You know summer has begun when you are constantly checking your email and calendar to make sure you’re not missing out on some live music that evening. Every town has its own series of live music. If you are willing to drive, you can hear it six evenings a week for free, from June to… Continue reading FOMO, YOLO, and YOYO
Category: hiking
Sorry About That
Aileen had a date in her early fifties that neither she, nor the guy will ever forget. They met online. He suggested a hike out to the Black Diamond Mines in Antioch. She agreed, although she wasn’t much of a hiker. During the hike and while climbing in and out of the mine tunnels, Aileen… Continue reading Sorry About That
Mountain Lion
The latest mountain lion attack got me to thinking about how we humans hike, bike, and enter into cougar country and should know what to do in the event that we run into one. The newspaper article today tells about the two mountain bikers in Washington this past weekend that encountered a mountain lion. The… Continue reading Mountain Lion
Interface with Nature
I live in a town that backs up to a gorgeous mountain in the middle of an otherwise flat part of the Bay Area. The hiking here is phenomenal, and the wildlife interfaces with the people whose homes border the state park. Two houses ago, I lived in a faux-gated community where every day there’d… Continue reading Interface with Nature
An Ode to the West Coast
Earthquakes, fires, and mudslides aside, California is an awesome state. You’ve lived at both ends, and it is like leaving one country and entering another. San Diego is warm, sunny, and filled with swaying palm trees. You were only there for 18 months, long enough to visit every beach and experience every tourist attraction. You… Continue reading An Ode to the West Coast
Head in the Clouds Harry
They met at the Appalachian Mountain club, an organization for sporting events in Boston. He was athletic looking with a nice smile. Harry asked Margo to go on a short hike with him in New Hampshire. She agreed to drive separately and meet him at the trailhead since she had a dinner to attend that… Continue reading Head in the Clouds Harry
Annie Oakley Meets Buffalo Bill
Aaron met Katie on Plenty of Fish. She didn’t message him back for months. For their first date, he took her duck hunting. She brought her own gun. He brought a boat and the friend who owned it. The trio didn’t’ talk much because they had to be quiet to get a duck. It was… Continue reading Annie Oakley Meets Buffalo Bill
Grizzly Bear!
In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teenaged kids to Alaska. You stay near the Princess Lodge in a fishing cabin on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s the third week of July, so it doesn’t get completely dark until around midnight. After dinner you suggest a hike in the woods along the Kenai River… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!
Best Summer Camp Ever
My two daughters were Girl Scouts and went to summer day camp at Twin Canyons in Lafayette, two towns over. In order to get them a slot, I volunteered to work the entire week. I did it for eleven years and enjoyed getting to meet every camper there (about 200 each year). I chose the… Continue reading Best Summer Camp Ever
Will You Marry Me?
Holidays can be depressing. When you first wake up and think, Today is Black Friday, but I don’t have anything planned, and I can’t go anywhere, it’s a downer. When you’re a care giver, everything revolves around that. You can’t run to exercise class today, because it’s been cancelled. You can’t go hiking today, even… Continue reading Will You Marry Me?
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 