Trip to NY

I usually don't enjoy flying, but I was lucky enough to jump on a corporate jet again for a Google trip to NY for a partner dinner and meeting. It's a nice way to travel -- swiveling leather seats, fun coworkers, full service, and lots of room to stretch. The pilots showed me the controls and computers on the plane (Gulfstream IV) and five hours has never gone quicker. The winds landing in NY tossed us around pretty well, but I figured it was good practice for a nervous flier.

Bubbles!

Sydney's Last Day

It's been a whole week, but seems even longer. I woke up Saturday night and turned to Gina saying "We need to put Sydney down." It was something about her manner: the way she followed us around but didn't want food or water, the way she barked in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. I made an appointment at the only place open in the area, some emergency vet clinic in Palo Alto. And that morning we went for a walk under the blossoming trees, one last time. Nate seemed so proud to carry the leash, and Julie gave her lots of hugs as usual. Gina dropped the kids off at her mom's, and we met at the clinic to put her down. What a hard thing to do. At the end, she was curled up on a pink blanket and she looked so peaceful. Thank you Sydney: for being a joyous presence during some of my toughest times, for saving the Petaluma house when the hot water pipe burst, for the walks, vacations, and endless tail wags. You are missed.

Capitola

It's been unseasonably warm, mid-70s, and perfect beach weather. Saturday we drove to Capitola just south of Santa Cruz to eat at the Train Place Deli again and play in the sand.

Caught in the act (literally)

We're enrolled!

We start in the Fall. And Beresford, a Montessori school, is only two blocks from our house.

Sea Ranch

Sea Ranch Feb 2007

With Sydney securely cared for at the Martins, we drove up to Sea Ranch to visit with Grandpa and Grandma for a few days. The house was wedged between other homes, but inside the view opened up to a large common area and outside large meadows and white water views. Nate and Julie were noticeably ecstatic to receive grandparent attention. Despite the relentless, shifting rain and hail, we had a wonderful time cooking, building fires, visiting Annapolis Winery, making "trains" with the pillows, and deer watching. Of course the sun broke out the day we left, but in true oceanside vacation fashion, we just felt like we'd do the exact same vacation tomorrow if we could.

Pre-Vacation Excitement

More Syd Pictures

 

 

Sydney & Montara Beach

Sydney continues to lose weight and has trouble walking, so during our vet visit today I was bracing for the worst. And as it turned out, the chest x-rays confirmed what we expected. Her lung tumor has grown considerably and what we thought were throid and bladder issues are probably more related to the cancer instead. The prognosis is two months. So, after lunch we packed up Sydney and the kids and headed off to Montara State Beach, one of the nicer off leash dog beaches. She seemed to appreciate it, walking through the stream and showing interest in sticks. I have a feeling we'll be doing this more often in the weeks ahead.

President's Day in SF

Part of the old Netscape gang got together on President's Day. Instead of single's gathering at a local bar, it was family time at Ti Couz, each person sporting a toddler. Afterwards we found the playground near the new deYoung Museum (in background) to burn off the excess crepes...I mean, energy.

Miniature Golf

From Feb2007 Minit...

(Click on picture for album)
Chloe & Delphine joined us at the Malibu Grand Prix nearby for a little miniature golf. At times I wasn't sure if Nate was golfing or playing hockey, and he and Chloe seemed to be three holes ahead of us at all times. So much for worrying about holding everyone back. The flushed faces in the picture shows it had to be one of the hottest days of the year so far.

Faces Series

"Okay, show us your Happy Face. Serious Face. Now Silly Face."

Cable Car Ride

After breakfast on Valentine's Day, we drove Nate & Julie to the San Francisco waterfront. "I know what we haven't done in a while," Nate offered, "we haven't ridden a cable car." 10 minutes and $20 later, we jumped on a cable car to the other side of town before coming back for a quick lunch at Ghiradelli Square. Nate seemed to enjoy sitting on the outside seats (great way to make parents nervous) and watching the round-about on Market Street.

Redwood City Breakfast

On Wednesday, Valentine's Day, we grabbed breakfast at Alana's in Redwood City with the Martins, and walked to the Courthouse Square to quickly look through the used book store.

Birthday & Cake

When you turn 39, you want something low-key but nothing that could be confused with depressing. This birthday was anything but: Gina and kids made a gorgeous chocolate cake from scratch (taste tested all the way), and Uncle Dan came over to babysit while we watched a movie (Casino Royale) & ate lunch (burritos in theater, hidden in purse). Uncle Dave and Grandma Mary were surprised guests when we got home, and helped us consume the spoils of the morning.

New Friends

We found a family of three California Slender Salamanders under some wood in our backyard. Julie and Nate seemed more enamored with them than they were of us.

Pinnacles Hike with Dave & Dan

Pinnacles Hike Feb 2007

I celebrated my first official day of part time status at Google with a hike in Pinnacles National Monument with brothers-in-law Dave and Dan. We drove to the western entrance and hiked to the top, a breath-taking experience in all senses of the word. Instead of turning left through the tunnel hike, we took a right which turned out to be the much better route: the steep trail at times was cut into the rock, and rails kept our balance steady down steep rock descents. We then hiked down and around the northeast trail to the western caves. It was a wet and almost blind scramble through the rocky trail to the other side. All told, it's one of the best hikes in California and well worth revisiting.

Dan Zanes - Catch That Train Concert

Both Nate and Julie are huge Dan Zanes fans, so when we heard he was in town this weekend with his Catch That Train tour, we scrambled for tickets. Four seats together were hard to find, but finally Gina saw a Craigslist.org posting advertising box seats for the fourth and final show in the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Bingo! Nate and Julie jiggled and jangled their way through the show. Afterwards we met Dan Zanes and the rest of the band members, and they signed our well-worn CD before we took two tuckered out kids home.

Marsh Hike (cont'd)