2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #4 - Grand Teton National Park

The plan for the day was a self guided driving tour of the Gran Teton National Park. Based on a book that Sharon got and a web site that she found, we built a list of places that we wanted to stop. Using the GPS, we went from spot to spot. The itinerary for the day included:

• We got breakfast at the Creekside Market on the way out of Jackson [breakfast burrito and breakfast sandwich]. The food was not good.
• We drove east towards Kelly, Wyoming.
• From there, we drove to the Mormon Row Historical District. We stopped and took a few pictures.
• Entering the Grand Teton National Park through the Moran Gate, we stopped at the Oxbow Bend Turnout.
• We cotinued to the Colter Bay Village. We hiked the Lakeside Trail. Sharon shopped in the Vistor Center, while I walked through the small Indian Art display. Over the course of the day, I was surprised by the small size of the displays in the visitor centers.
• We stepped at the Jackson Lake Lodge. The lobby has beautiful views of the mountains.
• We stopped at the Chapel of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Unfortunately, it is not open until June.
• Although it wasn't on my list of stops, Sharon decided to drive to the top of Signal Mountain. Ugh...
• We stopped at the Moran Mountain turnout for some pictures.
• We stopped at the Cathedral Group Turnout for more pictures.
• We stopped at the Jenny Lake Visitors Center. The web site that Sharon found said that if you got here at midday parking would be difficult. It was. After not seeing anyone hardly all day, the stop was crawling with people. We walked down to the hike to check out the trail. I was surprised by the number of people in line for the boat to the other side of the lake. We are planning to hike around Jenny Lake with the Larkins in Sunday.
• Leaving the Jenny Lake Visitor Center, we started towards a couple of next stops, but pivoted to a late lunch at Dornans Pizza & Pasta Co. Getting a seat at the bar, we split a Ranger Peak pizza.

We finished the day having dinner with Larkins at Aurora Restaurant at the top of the Snow King Gondola. We had a cocktail in the bar. We got a very nice table along the windows. The four of us split Carpaccio of Bison and Wagyu Steak Tartare. For entrees, I had lamp chops, while Sharon had Duck. The food and the service was very good.

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #3

Sharon and I had breakfast at Haydens Post in the Snow King Resort (veggie omeletes with fruit). It was uninspiring; we probably won't eat there again during this trip.

The plan for the day was to ride bikes with the Larkins. I had reserved two e-bikes online last week. Located in the hotel, we walked up to the shop just as it opened at 9 am. They were already getting the bikes ready.

With a side trip to the town of Wilson and a short extension up to the trail to get a better view of the Tetons, the four of us rode to Teton Village for lunch. We had lunch at the Tram Dock Bar & Kitchen. Sharon had a Summer Salad, while I had Tomato fest flatbread.

Afterwards, we took the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram to the summit of Rendezvous Mountain. Have I said recently how much I dislike heights...


On the way back, we stopped at the Larkin's trailer for a quick drink and some smoked salmon. By the time we got back to the hotel to drop off the bikes, it was 4:45 pm.

In total, we covered more in 34 miles in three and a half hours. Sharon was very entralled with the e-bike. It made it possible for her to easily keep up with the group. E-bikes may be in our future. I rode my bike more than 95% of time with the electric assist off. I was very impressed with how well the bike rolled compared to my mountain bike.

Getting cleaned up, we walked to Snake River Brewing for dinner. Sharon and I both had SRB Big Cobb Salads [Crispy bacon, gorgonzola cheese, smoked chicken, avocado, hard-cooked egg, heirloom tomatoes & chives tossed with fresh field-greens & cranberry-balsamic vinaigrette]. I rarely say this about a meal, but I don't recommend it.

With an early start planned for tomorrow, Sharon and I headed back to the hotel. We did some planning for our tour of the Grand Teton National Park. We had lights out before 9:30 pm.

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #2 - To Jackson, Wyoming

Another long travel day...

Up and moving about 6 am, I did a five minute Peloton core workout in the room. Sharon and I packed up the room and loaded the car. We had a quick breakfast in the hotel lobby.

