Sunday, May 29, 2022

2022 Berkeley - Day #2

We had a light breakfast at the East Bay Provisions at the Carriage Entrance to the hotel. Sharon had a burnt breakfast burrito, while I had a ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich.

The plan for the day was a hike in Tilden Park. We drove to Drew and Carmen's house. After a tour of the house, Drew, Sharon and I headed into the park. We parked the car at the parking lot for the Steam Trains & Golden Gate Live Steamers.

We hiked the Seaview Trail. The trail has some fantastic views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. In total, we hiked 5.9 miles in just under three hours. A map is here.

Dropping Drew back at his house, Sharon and I headed back to the hotel and got cleaned up. Since we skipped lunch, we headed to the Limewood Bar & Restaurant for a glass of rose and a snack (another cheese plate).

We finished the evening with dinner at the Revival Bar + Kitchen. This turned out to be a disappointment. We had a nice drink at the bar and chatted with the bartender. When we went to get seated, the large restaurant was empty. We were the only customers!?!

As a starter, we split a solid kale caesar [snap pea, carrots, radish, crispy quinoa, grana padano, fennel]. For mains, Sharon had painted hills braised beef short ribs [green polenta, broccoli & shiitake relish, demiglace], while I had wild california king salmon [spinach, crispy red bliss potatoes, fennel relish, cherry tomato, basil & fennel relish]. The entrees were not good.

Saturday, May 28, 2022

2022 Berkeley - Day #1

In the early afternoon, Sharon and I took off for Berkeley. We are spending two nights at the Claremont Hotel. With Drew and Carmen settled in a house in Orinda, we wanted to stay somewhere close by. I suggested this hotel and Sharon jumped on the idea.

We rolled up to the hotel just before 3 pm. The room was ready. The hotel is a little bit of a maze. We had to go down a floor from the lobby to the spa, hike across first floor, take an elevator up to the second floor and then find the room. It is an odd layout. The room had a nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay.

After getting settled in the room, we wandered back to the front of the hotel. There is an outside area set up with a bar in a trailer. The seating area has great views of San Francisco, the bridges and the bay. We had a glass of rose and a Cheese Board [selection of artisan cheeses, honey, preserves, grilled sourdough].

We had dinner in the Limewood Bar & Restaurant in the hotel. We split a Garden Salad [spring lettuce, asparagus, radish, shiso vinaigrette]. For entrees, I had a Heritage Pork Loin Chop [garnet yams, sauce charcutiere], while Sharon had 1/2 a Fried Chicken [fried potato salad].

The food was only ok. Both of us were surprised at how causal the restaurant was; we expected something a little more upscale. Additionally, the restaurant and the hotel in general was overun by families with small kids which seemed odd.

We finished the night watching Dynasties II: Elephant.

Friday, May 27, 2022

Glendale to White to Simi

In addition to being very close to the Glendale hospital, I like the Residence Inn Los Angeles Glendale because it has a Peloton bike. I started the day with a thirty minute Pop Ride with Cody.

I spent the day going from Glendale to White to Simi Valley and meeting with the IT Director at each site. I was glad that Sharon wasn't with me driving from site to site; I swear that the lanes are narrower in Southern California. In general, traffic was lighter than I expected. I ended up running ahead of schedule all day.

Heading back to the Burbank airport, my 5:30 pm Southwest flight was late coming from Phoneix. Boarding with A42 and going up the back stairs, I ended up with the two seat exit row aisle seat on an older 737. Although the flight was fairly full, no one ended up seating next to me. We ended up taking off about 6:15 pm.

I lamented to Jack and Sharon that people just don't know how to travel. I was fascinated by the amount of drama going on around me when people were loading and unloading the plane.

I was home back in Carmichael about 8:15 pm. Jack, Sharon and I finished the night watching the season finale of Survivor 42.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

To Glendale

After more than two years of working from home, things have started to shift. I was in the Roseville Building on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday and Thursday, I attended an in person meeting of more than 140 executives.

Thursday afternoon, I caught a 4:05 pm Southwest flight to Burbank. Boarding with A33, I was able to get an exit row aisle on a 737 Max 8. There were only 70 people on the flight; I had a row to myself. Picking up a Hertz rental car, I headed to Glendale. I am spending one night at the Residence Inn Los Angeles Glendale. I stayed at this hotel last November.

I finished the day running on the treadmill, watching the Warriors beat the Mavs in game 5 of the Western Conference Finals and walking a couple of blocks to Chiplote to get dinner. In an odd twist, Drew actually spent the day driving to SoCal and back to pick up a set of speakers; he should have spent the night with me.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

2022 Tulsa - Day #8

After spending the week with Janie in Tulsa, Sharon wound her way home. She caught a 9:30 am United Express flight from Tulsa to Denver. Sharon then took a 11:50 am United flight from Denver to Sacramento. On the ground in Sacramento before 1:30 pm, she took an Uber home. Sharon was back in Carmichael by 2:30 pm.

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Season Four

Sharon and I finished watching season four of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The fourth season was released on February 17, 2022. We finished watching the first season on September 6, 2019, the second season on September 22, 2019 and the third seasaon on March 6, 2020.

The show stars Rachel Bresnahan (Rachel in House of Cards) as Miriam "Midge" Maisel. Maisel is a New York housewife in the late 1950s who discovers she has a knack for stand-up comedy and pursues a career in it. Marin Hinkle (Judith on Two and a Half Men) and Tony Shalhoub (Wings and Monk) feature in supporting roles as her parents.

The series has been renewed for a fifth season. Reportedly, this will be the final season.

