Category: vacation

I guess there was a tradition in our family that dad would take one kid on a trip with him. In the early days, Dad was on Safeway business in so-cal and he would have one of the kids sent down to spend a couple of days. I know that Mike and Ann Marie both went to the bull fights in Mexico. Went to Disneyland, or stuff like that. I think John did similar. I guess by the time that I came of age, the so-cal trips either became old or something cuz that plan got shelved. Instead, dad said that we would do some weekend trips together. Just get in the car and go. No plans. no map. just a couple of guys on the open road, looking for a nice hotel with a good swimming pool. Some of those trips were the best times. One was the worst.

<p>Sonora – a great time. if dad knew where he was going he didn’t let on. We cruised the freeway, then country roads heading towards Sonora. Dad was always a proponent of enjoying nature (look at all the greens!). There was one stretch of endless winding country rode that rounded a bend and offered a million dollar view of the sierras. I remember how nice it was for both of us. We pulled into a hotel in downtown Sonora that looked good. I think what we liked was that it had a second floor outdoor pool. Got a room and went for a swim. Dinner of burger and shake in the hotel coffee shop. I remember that dad struck up a conversation with a couple that was eating dinner. I remember thinking that was cool. I think we walked around town a bit then it was off to bed.

Santa Rosa- a great trip. We stayed at the flamingo hotel. Great pool and great room. they had both high and low diving boards and a real deep end. I think we were there during the week and think we stayed at least a couple of days. We got room service and ordered lunch by the pool. There was a combination lifeguard cocktail waitress that sort of supervised the pool area. She was older, smoked and wore Lavern and Shirley style cats eye eyeglasses. On our last morning we went out for a swim. there was commotion around the pool area. We come to find out the the old cocktail waitress had gotten drunk the night before, slipped and fell into the pool and drown. Dead. There were people swimming in the pool so we set up camp and did the same. On my way up the high dive for my first dive of the day, I noticed something gleaming in the sunlight from the bottom of the pool. Dove in and retrieved the same pair of eyeglasses that the cocktail waitress ws wearing the day before. I came up and swam to the side of the pool and handed them to the people standing around.

Sacramento- the wood-lake inn was nice. big complex with a nice pool and man-made lake in the middle. What I remember most about this trip was that then SF Mayor George Mosconi was there all weekend as well. I think it was a political stay because this campaign manage type was with him 24×7 and had an Brooklyn accent and would always be calling him GOYGE!! GOYGE!!. It was always about the pools where we stayed and this was another nice big one. The man made lake had fishing (we tried with no luck) and boat rental. Me and dad rented a paddle boat and he fell in the lake trying to get out of the boat. It may have been funny but I don’t remember him laughing. I still have the picture of him in my mind when he surfaced.

Not sure where the clear lake trip fit into our plans but it must’ve been after the fun trips to Sonora, Santa rosa and Sacramento. if dad was drinking on either of those other trips, I don’t remember it or he hid it well. But its all I remember about the clear lake trip. I know we had a small hotel room up the hill, near the pee-wee golf course at the Konocti Harbor Inn. It may have been dinner the first night. We were seated in the fancy dining room at a table for two, against the wall. There were many many tables in the place but it was mostly empty. We sat down and ordered. For some reason, I order trout. I think I’ve only had fish sticks up until this point but for some reason trout sounded good. somewhere after ordering and when the meal came, dad said he had to go to the bathroom or something. he left. I waited. And waited. and waited. I’m not sure how long I waited but it felt like an hour time. The food came. The trout didn’t look too good all of a sudden. wasn’t prepared for the whole fish with eyes looking at me. People started to come in to eat and looked at me siting there all alone. I kept watching the door, hoping that dad would come in from the direction away from the bar. No such luck. When dad came back he was noticeably drunk. His old drunken self. I was so pissed that I started to cry. Here i was 3 hours from home. Alone with dad, who was drunk as a skunk. We either finished dinner in a hurry of just left right then. We went back to the room where I lay on my bed and cried and cried and cried. I told him that I wanted to go home. NOW!!!. It was late and he was drunk that that wasn’t an option. He tried to console me but I would have none of it. NONE!!! I was never so sad and disappointed in my father than I was that night. 

Wine night is usually a Friday night girls thing where Barb, Maria and Julia get together and have a glass of wine or three. But who cares? It’s Friday night right?! It’s not even every Friday or most Fridays. But every once in a while Friday night is wine night.  So it’s kind of cool that I got pulled into a wine night while Barb is road tripping it back home with her sister. I’m sitting at home and get a text from Maria; “Liz and Z’s for one. Z wants you to come.” 