We pulled away from the Townplace Suites in Elko at 8:07 am. Like when we left Lyon, Sharon spent most of the first hour arguing with the GPS. I drove just over an hour and a half to Jackpot, Nevada (9:45 am). We fueled the car and switched drivers.

Jackpot sits on the Nevada/Idaho border. There is a time change at the Idaho border; we lost an hour. It was 11 am when Sharon started to drive. She drove to the Coldwater Hill Rest Area on Highway 86 (12:50 pm). We switched drivers again (1:00 pm).

I was fascinated by the amount of agriculture between Twin Falls and Pocatello.

We drove through a McDonalds in Idaho Falls for lunch. I drove to Swan Valley (3:30 pm).

Sharon drove the last leg into Jackson, Wyoming. I was surprised how muddy the water was in the Snake River above Alpine.

We got to the hotel about 4:45 pm. We are spending six nights at the Snow King Resort.

After getting settled in the room and cleaned up, we walked downtown to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. We met the Larkins for drinks in the bar. We finished the day with a nice dinner downstairs in the steakhouse. Sharon and I split a WYO WEDGE (baby iceberg lettuce with heirloom cherry tomatoes, maple glazed pork belly & Point Reyes blue cheese dressing) For entrees, I had the BISON FLANK STEAK served with chimichurri, while Sharon and the Larkins all had a Wagyu steak special.

Walking back to the room, we crashed just before 11 pm.

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #1 - To Elko

Jackson Hole is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County. The term "hole" was used by early trappers, or mountain men, as a term for a large mountain valley. These low-lying valleys, surrounded by mountains and containing rivers and streams, are good habitat for beavers and other fur-bearing animals.

Pulling away from the house at about 9:15 am, Sharon and I are off for a nine day roadtrip to Jackson Hole. We are catching up with the Larkins in Jackson, Wyoming.

I have driven across Nevada twice. Both times were more than 45 years ago. In 1980, I drove to Elko with my dad to fly fish in the Ruby Mountains and to Park City, Utah with Tomasin, Wallen, Nooter and Connor for a rugby tournament. While I remembered the drive as flat and straight, the section between Lovelock and Elko was more rolling hills than I remembered.

I drove from Carmichael to the rest area near Boreal Ridge (11:45 am). Sharon drove from there to Lovelock, Nevada (1:00 pm). We had lunch at the Lovelock Cafe (cheese bugers with a side salad).


I drove two hours (1:30 pm to 3:30 pm) from Lovelock to a rest stop. Switching drivers, Sharon drove to the California Trail Interpretive Center just outside of Elko, Nevada (4:15 pm). We spent some time touring the center.

From there, we headed to the Marriot Townplace Suites in Elko. We are spending one night. Elko is much different than the picture that I had in my head. It is much more hilly.

We finished the day with dinner at Star Hotel and Bar with a Basque family style dinner. I had baked lamb, while Sharon had a petite lamb chop.

We crashed early.

Survivor 48

Last Wednesday night, Sharon and I watched the final episode of season 48 of Survivor.

Season 48 of Survivor was filmed in Fiji from June 27 to July 22, 2024. The season premiered on CBS on February 26, 2025 and ran until May 21, 2025. It is the sixteenth consecutive season to be filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji; this has been the show's location since Season 33. The season is part of the "new era" of Survivor, which means it ran for 26 days instead of the 39 days of the first 40 seasons.

Kyle Fraser was voted the Sole Survivor, defeating Eva Erickson and Joe Hunter (Sacramento Fire Captain) in a 5–2–1 vote.

Unlike some recent seasons, I felt that this was a final four that belonged there. Sharon and I were rooting for Joe or Eva. Although Joe didn't acquit himself very well at the final tribal council, I was surprised the vote wasn't more evenly split. Sharon was disappointed that Kyle won.

As I have said repeatedly, I would really love to see the show filmed in other locations. Additionally, I think that the use of the sanctuary has gotten very repetitive. It seems lazy just to use the sanctuary over and over for the reward challenges.

September 5

Wednesday night May 7 while Sharon was on her Oregon roadtrip with Tom, I watched September 5. The film is one of two movies nominated for a major 2025 Oscar that I haven't seen. It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 97th Academy Awards. Additionally, it received a Best Motion Picture – Drama nomination at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards.

