Half Moon Bay to Carmel

As we drove down the highway, you can't help but appreciate the beauty of the California coast!

This weekend, Laurie and I decided to celebrate our birthdays... with a road trip on the coast.  Laurie picked me up from Oakland airport.  Just an hour later, we were at the beautiful Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton!  We had a cottage room for the evening.

Laurie and I, with the golf course and Pacific as our backdrop

Posing for a picture by the firepit was wonderful.  Posing for a picture near the waterline can be a bit more thrilling.  Laurie and I were about to get kissed by a wave.  Of course, I was closer to the waterline, so was a bit more worried than my fun loving better half!

Friday evening, we walked around the grounds, had a wonderful meal, and enjoyed a spectacular sunset.  The next morning, we got up at a reasonable hour, had breakfast, and then posed for a few pictures, before heading down the coast toward Monterey and Carmel.  Our cottage had a nice deck, with a firepit that we both really enjoyed. 

The picture we wanted to take - sans the worry of impending wetness!

Classic picture of the California coast along 17-mile drive.

Have to love the coast - another gorgeous day!

Just can't seem to get enough of the sailboats.

And finally, I want to offer a small tribute to a family friend who passed away on Friday.  Raja has been with us for 17 years.  He added joy, laughter and companionship to our family, and will be missed.

Halloween

Devil's Temptress, Sorcerer - That is how Laurie and I went to a neighbor's Halloween party Saturday evening, after our trip to/from Incline!  We had a great time catching up with folks we have not seen and talked with in a while.  Terrill - I chatted with Steve Stock at the party... he told me he knows you and worked with you at Symantec.  He is now working at Kaiser.

Today, Laurie and I had to run an errand up to Tahoe... had to pick up our generators and snowblower from the repair shop. They were in for their tune-up. Now that they are back at the cabin, we are really ready for winter. And by the looks of things, this could be a really good winter.

This picture is from the west side of the lake looking east. Note Diamond Peak ski runs in the background. They already have snow on them!

And this is Boreal on the way back from the cabin - only 2 hours later! Boreal opened for the season yesterday. Boarders are already coming down the slopes. Usually, resorts are thrilled if they can open by Thanksgiving. This could be a really good snow season.

Laurie and I celebrated Laurie's birthday tonight... after meeting at the Oakland airport, we drove to San Francisco. We got there in time to enjoy an hour long birthday shopping trip at Macy's (sunglasses, shoes). Then we walked over to her favorite eatery... Morton's Steakhouse. Rib-eye on the bone for Laurie, Filet on the bone for Rudy. Awesome! Waiter even took our picture.

East Coast Part 1

So we did the trip.. Pike's Public Market in the morning - what a lot of fun (that's where we got the fish), and then a quick run to the Space Needle, so we could get our picture with the fish! After the Space Needle, we drove up to Everett, and toured the Boeing Factory - what an immense building. We saw the 747, 777 and 787 assembly lines in the world's largest building (by volume)! Go around the entire building and you would walk 2.2 miles. A door for the 777 and 787 assembly lines (the door the planes come out of) is the size of a football field, laid on it's side. The whole place is just enormous! It was a ton of fun. Then we headed back to Bellevue, grabbed some unique food at Wild Ginger (a restaurant in Bellevue) and walked around the mall. What a fun day with Jen and James.

So this week, Jennifer, James and Laurie came to stay with me in Bellevue. They arrived late Thursday. Friday was a local day in Bellevue - shooting range (no one got hurt!) where we had a blast, hehehe; lunch and mild shopping at Bellevue Square ( a four block indoor shopping mall), what else would you expect where it rains a lot, and AVATAR. If you haven't seen it in 3D at IMAX, you need to. Unbelievable! Really Cool! A new paradigm in movie making.

Today, we are headed to Seattle - Pike's Market, Space Needle, Chittenden Locks, Everett Boeing Plant. Should be fun!