I topped off my jack and diet and headed over for wine night! Liz and Z have the house I want. Cozy and warm and nice. Just a simple neighborly visit. Z made triple chocolate shakes for Finn and Ada and when the sugar high kicked in I called it a night. My kind of wine night!

I wish every long weekend was like this one.   Barb had planned a girls trip to Tahoe and booked a week at our timeshare up there.  Since she was going to be up there I figured it was also a good time to get in a ride on the Flume Trail.  I had been talking about doing the Flume trail with Steve and John for over a year.  Barb had already spent Sunday through Wednesday in Tahoe with her girlfriend Lorraine.  Barb rode back with Lorraine on Wednesday and then turned right around and road back up with me that afternoon.  The smoke from the Yosemite fire made for a strange and erie ride up into the mountains.

We were lucky enough to score our favorite room at the Stardust. Upper corner unit in the back.  Spent a nice day with Barb on Thursday, up early and out for a nice walk around Heavenly Village and the neighborhood. Did some shopping, had brunch, and even took a little bike ride down to Lakeside beach.  Jens and Kelly arrived right around dinner time. We walked to the casino to have dinner. After dinner it was back to the room for a pre-flume trail conference.  John and Steve had made the drive up so all the players were there.  John would pick us up at 7am next morning.

The Flume trail ride starts at Spooner Lake and ends at Tunnel Creek cafe in Incline Village. Its about a 14 mile one way ride. Turns out John’s Bro-in-law Mark woke up at 3:30 am in Sonora to make the drive to Tahoe and join us for the ride.  Jens and Mark were the only two who had done this ride before, so we at least had some experience with us on the ride. We started right around 8am. By 8:05 I was sucking wind!!

The 4.5 mile uphill to Marlette Lake is a killer. The uphill starts as a gradual climb. The last mile is a ball buster. Mark, Jens and Kelly had no problems with the climb or the thin air.  I did. The elevation at Spooner Lake is just over 7000. We climbed to 8200 at Marlette lake. Us bay area boys were sucking wind for sure! I admit that I had to get off my bike and push it up a few times on that climb. Fortunately John and I had done the Spooner to Marlette Lake ride last year so we knew what to expect.

Once we got to Marlette lake, we took a nice break, took some pictures and hydrated.  Road around the lake to the dam where the flume trail started.  The flume was built back in the 1870s to carry timber down to incline village. In the 1980s an avid bike rider worked on clearing the trail for bike riders. It has since become one of the premier mountain bike rides in the world.  The trail starts at the dam, winds through some forest then hugs the mountain for 4  miles.  “Hugs the mountain” may be an under statement.  The single track trail is about 3 feet wide with boulder cliffs to your right and sheer dropoff to your left.  During the pre-ride prep I made the mistake of looking at youtube videos of other people that have done this ride. It really made me nervous!! There were three spots where previous landslides had made it to where we (at least me) had to get off and walk my bike over rocks. There were also parts where the trail was only about 18 inches wide with a 500ft drop to the left. Total concentration got me through it. We stopped a few times when Mark or Jens (not sure since they were ahead of me) wanted to show us something. One time was the place where people stop and look down at Sand Harbor below. On a normal day we would be able to see clear across the the lake and at the “Tahoe Blue” water below. Not on this day. We could barely make out Sand Harbor through all the smoke. When we saw a boat cruising the lake, it almost looked like it was flying because the air and water all blended into the smoke. In retrospect it was probably better for me that there wasn’t a great view. It allowed me to concentrate on the task of making it through the most technical part of the ride. This part of the trail was very sandy, so you could go “squirrelly”  very easily.  The few times I did try to take a peak down below, seemed to lose a little control, so for the rest of the ride it was focusing on the trail in front of me.

At some point the cliff hugging excitement ends as the trail makes its way back into the pines. The Flume trail ends and we make our way onto  Tunnel Creek trail for our quick decent to lake level and the Tunnel Creek Cafe. This part of the ride is what I like to call the “hold on for dear life” part of the ride. The trail widens into a fire road but it drops quickly. To make things even more exciting is that the trail is very sandy in some parts. You can be flying down then all of  a sudden hit a sandy patch and you are fishtailing like a a mad man.  The more experienced in the group flew down this part.  The more conservative (I promised Barb I wouldn’t kill myself)  riders took it easy, riding the brake most of the way down. Even with that, Steve took a tumble into a manzanita bush and got a few scrapes. 

