2023 Tulsa and Wichita - Day #8

Sharon wound her way home. She caught a 10 am Southwest flight from Tulsa to Las Vegas. After a short 45 minutes layover, Sharon boarded a 11:45 flight to Sacramento.

She was back in Sacramento about 1:20 pm. Jack picked her up.

2023 Tulsa and Wichita - Day #7

Mary left Tulsa and drove back to Wichita in the late morning. After going shopping in the afternoon, Sharon and Janie finished the day with dinner at the Mahogany Prime Steakhouse. Sharon had something that she said she had never had before: a Bone-In Filet Migon.

Jack is back

Jack and his roommate Jason took a late train from the Bay Area to Sacramento. I picked Jack up at the downtown Amtrak station at 9:15 pm. The two of them bought tickets to Monday night's game two of the NBA Western Conference first round series between the Kings and the Warriors.

2023 Kings versus Warriors - Playoffs: West 1st Round, Game 1

Almost 17 years ago, May 5, 2006, I was at Arco Arena for the Kings last playoff game, a loss to San Antonio. The Kings have been in Sacramento since 1985; this is the first time since then that the Kings and the Warriors have both been in the Playoffs in the same year!

Larkin and I went to game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs: Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors. We met at the Sheraton. This was a smart decision. The place was half empty. It was happy hour. We had a beer and some appetizers. In contrast, the area around the arena was crazy and packed with people! When we got to the arena, it took us about 20 minutes to get into the building.


The Kings trailed Golden State 61-55 at the half. Sacramento starters missed their first 15 attempts from 3-point range before De'Aaron Fox hit one late in the third quarter. The Warriors built the lead to 10 points in the third quarter before Sacramento ended the quarter on a 15-4 run fueled by 10 points from Trey Lyles to take a 91-90 lead into the fourth. The Kings held on to win by the score of 126 to 123. I really need to watch the last few minutes again; it was chaotic!

As you would expect, Steph Curry was the high scorer for the Warriors. He had 30 points on 11 for 20 from the field, 6 for 14 from three and 2 for 2 from the free throw line.

De'Aaron Fox was the high scorer for the Kings. He had 38 points on 13 for 27 from the field, 4 for 8 from three and 8 for 12 from the free throw line. Malik Monk came off the bench to score 32 points!

At halftime, we wandered up to the Sierra Nevada House. Drew, Kyle and Kelsey were also at the game.

It was a fantastic experience!

The Kings have five wins and one loss in games that I have seen in person during the 2022-2023 NBA season.

Outside Golden 1 before NBA West 1st Round, Game 1

Snipes

At the end of the day, I met Snipes at the Super Owl Brewery in Davis. They held his birthday party there last fall. The conversation included Troy, Ephesus, 1991, Time Travel, Parallel Universes and Monty Pyhton and the Holy Grail.

We wandered over to Lamppost Pizza for dinner. Joy joined us towards the end of the evening.

2023 Tulsa and Wichita - Day #4

Sharon and Mary drove from Wichita to Janie's house in Tulsa (Broken Arrow). It was about a three hour drive.

Sharon, Mary and Janie had dinner at Waters Edge Wineries & Bistro in downtown Broken Arrow. Mary and Sharon split a burger. Sharon said that her glass of California Rose was not good...

Sierra-at-Tahoe

Drew, Tomasin, Glenn and I spent the day skiing at Sierra-at-Tahoe. I haven't skiied since Tomasin, Glenn and I skiied at Shasta Ski Park in February of 2021.

Tomasin and Glenn met me at our house and I drove from there. We met Drew in the parking lot; he drove up by himself.

We skiied from about 10:30 am to 3:30 pm with a couple of breaks. I really enjoyed the day. My right knee held up pretty well. Drew has had a season pass to Sierra-at-Tahoe this year. He has skiied about eight times and is looking very strong.

Drew and I finished the day with dinner at Rey Aztec.

Jack is off

I dropped Jack at the train station in downtown Sacramento early Tuesday morning. He wound this way back to the city. It was great to be able to spend some time with him!

2023 Tulsa and Wichita - Day #1

Jack took Sharon to the airport in the late morning. She caught an early afternoon Southwest flight from Sacramento to Denver. From there, Sharon took another Southwest flight from Denver to Wichita. She was on the ground in Wichita before 8 pm.

Sharon is spending the next couple of days visiting Mary in Wichita. Later in the week, the two of them are going to drive to Tulsa to visit Janie.

Easter 2023

We spent the morning watching the Masters Golf Tournament. Sharon was rooting for Brooks Koepka. Leading by three strokes at the start of the fourth round, Koepka finished second four stokes behind Jon Rahm.

In the early afternoon, we headed to Sharon's brother Tom's house for Easter dinner. The group totaled 19, including: Tom, Kevin, Leah, Lydia, Amelia, Terry, Steve, Eric, Ashley, Erin, Cormac, Will, Tim, Kathy, Jim, Mary, Sharon, Jack and I.

Eric, Jim, Jack and I played bocce ball before dinner. I actually won the game.

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

Jack is back!

About 8 pm Saturday night, I rolled to San Francisco to pick up Jack. I was surprised at the amount of traffic. Jack got off work at 10 pm. After some adventures last time I picked him up at work, I scooped him up just off Market. After a quick stop at his apartment, we headed back. We were back in Carmichael just after midnight.

