Debbie's BBQ

This morning Amanda met me in Rohnert Park and we ran 16 miles!  It was a nice cool misty morning and we had a great run.  That afternoon Katelynn, Brian and me headed over to Debbie and Mike's place in Sebastopol for a summer BBQ.  Debbie's daughters and some of their friends were there too.  We had a great time with drinks, BBQ, friends and even a bonfire!

Administration & Finance Picnic

Today was Sonoma State's Administration & Finance division picnic.  It's an annual summer picnic that has games for both young and old, food, beer and prizes!  I've missed several of the annual picnics usually due to travel plans, but not this year!  I played the don't drop the egg game with Evan and Jaime's boys.  We ran it forward and backwards, trying not to drop an egg held in a metal spoon.  I played some badminton with Amanda, Evan and Peter.  It was a nice afternoon out in the sun.  I even chased Jamie's boys down and picked them up and ran around with them a bit.  This year not only did I win once, I won twice!  I won a free lunch at the new Student center and a $20 wolfbuck gift card.  It was a really fun event and a good time to be out of work with the co-workers.

Adventures in Juicing

I've really gotten the hang of this juicing thing.  I find all sorts of organic fresh fruits and vegetables and clean them all individually then prepare them for the juicer.  I end up with enough juice each time to last me at least a couple of days.  I like to have some juice in the evening to help add nutrients to a small meal.  In the morning, I take a juice bottle and blend it with Kale and some berries to make a shake for breakfast.  It's been extra fun sharing with Katelynn- we both buy different items and share the juices.  Loving this!

Gio's Pizza & Josh Groban

Tonight I had dinner plans with Jaime and her kids at our favorite pizza place near their house; Gio's.  Before heading up to Santa Rosa to join them I stopped off at the Green Music Center to pickup $10 rush sale tickets for the Josh Groban concert at 7:30.  I wasn't planning on going, but for only $10 how could I not!?  I then rode my motorcycle up to meet Jaime and we had some delicious Gio's pizza.  Coopers stomach was bothering him a bit, poor guy!  Once we'd finished up dinner, I jumped back on my bike and headed back to Sonoma State's GMC for the concert.  Josh was really friendly and personable up on the stage.  It was wonderful listening to him singing in person.  What a fun weekday evening!

Amanda's First 18 Mile Run!

Marathon training doesn't take a break and my phone likes to remind me of that.  This morning I got this cute little reminder.  It makes me giggle because it comes across like a normal to-do list thing; like pick up some eggs and milk at the store.  Oh yeah and don't forget to run 18 miles this morning from Starbucks in Sonoma at 6am on a Saturday...  HAHA!

We took this run at a very reasonable pace.  You can see the route we took along with our splits and everything that's documented on my Runkeeper post.  When we were done we took this charming selfie.  Go US!

Alcatraz

Yesterday I got a text message from Anita that she had a group on tour in San Francisco and that tonight they'd be touring Alcatraz and that I should join them!  Having been in California for over three years now and not having been to see Alcatraz I had to jump on this.  I drove my motorcycle down across the Golden Gate bridge and met Anita with her traveling group along the Piers.  We boarded a vessel and headed out on a cruise around the island, under the Golden Gate bridge and then back.  It was unbelievably cold outside, even my motorcycle gear including gloves on didn't keep me from the cold.  Yes, this is in JULY.  Had a great time with Anita, having snacks and even a drink while the group cruised the bay and took pictures.  So glad I was invited, thanks Anita!

Lucky Peak Campout

It just wouldn't feel like summer without a campout at Lucky Peak with good friends!  I started coordinating this weekend in the spring.  I put out a facebook invite so people could plan ahead and let me know how many were coming.  I worked with my Aunt Erni and the family to make sure the boat would be available.  Planned the trip to see my Mom for her birthday and it all just came together!

Wednesday I flew from OAK to BOI.  While I was waiting in the airport for Emily to come pick me up I ran into Kali and Andy who were just headed out!  It was great to see them and give them a hug in person.  Emily came in and was able to say hello too, then I took her back to work and met my friend Jami for lunch.  That afternoon after getting the boat keys from my cousin Matt's house, I picked Emily up from work, then Chuck and we went to dinner at PF Chang's in BODO for his birthday.  It was nice spending time with them both; I wish they could've made it up to the lake but they had wedding preparation plans this weekend and it couldn't be avoided.  After dinner we exchanged cars and I took my parent's explorer to pickup Jake so we could get campout shopping done!  It was great having his help select the meals and food we'd need for the weekend trip.

