Sunday, July 31, 2022

Bike Ride with Laura plus Marlene

Sharon spent the morning bike riding with Laura. They rode from Arden Pond to the bridge into Old Fair Oaks and back. They rode together last September.

After running into Marlene on Saturday, Sharon went over and spent the late afternoon visiting with her in Natomas.

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Serendipity plus Neighborhood Get Together

Shopping for some clothes at the Galleria Mall for our upcoming cruise, Sharon and I had lunch at the bar at Land Ocean. As we were sitting down, Sharon said "wouldn't it be funny if we ran into Marlene." Looking into the mirror over the bar, I saw Marlene sitting to our left. Marlene joined us for lunch.

Sharon hadn't seen Marlene since July of 2020. I haven't seen Marlene or Phil since my birthday in January of 2020. They moved to South Carolina in April of 2021.

Sharon and I finished the day at a neighborhood get together at Greg and Michele's house. The group included Sharon and I, Jim and Debi, Brad, Heidi and Clark, Ed and Mary Lou, and Michele and Greg. Sharon made a burrata and peach appetizer. Greg barbecued salmon for the entree. We swam and visited. It was after 11 pm by the time we wandered home.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Peloton Ride with Drew


In the last couple of months, Peloton has rolled out a new feature called “Invite Friends.” It is an easier way to invite and accept workouts with friends directly from the Peloton device.

With Carmen and Drew having a Peloton bike, I invited Drew to a 30 minute class with Cody on Friday afternoon. It was an interesting experience. I pushed hard to try and keep up with him. Interestingly, one other person ended up in the class with us.

He and I facetimed afterwards. I definitely want to do it again.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

The Offer

Monday night at Sea Ranch, Sharon and I finished The Offer.

The Offer is an biographical drama miniseries about the development and production of Francis Ford Coppola's landmark New York City gangster film The Godfather (1972) for Paramount Pictures. Jack, Sharon and I watched all three of The Godfather films in April of 2020 [The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III].

It stars Miles Teller as Albert S. Ruddy, the producer of The Godfather and Matthew Goode as Robert Evans, head of Parmount Studios. Meredith Garretson appears as Ali MacGraw [Love Story]. The cast also includes Giovanni Ribisi, Colin Hanks, Dan Fogler, Juno Temple, and Burn Gorman.

The series premiered on April 28, 2022, on Paramount+. It ran for 10 episodes.

Although a little slow in spots, I enjoyed and recommend the series. We are going to rewatch the original The Godfather in the near future. With Ali McGraw married to studio executive Bob Evans, there was a lot of discussion about Love Story. This led us to watch Love Story on Tuesday night at The Sea Ranch. There were also several references to China Town. I have added this on our list to watch in the future.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Love Story

Tuesday night at Sea Ranch, Sharon and I watched Love Story. In The Offer, a ficitonal Ali McGraw appears as the wife of the head of Paramount. There is a lot of discussion about Love Story and how financially successful it was. This peaked our interest.

Love Story is a 1970 romantic drama written by Erich Segal. He was the author of the best-selling 1970 novel of the same name. It starred Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal, alongside John Marley, Ray Milland, and Tommy Lee Jones in his film debut in a minor role.

At the 43rd Academy Awards, it was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Story and Screenplay and Best Original Score. It won the Oscar for Best Original Score. Patton won Best Picture.

It was interesting from a historical perspective. It felt more than a little dated. Frankly, McGraw's character doesn't seem sick enough at the end of the movie.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #9

Saturday morning, I went for a run along the bluffs. As I have said repeatedly over the years, Sea Ranch is my favorite place in the world to run. I ran north along the bluffs. I covered 4.2 miles in an hour. I am still struggling with my left heel.

Afterwards, we packed up and loaded up the cars. We rolled from the Monette about 10:30 am.

Sharon had made a wine tasting reservation at the Fort Ross Vineyard and Winery. We had stopped there on the way home in February. Everyone decided to join us.

We headed towards home about 1:00 pm. Waze routed us through Bodega Bay to 101 to 116 to 121 to 12 to 80 to 50. The traffic was bad at all of the usual points, but particularly bad at Fairfield and Davis. We made a quick stop for gas in Dixon. We pulled up to house just after 4:30 pm.

It was a great trip. Although we have already spent nineteen days at The Sea Ranch this year, Sharon talked about going back again on the way home.

