This was about my garden, It's now about connecting. Including family, friends, cooking, gardening, skiing, mountain biking, swimming and, in general, enjoying.
We made it! This is Paul, Bill and me after swimming from Alcatraz. It was a great day, a tiny bit overcast, but calm, the water a balmy 61 degrees. That's Ghirardelli Square in the background. We just finished in the famous Aquatic Park in the San Francisco Bay.
This is another friend of mine, from the good ole days. Thanks for coming out to cheer us on!
More fans, Hi Kathy and Kirsty!
Jib Jab
That week I went mountain biking with Paul and Matt, two guys I used to wrestle with, back in 7-8th grade. As it turns out, Brian wrestled with us too. To add to the coincidence, another one of my best buddies, Ray just called today. He is coming out to visit in a couple weeks, and he too used to wrestle with us, way back in middle school. Could we have ever known we would all meet again in California?
So many titles went through my mind for this post. Suffice it to say, it was a tough day for us CU fans.
This trailer was just out front the stadium gate. There really were a huge number of fans wearing CU gear. I really am not up on the Buffs prospects this year, and since I hadn't heard much, I figured they weren't high. My hopes were not high, but yes, I did have some hope. The more CU fans I saw, the more I started thinking, hmm, well, you never know!
Until the game started. Buffs defense was like a sieve. And when they showed some strength, we would self-destruct with penalties, on offense and defense. We just never settled down. Never got into a groove. Basically, on our heels the whole first half. I can only speak for the first half, because we left at halftime, and the score was 31-0. Ouch.
Jib Jab
How to salvage a gorgeous day in Berkeley, when your team is getting crushed. We went to a sports bar. Actually, it was a fun Berkeley-style casual, outdoor patio place. Tons of students and alumni. Actually, it seemed like 1/3 were CU fans. The place was a hamburger joint on Telegraph called Raleigh's. Lots of beer choices. We had chicken wings and chips and guacamole. Pretty good, real good beer, and very nice atmosphere. We came thinking we could follow the Giants, and alas, they lost too. Similarly, the defeat was a let down. The Giants just moved into a tie for 1st place in our division. Very exciting. They lost 1-0. Buffs lost 52-7. At least they scored. I don't want to know how. In the first half, they brought the ball all the way down to the 3 yardline. For sure, I thought at least we would score. Instead, about 25 yards in penalties later, we missed a 37 yard field goal. We turned over the ball again, and the Bears promptly scored again. We got the ball back with about a minute in the half, and quickly gave up an interception for a touchdown in the last 16 seconds. Ouch. 31-0 at half.
On a positive note
Actually, there were several:
1) Kirsty and I got out with her bro and his wife
2) The day was beautiful, and the stadium, really nice to see
3) We met at Kirsty's parents after for dinner, and to see the Kenya trip photos
(and nephews and, well, family!)
This is an odd photo, but I liked it for a few reasons.
- what's up? all the boys all on the same side of the table!
- although odd, it's also steeped in tradition - beautiful table setting, Pops at the head of the table with a glass of wine. if the view wasn't washed out, you could see San Fran out the windows.
Here's the girls side of the table. Makes me happy just thinking about it.
Here's everyone all together. That's nan getting ready to sit at our end of the table. We always have so much to talk about. If it isn't cooking, or gardening, it's something else like photography or some other project she has engineered. A totally inspirational person. As is Kirsty's dad. Without much fanfare, we open the Saturday Chronicle and there he is, in a huge picture on the front page of the cultural section. My father-in-law!!
So, words of wisdom from this day of sporting defeats? You just have to go for it. If you always win, the wins wouldn't mean anything! And the bottom line, I have plenty to be thankful for. Holy smoke, let it go. :-)
Just because!! This picture makes me happy. It's us watching the slides on Kirsty's brother and family's trip to Kenya. The center of the story is around the Daraja Academy in Kenya. Very cool and an inspirational story in itself.
Finally,
Here's an obstructed view of my backyard project. you can see the roller, a bunch of rubble in the foreground, and behind, the ground is all layed out ready for sod. The project is a little on hold while we finalize the patio plans. Shooting for a Connecticut blue flagstone that will flow straight out into the grass. From a conservation point of view, at least we cut our grass area down by about 30-40%.
More later..
We needed some more dirt, so Rigo got some more dirt from a neighbor who was excavating. This is such a small amount of the fill we used. Seeing it in scope of the truck was impressive though.