Thursday morning I got a text from Emily that I'd left the boat keys in her car!  I stopped by her work on my way to Lucky Peak for the keys and then I was off!  I absolutely treasure having a family boat that sits at the dock in the marina.  It's so easy to come up and use it whenever we like!  I headed up first on my own on Thursday to secure a good camping spot.  I took the boat across the marina and docked one dock to the left of the good dock, the one with the irrigation pumping station since there were people there already.  While I was waiting at the other dock I didn't realize the boat had gotten stuck in the sand!  Despite my lifting and pushing; it wasn't going anywhere!  I walked over to the main dock and a guy there came back and helped me push the boat around and head out.  Phew!  I'd been worried about that.  He said I could park the boat over at the main dock they were on their way out.  Perfect!  I docked and set up camp at my favorite spot.  I picked up Jake from the main dock and we setup our camp.  It was nice to have the campsite to ourselves that first night.  Jake even had a special dinner planned including thumbprint wine!  I'm very lucky!

Friday Jake and I drove around the lake and went swimming in a cove together.  That evening Gess, Steven and Matt showed up.  Gess is always such a boyscout; so glad to have him along!  He had all sorts of nifty contraptions including solar powered charging stations for our iPhones.  Later that evening Kade managed to find us in his boat.  I say managed to find us because we'd crossed our communications and he thought it'd be easy to find us but I guess we were hard to find!  Poor guy, after cruising the lake for a few hours he finally found our camp site and all was well that ends well.

Saturday morning Andrej joined the crew after missing the Friday pickup because he'd had a hot date.  Then several of Kade's friends showed up too.  Sometime that morning we randomly ran into Kris Jenkins and by then we had a whole campout crew!  We spent the day playing on the lake, having drinks and enjoying the summer weather.  The weather was good, warm and sunny in the upper 80's.  I would've preferred 90's like the week before, but oh well!

We had a great weekend of fun on the water, in the sun, having drinks and good campout food with friends!  My favorite part of the whole weekend was Saturday evening on the docks when Jake and I decided to try dating long distance- We're Boyfriends!!  <3

Sunday we cleaned up camp early and got out quick.  I was back home in time to take my Mom to lunch for her birthday.  She wanted halibut so a plate of it she got, three different kinds!  It was nice to get to spend some time with her before I had to fly back home that evening.

Jake's first visit to California!

Jake and I have been talking over text for a while now and after we finally met in person last weekend while I was in Boise with Katelynn for Esthetic Evolution, we decided he should come visit me in California.  Thursday night Jake flew into Oakland for the first time and I was there to pick him up.  It was so wonderful to see him in the airport!  We didn't go out to the city that night because the next morning we had Jake's first 10K race to run; the annual Kenwood foot race.

We were up bright and early, ready to go with our race bibs on.  Jake was nervous for his first 10K.  He's been training up, but hasn't ran 6.5 miles yet (the approximate length of a 10K).  It was fun running with him and taking pictures all along the route.  I'll never forget as we neared the finish line and Jake asked "Is that the end up there?!" and I said "Yup, almost there, you can do..." I didn't even get to finish my sentence.  In just a few strides he was outta there!  It was all I could do to keep up with the man as he was leaping towards the finish line.  Come to find out later he just wanted to beat me across the line!  Gah!  HaHa!  You can see the pictures I took along the route on my Runkeeper page.

That evening we had an action packed fourth of July planned!  It started with a three course meal at the Prelude at Sonoma State University's Green Music Center.

The apple pie baked into a glass dessert with ice cream on top was a perfect way to end the meal.  Then we headed into Weill Hall for the Santa Rosa Symphony.  After the symphony the fireworks were supposed to start, outside... but as the night drew on and only a few sporadic fireworks lit the sky it was clear something was amiss.  Jake and I sat and talked with Karen, my boss Jason and a lovely woman named Rose while Kevin and others were scrambling about.   It was nice having drinks at the prelude and talking enjoying the evening regardless of the fireworks situation.  What a perfect fourth of July; thank you Jake!

Friday July 5th was reserved for my favorite tasting tour with Jake.  We started at Frances Ford Coppola's winery and then went to Healdsburg not only going to my other two favorites Hawley and Thumbprint but also to a new one; Toad Hollow.  After all that we had to have dinner on the square before the drive back to Rohnert Park.

Saturday July 6th was a day to explore the city of San Francisco.  We started out with an organic lunch at the Plant Cafe- another favorite of mine in the city!  Then we went up Lombard street and took a picture of us at Coit tower.  I couldn't believe all the tourists at the end of Lombard street-geeesh!   That evening I wanted to take Jake to my favorite seafood restaurant in the city - The San Franciscan.  We had a delicious dinner and a great view overlooking the bay.

After dinner we went exploring the local tourist trap venues along Pier 39.  We had a lot of fun checking out It's Sugar, Fisherman's Wharf and the Ghirardelli Chocolate factory!  Couldn't stay out too late, I had a 16 mile run to do with Amanda in Sonoma for our Marathon training.  Marathon training takes no breaks!  You can see the run Amanda and I did- her FIRST 16 miles ever on my Runkeeper.

That afternoon we had lunch with Jake's friend Anita at East West Cafe.  It was great that she was in California at the same time as Jake and actually in the north bay!  We had a delicious lunch and I think it may be a new favorite for Jake!

As the afternoon wound down it was nearing time to take Jake back to the airport.  It was such a wonderful first visit and I'm looking forward to many more visits.