Wed. July 27

This month of July is running out, like sand in an hourglass. Tomorrow I fly up to Dallas for a weekend with my friend Jeff of cycling, golf, triathlon, pool shooting and other general good fun. I always feel young around him. Especially since he is exactly 1 day older than me.

So it's another short week. Elizabeth is over at South Padre Island, but something had to go. So I'm staying home tonight. Such a good decision.

This afternoon, I've got several big work projects to at least get to a stopping point. And I have a meeting tomorrow to discuss an upcoming trial. Lots to do.

Triathlon plans

I talked to my coach today and she filled me in on what I thought was a good plan. I'm preparing for the Pioneer Triathlon in Denton this Sunday. Several other athletes are racing this weekend also, in Austin and San Antonio. So next week, a rest week! Following up, we will do some benchmark timing and we will push toward a good team showing at the October 17 South Padre Island triathlon.

I thought that sounded great, especially the rest during a hot August week. Of course, Aug. 8 I have outlined as a date to start Marathon training for the January 2012 Houston Marathon.

Also good news I have the Memorial football schedule and the first game is Thursday, Sept. 1. Can't wait!

Landa Park, New Braunfels

Tuesday, after staying the night at Clint's house, I left for home, after a week's vacation. My plan was to stop in New Braunfels to play the Landa Park golf course which I had seen many times but never played. It was a good plan since I had all day to get home.

I got to the park at 11 and proceeded out. The clubhouse was a fairly new building, but the course was a classic WPA design from the 1930s. Stone works were around. The course was fairly short by modern standards but still plenty hard. Several holes went back by the Comal River which was quite pretty.

It was a hot day of 100F so by the second 9 I was wilting, with breakfast having run out. I laughed that I had seen the course from Schlitterbahn across the river and thought of playing golf many times. Now that I was on the course, I was thinking "It sure would be nice to be in the water on this hot day".

I played the first 9 with Gary who was a local high school player. The second 9 I played with Bill, a future medical student. Bill had played Pebble Beach and Bethpage Black so I enjoyed hearing about those. We thought it funny that I just got back from PB.

Harvey Penick Golf Course

Monday, July 18, I took Sarah to the UT Women in Enginneering Program. We checked in at 12:30 and dropped her suitcase off at the new dorm room in Jester West, 7th floor. Then we went to the auditorium where after 10-15 minutes, all the students were escorted away. Just like the military, it was over!

We parents stayed for a very informative talk by the WE@UT staff. We learned about the admissions process not only for the university but also the Cockrell School of Engineering. So the students will get a good taste of what to expect.

Afterwards, I went to the Harvey Penick Golf Course, which I had driven by the past week. I didn't even know there was one, but it is off 183 on the east side. It is part of the First Tee of Austin, a nonprofit for getting kids interested in golf. At the course, they had a short course of 3 holes and then a regular length course of 9 holes. I played all of them walking and it was very full of character, high quality, quiet and just the right course for a new golfer.

The name was very appropriate. Mr. Harvey Penick lived in the east side of Austin and worked there many years. He started in golf as a young person and his coaching skills always emphasized keeping the ball in play and playing within yourself. I think he would be proud to have his name attached to such a course that carries on his experiences and teachings.

Travel Day to Austin

Sunday, July 17 was a long day according to Sarah. Looking back, I'd have to agree.

We left Monterey, CA at 0930 to drive to SFO. Everyone seemed a little grumpy. We stopped in Castroville CA for a quick bite since we had to leave Monterey at the appointed hour. We gravitated to the La Fortuna Bakery that advertised "Tacos". It was a little slice of home. Castroville is kind of like a small Rio Grande Valley town, the place where the local farm workers live.

Getting to SFO, we returned the rent car. We then split up as Susan was flying to San Diego through a different airline and a different terminal.

Sarah and I had lunch at the Lark Creek Grill in the new Terminal 2 which was very nice. I had read about it and was pleasantly surprised to find one in the airport. We then flew to LAX and then to AUS arriving late, 11:30 p.m CST. Sarah was none too pleased to be going to another camp instead of going home, but she did get a late call from a friend which perked her up and she got to sleep.

12+ hours of travel time was definitely a long day.

Pacific Grove

Saturday July 16 I got up early to go play golf at... Pacific Grove Golf Links. PG? What about PB? - Pebble Beach? When I called PB about a tee time I was told that there were NONE on Saturday and they were not suggesting I try to just go there. And I have been there and it did not look like a place that someone without a reservation would enjoy hanging around.

I took the road less traveled and it has made all the difference.

