I miss visiting Portland with Jules. Maybe we should take a trip soon.

Cho siblings at the entrance

Went with the Cho siblings today to Muir Woods and Stinson Beach. The redwoods were as grand as ever, except one which fell recently. It was a big one too. It fell over one of the trails near the entrance so I wonder what they’re going to do with it.

Jules in a redwood

We were pretty touristy and took lots of pictures of the hollowed out redwoods that you can stand in. After the redwoods we traveled north to the Hog Island Oyster Farm where we picked up 50 fresh oysters of various sizes. With seafood in tow we traveled back down to Stinson Beach and spent the rest of the afternoon scarfing down grilled oysters, corn, veggies, potatoes and cheesecake.

We made a mess

After the eats we bore witness to the most people I’ve ever seen on Stinson Beach. But… lame-o me didn’t take a picture of the masses. So this crazy Cho picture will have to suffice.

Crazy Chos

After all of that we drove back to Oakland, freshened up, and then went out to Mangia Bene out in Martinez for some delicious eats. Now I think it’s time for a nap.

The more popular trails to destinations like Yosemite Falls and Half Dome are lined with people, but on this trip Professor Lindow took us to Taft Point and Sentinel Dome which had very few people. For those of you who don’t like to hike very far, both trails are only 1.1 miles from the parking lot. The picture with this post is of Taft Point. From the edge there is a wonderful view the valley including Yosemite Falls and El Capitan. Apparently there’s a pretty good view if you look straight down too, but I didn’t get that close enough to the edge to look over. It made me queasy just seeing other people do it. It pretty much drops off to the valley floor.

Hiking around Yosemite made me want to take an extended backpacking trip. I’ve pretty much decided on going back to Desolation Wilderness. I went there for a trip once as a Boy Scout and I think about due for another one. I’m thinking late July or August. I can get Jules ready by then right?

Click it for a larger version.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather.

On Sunday we went back for a couple of hours and walked the floor in costume for a short period. I have to say that the reaction people have toward the costumes is addictive. Everybody at least smiles when they see us and a lot of people want to take pictures with us. At sound points we would have a little group surrounding us with cameras. A few people has us pose in their booths and one website “interviewed” us. Most of the people knew who we were. I was surprised that both adults and children recognized us. Some, however, thought Stan (in blue) was the cookie monster.

The whole thing was very fun and addicting. If Jules and I didn’t have to make it back for a Joshua Bell concert I’m sure we would have walked the floor for a couple more hours. Yip yip yip.

Update: Stan posted the pictures at flickr. And here’s a video someone took of us backstage.

I wonder if he does his own bike work.

I told my mom over the weekend that starting very soon I won’t be working in the city anymore. I’m going to triple my commute time and start working in the South Bay. So she asked if I knew the Monty Python song “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.” I said it seemed familiar. Yesterday I went out and saw her again. This time she had the Monty Python album for me.

She just had her 60th birthday last week on Monday. It’s not something I think about very often, how old my mom is. But when I do it’s very strange for me. Sixty seems so old in my head but when I look at her I see a peppy little lady. She made me a sandwich when I was home. I miss her sandwiches.