Josh Roy and Family

My cousin Josh was also in town last weekend. To my delight and surprise, this young man has taken on the cycling habit as well and is on the road to great accomplishment in the criterium scene.

When he climbs on a bike, he looks like he might pull the handlebars off since he has a very built muscular build.

Josh really worked the race skillfully staying comfortably at the front and even taking one prime mid race. His final kick to the line was awesome and showed that his sprint is effective. Third place on the line in a Regional Championship criterium. This event allows him the points to hit Cat. 3 for the balance of the year and next.

This is Josh just before the start of the mens Cat. 4 criterium in SLO.

Josh at left. Fine job!

I will post the balance of his family pictures once they are downloaded. It was great to see how well his family is growing and it was a total delight to meet his wife Stacey for the second time and the two beautiful children Isaiah and Christian. Josh is currently a US Navy Diver at the Seal base in Coronado (where his brother is - Seal Team 3) and lives in Imperial Beach.

More on the families later when I can post more photos...

Meet my cousins - The Sackets

Our family had the pleasure of reuniting with my first cousin Jennifers daughter Courtney, her husband Travis, and their sweet children Carly and Kamryn.

The last time we saw courtney is nine years (+/-) in San Diego when her brother Josh got married.

They live in Tehachapi, CA and are both doing just fine. Her husband Travis is a full on hunter fisherman with one of the funniest and easy going personalities I have met in a long time. I look forward to seeing him and Courntey again.

Blessing to see how their lives are changing and growing. Look forward to seeing them more.

Their blog is http://sacketfamily.blogspot.com/

Getting Outdoors

This Independence Day weekend was filled with adventure, business, family, and enjoying outdoor time...

In addition to some fishing time on Friday, hanging with cousins, household chores, we spent some family time in the outdoors the balance of the weekend.

On Saturday, I woke and picked up Tim Theule for a quick ride at Lopez. It was a great time together and perfect weather for a pedal in the mountains. Quickly following, the family drove to SLO to enjoy a hike to Bishops peak for a kid and parent trek to the top. It was a beautiful walk and the kids did fantastic. We bolted home to prepare a taco meal for some out of town cousins who were in town for a weekend of camping at Lopez and participating in the bike race. More on that later.

The family on the trek downward...

On Sunday, I woke early to watch Josh Roy (my first cousin Jennifer's son) race the crit downtown. I returned mid morning to pack and get in the truck for a mountain drive over High Mountain Road. The trip was a real treat and the kids were filled with experiences in the outdoors including sighting wildlife, mountain landscapes, and the High Mountain Look Out Station. As a kid I was fascinated with visiting distant mountain top Look Out stations and always understood the reasons for these facilities. It clearly appears that the fire look out operations have now been replaced with closures or other uses. In this case, the High Mountain location has replaced fire watch with scientific Condor watching and reserve staff. It was different, but also and exciting experience for the kids. I recall certain life safety devices such as chairs with glass insulators for lightning protection. Well, they are still equipped. We had a great visit and some Cal Poly students gave us the tour of the surroundings at High Mountain.

Family shot of all of us at High Mountain Look Out Station. We are standing in front of a life sized painting of an adult Condor. They have massive wing spans!

The look out is equipped with needs for on site residence which included important chairs fitted with glass insulated feet in case of a lightning strike. There is risk with being at the top of the mountain... I recall these same chairs over 30 years ago in the high Sierra Nevada!

My beautiful wife with a beautiful backdrop. High Mountain sits approximately 3190 feet above seal level directly north of Lopez Lake. Note lake in the background adjacent to Jenn's face. The pass in the mountain silhouette is the dam opening at Lopez. Very cool panoramic from this location and very worth the visit...

Showed the kids teamwork in hiking/trekking, compass declination and triangulation, recoginzing different geology/geography and much more than video games and sitting behind the boob tube will ever do!

Very thankful for these special times with the family.

Early Soccer Training

I ponied up and joined the soccer coaching for under 8 boys for AYSO. Trying to get back in the rythym of the sport in general. It is coming back... My guinea pigs...

Halibut Season in Full Swing

TJ, Dad, and yours truly hit Port San Luis this morning for a Hali run. Started slowly since the bait boat was empty. We employed a sabiki rig and caught the bait (sardines) ourselves and saved the money to boot.

Three fish on the boat and this really decent 29" fish caught shallow near the breakwater.

Blessed times...

Sean and Dad - MDO

Sean visited for the past several days on his day off. Nice time and he road a lot! In this time frame, he and Dad took a pedal to Montana De Oro for a nice 12 mile loop. Not to bad for Dad since the terrain is no cake walk.

Great time with Sean and looking forward to more time together...