The guys, in action. You can see the beautiful topsoil pile in front. I think we had 8 or 9 guys out there, on my little back yard. See all the dust on the table? I think that's Rigo, my superstar backyard guy. He's created three big retaining walls, added fill below, then topsoil on top. Created a whole new garden for me below the black fence you see. This hill is super steep. Didn't think I could gain more garden. He did it. I am so happy with him, we are planning to use him to replace the deck, but....
Patio, instead.
So, I have been dreaming about having a gorgeous stone patio, but never thought it was feasible in my backyard. Well, all that has changed. Just to give you a hint...see below.
That's Rigo and some of his guys. Bye Bye deck, hello stone patio. I am planning on having a nice landing by the sliding glass doors (which you can imagine, behind Rigo, the deck stairs.) With about 3-4 stairs down to a patio that flows right into the grass. A couple features I am trying to plan in:
- a fire pit
- built-in barbecue, and maybe a whole kitchen thing
- little planter areas for herbs, and maybe flowers or something
More to come.
Sidenote:
Seriously, my favorite farmer's market is now Redwood City, behind Sequoia Station. Sat 9-1pm or about that.
We are really enjoying farmer's market shopping, and finding more and more of them around, to the point where we have more days with, than without local farmer's market shopping. Here's where we're at:
Kaiser Hospital (corner of Maple and just before Jefferson): Wednesday - 10 am - 2 pm
Palo Alto (corner of University and Emerson) Wednesday 330pm - 630 pm
San Carlos, Laurel street, starting around Arroyo - Thursday 4-7pm Redwood City, just behind Sequoia Station - Saturday 8 or 9 to 1 pm
This is my PCA masters group doing a Sunday (Aug 22nd) morning San Francisco Aquatic Park swim. As you can see from the pic, you don't need to bring much. Googles, cap, swimsuit. Front right is Damon, my Zola buddy, and I am front left, and coach Mike, 2nd from left front. Mike, thanks for bring us up!
I think this will be my 4th Alcatraz swim coming up, Sept 18th. Each one is it's own adventure and I'll get into that in a bit. In the past, I've made the crossing with others. This is the first time I am trying to lead a couple swimmers, from Colorado. Pablo and his friend Bill. This post is for you guys, and anyone else planning to do the swim.
What to bring for the swim:
- avoid trying something new. use your regular suit, goggles, cap. Having said that, take a look at the below and try out what you may use before race day. You have enough time to order this stuff and try it, if you act soon.
- wear a thermal cap. What's that, you say? It's a swim cap made from wetsuit material (neoprene).
This one looks good. It actually looks better than mine. If you can try one on before purchase, ideal. If not, get something like this. The key is flexible. Mine is too tight. Warm, yes. Too tight takes it's toll on race day, and for days after, because of the chafing. Over top of your thermal cap, you will wear a regular rubber cap from your race packet.
- I have a new pair of goggles I used for my last open-water swim. They are from my favorite goggle manufacturer, Aqua Sphere. These are called Kayenne. They are nice for a couple reasons; they are super comfortable and seal well. They have a wide field of view, nice for open water. As far as lens color, clear would be ideal for Alcatraz, but not essential. I am sure even the smoke would be fine.
- That's pretty much it! They will give you ear wax to use race day, with your packet. I have always used mine. I asked around about why, and basically you want to not let your inner ear get too cold. Bad things happen if you do. (I don't remember what.) It might be disorienting for one. The other is, as you get cold, you start to get, well, dumb. It gets harder to concentrate on your stroke, and navigation and so on if you get too cold.
Specific race day stuff
This is where Alcatraz is really cool. Around 7am we all gather to walk from Aquatic Park area to the Red and White fleet, or whatever color it is. It's about a 6-8 block walk to the ferry, and essentially you're doing it in your speedo. Some people do it with a cheap pair of flip-flops. You could do it in an old pair of socks too. I'm too Irish for all that, and just walk it bare foot. We actually follow some bagpipers along the way. It's all very inspiring, walking through the famous SF waterfront with a bunch of other swimmers, the music and energy is really awesome. Oh, and some wear a throw-away tee shirt, and I've seen some wear a trash bag to stay warm. I think you can take a bag with a number on it too, and then try to find it at the finish. For us, we will have our cheerleaders carrying a towel and clothes for us.
So, anyways, we get on the ferry, and it's about 15-20 minutes over to the Island. Alcatraz. The ferry isn't allowed to get closer than 50 feet or something like that, for eco reasons. It's plenty close. Totally awesome to see it like this. At the same time you are looking back at San Francisco Bay, the city, the Bay bridge, and so on. It's pretty amazing, until you start thinking, you are getting back to the city in the water!! Yahoo!! We float around on the ferry until the organizers decide the current is as close to slack as possible. Usually, just a couple minutes, but seems really long.