Both Sharon and I have really enjoyed this show. I recommend it. [Note to self], we need to binge watch these series. Lately, we have ended up watching several shows with large gaps between episodes. It makes it hard to keep track of the plot.

Monday, May 23, 2022

Drive My Car

Friday and Saturday night, I watched Drive My Car. This is part of my continuing journey to see all of the movies that are nominated for the 2022 Oscars. The film earned four nominations at the 94th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. It won Best International Feature Film. I have now seen all ten of the movies that were nominated for Best Picture.

Drive My Car is an introspective Japanese drama film co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. It is based on Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name from his 2014 collection Men Without Women, while taking inspiration from other stories in the collection.

The film follows Yƫsuke Kafuku (played by Hidetoshi Nishijima) as he directs a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima and grapples with the death of his wife, Oto. Featured prominently, the car is a red Saab 900 Turbo.

It is the first Japanese film nominated for Best Picture. At the 79th Golden Globe Awards, the film won Best Foreign Language Film. It became the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture from all three major U.S. critics groups (the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the National Society of Film Critics).

At three hours in length, the movie is glacial; the story proceeds very slow. The opening credits appeared 40 minutes after the movie started?!? There are a lot of long scenes of the car driving around. In Japanese with English subtitles, like my experience with Roma, I find the subtitles distracting. While I appreciate what they were trying to do, I don't recommend it.

One footnote, at the beginning of the film, the lead actor is shown on stage appearing in Waiting for Godot. Drew and I saw Waiting for Godot with Nathan Lane and John Goodman in 2009 after attending Morgan's graduation from Sarah Lawrence.

Sunday, May 22, 2022

2022 Tulsa - Day #4

Sharon and Janie spent Saturday at the PGA Championship at the Southern Hills Country Club.

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Family Dinner

With Drew and Carmen in town for Cooper's birthday, Drew organized dinner at our house. He got curbside takeout from Rey Azteca.

Friday, May 20, 2022

Babysitting Adventures with Lee

Morgan dropped Lee off at 11 am. He joined me for a Teams meeting, had lunch and then went down for his nap.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

To St. Helena and Back

I spent the lion's share of the day traveling to St. Helena and back for work. From January 2015 to September of 2016, I worked at the hospital.

This is the first time that I have been to the site since June of 2019. I was shocked at the damage to the area by the Glass Fire. Parts of the area look and feel so much different.

Waze routed me home on Sage Canyon Road via Lake Berryessa and through Winters. I was shocked at the traffic when I transitioned from 113 to 80. At 3 pm on a random Thursday, the traffic was backed up all the way to the causeway. While it took me an hour and forty-five minutes to get there in the morning (80 to 12 to 29), it took more than two hours and ten minutes to get home.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

2022 Tulsa - Day #1

I took Sharon to the airport at 6:30 am. She caught a 8:39 am United Flight from Sacramento to Denver. After a quick bite to eat, Sharon took a 1:40 pm United Express flight from Denver to Tulsa. She was on the ground in Tulsa about 4:15 pm.

Sharon is spending the next week in Tulsa visiting Janie. They finished the day with dinner at Tucci's.

[Note to self], for future reference, it took an hour and fifteen minutes to take Sharon to the airport, park, help her with her luggage, walk her to the gate and then get back to the house.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Spoiler Alert - Sooley by John Grisham

My book for May was Sooley by John Grisham. Somewhat unbelievably, this is the 36rd book by John Grisham that I have read in the last thirty-one years. I am not sure that this is something that I should be proud of...

The book tells the story of Samuel Sooleymon, a South Sudanese teen who comes to the United States to play college ball. It mixes a feel good story of a small school's success in the NCAA basketball tournament with the horrors of the Sudan Civil War.

It was clear towards the end of that something bad was going to happen. Nevertheless, I didn't expect Grisham to go Len Bias on us and abruptly kill off the main character.

Over the years, Grisham has written a number of sports books, including Bleachers, Playing for Pizza and Calico Joe. I enjoyed most of the book, but have mixed feelings about the plot twist. I continue to read Grisham book's as a break from more serious volumes...

Monday, May 16, 2022

To Marysville

After only traveling for work once in the last twenty six months [796 days], I have several short trips planned in the next two weeks. I spent the first half of the day traveling to Rideout in Marysville and back.

Almost three years ago, I spent almost two months working out of a cave in Marysville.

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Dry Creek Ranch Golf Course

After some initial confusion, Donna, Kevin, Sharon and I ended up playing Dry Creek Ranch Golf Course on Sunday morning. I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the course; the fairways and greens were in good shape.

It has probably been thirty-five years since I played the course with Nooter. I have a couple of strong memories from the round, including Nooter getting mad at a foursome in front of us and him eagling a par four from about 170 yards.

I probably should not have played. Over the last two plus years, I have started to do some light upper body weight work. Increasingly the frequency this year, I lifted on Monday night. I woke up early Tuesday morning and could hardly move. I was able to get everything loose on Sunday morning, but I should probably have begged off. I am just too stubborn.

I had a horrible start. I finally got going a little bit in the middle of the round, including a very nice par on the thirteen. Unfortunately, I started struggling again on the last few holes. I ended up with a very liberally scored 120. Given that this is the eleven time that I have played golf this year, you would think that I should be better!?!
The four of us finished the day with dinner at Scott's Seafood on the River. Sharon and I split a cup of Spicy Crab Bisque and a Wedge Salad [artisan iceberg / bacon / tomatoes / red onion / radish / blue cheese dressing / shafts blue crumble]. I had a couple of oysters. For entrees, I had Ahi Two Ways [sesame seared / poke with avocado / edamame / fresno chilis / jasmine rice / wasabi mayo / ponzu], while Sharon had Macadamia Nut Crusted Atlantic Halibut [brown butter / citrus wild rice pilaf / steamed vegetables] again.