Before we knew it we were off the trail and on the short road that led to the Tunnel Creek Cafe. The end of the line. We did it in 3 1/2 hours (breaks included). Check this one off the bucket list!  Now all  we had to do is get back to John’s truck 9 mile UP the road. We already knew that we weren’t going to ride our bikes back. The plan was for one person to ride the shuttle ($15 per person!) back to the truck and then drive and get the rest of us. Only problem was that the shuttle would not take just one person. If we all went if would have cost $90!!  We talked very briefly about someone hitchhiking back up and getting the truck. Before we knew what was happening, John was out on highway 28 with his thumb out!!  What a great guy!!!  He got a ride to Sand Harbor, then another the rest of the way to Spooner Lake and was back within  45 minutes!!  Our hero!!  We sat and had a beer while we waited. LIFE IS GOOD!  We were back at south shore and taking a shower by 1pm.

Of course we were all STARVING  so we headed to Sprouts for lunch. Greatest tuna sandwich ever! After lunch it was over to Casa de Downing for horseshoes and relaxation where we reveled in our Flume trail accomplishment.   We headed back to our place for the evening. As the sun was setting we decided to walk down to the beach and watch the sunset.  What a great way to end a great day!

Up early and out to breakfast with Jens and Kelly. We said our goodbyes after and they were off to Reno then home. So glad that we got to spend some quality time with old and dear friends. The plan for the rest of the day was to do a hike. With the smoke still an issue, we thought it would be better to do a waterfall hike rather than a vista hike. We left the destination up to John. He picked a winner!  We drove a short way up Christmas Valley to the beginning of the Hawley Grade. The upper Truckee River runs through here (as well the pony express back in the day) and there is a waterfall just a short distance up the trail.  Winding our way up and along side the river, we saw some HUGE mushrooms growing in the forest floor. Also saw tree damage caused by beavers. Many downed trees where you could see that the beavers had chewed through! Eventually we heard the sound of the waterfall and made our way to the little pool at the bottom of the falls. A great spot!!  Water cascading down huge rocks. A large tree had fallen and looked like a slide down the falls. Summer flowers and hanging plants coming out of the rocks near the falls gave the whole place a fantasy island kind of vibe!  This being late in the season, there wasn’t a lot of water, but the water that was there was still runoff and still ice cold.  We spent a good amount of time here. Just chilling. Mark was the only one brave enough to jump in and get up under the waterfall. John and I climbed to the top of the falls, Steve took a nap on the sun baked rocks. Barb took pictures and videos of all of us. It was a real nice time. Mark found an “almost perfect” round rock that he wanted to bring back to John’s house. The thing must have weighed at least 45 pounds. He lugged it all the way back to the truck in his backpack!

We drove back to John’s house and we said goodbye to Mark as he was heading home.  We went back to the Stardust and showered then got ready for dinner. The buffet at Mont Bleu!  We ate like kings!

Said goodnight to John and Steve and headed back to the room and  packed up for our early morning departure the next day. We were on the road by 9am and home by 1pm.

An action packed few days with my lovely wife, best buds and some old friends.

Click here to see the pics

What a great time we all had on our Southern California vacation. Kelly and Kate had been setting this up since we were all together in North Carolina in February. Kelly wanted Kate and Parker (sorry Frank!) to fly out to see her in So Cal. Ever since Kelly and her room mate Heather became aunties, Kelly wanted to share Parker with all of So Cal! So when Kate booked her flight, we made plans to drive down to see them all.  A nice Friday thru Tuesday in the land of 24 hour freeway grid lock.

We hit the road early (and I mean EARLY!)  with the plan of picking up Kate and Parker when they arrived at LAX around 11am. We packed up (and I mean packed!!) the Mazda with not only our luggage, but stuff (stroller, car seat, pack and play, toys) for Parker and a few things for Kate and Kelly.  Somewhere around Buttonwillow on highway 5 I realized that there is no way we will be ablt to fit all of Kate and Parker’s luggage in the car. We high tailed it down highway 5, and were able to check into the Embassy Suites LAX early. Dropped off all the stuff in the room and made it the Airport with a few minutes to spare! Not bad scheduling for a 369 mile airport pickup!!

Needless to say, it was so good to see Parker and Kate. He has grown so much in the two months that we last saw him. Happy baby boy. LET THE VACATION BEGIN!!!

First stop was Kelly’s work and then to lunch. We went up to her office, and of course Parker was the center of attention. I could see why. Kelly had her office plastered in Parker pics!! Parker smiled. Parker walked. Parker was being Parker, all to the delight of Kelly and all her co-workers. Ok, we were ALL delighted!

A beautiful day in Santa Monica. Sunny and warm. We walked across the street to have lunch. Heather joined us and we had a nice meal as we all began to unwind from the travelling it took to get here. Ahhhh.  Kelly went back to work while we went back to our suite.  The room was pretty perfect for us. We chose the “two double beds”. Worked out great when Kelly stayed.  Barb and I in one bed, Kate and Parker on the other, and Kelly (she spent a couple of nights)  on the pull out couch.