Get in!
The start is somewhat non-eventful. Of course people start snuggling closer and sort of pushing toward the boat gates. There are two, one on each side of the boat. The opening is wide enough for 3 to jump off at a time. Fasties get in first. Just wait. You will be in the water within 2-3 minutes even if you are in the middle of the pack. So, once you get to the gate, jump in. It's about 7-8 feet above the water. I hold on to my goggles, going in feet first, and then, as quick as possible without panicking, start swimming. Now, you may have to do a little breast stroke until you catch your breath, and sight your finish line. I sight on the two big apartment buildings behind Ghirardelli Square. you can't miss them. So, right now, do not swim too hard. In fact, you probably want to swim as slow as you can for the first 3 minutes or so, until you settle into a pace without losing your breath. Don't worry, you will have plenty of time to hit it harder later. It's going to take about 40 - 60 minutes to get across.
Navigation
This hasn't always been a good thing for me, except last time. My strategy worked. Essentially, 20 strokes, then spot, 20 strokes, then spot. For my strokes, to go as straight as possible, I found when I get tired, my hands start to cross. To avoid this, I point my hands from entry to exit in sort of an A frame. The top of the A, me, and the bottom, my hands, so pointing them wide, which, in actuality, probably puts them right where they are supposed to be. Regardless, it worked. I swam straight as ever, and it made for something I could concentrate on.
More later, Guys. Let me know what questions and comments you have.
At 2:42 you can see my master's team, PCA. At 4:40 you can see the apartment buildings I mentioned for sighting and navigation.
The Trans-Tahoe relay is a 12 mile crossing, about 150 6-person teams. This is a great picture highlighting a bit of the chaos and organization at the start of the race. You can see the first swimmers, just off the beach, and the 150 boats looking for their swimmers. Also shown, you can see 3 boats with huge orange balloons to help swimmers spot their boat, and our teams spotting each other. Thanks Mike, our Peninsula Community Center Aquatics Masters coach, for totally setting us up.
Yes, the water is brisk. The previous month, we were looking at low 50's water temperature. Fortunately, the sun kicked in, and we had a balmy 63 degrees race day. The water is so blue, and crystal clear, it's unlike most open water events, and the water itself tastes so fresh, again, in contrast to events like the Alcatraz swims. It's an early start, with the race at 7:30am, we were up around 5am, to pack our gear, get the boat, and cross the lake. It's the perfect time, since the weather and water is so calm.
Damon
Damon had a huge day in so many ways. He came off the shore so fast, and had us out front of Tahoe Tessies. This is just before he finished. See the boat next to us, getting ready for their transition too? See how clear the water is?
Great job, Damon. Off to the races.
Captain Candace
Candace was another part of the fantastic trip. At times, I am just along for the ride, and don't recognize the magnitude of our endeavor. Candace is an example. Just 4 days before the event, we didn't have a boat. Again, our coach, Mike put out the word, and with lots of calls and pings, we hear we have a boat, and a captain, Candace. As best as I remember she is the wife of a friend of a friend of a friend. Still, she takes all 6 of us out, all day. Sight unseen. No conversation beforehand. No agreement of how it's going to be. She just shows up, ontime, gorgeous ski boat, smile on her face, basically, get it, let's go. Thanks Candace. You rock. So happy to have met you, and spent the day together!
The Gang
From left to right: Candace, Chris G, Matt T, Chris "Zola" C, and the indomitable Damon. Missing is John T, Matt's brother (in the water) and me (below).
More later. Pog wants to be father / son.
Not all business
We met at Sunnyside after the swim to kick off the celebrations. Well, as it turns out, we pretty much were celebrating the whole day, but you could say we kicked off our land-based celebrations here. Every now and again, I couldn't help but feeling elated to be a part of team Zola, and at the same time feeling like I was kinda 'special' - in the, well, special sense. Here, I'm looking particularly short and grey-haired, surrounded by the youngsters. Yes, that's John on the far right, covering up Damon. Damon, my shirt never looked so good. You da man.
From our sponsors
Got Mike? Yes, we got Mike. Our awesome coach. He does so much for us, so quietly. Well, not so quietly this minute. We had 7 teams represented, or 42 swimmers here, along with family and friends, I am guessing over a hundred present over the weekend.
Chris is one of the founders of Zola, home of the Brazilian superfood made from acea berries. I think that's how he stays so young, and an all-around nice guy. Thanks again, for sponsoring us! All you readers out there, drink your Zola.
Getting down to business
This is a bit of an odd shot, but I like it for highlighting the beautiful water, clear as can be, and I think this is Matt getting down to business.
