Ventura's Olympic Hero

What a busy Saturday today was.

We had intended on starting the day with a Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's, one of the boy's favorites, followed by a 1 hour training hike for Marion and me in the Ventura Foothills. Our plans hit a snag before we even left the house when Nik woke up complaining of pain in his knee. He had fallen on our hike at Point Mugu last weekend and one of the scratches on his knee had become infected. So, instead of a hike after breakfast we visited the Urgent Care at Kaiser, and then the pharmacy at Walgreens.


From there we were off to the Ventura Community Pool for a hometown sendoff for Troy Dumais, a Ventura local who leaves next week to compete at his third summer olympic games for the U.S. Troy is a springboard diver, and Brodie, who has just taken up diving this summer was very excited to meet him. So excited, in fact, that he gave up the chance to go horseback riding in Griffith Park for his cousin Shoja's 10th birthday party. Brodie got to talk with Troy and got his autograph. Brodie also wanted to say hi to Ventura's mayor, Christie Weir, who was also at the event.

With the ink on his autograph still wet we jumped in the car and headed out to the Valley for the second half of Shoja's party at his house in Northridge. They had a giant jolly-jumper slide set up in the back yard equipped with a system for spraying water on the slide and a big splash pool at the bottom of it. Brodie and Nik had a lot of fun with their cousins Shoja, Logan and Erica.

We left there at 4 o'clock and drove out to Santa Clarita where Brodie and his team had their second diving meet of the season. Brodie dove well and we left the pool at 7 o'clock and found a nearby shopping center where we had a late dinner before the hour long drive home. Whew!

Training Hike

Today Marion and I took a training hike for our upcoming 6 day backpacking trip to Yosemite's high sierra camps. We persuaded our good friends, Lysa and Mark to come along, and bring along their daughter Natasha. If Brodie and Nik didn't have a friend hiking with them, they would drag every step of the way and make sure we were miserable right beside them. With Natasha along, it was a whole different experience for them.

We met at the trailhead for the La Jolla Canyon trails in Point Mugu at 10am. Marion and I were carrying our full packs, loaded to about 20lbs, maybe more with the extra water we carried. On our vacation we expect to carry about 25lbs, but we didn't want to over-do it the first time out.

It was very dry on the hike. The seasonal stream seems to be beyond its season. The little waterfall one mile in on the trail was absolutely dry, as was the duck pond further back on the trail. The meadow in La Jolla Canyon that we hiked through was 5 feet high with tinder-dry grass that had fat seed pods blowing at the top of their stalks.

We covered about 8 or 9 miles in a little less than 4 1/2 hours. Not too bad considering the size of our group and the ages of its members. Marion and I both finished the hike feeling pretty good and were pleased that carrying the packs caused no problems for us. The weight was properly carried on our hips and no weight or strain transferred to our necks and shoulders. Our feet are a little tired, but whose wouldn't be after a day of hiking? A good day, over all.

Nik's Trophy Swim

While Brodie and I were at his TaeKwonDo tournament, Marion and Nik travelled to Antioch so that Nik could earn his swim trophy. In order to earn your trophy you must jump off the diving board and swim the entire 75 foot length of the pool without touching the bottom, and you can only earn your trophy at one of Clark and Ingrid's swim shows. June 28th was the only swim show they would have during summer, so this was Nik's one and only chance.



The show starts with the parade of athletes, about 75 swim students ranging in age from infant to 13 years old. After the National Anthem and the release of the balloons, Clark and Ingrid have the students at each level demonstrate the skills that they have been learning. Nik was one of 15 students who had just reached the level where they can swim using side-breathing the length of the pool. Nik's dive off the board wasn't graceful, but he swam steadily across the whole pool until he swam into the baby pool at the opposite end to earn his trophy.

After the show all the students enjoyed chocolate sundaes and giant chocolate-chip cookies, along with lemonade to drink. When everyone was gone, Nik got to spend some fun time in the water with his Omi and Opa. He had a great time visiting his grandparents in Antioch, but it was a happy reunion when we all arrived home on Sunday evening from our separate adventures.

Knott's Berry Farm

Brodie and I had a boy's weekend together because he needed to attend a TaeKwonDo tournament in Corona this weekend, and Nik travelled with Marion to earn his swimming trophy at her parent's summer swim show. (I'll have a seperate post on this in a day or so.)

After the tournament on Saturday, Brodie and I stayed overnight in beautiful Norco (yechhh!) and then drove to Buena Park Sunday morning for Knott's Berry Farm. I haven't been there in over 25 years, and boy, how the park has changed. They truly have 2 or 3 world-class coasters there. But the question is, would Brodie ride them?