Friday, July 22, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #8

After breakfast, we took everyone (Jim, Debi, Greg, Michele, Sharon and I) on a hike along the bluffs. We hiked to the seal observation spot. Along the way, we took a detour to check out the house of one of Jim's clients. In total, we covered 3.8 miles in just over an hour and forty-five minutes.

We went to play pickleball after lunch. When Sharon and I played on Monday, I had reserved a court at Moonraker from 1 pm to 3 pm. We ended up playing in various combinations for more than an hour and a half.

When we got back to the house, Sharon led a subset (Jim, Debi and Michele) into a Gualala. The girls did some shopping at Red Stella.

The group had dinner at The Sea Ranch Lodge. Sharon and I split Tempura Black Cod [yuzu & sesame ponzu, aioli, lemon, sea salt] as an appetizer and both had a Pork Chop [flageolet beans, baby carrots, broccolini, smoked bacon, napa cabbage, caramelized onion & whole grain mustard sauce] for the entree.

Back at house, the group ended up listening to music and dancing. While Greg and Jim are much more into music than I am, I ended up playing a number of songs from the Soundtrack for My Life. It was after 11:30 pm before we crashed.

Thursday, July 21, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #7

For the third time this trip, we played golf at the Sea Ranch Golf Links. Jim, Debi, Sharon and I had a 9:30 am time.

Struggling on the range, I was bad on the front nine. I settled down and played a lot better on the back nine. I continue to struggle with keeping my head down. I ended up with a liberally scored 108.

It was a slow round. Waiting more than half an hour for some sandwiches, it took us more than five hours and fifteen minutes to play eighteen.
Greg and Michele rolled up about 4 pm. After they got settled in, Michele made clam linguine for dinner.

The six of us ended the day playing Codenames. It was almost midnight by the time we crashed.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #6

I pushed Sharon to hike the Bobcat Trail; you can do hard stuff. This is a trail that we had never hiked before. It included several parts marked as steep. It turned out to be a nice hike with several sections along fern covered ravines and through a redwood grove. We covered 3.7 miles in just under two hours. A map is here. A Relive! is here.

After the hike, we headed into Gualala for groceries for dinner.

After lunch, we cleaned up the house. After a couple of days by ourselves, we have some neighbors coming for the rest of the week.

I drove the Volvo up to the lodge and ran back.

Jim and Debbie rolled up about 3 pm. After they got settled, the four of us walked up to the Lodge for a cocktail. We had a nice time visiting with our new favorite bartender [Ren].

Sharon made lingcod, rice and aspargus for dinner. The four of us finished the night playing Codenames. We had played Codenames with Holly and Van at Sea Ranch last year.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #5

Sharon and I decided to slip in nine holes of golf on Tuesday morning. We had a 9:30 am tee time.

I felt pretty solid on the range and got off to a great start. I hit three good shots and was on the green in regulation on the par five first hole. Over the course of the morning, I was better than Saturday, but still wildly inconsistent. On the par three eighth over the ravine, I hit my first shot into the ravine, but then dropped a six iron about ten feet behind the flag with a mulligan. Sharon hit safely on the eighth to the right edge. I ended up with a very liberally scored 52.

It was a beautiful morning. The only problem was that we were behind a couple of foursomes of the women's league. They were playing very slowly. On the greens, some of them wanted the flag in and some wanted the flag out. They would put the flag in for someone to putt and then take it out for the next person to putt and then put it back in. I have never sat and waited as much in my life.

After golf, we went to Trinks for lunch. Sharon had a B B L T (Smoked Bacon, Blue Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo, On a Sourdough Baguette), while I had a MOMS TURKEY (Turkey, Cranberry, Lettuce, Honey Mustard, Mayo, On Ciabatta).

On the way back to the house, we made a stop to look for several Sea Ranch architectural markers. Sharon also wanted to stop at the gift shop at the lodge.

Drew, Jack and I played played Catan in the afternoon. Over the course of two hours, we played three games. Drew won them all! While we were playing, Sharon finished her puzzle.

We got a build your pizza from Upper Crust Pizzeria in Gualala. We finished the night watching Love Story. In real life, Ali MacGraw was married to Bob Evans, head of Paramount Studios, in the early 1970s. As fictional characters, they both appeared in The Offer and there was a lot of discussion about the film.

Catan with Drew and Jack

Monday, July 18, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #4

A very active day!