Saturday, May 14, 2022

Sacramento Southern Railroad

Sharon and I met Lee, Morgan and Daniel in Old Sacramento to ride the Sacramento Southern Railroad. We took a 50 minute ride out to the old stop for the Land Park Plunge.

We got first class tickets in the French Quarter car. This restored car was inspired by the New Orleans French Quarter. It has wrought iron balconies and a “Sunset pink” painted ceiling studded with stars. Complete with its own serving bar, the French Quarter has large windows and a variety of seating combinations including four small dining table booths for seating of four guests, settees and lounge-style chairs. We got one of the dining table booths for the five of us.

We did this once with Jack almost twenty years ago. I am pretty sure that we didn't ride in a first class car. We did run into Randy and Aaron that day...

After much debate, Jack, Sharon and I finished the night watching Revenge of the Sith.

Friday, May 13, 2022

Thursday, May 12, 2022

2010 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture
   ✔ The Hurt Locker - winner
   ✔ Avatar
    The Blind Side
    District 9
    An Education
    Inglourious Basterds
    Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
    A Serious Man
    Up
    Up in the Air

Best Actor

    Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart as Otis "Bad" Blake - winner
    George Clooney – Up in the Air as Ryan Bingham
    Colin Firth – A Single Man as George Falconer
   ✔ Morgan Freeman – Invictus as Nelson Mandela
   ✔ Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker as Sergeant First Class William James

Best Actress
    Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side as Leigh Anne Tuohy - winner
    Helen Mirren – The Last Station as Sophia Tolstaya
    Carey Mulligan – An Education as Jenny Mellor
    Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire as Claireece "Precious" Jones
    Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia as Julia Child

Best Supporting Actor
    Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds as Col. Hans Landa - winner
   ✔ Matt Damon – Invictus as Francois Pienaar
    Woody Harrelson – The Messenger as Cpt. Tony Stone
    Christopher Plummer – The Last Station as Leo Tolstoy
    Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones as George Harvey

Best Supporting Actress
    Mo'Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire as Mary Lee Johnston - winner
    PenĂ©lope Cruz – Nine as Carla Albanese
    Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air as Alex Goran
    Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart as Jean Craddock
    Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air as Natalie Keener

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
   ✔ The Hurt Locker – Mark Boal - winner
    Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino
    The Messenger – Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
    A Serious Man – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
    Up – Screenplay by Bob Peterson and Pete Docter; Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and Tom McCarthy

Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
    Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire – Geoffrey Fletcher - winner
    District 9 – Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell based on the short film Alive in Joburg by Neill Blomkamp
    An Education – Nick Hornby based on the memoir by Lynn Barber
    In the Loop – based on the character Malcolm Tucker, who originally appeared in the BBC TV show The Thick of It
    Up in the Air – Sheldon Turner and Jason Reitman based on the novel by Walter Kirn


The 2022 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2021 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2020 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2019 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2018 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2017 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2016 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2015 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2014 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2013 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2010 Oscar nominations are here.

The 1988 Oscar nominations are here.

The 1975 Oscar nominations are here.

The 1973 Oscar nominations are here.

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

California Historical Landmark #453

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 Site of the Eastern Terminus of Clay Street Hill Railroad; and, #119 PORTSMOUTH PLAZA.

Site of the Bank of
Lucas, Turner & Co.
(Sherman's Bank)

California State Historical Landmark #453

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

This landmark is located at 498 Jackson Street, San Francisco, California. There are 48 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Francisco County. The GPS coordinates for this location are 37° 47' 45.7" N 122° 24' 12.3" W.

California Historical Landmark #453
William Tecumseh Sherman established the branch bank of Lucas, Turner & Co. in San Francisco in 1853. He settled the firm in their own building on the northeast corner of Jackson and Montgomery Streets in the springof 1854. Sherman successfully carried the bank through the financial crisis of 1855, and remained until they discontinued business in 1857.

California Historical Landmark #453

Monday, May 09, 2022

A Life of Picasso IV: The Minotaur Years: 1933-1943

My book for April was A Life of Picasso IV: The Minotaur Years: 1933-1943 by John Richardson. This is the fourth volume of a four volume set. I read the first volume [The Prodigy] in 2009, the second volume [The Cubist Rebel] in 2011 and the third volume [The Triumphant Years] in 2013.

I continue to be fascinated by the breadth and variety of Picasso's work. Signficant in this volume is the creation of Guernica. We saw this piece when we were in Spain in 2010. I didn't realize that the painting was originally created for the Spanish pavilion at the 1937 Paris International Exposition.

Two things shocked me in this book. First, Picasso remained in Paris while the Germans occupied the city during World War II. He continued to paint, but didn't exhibit. Second, Picasso wrote poetry as an alternative outlet. Between 1935 and 1959 he wrote over 300 poems.

As I noted when I read volume three, Picasso was very successful while he was alive. There were major exhibitions of his work in England and the United States during this period.

Richardson passed away at the age of 95 in 2019. The fourth volume stops at 1943. Picasso lived another thirty years; he died at the age of 91 in 1973.

I finished reading the book while we were at the Wallens. This volume was shorter and more accessible than volumes two and three. I am going to have to find a book that covers the last third of Picasso's life.

Sunday, May 08, 2022

Mother's Day 2022

Sunday morning, Sharon and I made a run to the dump (one of her favorite things!?!). We stopped at Lowe's for some plants on the way home. Drew called Sharon to wish her happy Mother's Day as we were heading home from Lowe's.

