Cabrillo Beach is a historic beach located in San Pedro, California. Cabrillo has two separate beach areas.  It is also home to a few famous landmarks, namely the 1.75 mile Los Angeles Breakwater which ends at the Angel’s Gate Lighthouse, the recently restored Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse, and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.

We had just visited the tide pools in Laguna Beach a couple weeks earlier and realized he really liked seeing the wildlife in the water.  Laguna Beach had the anemone police out so we couldn’t touch anything but this time Cabrillo Beach was unpatroled…

We made it to the parking lot and parked in front of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.  The tide pools are on the ocean side of the breakwater/jetty.  After a short walk about a quarter mile down we arrived at the tide pools.

There were tons of anemones everywhere.  We showed Skyler how you can gently push down on the anemone it would squirt water.

While looking around and exploring Skye found two large spiral shells.  We took a picture of them since we are not allowed to take anything from the beach.

We had a nice time at the tide pools, the water was beginning to return so we had to pack it out of there.  We’ll have to go back this summer when it’s a little warmer.  More photos at my photography website, CounterPointPhotography.com

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Rose Parade 2010

Is there a better way to start off the new year than to go to the Rose Parade?  There might be.  But this year, there was no better way to celebrate the new year than to head down to Pasadena, California, and find a spot on the parade route. One of Skye’s students was able to get us up-close and personal seating on the parade route with excellent parking.  This helped out so much, especially with Skyler.

The night before we set and packed the car so all we would have to do is get up, get Skyler dressed and head out the door.  Skye’s Mom and Step Dad were coming too so they were going to meet us at 5:30am when we were set to head out.  Nicely everything went as planned.  Before long we were already in Pasadena and could see the crowds of people.  The GPS didn’t help much since as you got closer to the parade route the more we found barricades blocking off streets.  We had  a printed out map for where were were to park so I just used that.

We found the parking.  It was a block away from the Pasadena City Hall and about half a block away from the parade route.

The reserved seats we had were across the street from the post office and on the street.

This was the view we had of the parade.  We actually were sitting on the street level as the floats passed by.

The floats were impresive, the crowd was respectful and everyone had a great time.  We saw Oscar DeLaHoya hanging over a balcony behind us and Jack Hanna on a float.  Now where else can you say that but at the Rose Parade?

Skyler loved watching the bands, especially the drummers.

It was a cold, early morning but we all had a great time!  What really impressed me was the fact that we could actually smell the flowers on the floats!  Pretty cool.

Here the link to all the pictures from the Rose Parade.

Rose Parade on CounterPoint Photography

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Dinner at Gasho's

Saturday started off a little late. It was nice to sort of sleep in. Because of the time change Skyler wasn’t getting up until 8am. That was pretty cool, only thing about that is that we had a late starts in the morning. This morning Skye had some errands to run with Charlanne, so Skyler and I headed to some random park. It wasn’t the best of parks but it served it purpose. When we got there we were the only ones there. By the time we left there were like 10 other older kids running looking for trouble. A few days earlier we had bought Skyler a sand pail and shovel from Target. I brought that with us to the park here so Skyler could play in the sand box. There were kids that were circling us like vultures because they wanted to play with Skyler’s sand toys. Mind you, these kids weren’t 2 years old or 3 or even 4 years old. They had to have been at least 8 or 9 years old. At one point, one of the kids tried to reach for the pail and I said, “I don’t think that’s yours.” That made him back off to regroup.

Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

Soon after that Skyler was done with the park and so was I so we got back in the car. It was hot so we headed to the mall. When we got to the mall there was a little carnival set up in the parking lot with the usual cast of strange “carnies” manning their stations. We walked around but there was really not much for Skyler to do so we headed into the indoor mall. We found a smoothie stand and ordered a peach smoothie. Skyler loves those. He pretty much finished the whole thing.

On our way home we drove past a White Castle. Skyler had fallen asleep in the backseat so I pulled into the drive-through. I ordered some sliders. Those things are greasy, but good. I think a couple of greasy sliders every couple of years is all right.

Skyler looking for a rabbit

After the nap Skye was free for the rest of the day. We decided to drive up to Cold Spring Harbor. Charlanne had told us there was a fish hatchery up there that one of her patients goes to with her boys. It was only about 20 minutes away but seemed like it should be farther. We drove though the town and it reminded me of Vermont.

We found the fish-hatchery but it had just closed. The parking lot was connected to an old church that sits on a large pond. We decided to walk around and check out the scenery.

Skye and Skyler at Cold Spring Harbor

As we walked up to the side of the church there was a very nice sight. Canadian Geese were swimming around the pond as a mother and daughter looked on. The mother had to have been in her late 80s or early 90s, the daughter in her 60s or 70s. There were just sitting on a bench looking out over the beautiful, picturesque landscape; it was such a nice memory being made for them.

Skyler at Cold Spring Harbor

We walked around the fed the geese, chased a rabbit and Skye and Skyler found some old Easter eggs. It looks like the church must have had an Easter egg hunt and not all of them were found, until now…

Skye and Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

We had a dinner reservation at a Japanese steakhouse called Gasho’s where we were to meet up with Charlanne’s Mom, Ruth and Step-Dad, Neal. It was a restaurant like Benihanas, where the cook cooks in front of you. There was some minor drama involved when we got there but things worked out and we had a nice time. It was entertaining.