After Sharon made a great aspargus, goat cheese and smoked salmon omelette for breakfast, the day included:
  • a Peloton core workout;
  • a Peloton lower body stretch;
  • a five mile run along the bluffs;
  • an hour of pickle ball at Moonraker, and;
  • a mile and half hike to Black Point Beach and back for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the beach.
We cooked salmon for dinner. We finished the day watching the last two episodes (nine and ten) of The Offer.

At Black Point Beach

Sunday, July 17, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #3

The Gainsleys rolled early. Donna was scheduled to fly to Las Vegas early Monday morning. After they left, Sharon and I watched the end of the British Open. Cameron Smith edged out Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy to win the Claret Jug.

After the tournament ended, Sharon and I headed into Gualala to get for some provisions for the week. Sharon did some shopping at Red Stella.

Back at house, I eventually got Sharon to go out for hike north along the buffs. We stopped and took a break just beyond Kyuka. In total, we covered 5.8 miles in just over two hours.

For dinner, I barbecued a spatchcocked chicken. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. We finished the night watching episodes seven and eight of The Offer.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #2

The plan for the day was golf at the Sea Ranch Golf Links course. Kevin, Donna, Sharon and I rolled from the house about 8:45 am. We hit a bucket of balls and then teed off about 9:45 am.

Although I haven't played in two months, I felt pretty good on the driving range. I started the first hole (a par five) with two solid shots. Unfortunately, I really struggled off the tee for the rest of the round. The one positive note was the chipper that I bought; I was using it very effective around the greens.

I ended up with a fairly honestly scored 113. I was frankly surprised my score wasn't higher. I had 9s on the back to back par 5 on the back nine... While Kevin was in the sand often, I spent a lot of time in the trees. It was a slow round; it took five hours and fifteen minutes.
After golf, we relaxed at the house. Getting cleaned up, we headed to the Sea Ranch Lodge for a drink and early dinner. We split Seared Scallops, Lingcod and Bread & Olive Oil for appetizers. For entrees, Kevin had lamb, Donna had mushroom fettuccine, Sharon had salmon and I had duck. I rarely order duck.

For the second night in a row, we finished the day in the hot tub.

10th Anniversary

One of my favorite photos and an extraordinary experience is included in Drew's post about the ten year anniversary of the first Milo Greene album release.

Friday, July 15, 2022

July 2022 Sea Ranch - Day #1

Sharon and I rolled from Carmichael about 8:15 am. We met the Gainsleys at Donum Estates for a tasting. Although it feels longer, we have been wine club members at Donum since 2017. The four of us did an experience tasting that includes a walk around the property.


We stopped for lunch in Bodega Bay. Sharon and I brought sandwiches that we picked up at Whole Foods. We shopped for oysters and smoked salmon at the Tides Wharf Fish Market.

We rolled in Gualala just before 3 pm to pick up the key. We are spending eight nights at Monette. We stayed in the same house in February.

After unloading and settling into the house, the four of us walked to the Sea Ranch Lodge and had a drink at the bar. It was very windy on the walk back to the house. Sharon has always talked about how windy it is at Sea Ranch in the summer.

For dinner, Kevin barbecued oysters and steaks. Donna baked a couple of potatoes and Sharon made a salad. We finished the night in the hot tub. When we were here in February, Sharon never went into the hot tub...

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Greater Sacramento CIO/CTO Roundtable

Wednesday eventing, I attended the Greater Sacramento CIO/CTO Roundtable at Granite City Co-Working in Folsom. The group is organized by Dave San/ders and Eric Wil/son. I have known Dave since the late 1980s when I was working for the Western Farm Credit Bank.

I participated in a panel discussion on innovation. The panelist included: David Prin/zing CTO at Zicasso; Steve Birg/feld VP of Information Services at Blue Diamond; Kinesh Dos/hi CEO from Accion Labs, and; myself.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

California Historical Landmark #192

While we were in San Francisco in December, I did a walkabout and found eight different California Historical Markers, including: #88 Niantic Hotel; #90 Fort Gunnybags; #462 Site of First Jewish Religious Services in San Francisco; #408 Site of the the first Meeting of Freemasons held in California; #453 Lucas, Turner & Co. Bank; #192 El Dorado, Park House and Dennison's Exchange; #500 EASTERN TERMINUS OF CLAY STREET HILL RAILROAD; and, #119 PORTSMOUTH PLAZA.

El Dorado, Park House and Dennison's Exchange
California State Historical Landmark #192

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

This landmark is located at 750 Kearny St at Merchant, San Francisco, California. There are 48 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Francisco County. The GPS coordinates for this location are 37° 47' 41.5" N 122° 24' 17.5" W.