I showed up at PG about 7:15 a.m figuring that I could probably go off pretty soon. "How about 7:26?" said the starter. Perfect. I waited for my partners and played with Eric from Australia and Jazz Singh from Sacramento. Great name! Eric and I walked and I enjoyed hearing about how he was there. He came from Sydney for a 2 day conference and rented a house in San Francisco for a month. The plan was to work during the week and sightsee during the weekends. I gathered he was in the internet- based business, as you could work anywhere.

The course was a nice little gem. The front 9 (older) was routed through the town, and the neighborhoods. Lots of big old trees and somewhat hilly. It had a nice old style feel to it like Brackenridge Park, one of my favorites and also an old style, tree lined course.

The second nine was quite different. Across the main street, it was RIGHT on the bay, in the dunes. The old lighthouse was right there by the holes. Picturesque. The views were pretty amazing. The 11th holes was like Torrey Pines # 6, straight to the water. # 12 was an outstanding par 5 through the sand dunes. The dunes were characterisic, along with the sweeping ocean views. The scenic road was right along side us and we saw many runners and cyclists on it.

I talked with the teaching pro Ben Alexander afterwards and he told me the second dunes 9 was originally land owned by the Coast Guard and sold to the City of Pacific Grove for $1.00. He joked he would have paid $5.00 for it. Very nice fellow, we had a good discussion about teaching. He said he also worked at Poppy Hills and he could get me on for $55 instead of the usual $200. So I'd like to take him up on that.

This was the 4th time I've been to the Monterey Peninsula and still no Pebble Beach. I'm beginning to think it might be like a hole in one, something that may elude me. If it happens, great, but if not, I'll have other experiences. Like that 79 I shot recently - priceless!

Afterwards we did drive the 17 Mile Drive which we all liked. We ended up for dinner in Carmel at a nice place, Cantineta Luca. After a good dinner it was getting foggy and cold so we headed back and watched a movie, Something Borrowed. * * 1/2

Stanford University

I planned to get up early this Friday, July 15 to play 9 holes of golf at Tilden Park in Berkeley. But it looked kind of gray and I didn't leave so early. I figured I would just hit a few range balls in preparation for Pebble Beach.

The terrain change in Berkeley is amazing. You go from waterfront/sea level to just past the campus and then it is straight up the "Hills". More like a small mountain to me. Getting up there, you'd think you were in Virginia or North Carolina. The course did remind me of N. Carolina when I got there. Lots of elevation: the clubhouse is on the hillside and you have a nice view of the holes. Very pretty place.

The range was not so pretty but I hit my balls. Then I found some new golf shoes in the shop and bought them. I figured I would not see any like then at home. Afterwards I drove to explore the park a little and of course got all turned around. Good thing I had a map and got straightened out and made it back to the hotel right at 11.

We then headed to Stanford, stopping for lunch at the Burger Meister which was really good. If they had a t shirt I would have bought one.

We got to Palo Alto and found the parking. We were early for the 3:15 tour so we had time for a look around the University shop and then a cup of coffee.

Our tour was the largest we had been on. People from all over: Austria, China. The tour highlighted many of the new buildings: Gates, Hewlett, Packard. You could really tell that Stanford had done a big part in creating/monetizing the Internet and that money has flowed back in as reinvestment. State of the art. If you want to go into that field, you can really tell that Stanford is the Place To Be.

We also saw the older buildings. Definitely a California version of the Ivy League. One thing they pointed out was that Stanford was created as nondenominational, yet they have a huge cathedral completed with Jesus on Palm Sunday mural larger than life. It would fit in at Notre Dame (so I would imagine).

It had a suburban feel to it, like a Princeton. Therefore, it wasn't quite was Sarah was looking for. She said she liked Berkeley better. As did we.

We then headed south on the scenic route to Monterey, CA. I had not been this route over a mountain so it seems like a long drive. We made it into town, checked into the Hotel Portola and went to dinner at the local brewpub, Peter G's. I actually tried the small sampler beers with dinner and liked the Belgian version the best.

Bastille Day - July 14

Berkeley, CA: Today was the day to pick up Sarah from the Engineering and Robotics Program. We got a taste of "The Future is Now" as the two clueless parents driving around the college campus. We found the area of pickup ( it was a "newer" campus area that is primarily student residential). There was a parking area and Sarah came walking up with her new friend Joey. He was classic California, blond, tall, etc. And a nice guy to boot.

There wasn't much to the pickup so we did meet some of the new friends who seemed very enthusiastic about Sarah. No one really wanted to go but the bus was coming to pick everyone up. Just a few has parents coming to get them.

