The year began with a trip to Palm Springs where we stayed in La Quinta for the Palm Springs Dog show. The desert is great in January and I got some nice bike rides in and around the region.
We came home to an atmospheric river event that showed us where some new engineering would be needed for our grave paths. The storms also dropped a huge douglas fir onto other trees blocking our route, power and internet for about a week.
We went up to Santa Rosa for the International dog show at the end of January. We stayed in the Astro and ate with Three Sisters.
We ended January with the Ventura Dog show. We got some clear skies between atmo events based on my pictures that week. Next time we go to Ventura I’m taking a board with me.
In February we began the homework club. On Wednesdays I’d pick up 3 kids from school and bring them them back to the house to do some homework and playtime.
We continued to experience weather with more rain and even some gravuel.
Towards the end of February, we drove down to Del Mar for the dog show. We were in the rain most of the time for this trip.
We headed out at the end of March to Las Vegas. Long trip made longer when a truck over turned outside of Barstow. After being in 2mph traffic for about 4-5 hours we arrived. We stayed on the strip which wasn’t that great. We were overwhelmed by people smoking dope. Leo had a good show and won. On the ride home we had to detour because of another accident, but ended up driving through Ave Kwa Ame National Monument which has the most joshua trees I’d ever seen.
In April the weather started to get better and I was riding lots of routes with fewer cars. I climbed up Zayante to the summit; rode up Mt. Charley, rode around San Francisco. I was working on hill training with the thought of doing the SC 50. I didn’t compete but have ridden the routes.
May brought us spring flowers and an Escape from Grammar Island (elementary school play). We flew down to Venice to see how we all did on a plane (ok). Hung out in Venice and Santa Monica and had a great time.
In June, school ended and swim lessons began. Once we were warmed up, we started Junior Guards in Capitola. Leo and Lynda went up to a dog show in Vallejo called Woofstock.
In July we got a text from Rob and we went to visit he and Jeff and Kathy. Had a nice time watching the sun go down and tasting the latest vintages. As it was the height of summer, it was swim, beach, repeat. Lynda and Leo competed in the Monterey dog show down in Carmel.
In August we took a short trip down to Redondo Beach for a dog show. We did some exploring of the South Bay region and Palos Verdes.
I was getting interested in surfing since the boy was getting to paddle a lot in Junior Guards. I ended up getting one of my old boards repaired and getting a foamy for us to practice with. I figured as school started I could get back out in the water and see if I could still stand up. We got a weekend out to Santa Barbara at the end of the month for a dog show. I rented a bike and got some 10-20 mile loops in.
September took us out west to Utah. Part dog show, part national parks. Later in the month we began completing an astro turf project and attended Rennsport (huge Porsche show) at Laguna Seca.
Nothing says October like Poodle Day in Carmel. October is also harvest month and our hot peppers were plentiful. Leo went with a group from their club to visit Sunshine Villa which they hadn’t been able to do for a couple of years.
In November, we were still getting great weather and I was able to find another foamy board for my surfing partner. We look for Wednesdays when the tides align with half days. We finished the month with the Wine Country Dog Show up in Napa where Leo continued to turn heads and make friends.
December was a quiet month based on my photo record. Mom was still healing from her broken arm in October. We were able to get Aunt Rae and her together for a visit and then there was the holidays where we were on our own.