Oh boy, how he rode them! We started off on Silver Bullet, a suspended coaster where you are tossed and turned upside town about a dozen times. We were in the first coaster of the day, in the second row. From there we ran off to Xcelerator, a monster of a coaster where you are launched from 0 to 82mph in 2 seconds at 4 gees of acceleration. You shoot straight up a 210 foot hill, and then immediately straight down those 200 feet again at a 90 degree angle. Yes, straight down. There was literally no one in line for that ride, so we rode it once in the front seat, and then, since there was still no one in line, we moved back a few rows and rode it again.

After that we hit Boomerang. The twist in this coaster is that after you get flipped upside-down 4 times in loops and bow-ties you end up high on the end of the track with no where else to go but back down through the whole ride again, but this time backwards. I was sick for 10 minutes after that one, but Brodie was game for more. We did all of this in our first hour in the park!

After that start, I needed a little rest for my swooning head, so we rode the Log Ride, which Brodie thought was boring. If I had started with that ride he might have like it, but now, nothing but killer thrills will satisfy him. We hit 2 more coasters, Montezuma's Revenge and Jaguar before heading across to the other half of the park.

On our way over, we ran into a little show that was just starting, Cowboys 101. They were asking for 5 volunteers, so Brodie ran up and got chosen. During the show, Black Bart escapes jail and it's up to the deputies to re-capture him. The deputies go from the sherrif's office to the jail to the blacksmith to the train depot, all the time hot on ol' Bart's trail, before finally capturing him and taking him back to the sherrif's office in chains. The deputies got to keep their cowboy hat, bandanna and Knott's Sherrif's badge. (That saved me about 30 bucks in the souvenier shops!)

After that, we rode Bigfoot Rapids, a free-floating raft where you navigate their river. Brodie and I both got pretty wet, but by then it was finally over 80 degrees outside, and it felt good to refresh. Next we hit Pony Express, a coaster where you ride sitting astride horse-shaped seats. Our last ride was Ghost Rider, a nearly mile-long wooden coaster that reaches close to 60mph on the wooden track. It's a monster.

Unbelievably, for a summer Sunday, we got in the park when it opened at 10, rode every ride we wanted, saw shows, shopped and had lunch, and then left at 2pm, completely satisfied. A short 2 hour drive home on traffic-free freeways, and we were home and rested by 4.

Camping at Refugio

We spent the last week camping at Refugio State Beach, just north of Santa Barbara. We camped in a group campground with about 8 other families, some of whom we know, and the rest are now new friends. Everyone had kids about the same age, so it was wonderful for them all to play together.

Dodger Game

What a busy Saturday today.

We started off with a workout at the YMCA after breakfast this morning. Marion and the boys swam laps while I worked out in the gym.

Next we dressed in our Dodger's gear and loaded up in the car for the 75 minute drive to Dodger Stadium where the Dodgers were hosting the Chicago Cubs today. We had great seats, on the third deck right behind home plate. It was a beautiful sunny day, but our row of seats was in the shade of the fourth deck above us, although the next row of seats after us was in the full sun all day. What a difference 3 feet can make to your experience!

It was an exciting game, with great defensive plays, 3 home runs, and best of all, the Dodgers won. We all had Dodger Dogs, the grilled ones, not the steamed ones, and we brought our own bag of peanuts from the store to share between the 4 of us. We also brought bottled water stored under a bag of ice.

Not that we can't afford it, but a day at the ballpark isn't cheap anymore. Hot dogs: $5 a piece. Drinks: $5 a piece. Frozen lemonade: $5 a piece. Parking: $15 a car.

5 dogs, 3 drinks, 2 frozen lemonade; $50! Plus $15 for parking, and of course, the $135 for the tickets. So all in all, our little family day at the ballpark cost us $200. I feel sorry for the people who are buying the $10 beers, too.

Ron turns 70 with old-school food

My dad turned 70 this week and I travelled with Brodie and Nik to Prescott to help celebrate.

He and my mom both attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles during the 50's and grew up on Pink's Hot Dogs. My sister and I decided to treat him to some tastes from his past, so I arranged to buy 5 lbs. of Pinks chili and transported it with all of the fixings to Prescott.



My sister found the recipe for Azeka's famous short-ribs, one of our family's favorites from the 13 years my parents lived on Maui. She met with my parents last week in Albuquerque and delivered 7 lbs. of ribs and the marinade. Brodie, Nik and I will be the unwitting beneficiaries of Robin's gift, because that's what we're having for dinner tonight!

Pinks for lunch, Azeka's for dinner; My dad thinks this is a pretty good food day.