March 2019

07 July 2014

I love the summer months in Idaho. The weather is comfortable and warm. I fired up the hot tub and in the mornings I can sit outside at dawn and feel the warm air sitting there listening to the birds amp up the morning.

The 4^th of July is how every year we begin celebrating the summer. Dawn had just got back from the funeral of her mother-in-law (Marie Hoper). The funeral was held in Duchane, Uath. Monica and Roxy attended the funeral meeting Dawn in SLC and traveling together she had this crazy idea of bringing Roxy back with her. So we have enjoyed this 16 month old in our home.

In a week Adam Mariner, Roxy’s father, brought her brother Burton to stay with us until the 17^th of July when their parents flew up to take them home. Kids! Little kids are lots of work. We did have fun each day playing in the water and many times to the park swings. There was lots of bonding time.

I continued to train for the 10K in Santa Cruz. On Tuesday evening just before the concert in the park on the Green Belt, I would jog around the river and Freeman Park. Dawn joined me for the 6.2 miles of trail, so I knew we could complete the run.

Then on the 23^rd of July we drove to SLC to catch the Amtrak to Colfax, CA. The train was 3 hours delayed so then we got to Colfax, CA Robyn was waiting an extra hour beyond the delay because we were behind a slow moving freight train. Fortunately, we drove to Capitola to pick up Wayne just shortly after he got of work.

I was so glad Robyn drove through all the heavy traffic and winding roads to Santa Cruz. Ben and Sage had been there since early afternoon. Larry and Ashley Vetty arrived and so we had a wonderful dinner that evening. Ben cooked fish and shrimp boil with corn on the cob.

The next day we spent at the beach while Wayne and Kesler surfed at 4 mile beach. Robyn, Dawn and I rode the mountain bikes from the residence above Santa Cruz to the beach some 10 miles away.

Well, it finally arrived, the day we had been waiting for over a year. Parking a couple of miles away Wayne, Robyn, Dawn and I walked to the Boardwalk to get ready for the 10K. We were in section 3 behind the 1 and 2 front runner groups (much faster) than we. Behind us was section 4 and Dawn and Ashley were joined in that group. After what seemed a lengthy time at 8:00 am the first group raced off then minutes later group 2 and finally group three. There were nearly 20,000 runners so the mass moved rather slowly. For the first two miles I followed Robyn and Wayne through the crowd passing the walkers and slow runners. Then Wayne took off and I followed with Robyn behind me. We passed over 40 bands playing and encouraging us along.

The finish surprised me since it was downhill and I was not sure how much distance was left. At 1 hour and 6 minutes I crossed the finish line. I felt remarkably good. Tired and sweaty I waited for Robyn. We picked up our packets and waited shortly for Robyn and Ashley. It was amazing we found each other in the crowd.

Dawn and I rode back to our residence in the back of Larry’s car. I was glad it was over. We had a wonderful Tai dinner and then rested up.

That evening Brian Kurowski and kids showed up to stay with us. The next day they all went to the beach again for more surfing. I rode down alone on Kesler’s mountain bike along the Wilder Ranch coast line, viewing along the way pelicans, Harbor seals, dolphin and sea birds. It was a lovely ride.

That evening we got ready to leave on the morrow. We took the kids to the Boardwalk. They had a great time on the rides and eating Dip and Dots.

On the way home Robyn drove up highway 1 to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Ana Noava State Park and Half Moon Bay. We had clam chowder at the beach in Half Moon Bay.

After we got home we cleaned up and Robyn cooked a wonderful Mexican dinner. The next day she took up to Colfax, CA depot to catch the train home. Thank you Robyn.

We picked up the Kurowski kids in Truckey, California. The train arrived in SLC at 3:00AM. After loading all the kids in the car at the SLC depot I drove straight home arriving at 6”00am in the morning. I was exhausted. What a month!!