Jack rolled back from the bay area in the middle of the day. Sharon's brother Tom wandered over about 3 pm. Rather than a relaxing afternoon, Jack and I spent some time dealing with some drama with Tiber.

Like two years ago, I made veal piccata for dinner with angel hair pasta and green beans. I don't feel like it turned out as well as before. I get stressed when I try to make a more ambitious meal... After all of the drama with Tiber and the anxiety pulling together the dinner, we had a nice relaxing dinner. I always enjoy Tom's company.

For presents, I got Sharon a Honeybee Statement Necklace from Julie Vos. Jack got her a succulent garden and a card.

[Note to self], I should have taken a picture of Sharon and Jack!

Friday, May 06, 2022

Celebrating Morgan's Birthday

Sharon and I took Morgan and Daniel to Allora to celebrate Morgan's birthday. We celebrated my birthday there in January.

I had the five course tasting menu including:
  • OYSTERS* HOUSE HOT SAUCE, LEMON, MIGNONETTE
  • DUCK EGG + MORELS WHEY POLENTA, BRAISED GREENS, GREMOLATA, RICOTTA SALATA
  • TAJARIN DUCK EGG PASTA, DUCK CONFIT, PORCINI CREAM, TARTUFATA, PECORINO ROMANO
  • HALIBUT MARCONA ALMOND-PEA HUMMUS, ASPARAGUS, FAVA BEANS, PIOPINNO MUSHROOMS
  • BOMBOLONI LEMON CURD, VANILLA GELATO
We had a very nice evening. Adding to the celebration, Morgan got some good new about her internship on the way to dinner.

Wednesday, May 04, 2022

Barry - Season One

Sharon, Jack and I watched season one of Barry.

Barry is a dark comedy crime drama television series created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader. Season one premiered on HBO on March 25, 2018. HBO renewed the series for a third season, while a fourth season has been written.

Hader stars as a hitman (Barry Berkman) from Cleveland who travels to Los Angeles to kill someone but finds himself joining an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). He meets aspiring actress Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg) and begins to question his path in life.

Barry has received 30 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Hader won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Winkler won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for their performances in the first season.

The series is extremely violent with a high body count. I did like the show and recommend it. We will eventually get around to watching the second season.

Monday, May 02, 2022

2022 Todos Santos - Day #5

A long day of travel misadventures...

We pulled away from the Wallen's house in Todos Santos at 9:15 am. Although again longer than I expected (an hour and twenty-five minutes?), it was an easy uneventful drive to the airport. We dropped the rental car at Hertz and caught a shuttle to the international terminal.

At this point, the fun started. The terminal was a sea of people. We got into a line specifically to check in for our Southwest flight. It took more than 45 minutes to work our way through a fairly short line. When we got to the front of line, they issued paper handwritten boarding passes and hand written luggage tags for Phoenix. I had paid for Business Select. The Southwest app showed that we should have had A5 and A6.

We worked our way through a fairly short security line and headed to the gate hand written on the paper boarding pass. It was bedlam. There was no Southwest representative anywhere. Wandering around, I found one person with a Southwest uniform who pointed me back to the gate that was written on the boarding pass.

Our Southwest flight ended being about an hour and a half late. Eventually with someone yelling and pointing, they lined everyone up in the order of the number hand written on the paper boarding pass. Of course, they then moved the whole line to a different gate and loaded us on to buses to get to the plane. I don't remember anyone ever looking at the boarding pass.

It turned out that the computers for most of the airport were down. Just as we were boarding the bus, we started to see some of the digital signage start to come back up.

In spite of all the bedlam, we somehow ended up in the nice exit row!

Landing in Phoenix, we went through passport control and grabbed our luggage. Due to the fact that they hadn't checked the bag through to Sacramento in Mexico, we had to leave security and go down to the ticketing desk. We ended up with a rude agent that initially refused to check our bags. Another agent came over the top and pointed out that we were on the ill-fated Cabo flight.

Racing back through security, we got to the gate just as they were starting to load the Bs. I frankly didn't think that we would make the connection. Again, I had paid for Business Select and was supposed to have boarding passes A9 and A10...

We did end up with row to ourselves. Sharon took the window, while I had the aisle.

We were back in Sacramento just before 7 pm. Unforunately, our luggage didn't make the flight. Sharon and a large number of other people from the flight got in a line to talk to Southwest baggage services. Our luggage was scheduled to show up on a Phoenix flight at 12:30 am. We will have to go back on Tuesday and get the bags.

By the time, we got home it was after 8:30 pm. We had been on the move for more than twelve hours.

Sharon says that she is done with Southwest.

In the more twenty-five years that Sharon and I have traveled together, we have one rule: any day that you end up where you were supposed to be is a good day.

Sunday, May 01, 2022

2022 Todos Santos - Day #4

Up early, Wallen and I left house before 7 am. We picked up Scott and his son Matt. The plan for the morning was hiking the Sugar Port Trail. With about a 500 foot elevation gain, the hike has some amazing views of the area. We ended up hiking 4.7 miles in just over two hours. A map and a couple of photos are here.

After getting cleaned up, we took a large group to lunch at the Oysteria. The group included Scott, Gail, Matt, John, Jill, Elle, Sharon and I. For appetizers, I had clam chowder, while Sharon had a tostado. We both had the catch of the day as the entree.

We spent the afternoon playing bocce ball at Scott and Gail's house. Continuing their run from the previous night, Sharon and Elle beat Jill and Gail before losing to Scott and Matt. Scott and Matt then beat Wallen and I.

Afterwards, Elle, Jill, Wallen, Sharon and I took lawn chairs down to the beach and watched the sunset. Unforunately, there are no whales migrating this time of year.