Skye and Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

We came back to the hotel. Had a swim in the pool and went to bed.

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Skyler's New Drums

Here is a short video of Skyler when he first saw his new drum set for his 2nd birthday. He really loves them. Even though it’s for a 3 year old, the next day he had figured out how to use the bass drum pedal. Enjoy!

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A couple of years back when my wife was pregnant she was driving on the freeway in the rain.  The Yukon driving in front of her slammed on the breaks which made Skye’s car collide with it.  The nose of the Sebring is much lower than the bumper on the Yukon so it slid under and bent the frame of the Sebring.  The Insurance company  called it a total loss and now we were in the market for a new car.

During this time we were neck deep with our remodel debockal.  We need to find a car and we were set on keeping a convertible.  Through many negotiations and driving from dealer to dealer we finally settled on a private seller in Naples near Long Beach.  Long story, short, we thought we bought a good car but ended up having more problems with it than we had anticipated.  You can read about one of the problems here.  Skye was way overdue for a new, SAFE, car.

It sure is pretty.

Here is a nice little side note: as we were signing the documents for the car we realized it was June 24th.  Exactly 9 years ago was when I proposed at Café Piccalo in Long Beach.  Time flies.  It doesn’t seem like 9 years!

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Skyler and Skye

I can remember the first two nights at the hospital after he was born. It was a bit surreal. I’d look over at the bassinet and think to myself, “Wow, that’s really my son.” It still is a bit surreal and he is a year old now. He’s walking and babbling and playing with his toys and there is a magic when his eyes meet mine, an unspoken understanding on a spiritual level. It’s hard to explain. I now understand what my parents had always told me about me and my brother and sister. “You’ll know when you have a baby,” my mother would say. I now understand on two levels. I understand from the point of view of the parent now and because of that I am able to understand it completely from the point of view of the child. Does that make sense? Let me explain.

I was sitting with Skyler as he was falling asleep the other night and came to a realization. Skyler will probably not remember sitting with me this night or other nights. He won’t remember falling asleep peacefully and feeling secure knowing that I was holding him and making sure he was safe. He doesn’t realize what Skye and I do and sacrifice for him to make sure he is safe and secure and happy. This doesn’t bother me. I do not expect anything in return. It did, however, made me start thinking about myself and how I was as a baby to my parents. They must have come to this conclusion years ago. They went through this three times. Although I don’t remember this I can imagine myself being held by my mother and father and them thinking the same thing I am thinking about Skyler. What magical moments we have had. And because of those moments I had with my parents I am who I am today. I may not remember them but I relive them every night when I sit down with Skyler and give him a kiss on the cheek and tell him sweet dreams as he falls asleep.

One day years from now he will be in the same position as me with his son or daughter and make the same realization I have. When he does I will look into his eyes and see the same boy I see today and hear that unspoken understanding I did the first time he locked eyes with me. And with that I look into my parents eyes and tell them, “Thank You.” Thank you for all the nights you stayed up with me, that you changed my diapers. Thank you for all that you sacrificed to make growing up safe and secure and happy. I now understand.

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We had been sitting on that bottle for the past few (5) years. At first we were going to open it when we bought the house, then it turned into, “When the remodeling is completed,” then, “After Skyler’s born,” then, “After 6 months.” (the whole breast feeding thing) then…..Ah for our 7th Anniversary. Ta-daaa.

So like I said, we went to Café Piccalo in Long Beach where I proposed to Skye some 8 years ago, also where we had our rehearsal dinner and, by the by, it’s also the same place Skye had the cops called on her as well.

Needless to say a lot of history. We hadn’t been there in about 4 years. A lot has happened in the past four years so this was a long over due celebration.

We started off with Escargots in garlic and butter, moved on to a fresh salad for Skye and a creamy minestrone soup for me. Main course was an exquisite and perfectly cooked tender loin for me and lamb on a bed of pasta for Skye. Throughout all we perfectly paced ourselves with our fine bottle of Silver Oak. The last bite matched our last sip of the oak infested earthy goodness. What a dinner! A perfect marriage between the food and wine. A perfect marriage.

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I just got off the phone with Skye. She just called to tell me that Sydney’s collar and very few remains were found in a neighbor’s yard.

Skye was on her walk with Skyler and a neighbor pulled up in her car and recognized Skye and told her the bad news. She gave Skye Sydney’s collar. I feel bad because Sydney was bugging us to go outside late last night so we let her out. Normally when she goes outside she stays in the backyard on the patio set. I’m thinking she was in the front yard, the coyote got her and took her to another place to eat her. She had a good life I just hope it was quick and not drawn out. Sadly it was inevitable. She was the adventurous one from the first day we got her 8 years ago.

I’m going to try my new driver out on the coyote and see how far he can run with a driver up his ass! The next time you see my golf clubs I might just have a new headcover.

It just sucks, she really liked hanging out with Skyler and Skyler really liked her. She was a good cat. Sad.

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