Mariposa Grove and Wagon

Since Bass Lake is right near the southern entrance to Yosemite, when the triathlon was over we took drive in to check things out.  With all our adventures in Yosemite we had never been in this entrance.

First thing we did was go see the giant sequoia trees in the Mariposa Grove.  So impressive!

Then we went into Wawona and saw the covered bridge and the Big Trees Lodge.

On the way home we stopped at the Love Cafe in Oakhurst which is a vegan cafe.  We were so happy!

Bass Lake Triathalon

Heading out at 6 am

Grace decided a few months ago to do a triathlon and signed up for one in Bass Lake, which is right near the Southern entrance to Yosemite.  We drove down on Friday and stayed in a little cottage half a mile from the starting point.  As soon as we got to town, we checked out the whole scene and drove the bike route.

Bike dropped off and waiting for start time

We got up really early and left the cottage at about 6 am to be ready for a 7:09 am start time for her age group.  She was ready in plenty of time so we just watched all the action.

At the swim starting point

This is G with the white, black and teal tank

Done with the swim

She said swimming was the hardest part which we did not expect.  She had trained a lot for this part but the water was cold, which was shocking, and her goggles fogged up.  But she still did well.

Running from the water to the bike transition

Getting dried off and ready to ride

The bike ride was 12 miles and she said she felt really good on it - except her chain fell of twice so she had to fix it.  Other than that, which was user error, she was really happy with her bikes performance.

She ran strong and crossed the finish line a little after 9 am.  She ended up in 7th place for her age group.  Swim was 14 minutes and 35 seconds.  Bike was 1 hour 5 mins and 27 seconds.  Run was 36 minutes and 7 seconds.  For an overall total of 2 hours, 1 minute and 55 seconds.  BAM!

Overall she enjoyed it and will think about doing another one.

K Litter

G and I went to visit the "K" litter and was assigned jobs.  G trimmed all their nails while I weighed them.  There are 9 of them!

Friends

I love to add new friends to my life.  This is CBro - we have been friends for about 4 years through our work.  Unfortunately she moved to Boston to be closer to family so I don't get to see her very often.  But today she was in town and we had breakfast together!  PS - we were known at work as CBro and CFed!

Sam High School Graduation

We had a wonderful visit to EDH for Sam's High School graduation.  We are thrilled to be able to share these milestones with our family and wish Sam success as he heads off to CSU Fullerton!

Herping

We went herping last nite!  That means that we went to collect frogs and tadpoles.  We got 7 tadpoles for my pond and 5 frogs for the front yard.

Leadership

I attended Leadership training at my new employer last week.  It was 3.5 days of intense learning.  It was highly interactive with lots of activities in which we competed for points for correct answers.  The grand prize for the winning team was wireless headphones - our team won!  This is a pic of our team showing our winnings.  Great fun and great for the brain.

Ski Boat

At 23 years old, Drew bought his first boat!  He has wanted a ski boat his whole life and now that he has a great job with a good income it was just first big purchase.  He did all the research about the boat, the loan, insurance and registration on his own.  It was a huge lesson in life and he killed it!  The bonus is that Oakley loves her new boat!

The Labradors did not enjoy being in different boats.  They spent most of the time looking at each other!

Girls Weekend at the Ranch

I went on a girls weekend up to my girlfriend's ranch near Angel's Camp.  We had such a wonderful time hiking, picnicking, shopping in Murphys and just hanging out on her patio.

We went to a winery to pick up 4 Adirondack chairs made out of wine barrels - 2 for Liz and 2 for Linda.

We intended to hike a 4 mile hike above New Melones Lake but when we got to the parking area the lot was covered in broken glass from broken windows and there were a couple of "sketch" guys in the parking lot.  So we adjusted our plan and went to another hike by the boat ramp at New Melones where the car was safe.

Susan, Liz, Linda and me!

Morning on the ranch

Sporty chicks

Me and Susan - friends for 23 years!

Backyard Update

This is a barn star and is supposed to be good luck.

When I was away for girls weekend, I got some new stuff for the yard.  And while gone my new barstools arrived.  I am looking forward to summer in the yard.

Love the new bar stools.   

A heart made from a old wine barrel

From Susan!

Derby Day

Tre celebrated Derby Day in California with a new hat.  She wishes she was in Kentucky with the relatives but made the best of it.

Sassy Mini

I got my windows tinted on the mini so that when I commute in the summer it is not so hot!   The kids think it looks so cool and have wanted it done for years.  But I wasn't going to pay for it unless there was a good reason - and the good reason is to keep me cool since it's my main commute vehicle.