The five of us finished the day with a late dinner at RomAntic Pizzeria Italiana. The night ended on an odd note...

Saturday, April 30, 2022

2022 Todos Santos - Day #3

Up early, I shamed Wallen into an early morning run. For forty plus years, I have said that one of the reasons that I train so hard is so that I can run with Wallen a couple of times a year. We ended up running and walking about 3.6 miles in 52 minutes. Wallen's hip started to brother him so we walked the last mile.

We ended up at Las Tunas Coffee Shop just as it opened at 8 am. Grabbing a table, Sharon, Jill and Elle drove up a few minutes later. Scott, Gail and their son Matt eventually walked up. Both Sharon and I had hot cakes.

Wallen, Sharon and I wandered about a mile back from the coffee shop to the Wallen's house. While Jill and Sharon watched My Octopus Teacher, Wallen and I facetimed with Nooter. It sounds like he is going to come to Bachman's celebration of life.

The four of us headed into town about noon. Wallen and I camped at Todos Santos Brewing, while the girls went jewlery shopping. We ended up having lunch at the brew pub. I had a Todos Santos Burger [Fresh ground local beef, fresh lettuce and tomato, caramelized onion, cheddar cheese, and bacon], while Sharon had fish and chips.

We had a lazy late afternoon, Sharon took a nap. I took a dip in the pool and started a new book: Sooley by John Grisham.
In the late afternoon, we headed to a potluck birthday party for one of the Wallens neighbors. It was a group of 40 plus people, almost all Americans living in Todos Santos.

Sharon and Elle ended up playing bocce ball as a team. They bested all comers and took home the prize. Heading back to the house, we crashed fairly early.

Friday, April 29, 2022

2022 Todos Santos - Day #2

I was up fairly early. I spent some time reading my book in the kitchen and trying to figure out how to the start the coffe pot.

Eventually, Sharon, Wallen, Elle and I took a long walk south along the beach. We covered 3.6 miles in just under an hour and forty minutes.

Wallen fixed a late breakfast for the group. After gettting cleaned up, we headed into Todos Santos to get money and do some shopping.

We headed north to The Green Room for a late lunch. I had Shipwreck tacos [Caribbean chili stuffed with cheese, gusanillo style octopus and shrimp, with roasted vegetables garnished with mixed sprouts and a garlic aioli], while Sharon had Magbay tostada [Fried corn tostada, fresh tuna slices, shrimp with grilled vegetables, drizzled with chile morita and fresh guacamole]. Several miles north of Todos Santos on a dirt road, the restaurant is an interesting spot that seems like the end of the world.

We spent a lazy afternoon hanging out in the back yard. As I told Drew, we were just chillin'. The backyard is a wonderful oasis. I finished reading my book: A Life Of Picasso: The Minotaur Years: 1933-1943.

John, Jill, Sharon and I spent a long time on the rooftop with gin and tonics.

Wallen made flank steak for a late dinner. Afterwards, Sharon, John and I went back up on the roof to look at the stars. Sharon and John spent a long time solving the world's problem. I wandered down the end of Mulan with Jill and Elle. We crashed about 11 pm.

Thursday, April 28, 2022

2022 Todos Santos - Day #1

Up at 4:15 am, Sharon and I rolled from the house at 5:15 am. We caught a 7:15 am Southwest Flight from Sacramento to Orange County. Boarding with A30 and A31, we were able to get the two seat exit row on a 737-700.

With a two hour layover in Orange County, we had breakfast at Ducks Breakaway [vegetarian omletts]. We caught a 10:45 am Southwest flight to Cabo San Lucas. Boarding with A50 and A51, we were able to get the middle and window in the nice exit row. As I have said before, I just don't understand why people don't pay more attention to the exit rows on Southwest flights.

It was an easy two hour flight. We were on the ground in Cabo by 2:00 pm. Getting through passport control and customs was fairly easy. I had forgotten what it is like coming out of customs in a Mexican airport. There are a million people trying to grab you and sell you something.

Eventually, we hooked up with the Hertz representative. After a quick shuttle ride, we picked up the VW SUV. Taking the toll road around Cabo, we headed to Todos Santos. I was surprised how long it took; the drive was almost an hour and twenty minutes.

With one wrong turn, we rolled up to the Wallen's house about 4:30 pm. We are spending four nights with them. They built a house in Todos Santos that was finished in late 2020.

After getting settled in and visiting for a while, we wandered down to Scott and Gail's house. We spent some more time visiting there before the six of us headed to dinner.

We had dinner at Los Adobes de Todos Santos. Both Sharon and I had the catch of day, yellowfin. After an early start to the day, we crashed early.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

California Historical Landmark #408

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 Site of the Eastern Terminus of Clay Street Hill Railroad; and, #119 PORTSMOUTH PLAZA.

Site of the the first Meeting of Freemasons held in California
California State Historical Landmark #408

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

This landmark is located at 728 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California. There are 48 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Francisco County. The GPS coordinates for this location are 37° 47' 45.7" N 122° 24' 12.3" W.

California Historical Landmark #408
On November 9, 1848, a charter was granted by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia for the organization of California Lodge No. 13, now California Lodge No. 1 of the Free and Accepted Masons. On November 23, 1848, Levi Stowell was appointed master of the new lodge, and on November 15, 1849, the lodge was formally organized under the charter.

The plaque is missing.

Monday, April 25, 2022

Wood Adjourns Assembly in Memory of Sebastopol Veterinarian

Chief Digital Officer

@dventist Health appoints chief digital officer
@dventist Health, a faith-inspired integrated healthcare system serving communities with more than 400 sites of care in California, Oregon and Hawaii, has appointed Jennifer Stemmler as chief digital officer. She will be responsible for building and delivering the company’s digital forward, consumer-centric transformation designed to create exceptional experiences for our providers, patients and consumers across the full care continuum. Stemmler will also lead information technology services, strategy and delivery for the enterprise, including accelerating innovation for @dventist Heath.