California Historical Landmark #192

The 'El Dorado,' the 'Parker House,' and 'Dennison's Exchange' were among the most famous hotel and gambling resorts around San Francisco in the early 1850s. The Jenny Lind Theatre replaced the Parker House in 1850.

The third Jenny Lind Theatre was opened by Tom Maguire on October 4, 1851, on the same site as the two preceding it, which were destroyed in the fires of 1851. In 1852 the City of San Francisco purchased this theatre for use as the city hall.

California Historical Landmark #192

Monday, July 11, 2022

Sunday, July 10, 2022

2022 San Francisco - Day #3

Sharon and I wandered down to the gym at the hotel. I ran 3.5 miles in 48 minutes. Running on the treadmill, I watched the end of the Wimbledon men's final. Novak Djokovic beat Nick Kyrgios.

After getting cleaned up and packing up the room, we met Jack for breakfast at Cafe le Presse [Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict]. From there, Sharon and I walked down to Union Square and wandered through several stores.

Checking out of the hotel, we picked up Jack at his apartment and headed to Orinda. We stopped at Drew's house to drop Jack off and see the new kitten. Drew and Jack are going to a Fleet Foxes concert at the Greek Theater on Sunday night.

With the traffic fairly light, we were back in Carmichael before 4 pm. It is nice to have both Jack and Drew so close! Shortly after we got home, Sharon and I facetimed with Lee, Morgan and Daniel.

Saturday, July 09, 2022

2022 San Francisco - Day #2

With Sharon sleeping late, I went down to the work out room in the hotel. I ran four miles in 57 minutes on the treadmill. I watched the end of the women's Wimbledon finale. Elena Rybakina defeated Ons Jabeur. I was fascinated by the fact that Rybakina was a head taller than Jabeur [6' versus 5' 6"].

After getting cleaned up, Sharon and I walked west on Californa to Jack's apartment. We made a quick stop for scones and crossiants at Souvenir Coffee on Larkin Street.

We got a chance to see Jack and Jason's apartment. It is on Hyde Street above the Cable Car line.

The plan for the day was to hike the middle section of the SF Crosstown Trail. We hiked the whole trail last summer, but Sharon talked about coming back and hiking the Golden Gate Heights section again when it was clear.

We caught an Uber from Jack's apartment to the Rose Garden in Golden Gate Park. From there, we headed south on the trail. This section includes the Hidden Garden and 16th Avenue/Moraga Tiled Stairways. With a clear day, we had some interesting views.

In total, we hiked a little over four miles in just under two hours. We had a late lunch at Foodee Burger in the Forest Hill neighborhood. Sharon and Jack had burgers, while I had a spicy tuna sandwich. They had an interesting selection of beers from Vietnam and Cambodia.

We took an Uber back to the Ritz Carlton. Sharon and I took a nap and then got cleaned up for dinner.

We met Jack in the Ritz Carlton bar and then walked down California to dinner. Just as we were walking up to the restaurant, Drew pulled up to the valet. The four of us had dinner at Perbacco.

We split BURRATA CHEESE [heirloom tomato - peaches - spring onion - red shiso - levian crisp] and FRITTO MISTO [crisp fry of shrimp - maitake mushrooms - haricots verts - fennel - olives - lemon aijoli] for appetizers.

For the pasta course, I had RIGATONCINI NERI [squid ink semolina pasta - octopus sugo - fennel - orange], Jack had TORTELLI CON FEGATO D'ANATRA [pasta parcels filled with truffled duck liver mousse - blueberries hazlenuts - sherry vinegar] and Drew had PAPPARDELLE [wide pasta ribbons - slow cooked short rib ragu - scallion - horseradish crema]. My pasta was very good.

For entrees, Jack, Drew and I split ROASTED PORK LOIN [onion passato - apricots - roasted and pickled kholrabi], while Sharon had MT LASSEN TROUT [charred spigarello - celery root puree - meyer lemon - caper brown butter - sunflower seeds and sprouts].

For dessert, we split LEMON VERBENA PANNA COTTA [lemon curd - brown sugar crunch - blackberry and blueberry - blackberry yuzu sorbetto] and APRICOT CRISP.

Drew drove us back to the hotel. Sharon and I crashed just after 10 pm.

