Escaping the heat

 

with a quick trip to the beach. Sand for them, and then a stop at a brewery for us later.

2005 vintage bottled

 

I pumped the cabernet from the barrel into the variable capacity tank and mixed with six gallons of the petite verdot before bottling. I'm thinking of calling it Natulie Cab....hmmm. Sounds close to the Nadalie barrel (from the Nevers forest in France). SHT letters indicate the level of toast to the barrel, in this case Heavy Toast.

Sunflower update

 

 

This year we were around to watch them bloom. They've grown a lot since May.

Reading to Trains

 

He likes an audience. This time he's reading "Oi! Get off my Train!" to his collection in the living room.

Nature's Bounty

 

From our garden: apples, peaches, tomatillos, strawberries. Not shown: lots of juicy red tomatoes, and a couple of anemic ears of corn.

Nate's Snakes

 

Trains are still king in Nate's mind, but now he's starting to develop a new little kingdom of snake friends. On one recent morning watching "Wonder Pets", we stumbled upon Nate's assembled friends all poised to watch the show.

San Mateo County Fair

On Gina's birthday, we visited the San Mateo County Fair to see the rides, pet the snakes, visit my wine entry (no medal, oh well) and generally poop ourselves out. The highlights must have been the looong and fast ferris wheel ride, and all the reptiles near the children's exhibits.

SF Golden Gate Park Playground

 

 

 

 

Train Day at SFO

I took the kids to the SFO airport via Caltrain and BART last week, stopping at the new International Terminal. Besides the good restaurants there, the international terminal where BART ends is also a convenient place to pick up AirTrain, the new-ish two-car automated train that runs on elevated track around the airport and out to the rental car buildings. It's the best view & ride anywhere. By the time we stopped for lunch, and took the obligatory escalator and elevator rides, the kids were wiped out and we slowly headed back home the same way we arrived.

Nate and Julie riding AirTrain in SFO

Hands down, the best free train ride in the Bay Area. Especially when you're riding up front.

Orange County Fair

 

As much as I dislike Orange County, I was told the county fair's wine competition is one of the more active and organized of the state's fairs. I also heard the judging standards were higher than Wine Maker magazine, so I wasn't expecting anything. A month after submitting, a packet arrived at our doorstep: silver medal. Actually it's the same giant badge they award prize rabbits and cows, perfect for living room decore. Next up: San Mateo county fair.

Google Summer Picnic

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time we were in Seattle and Portland, so we marked our calendars this year for the Google Summer Picnic. The Shoreline Ampitheatre was divided into the kids section and adult section, with the kid's "Circus" section open only from 2-4pm. Smack dab in the middle of nap time. We braved the heat and tiredness anyway, just enough time to grab some sugary treats, do a couple of rides, make some crafts, and find our way back to the car. Whew. Nate was all excited to hit the ferris wheel in the main grounds, but Gina and I were tired enough for both of them.

Moving Mrs. Martin

 

The official move to The Forum took place on Thursday. A truck was rented, and Julie/Nate helped out by carrying cardboard and rolls of wrapping plastic.

Bird Day at School

 

More Zoo Pictures

 

 

 

Bear Day at the Zoo

 

 

 

 

We joined our friends and their two daughters at the San Francisco Zoo for "Bear Day" early one day last week. When it opened, we beelined it to the new Grizzly Bear exhibit where zoo keepers were hiding honey and apples around outdoor exhibit space before the bears entered. We took a train ride, of course, and were able to pet snakes, salamanders and turtles.

Berry Picking

 

 

 

in foggy Pescadero

Fourth of July Parade