September 5 is a historical drama thriller film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Tim Fehlbaum. It stars: Peter Sarsgaard as Roone Arledge, the president of ABC Sports; John Magaro as Geoffrey Mason, the head of the control room in Munich; Ben Chaplin as Marvin Bader, the head of operations at ABC Sports; and Leonie Benesch as Marianne Gebhardt, a translator for the crew who speaks German.

The film chronicles the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage crisis from the perspective of the ABC Sports broadcasting team. Initially covering the Olympic Games, the crew finds themselves pivoting to report on the unfolding tragedy involving Israeli athletes held hostage by the Black September terrorist group. The film highlights the intense pressure and ethical dilemmas faced by the broadcasters as they navigate live coverage of the escalating crisis. As the situation deteriorates, the crew grapples with the responsibility of informing a global audience while dealing with the immediate and dangerous consequences of their reporting.

September 5 makes extensive use of archival footage from ABC's coverage of the 1972 Summer Olympics and the hostage crisis, including footage of Jim McKay narrating the events. I enjoyed the movie and recommend it.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Sunday morning, Sharon and I went to see Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning at the Country Club Cinema. This is the eighth installment of the series. Sharon and I saw Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning [#7] in March 2024. Sharon, Jack and I saw Mission: Impossible - Fallout [#6] in 2018, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation [#5] in Boston in 2015 during our east coast college tour and Mission Impossible III in 2012.

Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning is a 2025 American spy action film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. It was released May 23, 2025. It is a direct sequel to the previous installment that also wraps up continuous threads begun in the 1996 original.

It stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett reprise their roles from the previous films.

In the film, Hunt and his IMF team face off against "the Entity", a powerful rogue AI.

As a kid, I loved watching the old television series. The theme song for the series is part of the soundtrack for my life.

The stunt work at the end of the movie is pretty amazing. Tom Cruise was genuinely on the wing of a vintage biplane as it flew at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour and at altitudes of around 8,000 feet. There was no green screen for the bulk of the stunt. No body doubles were used for Cruise's actions. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the creation of a new "Best Stunt Design" category. Unfortunately, it will not debut until the 100th Academy Awards in 2028, honoring films released in 2027.

We enjoyed the movie. As I said after the Dead Reckoning, I have a kink about an artificial intelligence's ability to hack any and all systems. With almost 45 years of large system information technology experience, the casualness with which some extremely complicated technical things are accomplished grates on me. I appreciate the concern about artificial intelligence, but technology on this kind of scale is fragile... It will be interesting to see if this is actually the final installment in the Mission: Impossible film series.

Dinner at Greg and Michele's

Sharon and I went to dinner at our neighbors Greg and Michele's house. Jim and Debbie were also there. They served a great dinner of Caprese salad, rice, aspargus and barbecued pork loin. Sharon made a lemon custard for dessert. After dinner, we spent some time around the firepit listening to music.

We finished the night playing ping pong! Playing two games, Sharon and I lost to Greg and Michele and then Jim and Debbie. I am not clear what the rules are regarding how the serve rotates...

It almost midnight by the time we wandered home, walked the dog and got to bed.

Neighborhood Homeowners Association Meeting

Thursday night after golf, Sharon and I went to a neighborhood homeowners association meeting at the pool. Unfortunately, there is a lot of drama taking place around the management company for the HOA.

Nevertheless, I love our neighborhood.

At Ancil Hoffman Golf Course

Thursday afternoon, Sharon and I played nine holes at Ancil Hoffman with Jim and Debbie. We teed off at 3:32 pm. There was no one in front of us or behind us! It felt like we had the course to ourselves.

Monday and Tuesday mornings, I hit balls on the driving range at Ancil Hoffman. Tuesday had a Golftec lesson. Thursday morning, I went to Haggin Oaks to hit balls using the Toptracer. I was hoping to score a little better. I didn't.

Really focusing on reaching back behind me with my swing, I was very inconsistent. I had a number of drives that I was very happy with. My chipping was also solid. I just couldn't string two shots together... I ended up with a very liberally scored 62.