We went over to Kelly’s the first night and had Thai food ordered in Yummers!! Since Kate and Parker were on east coast time, their bio clock was all messed up. They were tired. We were tired, so we went back to Embassy and called it a night.  Saturday was mostly chill. Took advantage of the complementary breakfast downstairs and spent most of the morning just hanging with Parker and Kate and Kelly. We went for a drive in the afternoon and ended up on Hollywood Blvd.  Got a great parking spot and walked up and down checking out all the starts on the walk of fame.  There were plenty of stars where we were saying “who is that?”.  Kate wanted to find the John Wayne star and send the picture to Frank. Theres an App for that! Kelly found out it was a couple blocks down on Vine. Along the way we checked out all the people, both that were tourists like us but also all the “street” people.  dozens of “characters” in every concievable costume you can imagine.  I think I saw 2 or 3 spidermans.  There were also plenty of musicians and dancers on the street all looking for “donations”. 

Sunday we hooked up with Matt Flaherty. Kelly and Matt had made the plan. Party at Matt’s place in Santa Monica. Turns out Matt has quite the place in Santa Monica. He and his buddies are renting a place right on the beach, just a rock throw from the Santa Monica pier.  It was a great time. We met Matt’s room mates and his girlfriend Katie. All great people. Deli sandwiches for lunch and great bbq for dinner.  It was so great to see Matt. He is doing well and we are very proud of him. It was also a cool day because it was the NEXT generation of Flahertys that put together the party. Way to go Kelly and Matt.

Monday was a down day. Hung out at the hotel most of the day. Went swimming and basically played with Parker all day. It was Parker’s first time in a swimming pool and he did great!!  He loved the water and was playing around and happy the whole time. Parker is happy and healthy and growing bigger, stonger and smarter every day.  Can’t get enough of that kid!!

Tuesday was get away day. Packed our stuff and dropped Kate and Parker at LAX just after breakfast. We hit the road soon there after. The end to a great Great GREAT vacation.

CHECK OUT THE PICS BY CLICKING HERE!!

This vacation couldn’t come soon enough. It had been 5 months since we saw our grandson and we were getting Parker fever! We need some Parker in our lives. He had reservations on a red eye flight out of SFO on Feb 13th.  Kelly was also going and red eyeing it from LAX.  We met up in the ATL (Atlanta) and flew together to Jacksonville NC.  No problems with the flight there other than almost missing our flight to Jacksonville. They changed the gate and for whatever reason we didn’t hear it so we had to hightail it to another terminal and get on right when they were closing the flight. Whew!

Either way, we arrived in Jacksonville as scheduled and started our week of Parker time. Kate, Frank and Parker met us at the airport and we all headed to their house together. To say that Parker has grown in the last 5 months is an understatement. When we last saw him in September, he was a small little two month old bundle of joy who (if we were lucky and coaxed him enough) would give us that precious little smile. Today he is a strapping young 7 month old who is crawling, standing, jabbering, and giving you that smile that mealts your heart.

 I wish we could say that we did a lot of different things on our vacation, but all we really wanted to do was spend some quality time with Parker. Oh, and Kate and Frank too! Frank actually got some leave while we were there so we really did get to spend time with everyone. It was so great.

The plan was to go out to dinner for my birthday, but who knew that EVERY Marine in Jacksonville would be taking wives, girlfriends, husbands out for a Valentines dinner. It was crowded everywhere but we ended up having a nice meal at Chili’s. Can never go wrong with a rib eye steak.

I’m proud to say that most of the rest of the vacation was dedicated to Parker. Holding Parker,  talking to Parker, playing with Parker, helping Parker stand and balance, feeding Parker, changing Parker (ok not me but everyone else). Parker Parker Parker!!  Along with every activity also included taking pictures and video. I tell ya, this kid must have felt like a Hollywood kid with the Flaherty paparazzi always around. Mostly I enjoyed just watching Parker be Parker. Like I said he is seven months old and just starting to become aware. He will be playing on the floor or in his swing and all of a sudden will notice his hand. Then he will spend a few minutes just looking at his hand, moving his fingers, back and front. He seems just facinated by his own hand. Too damn cute!!.

Kate and Frank have a new dog, Simon, that we also got to know. A beautiful lab mix rescue dog that needs lots of love and time to become a real dog again.  Simon is a great dog who is only going to get better, better with the Lee family love and support.  GOOD DOG SIMON!

Kate and Frank also have chickens. Five hens out in the backyard in a coop that Frank built, and six little chicks in the house in their own little indoor coop (first a big bucket tub then a dog kennel when they started to escape). They are getting 3-4 eggs a day from the hens out back.

