Sunday, September 16, 2012

O Barbara, Where Art Thou?

Sunday Sept 16, 2012  San Francisco to Santa Cruz California

After a fun filled rest day in San Francisco we were back on the road today. On our day off, Mark and I walked to Union Square and then down to Ghirardelli Square. That's a picture of me eating a hot fudge sundae...for BREAKFAST. Yeah, that's right. Breakfast. And, just to be clear, I'd do it again tomorrow if I could. Outrageously delicious. Technically, since we ate it at 10:45, it was more brunch than breakfast, but either way it was good! Look how happy I am. Happy happy happy. Then we met up with his first boss Esther Lem who lives in Palo Alto.  It was great to see her and catch up after so many years. In a weird coincidence she has hired several interns from Colgate, some of whom have known both our daughter Samantha and son Adam. Small world, isn't it? Then it was on to Dim Sum (we were in Chinese food withdrawal). I don't look happy eating the dim sum, but I was. I was just tired of Mark taking pictures of me. Dim sum was goooooooooood.

Then we went out on the BART to the southeast part of the Bay area to see Mark's cousins in Danville – Stephanie and Adam Tennant and their kids.  It was a real treat for us to get to see Clayton, Hailey, and Bo and just to hang out and do something normal.  Mark got to watch ace ballplayer Clayton at his baseball practice and then Mark tried to jinx Clayton's love of the Oakland A's (Clayton went to the A's game last night). Hailey just got her braces off and looks amazing, plus she is adorable and quite funny.We especially loved hearing the Mom/daughter banter between her and Stephanie. We taught Bo to repeat the famous line from the movie Psycho that "...a boy's best friend is his mother...". That made us all laugh. After dinner with the Tennant's it was back on the BART to San Francisco and bed.  Here are some pictures Mark took of me yesterday:







The title of today's blog refers to my new friend Barb Soley who rode with us from Astoria to San Francisco.  We said goodbye this morning in San Francisco and I will miss her.  Barb and I rode together a fair bit these last 2 weeks.  She's a really special person and was tons of fun (as is her husband John).  She's smart and capable and inspired me with her riding.  I hope she and John will stay in touch with us and maybe even come to visit us in Toronto. Now that Mark's retired, I am sure we'll do a road trip to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and visit them. O Barbara - Where art thou???

Today I chose to miss the initial 30 miles out of San Francisco (according to the ABB riders, I made the right call – I didn't miss much) and I took a ride in the van.  I understand that the first 30 miles involved a lot of climbing and twists and turns so I was happy to miss that part.  I was joined in the van by Shirley who is nursing a bad knee.  Shirley and her husband Howard (who is also on this ride) did the cross country ride with Mark in 2010. She's a very strong rider and a very nice woman.  I hope she feels better and can ride tomorrow.  I rode the last 61 miles (out of a possible 91, who thinks 61 miles aren't enough?) and there was still plenty of climbing.  Here are my stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/223657608

The ride today mostly meandered along the Pacific coast and the weather was mostly clear and sunny.  What spectacular vistas we had.  Here is a really nice picture Joe took of Mark and I.


After the 2nd SAG, Mark and I rode with Joe and Jeff (2 of the Geldings).  We did a paceline for about 8 miles and I'm proud to say I was able to keep up with them and even lead at the front for about a mile.  Thanks Jeff and Joe for letting me have my moment in the sun.  We passed a really pretty lighthouse and Mark took this picture of me.



We arrived in the town of Santa Cruz which has some beautiful beachfront properties but then when you get into the actual town, it's kind of kitschy; roller coasters, ferris wheels, arcades and a concrete boardwalk.  Mark took some video, I hope these links work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyaO7HrXQWc&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU9RMYtewao&feature=youtu.be

This being Erev Rosh Hashanah, I checked out synagogues in Santa Cruz and considered going but I was too hungry to miss dinner (the service was starting at 6:45).  I guess I'll have a lot to atone for on Yom Kippur next week.  Someone sent this picture to Mark and I thought you might enjoy it.  Wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year.







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