One thing I noticed inside was a candy dish but someone had taken the time/initiative to make a key for each flavor of candy and post it near: lemon, orange, lime, etc. I thought it was pretty neat - classic engineer brain!

No sooner were we pulling out that Sarah was crying, sorry to leave her new friends. They certainly bonded and that was good/bad (had to end :)) but she's already still in touch. I invited everyone to visit. Maybe they will.

Afterwards we went for lunch at Bette's Oceanside Diner which I had read about on Urban Spoon. Good choice. The area was called Fourth St. which was a redeveloped neighborhood. We walked around afterwards and saw some cool shops.

Later that afternoon Sarah and I hit the college store for some CAL gear. It was a nice big place. Sarah found a cap for Oscar that was just perfect for him.

That night the big 21st anniversary celebration was at Chez Panisse which was a place that I had heard about - 1000 places to see before you die. The reservationist had recommended the Hotel Shattuck which was right down the street. So we walked there, and sat upstairs at the Cafe - supposed to be a bit more casual than the downstairs.

Dinner was:
Proscuitto "Rockets" - greens wrapped in proscuitto


Shellfish Stew


Fresh fruit


Gelato/meringue





I'll post the actual menu later - but it was good! Fresh and simply prepared. Different but still accessible. Sarah and I went to see "Larry Crowne" later but it was only fair, * *. It would have been better to see Harry Potter but people were already lining up outside at 8:00 p.m. for the midnight and the 3:00 am shows!

Berkeley CA

From the Hotel Shattuck Plaza, Berkeley:

We left McAllen very early today for our 0610 flight. Arriving in San Francisco about 1:00 we got our rental car and headed straight to Berkeley. We were here in 2007 and it is nice to be back. Things are at least somewhat familiar.

The hotel is nice, recommended by the folks at Chez PanIsse where we will celebrate our 21st anniversary tomorrow. We looked around a few shops anD then hit Trader Joe's Grocery which was right up Susan's alley. We also saw a little brazil cafe that we plan to go by tomorrow. We will pick up Sarah and meet her new friend Joey. As her friend Nicole said, Sarah is always looking for the boys!

Back online

I've just received back my new laptop from Richard and it is working just fine. So I'll be able to get back in the swing of things after the Great Laptop Theft in Houston. Imagine the danger of parking your car in your parent's driveway and being there the whole time. Never would have thought it was a danger there, but ... assume nothing.

On to good news. My golf career is booming. On Friday I shot 79 at Cimarron, my best round in 10 years. I played with our new Rector, Father Jim. I played so well I can't remember when I had another, but it has been a while. I hit the ball well but most importantly got a few good breaks: made a long putt for par on # 4, chipped in for par on # 9, birdied # 18 with a career shot to the green.

Even better, I just heard today that I won the Ben Cox 108 Raffle, actually one of the prizes. There are 86 and I have pick # 10. So its a great combination of top golf and fantasy football drafting. Looks like I might get to select a great course in California.

So I had been thinking I would win both the Houston Marathon lottery and the golf raffle and I did! As I read, nothing good will happen until you believe that you deserve it.

A list

Top 4 golf courses

Cypress Point

Shoal Creek

Shadow Creek

Crown Colony

As you can see I've been reading a lot of golf blogs lately. So its got me thinking about things I like such as golf and travel. Some folks like to "collect" as many courses as they can - I'm about quality rather than quantity. Each of these was a memorable experience that I recall fondly.

Online contests

I've been entering lots of online contests lately. Its pretty easy to enter, and if there's a donation, its easy too.

So I might be winning:

A big golf trip

A new bike

A trip to see Paul McCartney in concert

Think positive! You heard about it here first. I already got selected for the Houston Marathon lottery so... 1 for 1!

July 2

Due to the rain and the trip to Houston upcoming, we decided to stay home this July 4 weekend for the first time, in a long time. It's been a great decision. Last night we relaxed with a little TV at home. Today I slept in a little and then went for a bike ride, just for fun. I guess I went 20+ miles and it was just for fun. Afterwards I went to the bike shop and got a new speedometer and got that put on.

I went to the golf course, just to have lunch, and ended up with some friends who were continuing play. I had my clubs from yesterday and went out for 9 holes. Shot 40 which was an excellent score. Especially being even par after 6 holes. The guys gave me a little ribbing for being a 15 handicap. Not for long!!

Tonight Sarah and I went to Game Stop where she traded in an old PS2 to get a new game and PSP. It reminded me of when we got the PS2 on her 7th grade birthday. Tonight we are going to see Cars 2 at the late show.