Prior to her new role, Stemmler most recently served as the consumer digital strategy executive and implemented many of @dventist Health’s first consumer digital solutions working with key partners. Previous roles have included leading several key strategic areas as part of @dventist Health’s Information Technology (IT) executive team, including the health system’s achievement of the highest award for CHIME’s Most Wired Level 8, representing the technology achievement of the top 20% of healthcare systems nationwide. Jennifer also led multidisciplinary teams to transition over 280+ ambulatory clinics from various systems and paper processes to Cerner Ambulatory, in close partnership with several key players.

Stemmler will work closely with Brett Spenst, senior finance and chief information officer and Jason Wells, chief strategy officer to accelerate the company’s digital and technology strategy and innovation, guided by @dventist Health’s growth and transformation objectives.

“Jennifer has been leading IT transformation projects at @dventist Health for the past nine years. From electronic medical record implementations to the development of our first IT strategic playbook, her approach is professional and authentic. We’re thrilled she will lead the transformation of our IT strategy in this important space,” said Spenst.

“One of our core growth strategies is focused on the acceleration of the development of our consumer digital experiences,” said Wells. “It has been exciting to see Jennifer thrive during her leadership with the consumer digital experience this past year. Her promotion to chief digital officer is a tremendous boost for our organization and the millions we serve.”

Sunday, April 24, 2022

2022 Petersen Shootout - Day #3

Larkin and I were moving fairly early. We had breakfast at Katie's Country Kitchen in the hotel. Afterwards, we packed up the room and Larkin took off for home.

Jack slept late. Eventually, Drew and Jack had breakfast at the counter in the restaurant. I was surprised at the number of people in the restaurant and waiting for tables; it was empty when Larkin and I had breakfast.

The three of us were on the road just before 10 am. We took 88 to 89 to 50. With a short stop in Camino, we were back in Carmichael about 12:20 pm.

With Jack sleeping in the back, I had a nice visit with Drew on the drive home. With Drew in Orinda now, I am looking forward to having a chance to see him more often.

I really enjoyed having Jack and Drew on the trip. I always enjoy Larkin's company.

Saturday, April 23, 2022

2022 Petersen Shootout - Day #2

Up early, Larkin and I had breakfast in the hotel. Afterwards, we drove down to Raley's to get a few supplies for the day. When we got back, we swung by Rod's suite.

Jack and Drew slept late and had breakfast in the hotel. We scooped them up and headed towards the golf course about 10:45 am. The course for the day was Empire Ranch in Carson City. We have not played this course before. The format for the day was a shamble.


Uncharacteristcally, I decided not to hit any balls on the driving range; I was trying to save some of the wear and tear on my elbow. I struggled with my drives for several holes, but got things settled down. Even when I hit a solid drive, Jack and Larkin would out drive me by 10 to 20 yards. Taking advantage of their drives, I feel like I scored pretty well. I ended up with a 97, three pars and only one tripe bogey.
The course was in horrible shape. Someone said that it had been flooded with twenty feet of flood water about four or five years ago. The bartender took Jack that it was in the best shape in a long time!?! The weather warmed up enough in the afternoon that I actually took my top layer off.

Getting cleaned up back at the hotel, Larkin and I headed down to the banquet room and the hosted bar early. We grabbed a table of eight for our group plus Kevin's foursome.

I talked to Rod before the dinner because it seemed like there were a lot of new faces. As part of the initiation ritual, they ask first time players to tell a joke. A lot of people got up. Both Drew and Jack did a great job. Jack told the last joke of the night. He threw Rod under the bus with the punch line... I ended up winning $25 for Team Score (3rd place).

After the banquet dinner, the four of us spent some time wandering the casino floor. Drew played some video poker. While Jack hung out with the group until midnight, Larkin and I crashed before 11 pm.

Friday, April 22, 2022

2022 Petersen Shootout - Day #1

For the tenth time in thirteen years, Larkin and I played in the Petersen Shootout [2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021]. We missed 2013 when Rod kept moving the date around and it finally landed on a weekend when Sharon, Jack and I were in H@waii. In 2015, Larkin wasn't available. I signed up with Borja as my wingman, but when he canceled at the last minute, I bailed. In 2020, the original dates for the tournament were cancelled due to the pandemic. Rod ended up having a taking a smaller group in late July, but both Larkin and I were uncomfortable with the idea.

I starting talking last year about bringing Jack and Drew. We made it happen!

Drew spent Thursday night at our house. Drew, Jack and I rolled from Carmichael about 8:15 am. With a quick stop in Woodfords, we rolled up to the Genoa Lakes Golf Course at 11 am. In spite of the chains controls at Twin Bridges, we made fairly good time taking Highway 50 to 89 to 88.

Sitting at the bar eating a hot dog before the start, I had an odd mental experience. The song playing was Chris Isaak's Wild Game. She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and I had hung out in Genoa [December 1991?].

The shotgun start was at noon. Although I didn't play very well, I really enjoyed the day. I am still struggling with my elbow. I was really happy with how well Jack and Drew played. Jack took a lesson on Monday and was striking the ball very well. He is a much better athlete than I am. It got pretty windy and cold over the last few holes. I ended up shooting a liberally scored 113.
After golf, we headed to the Carson Valley Inn. The four of us walked to Khristopher's Ristorante for dinner. Larkin and I had a late dinner there in 2019. I had Chicken Fettucine, while Larkin had Lasagna. We ended up crashing fairly early.

