Honeymoon Series: Snippets from Day 8

Day eight began with a nature video, of course! Our turkey spotting occurred on our way to breakfast at the Bovine.



After some scones and coffee, we packed our lunches and made a plan to hike up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais!

At the start:


Views from the peak:


Reflections and jokes on the way down:


And, then, on a completely different note, an impromptu visit to my old stomping ground, Slide Ranch. Many of the same goats and sheep were still there! As was my little old trailer, The Turtle.






Meet the goats!
Fiona:


Klezmer and Bata!

Honeymoon Series: Snippets from Day 7

This was one of the most memorable days of our honeymoon adventure. It all began with some nature videos:
First, a lurking morning visitor:



Nature video 2:
Conversation regarding Mike Vasich's recent discovery:
Me: What Would Carol Vasich Do?
Mike responds: What Would Milt Vasich Do?



"It's all about comfort...no regrets."



Man, what I would've done for a pair of wool socks. 3rd confrontation with poison oak that day. I was doomed. That said, Mike seemed to possess the greatest sense of doom as we hiked through private property due to getting completely lost. He claims that he was "trying to keep it real," but I think he really had this image of some crazy land owner from the boonies attacking us with a shotgun...I kept reminding him that we were in northern California...but he would hear none of it!



Lunch break, "a mile or two from our destination...only 20 minutes away..."



Hours later...



I did get poison oak.

Honeymoon Series: Snippets from Day 6

On Day 6, we decided to take a long hike out to the Point of Tomales Bay and the ocean. A day that started sunny and warm in the valley turned into a mighty fog along the coast. The highlight for Mike was definitely the Tule Elk. I wasn't as impressed. We also had our second run in with poison oak. The path went from very wide and paved to NO PATH...only brambles. My legs were not very happy. Mike sympathized.




Mike loved the Tule Elk:

2 more videos from apple picking!

For your viewing (and tasting) pleasure...

Mike on the apple growing industry:



Molly on apples that taste like bananas:

Recap of Parent Weekends - Sept. and Oct.

The last weekend in September was spent in Cleveland Ohio visiting the McCarthy parents! It was a union of friends, family, and musicians! Orange Mighty Trio began their short fall tour in Cleveland with a gig at John Carroll University, an evening gig at Barking Spider (a very spiffy bar and music space in a converted carriage house), an impromptu show for the residents at Grandpa Len's assisted living home, and a house concert at the McCarthy's! With all this on the calendar, I couldn't resist making a quick trip to join in the fun.

Additional highlights of the weekend include a trip to West End Farmer's Market, a John Carroll football game, visiting with Grandpa Len and checking out boxes of his old photographs and letters, and running through the Shaker Heights neighborhoods! Here's a couple short vids:





The following weekend, back in Minneapolis, the Vasich parents made the trek to the cities! Saturday was apple picking, buying fall pumpkins and other goodies, walks through the woods, and dinner at Punch Pizza.




Sunday morning was an early one- I had the Medtronic 10 mile race at 7 am!


In good spirits thanks in part to a hot cup of coffee, Carol, Milt, and Mike came out to cheer and support me!




It ended up being perhaps my best race of the 2010 season- 8:08 pace average with a 1:21:09 finish. I couldn't have been happier. The morning was absolutely gorgeous- fog rising off of the Mississippi River and the sunlight beaming down on the runners as we cruised up Summit Ave. It was quite a treat to have the Vasich family out on the course! Mike is really quite an elite marathon fan, and now Carol and Milt know the ropes for future races!