2025 Bremerton - Day #1

Up at 4:30 am, I pulled away from the house at 5:30 am. Parking in the Sacramento Airport Garage, I actually got an odd eletric car charger on the west end of the second floor.

Although the TSA Pre line was pretty long, I breezed through with CLEAR. I caught a 7:25 am Southwest Flight to Seattle. Boarding with A41, I was able to get a nice aisle exit row seat on a newer 727. I will never understand why more people don't gravitate towards the exit rows.

The flight was on the ground in Seattle on time at 9:25 am, but sat waiting for a gate. Eventually, getting to the gate and off the plane, Wallen picked me up at Arrivals.

We had breakfast/lunch at 13 Coins near the airport. Afterwards, we parked Wallen's truck in short term parking and waited for Snipes at Sourced just outside the security gates.

Snipes rolled up about 1:30 pm. With a stop in Tacoma for groceries, we rolled towards the Wallen's house in Bremerton.

Dropping our stuff at their house, we headed to the Boatshed for a beer or two.

Jill, Wallen, Snipes and I finished the day catching up on the hardscape along Phinney Bay. Wallen barbecued New York steaks. We had a very late dinner.

After dinner, Wallen pulled out some pictures albums. There were two pictures that I was surprised to see: one from 1985 and one from 1995. I will post them as a Throwback Thursday in June.

It was after 11 pm by the time that I crashed...

Mother’s Day 2025

After spending Saturday getting the downstairs organized and put back together, we focused on cleaning up the deck on Sunday. With the kitchen remodel under way over the last three plus months, we have left the deck in disarry. We made a trip to the shed for summer boxes and rugs. We are planning to start doing some entertaining in the coming weeks.

To celebrate Mother's Day, I took Sharon to dinner at Allora. It is one of her favorite Sacramento restaurants.

I had the four course menu with the wine pairing including: KINGFISH CRUDO [ARUGULA SALSA VERDE, CASTELVETRANO OLIVE, PISTACHIO]; CAVATELLI [WILD MUSHROOMS, PEA SHOOT PESTO, PARMESAN, GREMOLATA], and; ZABUTON [CHERMOULA, FINGERLING POTATO, ARTICHOKE, BROCCOLINI, LABNEH]. Zabuton is a steak sourced from the chunk primal. It was very good.

Sharon had the three course menu with wine pairing including: COPPA DI TESTA [DELTA ASPARAGUS, BLACK TRUFFLE, CURED EGG, RICOTTA SALATA, BLACK GARLIC], and; BLACK COD [BUTTERNUT SQUASH HUMMUS, ROASTED VEGETABLES, AGED BALSAMIC]. We both had MIGLIACCIO [STRAWBERRY, CREME FRAICHE, SEMOLINA, RICOTTA] for dessert.

On the way home from the restaurant, we called Drew. He had called while we were having dinner. Jack called just as I was going out the door to walk Tiber and talked to Sharon.

Kitchen Remodel - Day #101

THE KITCHEN REMODEL is essentially done. The final inspection by the county was completed on Wednesday. The contractor showed up for the last time on Friday to complete a couple of small details. Outstanding items at this point include the mesh for the door of the bar cabinet, mounting a frame TV and getting the downstairs painted.

Sharon and I spent Saturday cleaning up and putting stuff away. The only real issue is that we are not going to put everything back in the pantry until after the downstairs is painted.

The initial pictures of the kitchen before the demo started are here. After the downstairs is painted, I am going to post a final set of side-by-side pictures comparing before and after.

Zoom Call with Nooter

Nooter and I had a zoom call for a little over an hour this morning to catch up.

Sharon and Tom's Oregon Adventure 2025 - Day #5

A long travel day.

Sharon and Tom rolled from the Valley River Inn in Eugene about 6:50 am. They made a quick stop for pastries for breakfast and then had lunch at Yaks on 5 in Dunsmuir.


After 490 miles and nine and a half hours, they pulled up in Carmichael just after 4:30 pm.

Sharon and Tom's Oregon Adventure 2025 - Day #4

Sharon and Tom spent the night at the Valley River Inn. Just as they were getting ready to go out for a walk along the river, the white smoke billowed out of the Sistine Chapel. They watched the announcemnt of Pope Leo XIV and the commentary about his background.

The objective for the day was lunch at the King Estate Winery. Tom is a wine club member there and had a pick-up.

Sharon and Tom hiked along the Willamette River in the afternoon.


They finished the day with dinner at Marché. Sharon had steak and frites for her entree.

2025 Athletics versus Mariners

Larkin and I went to the Athletics versus Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball Game. The first pitch was 12:35 pm.