During Christmas, when we knew we were coming to visit in February, we decided to hold off on exchanging gifts and instead do it when we were all together.  We packed a whole other suitcase with Christmas presents (and clothes for Parker) and had a nice little family Christmas in February. It really   felt  like Christmas on the next night because it SNOWED!  Here we thought we would get some nice “southern” weather while we were there but instead got a freak snow storm. It was still cool. Of course we were excited and even built a mini snowman and had a short (because that snow is cold!!) backyard snowball fight.

In the Christmas tradition, we made enchiladas one night while we were there. Not a multi dozen batch like usual, just a pan of corn and a pan of flour tortilla. They turned out great and were devoured that night and the next day.

Kate and Frank took Kelly to the shooting range one day, but not before getting some pointers out in the backyard. Kelly turned out to be a pretty good shot. Barb even took a try and did good as well. Another time the three (Kelly, kate and Frank) of them went to a party at some Sargents house. When they were all gone it was true Parker time with Gramma and Grandpa.  We were happy Kate and Frank could get out of the house and enjoy some time with Kelly.  Frank is such a great guy and its good to see him getting closer to Kelly. I’m proud to have him as part of our family.

The weather wasn’t that great while we were there but who cares? We weren’t there to lay on the beach and go golfing.  We did manage to get to the coast once so Kelly could at least see the Atlantic Ocean. We went over to Swansboro one day to get some apple fritters at a place where everyone on YELP was raving about. They were great!

I cooked some while I was there.  Made chicken wings one night, gluten free pancakes one morning for breakfast,  gluten free breaded chicken another night, and of course the enchiladas, where everyone participated.

Before we knew it, time was running out on our vacation and it was our last day. We stopped at Camp Geiger on the way to the airport to visit the chapel that Kate and Frank got married at and to show Kelly where Kate and Frank had met. It was hard to say good bye.  Kate, Frank and Parker make such a wonderful family.  They are truly in love and they care for and love our grandson just like we knew they would. We couldn’t be happier or more proud. We know that only the best is ahead for the Lee family.

So we said our goodbye and flew with Kelly to Atlanta, then said goodbye to her as she flew back to LAX. 20 minutes later we were on our flight back to SFO.   

I know I have a lot of catching up to do as far as posting goes, but what better way than to post about one of the BEST vacations ever.

Kate Frank and Parker arrived as SFO on 9/11. We got to spend a few quiet days at home before we all packed up and headed to Lake Tahoe for a week. Did manage a Mission Peak hike and Coyote Hills bike ride with Frank before we headed to the Sierras.   For Barb and I the vacation was all about spending some quality time with our new grandson, and that’s what we pretty much ended up doing.  Friday the 14th we drop the dogs with Marie and Ron (we owe you so much!!) and arrive at Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort at check in time. Nice, newly remodeled room on the 5th floor over looking the pool, courtyard and Lake. I like it! Only problem (and not to me, I thought it was cool) was that they were doing a major remodel on one section of the resort, so they had the courtyard blocked off and heavy equipment replaced the BBQ pits and common areas. We got to spend the days watching the workers put up new siding and roofing. I thought it was cool.

Barb and I went to Reno airport Friday night to pick up Kelly. YAY for family vacations!  Team Downing came up for the weekend. Staci and Colin came for a few days.  Kate had a girlfriend come up for a night and Frank had a buddy and his wife come for a couple of nights as well. My sister and Joe were staying at the Keys, it was an action packed (not so much) family and friend filled (yes!) fun times.

Saturday morning did a mamoth grocery shopping trip to stock up for the week, then settled in for vacation. Anne Marie and Joe had rented a house in Tahoe Keys for a week. They invited all of us over to have lunch, enjoy the view from the water front home, and watch some college football and MLB.  It was so nice to spend some quiet time with family and friends in such a peaceful and scenic place. Thanks for the invite sis!!

Sunday morning was time for a good bike ride. Frank and I headed to Team Downing’s house where we saddled up and headed via the keys to Fallen Leaf Lake, then further up to Lily lake. A nice, high altitude 26 miler to kick off our Tahoe vacation!  On the way back down from Lily Lake, Michelle wanted to show us the Fallen Leaf Lake Chapel. Lucky for us, Services were just wrapping up so we got a little spiritual nudge and got to meet and mingle with some nice people that attended the service. Great ride!!

At some point on Sunday everyone left to do things and it was just Barb and I along with Colin and Parker. Total grandparent time. Had tons of fun building a blanket fort in the room with Colin. Even took him for a swim downstairs, which ended abruptly when he later saw his mom waving at us from the balcony of our room. Another time Colin and I took a walk over to Ski Run Marina and shared a fantascially refreshing watermelon sorbet. We are both hooked on them now! He still has a little on his chin in this picture.