I keep my emotions in check. I just kept working on the swing changes. I enjoyed walking the course.

Golftec

I had a lesson at Golftec on Wednesday morning. I am continuing to work on getting my swing to be more inside out rather than outside in. I am focusing on keeping my right elbow tucked in and aiming my hands lower on the backswing. Although I had a rough outing last Friday, I feel like I am making some progress on my swing. We are playing with Jim and Debbie on Thursday. It will be interesting to see how that goes...

Kitchen Remodel - Day #111

My KITCHEN REMODEL related project for the weekend was mounting a Samsung Frame TV in the kitchen. Sharon loves the Art Mode of the Samsung Frame TVs. After getting the it mounted, I put together a Deco Pure White Bezel Frame to go on the TV. The kitchen still needs to be painted before Sharon is going to have a cocktail party for the grand unveining. The only other thing outstanding is the screen for the bar cabinet.

Amazing Race - Season 37

Sunday night, Sharon and I finished watching season 37 of the Amazing Race. With a passion for traveling, I have enjoyed watching the Amazing Race over the last few years. We finished season 32 in January of 2021, season 33 in March of 2022, season 34 in December of 2022, season 35 in December of 2023 and season 36 in March of 2024.

Season 37 premiered on CBS on March 5, 2025. It concluded on May 15, 2025.

It has been described as a "season of surprises", as each leg of the race includes a twist in the form of an obstacle or a unique task. New elements introduced this season include the Fork in the Road, the Driver's Seat, and Valet Roulette. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the double elimination leg, the Intersection, the Live U-Turn Vote, the Fast Forward, the Double U-Turn, the non-elimination leg, the Head-to-Head, and the Scramble.

The legs of the race included:

• Leg 1 (United States → Hong Kong)
• Leg 2 (Hong Kong → Japan) [Osaka → Kyoto]
• Leg 3 (Japan)
• Leg 4 (Japan → Indonesia)
• Leg 5 (Indonesia)
• Leg 6 (Indonesia → United Arab Emirates)
• Leg 7 (United Arab Emirates → Bulgaria)
• Leg 8 (Bulgaria) [Sofia: Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - Tom visited in March]
• Leg 9 (Bulgaria → Italy)
• Leg 10 (Italy → Germany → France)
• Leg 11 (France → Germany → Portugal) [Porto]
• Leg 12 (Portugal → United States)

Best friends and gamers Carson McCalley and Jack Dodge were the winners of this season, while siblings Han and Holden Nguyen finished in second place, and married parents Jonathan and Ana Towns finished in third place.

My enjoyment of the season was somewhat marred by having to watch Jonathan and Ana. Jonathan had a terrible attitude and treated his wife horribly.

I particularly enjoyed the stops in Oska and Kyoto. These cities are on our list for a potential trip to Japan in 2026. Addtionally, we are both very interested in visiting Porto in Portugal. Holly and Van are on the Overseas Adventure Travel "Northern Spain & Portugal: Pilgrimage into the Past" trip that included a stop in Porto.

Season 38 was already filmed between March 17 and April 9, 2025. The teams reportedly traveled through the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, and Italy. This season will feature a unique twist: all the contestants are former houseguests from Big Brother, paired with a friend or relative.

Passage to Eastern Europe

The Tomasins and Swedbergs did the Viking river boat cruise Passage to Eastern Europe in late April and early May. This is similar to the Viking cruise that Tom did in March.

Tiber the Corgi

At Haggen Oaks Alister MacKenzie Golf Course

Donna, Kevin, Sharon and I had a 11:56 am tee time at the Haggen Oaks Alister MacKenzie Golf Course. I haven't played this course in forty years. It is one of the courses that I used to play with Nooter, Wallen and Dave Hare.

Hitting on the driving range, I felt inconsistent. With everything going on, I haven't been to the range since my last lesson ten days ago.

I got off to a horrible start on the first two holes. I started to feel a mixture of disappointment, frustration, embarrassment and anger. It is a fairly easy course. I settled down a little bit and had a string of four bogeys and two double bogeys over the next seven holes, but was still struggling with my emotions. I fell apart on the back nine... I ended up with a liberally scored 118.