Jacob Wilson had two doubles and drove in a run in his first four-hit game to help the Athletics jump to a 5-0 fourth-inning lead off Mariners starter Bryan Woo. The Mariners rallied from the five-run deficit to beat the Athletics by the score of 6 to 5.

Rowdy Tellez hit a three run home in the sixth (his fifth) to get the Mariners within 5-4. Tellez played high school baseball at Elk Grove High School. He graduated in 2013. While at Elk Grove, he was teammates with several future Major League players, including J. D. Davis, Dom Nuñez, Derek Hill, Nick Madrigal, and Dylan Carlson. Tellez was recognized as a 2013 Baseball America High School All-American and a Rawlings First Team All-American during his time there.

The attendance was 9,697.

With Sharon on a roadtrip to Oregon with her brother Tom, I finished the day watching the movie September 5.

Sharon and Tom's Oregon Adventure 2025 - Day #3

After breakfast at the Ashland Creek Inn, Sharon and Tom headed north. They made a stop in Medford to look at a rental property that Drew is buying.

Sharon and Tom are spending two nights at the Valley River Inn in Eugene.

They finished the day with dinner at Rye. They both had the special: Oregon chinook slamon with Greek salad and basmati rice.

Golftec plus St. Andrews at Waymaker with Larkin

Tuesday morning, I had a lesson at Golftec. I am continuing to work on trying to get my swing inside out rather than outside in. Frankly, it is a struggle working to break fifty years of bad habits...

After the lesson, I wandered next door to Waymaker Brewing. Larkin joined me. We played the Old Course at St. Andrews. I enjoyed the afternoon, but I struggled. I didn't play as well as when I played with Jack, Drew and Sharon.

I really need to spend some time on the range after every lesson. I have too many different swing thoughts in my head.

Sharon and Tom's Oregon Adventure 2025 - Day #2

After spending the night, Sharon and Tom had breakfast at the Ashland Creek Inn. Sharon noted that the breakfast wasn't quite as expansive as when we stayed there on our anniversary trip.

They walked in Lithia Park in the morning.


After the walk, they headed to Irvine & Roberts Vineyards. They tasted and had a charcuterie plate for lunch. Sharon said that the wines were solid, but the views were great.


They finished the day with dinner at Alchemy Restaurant and Bar. Sharon had black cod as her entree.

Celebrating Morgan's birthday plus sushi adventures with Lee and Clem

With Sharon in Oregon with her brother Tom, I took Morgan, Daniel, Lee and Clem to Shilla Teriyaki & Sushi Bar to celebrate Morgan's birthday. We had a Love Boat #2 with Spicy Johnny, Hole in One, Rainbow and Samurai rolls.

The restauarant is located in an odd spot along Highway 50 near Camino. The food was surprising good.

Afterwards, I went back to Morgan and Daniel's house for birthday cake.

Sharon and Tom's Oregon Adventure 2025 - Day #1

Sharon and Tom are off for a few days on a roadtrip to Oregon. Rolling from the house about 10:30 am, they were in Ashland by 5:15 pm with a stop for lunch in Red Bluff.

They are spending two nights at the Ashland Creek Inn in the Devon Suite. Sharon and I stayed there on our 25th Anniversary road trip in 2021.

Sharon and Tom finished the night with dinner at Hearsay Restauarant. After craft cocktails and appetizers, Sharon had grilled swordfish for an entree.

Sunday morning bike along the American River

Sharon and I rode 15.24 miles from William Pond to Cal Expo and back. It took us just over an hour and a half.


I was interested in seeing the Campus Common Golf Course. After being closed for a number of years, it is scheduled to reopen on May 8. It looks like there is still some work to be done on the course, in the parking lot and around the clubhouse.

Clem

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At Ancil Hoffman

On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, I went to the driving range at Ancil Hoffman. Working on my swing, I feel like I may have finally unlocked something. The Golftec instructor has been highlighting that I am bringing swing back too far. I get my swing into a good spot, but keep raising up. Working on that and getting my hands behind me, I felt good on the range.

Debbie, Jim, Sharon and I teed off at Ancil Hoffman at 3:32 pm on Thursday afternoon. We have tried to get into a routine of playing with them as often as we can on Thursday afternoons. Jim and I walked, while Debbie and Sharon rode.

I was very happy with how I played. I felt like my work on the range actually translated to the course. I was striking the ball solidly. I three putted three greens and my chipping is still hit and miss. With one mulligan, I ended up with a fairly honestly scored 55.
Although it was slow over the first two holes, it took us about two hours and fifteen minutes to play nine. We sat and had a cocktail on the patio after the round. I really enjoy having Ancil Hoffman so close.