Thursday, April 21, 2022

More Heringer Rules

At the dinner party in fall of 2019, Donna parroted something that I have counseling people for years.

She said, “like you always say,
don’t begrudge someone their success.
It will only make you crazy.
Big companies do things for lots and lots of different reasons."

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The Sea Ranch Lodge Complex

We had dinner with the Larkins on on Day 8 of our Sea Ranch trip. After being closed for several years, we are glad to see the lodge back open!

The Sea Ranch Lodge Complex
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This marker is located at 60 Sea Walk Drive, Annapolis, California. The Sea Ranch Archives Committee has identified twenty-six historic sites scattered about The Sea Ranch. They have constructed trail markers with information explaining the significance of each place. They were placed as part of The Sea Ranch 50th anniversary being celebrated from Memorial Day 2014 to Memorial Day 2015. Since then, a number of architecture and landscape markers have been added. The GPS coordinates for this location are 38° 40' 49.7" N 123° 25' 44.1" W.

The Sea Ranch Lodge Complex

The Marker Building behind you, as well as the Store and Post Office in front of you, were among the first structures built by the developer of The Sea Ranch. The store was later expanded to include a bar and restaurant, with guest rooms in a separate building. The complex demonstrates how a public facility can blend with the land rather than assert itself against the context like a billboard. The east facade of the main building carries the iconic ram's head logo by Barbara Stauffacher Solomon. Two barns from pre-Sea Ranch days still remain in the complex.

The Sea Ranch Lodge Complex

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Volvo XC60 T8 - Day 1,269

With 29,773 miles on the odmeter, I took the Volvo into the dealership on Monday for the 30,000 mile servicing. It continues to be hard for me to believe how few miles I am driving. In the last eight and a half months, I have only driven 4,175 miles. This works out to less than 500 miles a month. Working in Sonora and Napa in 2014, 2015 and 2016, I was driving more than 35,000 miles a year!

[Note to self], I need to post more regularly about the Volvo. Looking back, I have a gap of almost seven years between entries about the Lexus.

Monday, April 18, 2022

Beginning of Ordinary Time

Sunday morning, before we went to Tom's house for Easter dinner, I dragged the Easter boxes back from the storage shed. Sharon packed up the Easter decorations on Monday.

Over the last twenty plus years, Sharon and I have lived into a rhythm of decorating the house. Beginning Labor Day, Sharon starts to decorate the house with fall decorations. At Thanksgiving, we switch the house to Christmas decorations.

Sharon has started to accumulate more Valentines Day decorations that she puts up after we take down the Christmas decorations. After Valentines Day, the house transitions to Easter.

After we take the Easter decorations down, we have started calling it "Ordinary Time." This lasts about four months from Easter to Labor Day.

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Easter 2022

Tiber, Sharon and I started the day with a long walk to Marlynn Street and back. This is an area that we haven't really explored.

In the early afternoon, we headed to Sharon's brother Tom's house for Easter dinner. The group totaled 12, including: Tom, Kevin, Leah, Lydia, Amelia, Eric, Ashley, Jim, Mary, Sharon, Jack and I. Morgan, Daniel and Lee were going to come, but Morgan was under the weather.

We had a very nice meal outside. The dinner included a honey baked ham, lamb, au gratin potatoes, aspargus and slug salad.

Sharon, Eric, Jim and Jack played bocce ball after dinner, while I sneaked in to watch some of the NBA playoff games. The last couple minutes of the Celtics versus Nets game was fanastic.

It was nice to get back to a larger Frame family holiday gathering.

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Gosford Park

Friday and Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Gosford Park. I stumbled on to the movie reading about Julian Fellowes after we finished watching the first season of The Glided Age.

Gosford Park is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes [The Glided Age, Downton Abbey]. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emily Watson.

The story follows a party of wealthy Britons plus an American producer and their servants. They have gathered for a shooting weekend at Gosford Park, an English country house. A murder occurs after a dinner party. The film follows the subsequent investigation from the servants' and guests' perspectives.

Gosford Park was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for both Mirren and Smith. It won Best Original Screenplay.

When the movie ended, Sharon said "that was awful." I liked it more than she did. Given the number of characters, it was a little difficult to follow all of the subplots. We ended up turning on the subtitles in order to follow the dialogue. You can see the roots of Downton Abbey in the film. I only recommend it as a curiosity in the context of Jullian Fellowes career and Best Picture nominees.

Friday, April 15, 2022

Majka Pizzeria and Bakery

HERINGER VINEYARDS
Clarksburg - Nebbiolo

The Heringer family has a long history of farming in Clarksburg and has begun setting the example for organic farming in the region. The Nebbiolo we make from their vineyard is one of the lightest and most varietally correct you will find in California. That being said, the five rows of Nebbiolo they have planted is quite different from what we see in Italy. The soils are much richer here in the delta, the weather is much warmer and the vines are pruned in a completely opposite way than what is the tradition in Italy. It’s trained on a quadrilateral cordon system and cropped at five tons to the acre.
Kicking off the Easter weekend, Sharon and I picked up a take-out pizza from Majka Pizzeria and Bakery. The three of us split two salads [arugula, quinoa, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, radish, pickled red onion, bulgarian feta, olive oil, lime juice, lots of heabs] and a pizza [bianco dinapoli tomatoes, baby savoy spinach, garlic, mozzarella, ricotta, parmigiano, evoo, basil]. The wine pairing was a Haarmeyer Wine Cellars 2021 Nebbiolo. The grapes were from Heringer Vineyards.

Sharon and I finished the day watching the first half of Gosford Park.