After golf, Donna and Kevin came for dinner. Although it isn't painted yet, Sharon wanted to show off the kitchen. Sharon made a nice Mexican dinner.

2025 Bremerton - Day #4

Wallen, Snipes and I left the Wallen's house about 7:50 am. Wallen and I walked up and got coffee and donuts, while Snipes got in line for the fast ferry. We got the 8:35 am fast ferry to Seattle. It took about 30 minutes.

The three of us walked to Symphony Link Light Rail Station. From there, Wallen went to work, while Snipes and I caught a train to the airport. It was about a 45 minute ride.

Walking into the airport, I was surprised at the number of people in the security lines. This is the airport where I ended up dragging Sharon into line to sign up for CLEAR. With CLEAR and TSA Pre, it took me about 10 minutes to get through security.

Snipes and I had lunch at Mi Casa Cantina [Pollo Ranchero Bowl].

The flight was on time. Boarding the 12:25 pm Southwest flight to Sacramento with A38, I wasn't able to get an exit row in an older 727. We were on the ground in Sacramento ahead of schedule. Walking off with a carryon, I was home just after 3 pm.

It was a great trip. The last couple of days reminded me of how much I enjoy the Wallens' company. I treasure their friendship.

2025 Bremerton - Day #3

When I started planning the trip to visit Wallen, I looked at the Seattle Mariners' schedule. A Wednesday getaway game against New York Yankees caught my eye. It is the perfect activity for a day. I planned the rest of the trip around that game.

Wallen, Snipes and I had breakfast at the Hot Java Cafe [breakfast burrito]. Heading to the ferry, we met up with Vic and got in line for the 9:50 am fast ferry. It was a thirty minute ride to Seattle.

Walking towards the stadium, we stopped and had a couple of beers at Sluggers. From there, we headed to the game. I had bought four tickets in section 119, row 9, seats 1, 2, 3 and 4 from Stubhub.

With the Mariners leading by the score of 2 to 1 in the top of the seventh, Paul Goldschmidt hit a pitch hit home run to tie the score. In the top of the eighth, Aaron Judge hit a home run to put the Yankees up by the score of 3 to 2. Judge was 3 for 4 with two singles and the home run. He is batting .412! The Yankees won the game by the score of 3 to 2.

After the game, the four of us stopped and had cocktail while we waited for the car ferry. We caught the 5:30 pm ferry and were back in Bremerton about 6:30 pm.

After some time on the hardscape, we finished the night with a late dinner of smoked brisket that Nate had dropped off. It was after 11 pm by the time that we crashed.

House of Prime Rib

Sharon went into San Francisco and took Jack and Jason to dinner at House of Prime Rib. She spent the night at the Stanford Court.

2025 Bremerton - Day #2

Tuesday morning, Wallen, Snipes and I hiked at the Illahee Preserve Heritage Park. Wallen and Vic are involved in maintaining the park. Wallen and I covered about three miles in an hour and twenty-three minutes. Snipes dropped off after two miles and headed back to the car.


After the hike, we headed to Poulsbo. Jill, John, Sharon and I explored the city when we visited them in 2'17. Snipes, Wallen and I had a late breakfast at the Green Light Diner. I had Huevos Rancheros.

Wandering the old town, we ended up at Tizleys for a beer. Wallen and I had stopped there in '17. From there, we headed back to the Wallen's house for some downtime.

In the early afternoon, Wallen, Jill, Snipes and I went to the Central Kitsap versus White River High Baseball Playoff game. Wallen's son Nate is an assistant coach for the team. Central Kitsap rallied to win the game by the score of 4 to 2.

After game, the four of us plus Nate's family went to the Silver City Restaurant and Ale House for dinner. I had the BBQ Chicken Salad.

Wallen, Snipes and I finished the day watching the Thunder beat the Nuggets in the NBA playoffs. We crashed about 10 pm.

Jeana for Dinner

Sharon had Jeana over for dinner. Jeana ended up staying the night.

2025 Bremerton - Day #2 - Lots of Wallens

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.