Sunday night Staci made some awesome spaghetti (squash and regular pasta)  with a three meat sauce! Bacon, sausage and ground beef. Best I ever had!!! One morning Kelly made some great breakfast biscuits. Then tuesday Frank made his famous chili. This after drinking 3+ “rock hard” Wet Woodys at the Riva Grill across the way.  Needless to say, we ate good while we were in Tahoe.

The rest of our week is a bit of a blur, only because we mostly just hung around the resort reconnecting with family. It was nice to spend some time with Parker. We watched him sleep, talked to him when he was awake, held him, fed him, changed him (ok that was all Barb) gave him baths. He is a great baby! Kate and Frank are great parents. Barb is a great grandma!  We encouraged everyone to go do whatever they wanted.  We got  the grandkids!

The vibe up at Tahoe was different than when we normally come up. For the last many years, we would come up on 4th of July week. The busiest summer week of the year. Last year it was August. This year it was middle of September and pertty much empty. Zero kids (all back in school) and pretty much all older folks and couples. I like the quiet. The weather was great. Nice during the day and chilled down nicely at night. We blew the conch at sunset every night.

Thursday morning we packed up and headed home. Took a detour down highway 99 so Frank could check out the Bass Pro Shop super store in Manteca. An outdoor lovers dream come true. He, Kate and Kelly wandered around in there for an hour or so while we watched (fed, changed) Parker in the car. Then it was over to Marie and Ron’s to pick up the dogs. They not only watched our dogs but treated us to pizza dinner too! And then home.

Had a couple more days of family time. Took Kelly and Frank on my normal saturday 8am bike ride with the boys. I was happy to bring them along and show them all the fun we have on our rides. Also took Frank on a couple more rides before they left. He and I did 92 miles on the bike and a Mission Peak hike while on vacation.

We (sadly) dropped Kelly off at the airport on Sunday. I too went back to work on Monday, but Kate and Frank had one more thing on their agenda. They both went skydiving in Watsonville! It started out as a surprise for Frank (we was surprised and VERY excited) ended up being a jump for both of them. Needless to say they both came home very excited to share the experience with us. They want to add skydivng to the list of things they do when they come to visit. Have at it I say. We’ll watch Parker.

All in all one of my most favorite vacations.

Tuesday morning it was 0345hrs wake-up call. Kate, Frank and Parker had a 6am flight out of SFO. We were back home by 5:15am and they were home in North Carolina around 8 hours later.

Click here for a link to the vacation pictures.

Click here to watch the videos!

Like any trip that has been on the calendar a while, this one was a long time coming. We knew that we wanted to see Kate (and Frank) while she was pregnant. Just something about our baby having a baby that we needed to see her for ourselves.  We booked our trip to arrive on saturday afternoon and leave the following Sunday. Reminder to self: NEVER BOOK A FLIGHT AGAIN WITH TWO LAY OVERS.  We took a red-eye from SFO to Cincinnati, then flew to Atlanta, then the final hop to Jacksonville North Carolina. Just about 12 hours of travel time. UGH!

I should mention that we brought almost 100 pounds of baby clothes with us for Parker James Lee. Staci had a bunch of Colin’s baby clothes in all sizes that he had grown out of already. She vacuum packed them and put them in BIG suitcases. We did preliminary weighing at home to ensure we were under 50 pounds. We each had “one bag fly free” deal through Delta. When we got to the airport one bag weighed 49 pounds and the other 51 pounds.  The porter said is was close enough and checked our bags through! WOOHOO!!

We landed in NC and were picked up by Kate and Frank at the airport. YAY!!! Family!! So so SO good to see them. Even with all the phone calls, skypes, facebook posts, texts and emails, there is just something about being able to hold your kids. It had been way too long, almost 8 months, since we saw them last in Tahoe. After hugs all around, rub that pregnant belly and it was back to the house.

At this point we told Kate that one of our bags was sent to Wilmington Airport by mistake and that we would have to drive there (1 hour away) later to get it. Little did Kate know that she was in for a surprise. It wasn’t a piece of luggage we were picking up, it was Staci and Colin!  So Kate and I did the drive to Wilmington and Kate was surprised!! Check out the video here.

Now that everyone was together, it was time to VACATION!!   We didn’t have much planned other than baby/nesting stuff anyway. It was all about getting the house ready for baby, surrounded by the girls shopping, cleaning and doing girl stuff.  Having Colin around the house was great.  Good to see what a great Dad Frank will be. He and Colin bonded.  Frank even rocked Colin to sleep a couple of nights!  It was actually going to be a working vacation for me. I brought my laptop and logged plenty of hours while I was there. Frank was working too. Busting his ass doing MARSOC prep.  Frank only had Sunday off, and we were all worn out from our travel day on Saturday, so it was a somewhat lazy day around the house. Frank  smoked a pork shoulder and we had it for dinner.  I think Barb did a little cleaning and Staci did a little “Colin proofing” around the house.