Thursday, April 14, 2022

1,358 miles

I finished 2021 more dinged up than any year in recent memory. My heel has brothered me since the Run to Feed the Hungry, I twisted my knee playing golf and then aggravated my hip trying to work myself back in shape after twisting my knee. Nevertheless, last year, I ended running, hiking and walking 1,358 miles plus covering 1,628 miles on the bike. Both of the results are up slightly from 2020. Building on the rhythm, I did 141 Peloton strength classes; this is up substantially from 2020. Incredibly, I played golf nineteen times. My main two goals for 2022 are even more Peloton strength classes combined with some yoga classes.

In 2020, my training routine changed radically in March when we started working from home. I ended up running, hiking and walking 1,339 miles; this is 25.7 miles a week. The difference was I almost doubled my miles on the Peloton bike. I covered 1,606 miles on the bike. The most miles I ever did on the old bike was 1,092 in 2013. Additionally, I did sixty-one Peleton weight classes; I am finally getting into a rhythm that includes a regular strength workout. My goal for 2021 is to double down on the strength classes and add a few more yoga classes. I only did six yoga classes in 2020. One side note, we played golf twelve times last year. This probably more golf than I have played in any year since the early 1980s when Nooter and Wallen were still living in Sacramento.

In 2019, I ran, hiked and walked 1,285 miles. This is fewest miles that I have logged in more than fifteen years. It is a little deceiving; I added 871 miles on the Peloton Bike. This is the most miles I have done on a bike since 2014. I have been trying to focus on a broader range of activities. To this end, I topped the move goal (900 calories) on my apple watch for 155 straight days in the last half to the year. I also did 761 push-ups and weights as part of the Peloton bike work-out 30 times. I am still struggling to incorporate a strength work-out into my regular routine... My goal for 2020 is to run and cycle more miles and do more push-ups and weight work-outs than 2019!

In 2018, I ran 1,605 miles and cycled 91 miles. My goal for the year was to average 30 miles a week. I ended up averaging 30.8 miles per week. It was the most miles that I have run in a year since 2011. In addition to the mileage goal, I focused on my weekly steps total. My goal was 140,000 steps a week. Essentially, I was running 30 plus miles a week and walking 30 plus miles a week. Finally, I finished the year with a string of more than 70 days meeting the move goal on my Apple watch (900 active calories). Combined all of this kept my weight in a nice range for last half of the year. I am switching my goals for 2019. With the purchase of the Peloton bike as a present for our anniversary, I am going to try to do more 1,000 miles on the bike in 2019. I have also started to do push-ups again; my goal is 3,000 push-ups in 2019.

In 2017, I ran 1,510 miles and cycled 131 miles. My physical challenge for the year was running 200 miles in July! My 2017 Run To Feed The Hungry time was the best since 2014. Unlike 2016, I finished the year feeling strong.

In 2016, I ran 1,340 miles and cycled 474 miles. This is the fewest miles that I have run in a year in at least the last eleven years. I struggled the last couple months of 2016. Between the new job, a couple of minor medical procedures, getting sick, settling Jack in Georgetown and a change in my routine from the last two and a half years, I lost a couple notches in my level of fitness. This was highlighted by embarrassing times during the Run to Feed the Hungry. Like the American River 50 in 2007, I looking for a physical challenge in 2017. I am toying with the idea of a 100 to 120 mile hike along a section of the Pacific Coast Trail in Northern California [Boreal Ridge on Highway 80 to Chester on Highway 36].

In 2015, I ran 1,604 miles and cycled 401 miles. My goal was to work out with weighs 52 times this year; I have failed over the last three years at my strength training goal.

In 2014, I ran 1,583 miles and cycled 886 miles. I averaged 30.4 miles running and 17.0 miles cycling every week! My goal was to restart a sit-up, push-up and light routine that I have done in the past. I failed in this goal.

In 2013, I ran 1,521 miles and cycled 1,092 miles. My goal for 2013 was to best both the running and the cycling totals. I accomplished the running goal. Additionally, I was going to try and lift at least 48 times (4 times a month) at Arden Hills. I failed in this goal.

In 2012, my goal was to start cross-training. I ran and hiked 1,441 miles. This included two full weeks off during the trip to Italy in the summer. Additionally, I cycled 1,133 miles. Most of this cycling was done on a stationary bike. I covered 1,016 miles virtually biking across America.

In 2011, I ran 1,763 miles. This seems impossible in a year that I took almost nine weeks of vacation!

In 2010, I ran 1,700 miles. This included two full weeks off during the trip to Spain in the summer.

In 2009, I ran 1,832 miles.

In 2008, I ran more than 1,925 miles!

In 2007, I ran 1,721 miles. This included successfully completing the American River 50.

In 2006, I ran slightly less than 1,680 miles.

In 2005, I ran slightly less than 1,630 miles.

On our trip to Florida in Summer of 2004, I started to play with the idea of running the American River 50 in April of 2007. I committed myself and started to train.

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

The Gilded Age - Season One

Sharon and I finished watching season one of The Glided Aged on HBOMax on the AppleTV.

The Gilded Age is a historical drama series created and written by Julian Fellowes. It is set in the United States during the boom years of the 1880s in New York City. In American history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1870 to 1900. Nathan Lane appears as as Ward McAllister, arbiter of social rules and style.

Originally announced in 2018 for NBC, the series premiered on HBO on January 24, 2022. It includes nine episodes. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

Sharon and I both enjoyed the show. I was particularly intrigued because a large section of Anderson Cooper's book Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty deals with the clash between the new rich and the old rich in the same time period. While some of the parts of the series are a little too soap operaish, I recommend the show.