Another Hadrian's Wall Training Hike

Early Saturday morning, Sharon and I hiked from William Pond towards Sunrise Avenue along the American River. Like last weekend, except for a couple of short sections, we were never on the bike trail. We hike 6.5 miles in about two hours and fifteen minutes.

Our average pace was 20:49 per mile. With Sharon wanting to get back and see her favorite play, Brooks Koepka, playing in the Masters third round, we actually did a sub-twenty minute mile on the way back to the car.

2023 Kings versus Warriors

Friday night, Larkin and I met for an early dinner at Il Fornaio. I had TAGLIATELLE BOLOGNESE [egg pasta ribbons with traditional meat ragu & grana padano] for an entree.

Afterwards, we went to the Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors NBA basketball game. This was the last home game of the season. It was an odd game. It seemed like the majority of the fans were wearing Warriors gear and rooting loudly for the Warriors. It is going to be interesting to see the vibe at the first playoff game if the Kings host the Warriors.

With the Kings locked into the third seed in the Western Conference, they rested Fox, Sabonis, Huerter and Monk. Although it was close at halftime (Warriors leading 53 to 48), it felt like the Kings were never really in the game in the second half. The Warriors won going away by the score of 119 to 97.

Trey Lyles and Chimezie Metu were the leading scorers for the Kings with 15 points each. As a team, the Kings shot horribly; they were 38 of 98 (39%) from the field, 11 for 39 (28%) from three and 10 for 18 (56%) from the free throw line.

Klay Thompson was the leading scorer for the Warriors. He had 29 points on 11 for 19 from the field, 5 for 8 from three and 2 for 2 from the free throw line.

The Kings have four wins and one loss in games that I have seen in person during the 2022-2023 NBA season.

Throwback Thursday - 1994 - Western Farm Credit Bank

My hair and beard weren't always white!

James Tromp Heringer

With the recent passing away of one of my cousins, I stumbled across this obituary. This is one of my dad's brothers. Although he didn't pass away until 2009, I don't recall ever meeting him. This is a topic that I am going to explore in my book about 1991.

HERINGER, James Tromp In Sacramento, CA, died at his home on September 14, 2009. He was 89. Born January 4, 1920 in Clarksburg, he was the fifth son of Mabel (Holmes) and Stephen Heringer. Jim attended Clarksburg Grammar School and graduated from Clarksburg High School. His passion was baseball and he was the catcher of the division championship team in his senior year. He and his brother Lester also played on some local teams after college. He belonged to Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Oregon State University, Corvallis. On April 11, 1942 he married Katherine Ann Yoakum. They were married for 42 years. In the summer of 1942 he was drafted into the Army. He served in the European Theater in the Tenth Armored ''Tiger'' Division under the direction of General George S. Patton at the Battle of the Bulge. When he returned home in 1945 he joined his father, brothers and cousins in the Heringer farming operation which eventually spread over Sacramento, Yolo and Butte counties. He is survived by his five children and their spouses Jim Jr. (Ginny) of Pasadena, Helen Winter (Allen), of Leaburg, OR., Warren (Yadira) of Sacramento, Ralph (Linda) of Acampo, Donna Devlin (Charles) of Clarksburg, 8 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and 3 more on the way this year. Also survived by brother Lester (Marge) of Clarksburg. His parents and six of his brothers all preceded him in death. Jim served as a commissioner of the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department for many years. He was an avid hunter and fisherman. He belonged to Ducks Unlimited which his father helped co-found in 1936. He was a member of the California Waterfowl, NRA and the Elks Lodge. He will be interred at the Franklin Cemetery. Services and interment are private. Remembrances may be sent to the California Waterfowl or Ducks Unlimited. Arrangements entrusted to Harry A. Nauman & Son Land Park Chapel.

Party Down - Season 2

Sunday night, Sharon and I finished watching season two of Party Down. We finished season one in March.

Party Down is a half-hour sitcom created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd. Season 2 of Party Down premiered on Starz on April 23, 2010.

It stars Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, Lizzy Caplan and Megan Mullally. The season also features some interesting guest stars, including Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper, and Steve Guttenberg.

The series follows a group of caterers in Los Angeles as they hope to make it in Hollywood. The sextet of aspiring Hollywood actors and writers work small-time catering gigs while hoping for their break.

I don't think that season two is quite as good as season one. I did enjoy Megan Mullally as a replacement for Jane Lynch in season two. I recommend both season one and two. We will definitely watch season three.

Catan with Jack and Drew

Sunday afternoon, Jack, Drew and I played Catan. We haven't played since last August when we played on Jack's birthday! Drew won the first two games, while Jack won the third.

Six Mile Hadrian's Wall Training HIke

For almost twenty years, I worked on American River Drive near Watt Avenue. I probably ran on the bike trail and the levees along the river at least a 1,000 times. I didn't realize that there was a horse/hiking trail that paralleled the bike trail.

Sunday morning, Sharon and I hiked from William Pond towards Watt Avenue along the American River. Except for a about a hundred yard section, we were never on the bike trail. We hike 6.6 miles in just over two and a half hours.

Starfield Vineyards with the Gainsleys

Sharon and I met the Gainsleys at Starfield Vineyards. Sharon and I tasted and had lunch there in January during her birthday weekend. We enjoyed it and thought it would be a nice place to bring friends.

We had a 12 pm tasting followed by a 1 pm lunch. Sharon had a Chicken Waldorf Salad for lunch, while I had the Croque Monsieur with Cream of Tomato soup.

After lunch, the four of us walked the nature trails. The vineyard has three miles of trails with a small lake and several ponds.