The dogs were sure happy to see us!  Moose and Bandit are as about as big and strong as dogs can be. Moose is a Bull Mastiff pup who’s wagging tail could be considered a deadly weapon. Bandit (who we met when he was just a pup) has grown into a sturdy grown Pit.  Both good dogs. They are best of friends and have a good time together. But when these two start playing rough, you’d better get out of the way! Check out this video of Moose playing with a new toy that Barb got him. He’s loving it!

For me it was a real relaxing week.  I was up early ( 7am EDT/4am PDT) and got a good head start on the work day. I set up office in the dining room.  I did my work while the Girls were out or doing stuff around the house.  We did get to hit the beach one day and were also able to sample some of the local eating establishments along the way. But mostly it was just taking it easy time around the house. Except for Barb, who I think ended up cleaning the entire house top to bottom.

We said goodbye to Staci and Colin on Wednesday then spent the rest of the week around the house. Although the girls were in and out running errands and shop-shop-shopping,  We rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned carpets one day.  That was fun.  Got Parker’s room ready. We were looking for a dresser and ended up getting some really cool “modular” furniture at Target that not only works out great, it also matches the decor of the room and rest of furniture.   We did spend plenty of time feeling Kate’s belly for signs of Parker squirming around in there.  So amazing to realize that our grandson is in Kate’s belly!!

The weather was great the whole time we were there. A little humid during the day but not unbearable. Our day at the beach was great. Sunny and warm (warm water too!) with just a Little wind. The night before we left, a SEVERE thunderstorm blew through. lasting only a few hours, the rain , wind , thunder and lightning was INCREDIBLE!!  We opened the back door (it was still warm outside) and enjoyed mother natures fury from the comfort of the couch.

Sunday rolled around and it was time to say goodbye. Kate drove us to the airport and we flew from Jacksonville to Atlanta to Salt Lake City to San Francisco. John and Michelle picked us up at the airport and drove us home. They also watched the house and took in our mail while we were gone. We put our bags in the house then high tailed it to Marie and Ron’s to pick up the dogs. They were kind enough to watch Mali and Bruno for us.  Then back to home sweet home to sleep in our own bed. Ahhhhhh. Great vacation!

So Kate and Frank came for a visit.  The plan in place and reservations made months ago.  Arrive August 11, spend August 12-19th in Tahoe and say goodbye on Sunday the 21st. A mini whirlwind with a little Tahoe relax time in between. We picked Sammy Sturm up at her house and went to pick up Kate and Frank at the airport.  Hugs and kisses all around and into the car for a drive to the city. Kate and Sam have a tradition of going to Pier 39 to get pearls from some shop on the pier. It also gave us a chance to show Frank just a little bit of the city. Before heading into the city though, we stopped at Joe’s of Westlake for a little lunch.   The wharf was good…. the fog was in.. saw the seals… looked at Alcatraz across the way, and waited for the girls to do whatever it is girls do. Oh, one thing they do is go to the hat store and try on hats. Fun stuff eh? Just like old times.  Drove down Lombard street,  through the Marina and onto the Golden Gate Bridge. Took the “long way” home over the Richmond bridge and down the eastshore freeway.  Shortly after we got home Kelly arrived from Pasadena, so we were all set for a Tahoe family vacation, this time with our new son in law. Not sure Frank knew what he was getting into marrying into clan Flaherty, but he would find out soon enough.

Friday was travel day. Dropped Mali and Bruno off at Matuszak’s house (thank you Ashley for watching our doggies!) and picked up Ron and Marie for a 4 car caravan to Tahoe! Arrived in south shore right at check in time. Got a great room on the 5th floor facing the lake.  Since Kate and Frank were newlyweds and had just celebrated their one year anniversary, we decided to give them the master suite. We would sleep in the studio with Kelly (and a Camello one night)  for two nights then move to our own place at the Stardust.  

Saturday we had a little party on the beach.  Fun in the sun with friends and family.  The planning and prep all came together and we were able  to have a great time introducing Frank to Kate’s family and friends.  We are blessed to have such a fine young man come into Kate’s and our lives.  Thanks to everyone who made the day so special. Thanks to my bro John for taking some pictures of the day.

We lucked out with the weather all week.  I think the high was 81 everyday. No afternoon thunderstorms.  We did get an overnight low of 37 one morning, so it was true alpine summer experience.

