Rookies visit the Big Leaguers

At the beginning of April we brought Drew to Little League Day at the Oakland A's game.

(We're Canyon Creek Little League)

Of our team of 8 Yankee players - only two made it to the game.  Drew and his friend from class (he went to TK with him last year as well).  We took BART and then got right into line for the chalk walk/parade - where you get to walk around the bases.

Last year they were very strict about who could get on the field - I was banished to the stands - but this year they were much more lax, which was great!  I and the other player's Dad were both able to walk the stadium without any issue.

Here we are going down the tunnel into center field... the start of the "parade".

Our Rookies pretending to be in the Bigs.  Our Little League Division is known as the Rookies.

L-R: Drew, Ben

The boys and their Manager

 L-R: Drew, Dave, Ben

The A's played the Mariners... here they are warming up.

Drew was begging players for a ball...

Well one of these players ended up throwing a ball to him, and then some punk ass (excuse me) older kid took the ball right out of Drew's glove and ran off!  Drew chased it down, got on top of it, had it in his glove and the brat went into his glove and pulled it out.  He sat there a minute as if going - hmmm what do I do.  I went up behind him and yelled at the kid telling him Drew had that fair and square - he should give it back.  You can't steal from younger kids (mind you this kid was maybe 10 or 11)... well the little shit ran off!  (pardon me again, but I'm still mad about it).

Dave felt much worse than Drew who got over it in a few minutes.  One of the people who were walking in front of us saw the whole thing and felt terrible for Drew so she gave him a little squishy ball she must've picked up at some giveaway.  Drew was fine.  It actually took a few days for Dave to calm down.

Here are the boys as we're nearing the end of the "parade".

And getting high fives from the A's players...

And we made it to our seats!  The Cubs are photobombing our "team" picture.
He's a boy from our team last year.

I promise Drew's not bulimic... I'm not sure what he's doing here...

And we had great seats yet again! 

We left just before the end of the game.. A's won 6-3.

In Wine We Trust

You're in for a plethora of blogs now that I found my camera :)

At the end of March we ventured out for our 2nd annual Livermore Barrel Tasting weekend.  For the record this is our second year, but the wineries in the area have been doing it for a few years.. we're just a bit slow.  This year Dave and I did the 2 -day event solo... well Drew tagged along for day one and then was rescued by Grammy and GrampC for the second day.

But Drew's a trooper and was very patient with us while we did our tasting.  We started at our Wine Club favorite - Cuda Ridge.  Drew happily played with his workbooks.

While Mom & Dad did some sipping...

Day 1 was a wet one - it was pouring rain!

We managed to make it to a few places...

Dave and Drew were hamming it up in the cellars of Concannon...

Drew is really trying to "Press" his luck at the huge wine press.

Have no fear.. no wine was consumed by any minors....

Our bribe to get Drew to hold out for wine tasting in this capacity (normally we do a few hours then go home) but we stayed at a hotel in Livermore and he got pizza for dinner and was able to swim in the indoor pool.  Shazam!  Grammy and GrampC joined us for the night out and then rescued Drew the next day - taking him to a movie while his lush of parents continued barrel tasting.

It was cool - we tried a few new wineries - one of which is a small winery Caddis.  They were showing off their new wines and we were shocked to see one of our "wine pourer friend Kathy" from another winery pouring at this one.  Turns out his son is making wine under this new label.  It was very good!  But also a bit pricey for us.  We did walk away with one bottle - since our tasting fee pretty much went into it anyway.

A successful barrel tasting weekend completed again!

Game On!

So I've been a slacker with the blog lately because... well I lost my camera over a month ago!  Thankfully it turned up in a random bag of hand me downs that I left at Grammy and GrampC's... so let the blogging resume!

Just a quick note that we're nearing the end of baseball season.  I've not been as diligent with the updates and pictures of this season (see reason in the paragraph above).  But here's a combined update of what I have...


This is a picture from a game in mid-March:

Drew is really working on switch hitting - and funny thing is one of his buddies is trying to be a switch hitter too.  Drew's a great hitter, but he's working on his fielding - mostly from a focus standpoint and being more proactive to go after the ball rather than waiting for it to come to him.

Here are a few pictures from the Mid-Season Celebration which was May 3rd - they don't do "opening day" here instead they have it in the middle of the season.  These pictures are from my cell phone...


The Yankees had 3 of 8 kids show up for "Opening Day"

They introduce each division and team individually.


Our crazy Yankees!


And a panoramic shot of the entire league - I think there are five divisions going from T-ball to Majors (I think that's what they call the older kids)


We have only a two more games left - and I think we're all ready to end the season.  I think the PC way of putting it is that it's just not as much fun as last year for Dave or I (Drew's having a blast).   But we're already looking forward to great things for next year!

A Golden Run

Last month I did one of the coolest, most scenic runs of my racing career.  The 12K Across the Bay.

So according to the race sponsors - my neighbor Julie and I were 2 of 2,500 other racers who ran the 12K (nearly 7 1/2 miles) from Sausalito to Aquatic Park in San Francisco (where you catch the Cable Cars near Ghiradelli Square).

Julie and I waiting for the shuttle to take us from SF to Sausalito.

Our view from the starting line... Looking out near Sausalito.

Then we were off - about a mile in we had spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge - which was socked with fog.

Our selfie attempt near the base of the bridge... before the brutal hill.

The bridge from atop the brutal hill.

A foggy look at the bridge...

What you see when you look over the ledge... (you could hear a barge horn blaring underneath me... you just can't see it - or the water).

Coming down the hill after the bridge - through the Presidio.

From the Presidio looking out toward SF.  There is a dome in the center left - that's the Palace of Fine Arts.

The Palace of Fine Arts up close.  This was about mile 6.

Alcatraz in the distance and fog.

Only 1/2 a mile left!

Looking back toward the bridge and how far we've come!

A better glimpse of Alcatraz.

We finished!  A glimpse of Ghiradelli Square.

The athletes Me - Julie.

I thought this was an amazing run - yes the hills were brutal, but with better training this run could be an annual tradition!  I love runs with a view - and this one lived up to that.

Drew is a Daddy!

Guess what - Drew's a Dad!

I introduce you to Cool Dude (left) and Awesome Guy (right).

We "adopted" them from my coworker. 
The good news - we've had them for a month now and they're still alive! (that would be a new record for me and fish).

St. Paddy's Day - 2014

We couldn't make the annual St. Patrick's Day parade this year, due to an early morning baseball game.  But after the 9:00 start we rushed over to the local festival so we could get into the action before the crowds hit - and we made great time!

We managed to hit all the rides for Drew first thing.  And that's key - to get there before the ride longs are as painful for the adults as they are for the kids.

And we got serenaded by someone playing bagpipes!

After the rides we did our walk through the booths, hit up the library and grabbed a bite to eat.  And we were home by 1pm.  Score!