Sunny Sunol in Springtime

Backpacks, Check!

Hi all,

We are just back from a fun overnight backpacking trip with Tom to the Sunol Regional Wilderness! The kids' first backpacking trip, and we think it was a success (i.e. the kids will do it again with us - Yay!).

We started the hike after Carson's baseball game - we drove over to the trailhead, which was about 40 minutes from Mountain View. The hike in was about 3 miles, mostly along fire roads and the beautiful rushing Alameda creek canyon. We stopped for a snack at Little Yosemite, which is a small boulder-filled gorge which really doesn't do justice to its name.



Eagles' Aerie at 1500' Elevation



Then up the steep incline to the campsite, at about 1500 feet in elevation. I was testing the new backpack, and it worked great. The kids wore their own school backpacks, but instead of books they carried their sleeping bags and clothes.  Tom used my old backpacking tent and my day pack, which worked out fine.

The campsite itself had a beautiful view of the canyon and ridges up towards Mt. Rose at 3800'. Hawks circled in the thermals, and we passed a flock of wild turkeys gobbling on the way.



Go Fish in the Tent



Later that night, after a meal of pasta and homemade brownies for dessert, we played Go Fish in the warm tent until we got tired and went to sleep. An owl hooted outside the tent, which the kids found very cool.





The girls - Ruby, Maggie, and Maggie



The next day we met our neighbors, each having daughters Maggie's age, and one even named Maggie! They were instant friends, pretty much, sharing pop tarts on the rocks. 



The wildflowers are in full bloom at the moment too, lots of poppies, lupines, and yellow daisies. 




Spring Wildflowers























Found the Cache!



We then went Geo-caching, in search of nearby treasure - we found it after some searching, and added our names to the registry. There being somewhat not-so-desirable booty in it, the kids decided to save their contributions until the next time. But it's always fun looking for buried treasure!



Back from Sky Camp



Back to camp to pack up the tents and head down to the valley along the McCorkle trail, with beautiful views over the peaks and meadows.



Tom's Backpack



Lunch break at W Scramble



We stopped for lunch along one of the many still-rushing creeks and replenished the water supplies.



Mt Rose and the ladies



Hiking boots have had it!



By the time we reached the valley, we were pretty much all tuckered out, and Annett and my hiking boots had nearly disintegrated! We hadn't used them for at least 5 years and the rubber soles had essentially broken down. Thank goodness they held together until we reached the parking lot...now to convince REI to fix them :-)

Anyway, this was one of the "experience gifts" we gave Tom at Christmas, and I think he even had a pretty good time! Carson was a trooper, the first one back to the car, and Maggie even made it almost the entire way with her pack on her back (Papa helped a teeny bit).

Now for Yosemite! Carson said "I can't wait to climb Half Dome!"......

OK take care all and enjoy the spring time!





Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Carson getting the signal from the coach in today's game

Hi all,

Well we've transitioned rapidly from winter to spring, from skiing to baseball! For our European friends, we'll have to do a separate tutorial on baseball when you come to visit us :-)

Running evaluation in Feb

 The season started out with evaluations in February, and Carson spent a couple of hours fielding, running, and hitting while being evaluated by the coaches. Then the season began with some practices and clinics run by the league.

Warming up for hitting evaluation

Fielding Clinic

At first, Carson was anxious about going - "too competitive", he said. He's used to being the best footballer and hasn't really played baseball in over two years. But after the games this week he's fired up.

Carson ready to take the pitch

Carson started this week with a couple of games with his team, the Mountain View / Los Altos A's. He's played a couple of positions so far, including third base, center field, left field, and the last couple of games he's been catcher.

Batter up!

Getting ready in the dugout

So far the games have gone well - they have won both of them. I got to score today's game using the baseball shorthand...yikes! Never done that before and only screwed up really bad twice...But we got the score right which I guess is what really matters. That and the pitching count, since the kids are only allowed a certain number of pitches to avoid injury.

The team lining up to be introduced

Most of the games are played at the local elementary school Huff, about half a mile from our house. Maybe 10 parents and siblings come out to watch, so there's a bit of cheering but more advice from coaches than anything else.

Post-game wrap-up

Coach Bice always takes extra time to review the games with the kids, complimenting them on their strengths. The coaches are all volunteer so we're fortunate to have Coach Bice since he's very dedicated and has lots of experience...and doesn't tolerate the kids fooling around!

Looks like Coach Bice is more nervous than Carson on third base!

Today the A's beat the Indians 15 to 10, Carson had an RBI single and was on base a couple of more times after walks, got several stolen bases, but unfortunately didn't end up scoring a run. Andrew Bice (coach's son) had the highlight with a Grand Slam with bases loaded! Didn't get that on camera though, since I was too worried trying to figure out how to score that on the score sheet!

Anyway, we had a great day and Carson now can't wait for the next game on Saturday!