have been thinking about some goals for the future. One of the things that I am chewing on is some longer hikes along the Pacific Coast Trail either alone or with Drew and Jack. To that end, I am starting to accumulate some equipment that I can use on backpacking trips. Before this trip, I picked up an ultralight three person tent and a couple of sleeping pads. My next purchase will probably be a stove.

To Indian Grinding Rock State Park

From the flag football team skills competition, Jack and I hurried home and packed for an overnight trip with his cub scout den to Indian Grinding Rock State Park. We caravaned with one other car. The park is a little more than an hour from Elk Grove, near Pine Grove on Highway 88. The group included six boys from the den, one younger brother and four adults.

After getting the camp set-up, we wandered through the park. The park includes a reconstructed Indian village, a large ceremonial round house, an Indian game field, the bedrock mortar, petroglyphs and the Chaw'se Regional Indian Museum. The center piece for the park is an outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes -- the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America.

Before dinner, we worked on a number of objectives for their Webelos Outdoorsman and Citizen badges, including whipping and fusing rope, half hitches and taut-lines hitches. We went back to the Indian game field for a couple of rounds of tug-of-war and some touch football.

The group dinner included hotdogs, sausages, beans, corn on the cob and rice. After dinner, everyone sat around the fire and the boys told some stories made s'mores. Two of the adults eventually took the boys out snipe hunting.

All seven of boys ended up sleeping in one big tent. We finally got them quieted and asleep about 10 p.m.

2007 Flag Football Team Skills Competition

Jack finished the 2007 flag football season with his team competing in a skills competition. There were four events. First, four kids ran an obstacle course. Second, the whole team ran a relay back and forth weaving between cones and handing off the ball. The object was to see how many laps your team could run in two minutes. Third, the team ran five yard out patterns into a marked off area. The goal was to see how many passes you could complete in one minute. Finally, the team threw four passes ten yards and four passes twenty yards. Jack made a great catch on one of the twenty yard passes. The goal was to complete the most passes.

In spite of their record for the year, Jack's team performed pretty well in the last two drills compared to the other teams. I think that this team had a chance at winning a trophy in one of the last two events. We took off for a cub scout outing before the awards ceremony.

California Historical Landmark #644

Home of Martin Murphy, Jr.
California State Historical Landmark #644
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This landmark is located Martin Murphy, Jr. Historical Park at the corner of North Sunnyvale and California Avenues, Sunnyvale , California. There are 42 other California State Historical Landmarks in Santa Clara County.

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

 

 

 

Martin Murphy, Jr. arrived in California with his family in 1844 in the first wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevada. The founder of Sunnyvale, he constructed here his prefabricated lumber house, brought around the Horn in 1849. Members of the Murphy family lived here continuously until 1953, when the property was acquired by the City of Sunnyvale. The house was destroyed by fire in 1961.

Sacramento Kings set marks for futility

The Kings set three franchise records during the first half of Friday night's loss in San Antonio:

• Fewest points in a half, 23 (previous: 25, first half vs. Boston in New York, Feb. 26, 1957).


• Fewest field goals in a first half, 7 (previous: 9, at L.A. Lakers, Feb. 4, 1987).


• Fewest field goals in any half, 7 (previous in second half: 9 vs. Memphis, March 8, 2005).

210,000 miles

The games continues. On my way back from the south bay this evening, the explorer turned 210,000 miles...

 

Adding some pictures

In attempt to fill out the series, I scanned some Halloween pictures for Jack from 2000.

You can find them here.