Sunday we said goodbye to almost everyone and settled in for the week. Team Downing stuck around for awhile (it was Michelle’s birthday) so we did get to spend some quality time with them. Bloody marys for breakfast and a walk to state line for brunch and “shopping”.  We checked into our place at the Stardust. We got a great, remodeled room, so we were very happy. I think I like the Stardust even more than the Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort!

  Everything from here on is sort of a blur. Blame it on the jack, the stoli, or the bud(weiser), or the fact that I was in vacation mode and we really weren’t doing much more than relaxing and enjoying each others company.  It was a time for Frank to get to know the Flaherty family and for us to get to know him a little better.  I think I was able to provide some good info on what it takes to survive living with a Flaherty woman. : ).  Like I told Frank, the first 25 years are the hardest.

Monday was massage day. Kate  had scheduled couples massages for us. I really liked my massage but Barb was a little disappointed. But a massage is a massage and in the end its all good.  Kelly made us dinner. Steak, mashed potato, salad and bruschetta!  YUM!  Finally getting into the Tahoe groove. 

Tuesday we went white water rafting down the Truckee river. This is the 3rd time we’ve done this and it’s always a blast. Barb sat out this trip because her shoulder was still giving her problems, so it was just Kate, Frank, Kelly and I to take on the mighty Truckee River.  Having a couple of Marines paddling made the trip down the river a piece of cake. We survived all the rapids and our guide said we were one of his best crews ever.  Kelly wanted to “family” gamble at  the casinos before she left so we went and had dinner at the Lakeside Inn, then went to Harvey’s to try our luck. We wanted to play blackjack and all table were $10 minimum bet, so our stay at the blackjack table only lasted a few hands. The girls did have some fun playing the penny (max bet $2) slots with their mom.

Wednesday Kelly said goodbye.  It was Wet Woody Wednesday at the Riva Grill. Half price for the strongest drink on the lake. I don’t remember much after the second one. I do remember that Frank had four! Thursday morning I met Frank and we went for a little early morning  bike ride. We cruised 13 miles out to Fallen Leaf Lake.  Thanks to John Downing,  I took Frank on the  same ride he took me on last year. First to the north side of Fallen Leaf lake, then up (hill) to the south side and the waterfall that cascades into the lake. It was nice to spend some quality time with Frank.  Thursday afternoon we went on the Tahoe Queen out to Emerald Bay. What I thought would be a touristy ripoff was actually pretty fun. The captain filled us in on all the history and folklore of the lake and surrounding area.  Great idea Kate!  Since this was our last day/night in town, we were packing up and eating everything in the fridge in preparation for our Friday morning departure. GOOD BYE TAHOE!!

Friday we left early so we could stop at Auntie Diane’s on the way home. Kate really wanted to show Frank the ranch and introduce him to the rest of the Flahertys. As always, we had a great time visiting.  Diane prepared some great food for us. Frank and Diane bonded immediatly and talked a lot about horses, ranching, rodeo and their mutual love and respect for President Obama (not).  A great way to wrap up our Tahoe vacation.   We pulled into our house right around sunset.  Unpacked and crashed out.

We did have plans on saturday and sunday but we pretty much just took it easy. Kate and Frank went to visit friends. Sunday afternoon we went to Steve and Vicky’s for a farewell BBQ and then it was off to SFO to say goodbye to Kate and Frank.

Check out the pics here!

We got Video too. Click here!

The  morning’s papers, hockey purists,  and all the sports talk radio guys are calling the Sharks / Red Wings series one of the best in NHL history.

 Up 3 games to none,   it looked like the Sharks would cruise into the next round.  Detroit battled back to even the series and force the nerve racking, heart pounding game 7 at the tank last night. We had already been to game 5 of the series, a mother’s day game where we were hoping to see the Sharks close out the series and move on. Turned out to be a disappointment as our boys lost a 4-3 heart breaker. Another loss in Detroit on  Day before yesterday I got an email at work saying that I had won two tickets to game seven.   Hp has an employee lottery for a limited number of tickets at the HP Pavilion. I’ve won tickets in the past to regular season games, but have never been lucky enough to score some playoff freebies. Needless to say, we were stoked! As luck would have it though, Barb wasn’t feeling it so she offered her golden ticket to John Downing, who hadn’t been to a hockey game since 1972.

We headed to San Jose early enough to do some serious game prep.  A little tail gate time, then a short walk to Henry’s Hi Life for a quick one before heading to the tank. Needless to say, Henry’s was the place to be for pre-game festivities. When we first opened the door it looked like sardine city in there, but we quickly and deftly made our way in and and looked for an opening to the bar.  The energy in the place was incredible. After our quick one we were outta there and on our way to the tank.  Picked up our complimentary rally towel at the door and….let the game begin!!

Needless to say, the game 7 win was one of the most exciting (and LOUD) games I’ve ever been at.