Friday, July 08, 2022

2022 San Francisco - Day #1

With Jack now living in San Francisco, We planned a weekend in the city. Rolling from Carmichael about 1:15 pm, we were in the city and at the hotel by 3:30 pm. We took Sharon's car and switched drivers in Vallejo. We are spending two nights at the Ritz Carlton on Marriott points.

After getting settled in the room, we wandered down to the bar. Sharon and I had hiked up to the Ritz when we were in San Francisco last June. We had a snack and a drink. Eventually, Jack joined us.

From the hotel, the three of us walked down California to the Harborview Restaurant for dinner. It was an odd experience. The place was packed and very loud. It was the kind of place where the wait staff isn't much help. We ended up starting with STEAMED KUROBUTA PORK SOUP DUMPLINGS and STEAMED SHRIMP DUMPLINGS. For entrees, we had LIVE DUNGENESS CRAB WITH SALT AND PEPPER (SIGNATURE DISH), SOYA SAUCE BEAN CURD and VEGETABlE NOODLES. I also had a wonton soup.

Walking back to the hotel up Sacramento street, we crashed about 10 pm.

Thursday, July 07, 2022

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

My book for July was River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard.

The author wrote one of my favorite books: The River of Doubt. I have read and enjoyed two other books that she wrote: Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill and Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President.

Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to search for the source of the White Nile in East Africa. Burton spoke twenty-nine languages and was a decorated soldier. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark. He was passionate about hunting and Burton’s opposite in temperament and beliefs. Their styles clashed during the expedition. Afterwards, they ended up as bitter rivals.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as Millard's first three books, but it is an interesting story. I was shocked at how sick both Burton and Speke were during their travels in Africa.

[Note to self], there is a monument to Speke in Kensington Gardens. I am going to look for it the next time we are in London [October 2023?].

Wednesday, July 06, 2022

A rough four weeks

Four weeks ago, I tested positive for COVID. The result was a lost ten days.

A week ago, I had mohs surgery to remove a spot on my face. The procedure turned out to be more extensive than I anticipated. The instructions included not lifting anything heavy or working out for a week...

It has been a rough four weeks.

Tuesday, July 05, 2022

Volvo XC60 T8 - Day #1,346

The Volvo is perfect for running errands around town. I haven't used a drop of gas in the last week.

Monday, July 04, 2022

2022 Frame Family Fourth of July

Sharon's brother Tom hosted a Frame Family 4th of July. The group totaled nineteen, including: Sharon and I, Tom, Eric and Ashley, Kevin, Leah, Lydia and Amelia, Terry and Steve, Tim and Kathy, Erin and Cormac, Will and Eileen, Mary and Jim.

Tom barbecued chicken sausage and barts for dinner. We brought potato salad.

We finished the night with a selection of fireworks on Tom's driveway. The fireworks were generally disappointing.

When we got home, we saw the last part of the second night of the Rancho Cordova fireworks display. Sharon talked about hosting Fourth of July at our house next year and enjoying this show, rather than shooting off fireworks in the driveway...

Sunday, July 03, 2022

Ancil Hoffman Neighborhood Golf Outing

Sunday afternoon, Sharon and I played golf with Jim and Debi and Mike and Jill at Ancil Hoffman. We have done a neighbor golf outing/tournament a couple of times in the last two years [September 2021, April 2021 and July 2020].

Still recovering from mohs surgery on Wednesday, I just chipped and putted on most of the holes. I experimented with the chipper around the greens. On the par threes, I hit off the tee. Teeing off at 3 pm, we only played 15 holes.

After golf, we hosted everyone at our house for dinner. Sharon made a great dinner of salmon and rice. Jim and Debi made a charcuterie plate. Mike and Jill made a grilled caesar salad and a peach cobbler.

We finished the night on the upper balcony watching the Rancho Cordova fireworks.

Saturday, July 02, 2022

Zinfandel Grille plus The Offer

After spending the day getting ready to entertain on Sunday, Sharon and I had dinner at the Zinfandel Grille. We spilt a CAESAR SALAD [Romaine Hearts, Garlic Croutons And Shaved Parmesan]. For entrees, I had SHELLFISH & SAFFRON RISOTTO [Shrimp, Clams, Calamari, Parmesan], while Sharon had TAGLIATELLE [Pork Bolognese, Crescenza cheese, Bread Crumb]. Sharon rarely orders pasta...

We finished the evening watching episode three of the The Offer. The miniseries is about the development and production of The Godfather (1972).

Friday, July 01, 2022

Bill Simmons on the 2022 Sacramento Kings