Mt. Tama - wuh?!?

The OHIO Feth's are in town and we are up to nothing but adventure. A series of winter storm warnings tried to stand in our way this weekend but we powered through the sunny weather (California weather forecasters are quite dramatic if you didn't already know....)

Winter NO-storm 2011

Adventure took us around our Tiburon home, on a ferry ride to visit our beloved City of San Francisco and to the top of the nearest mountain, Mt. Tamalpais - say that really fast 5 times!

Tiburon ferry

Brian the amazing fire-builder (we enjoyed a number of snuggly fires due to the wintry weather outside) set up our telescope and played a game of 'Eye Spy'. After viewing far away neighbors enjoying a drink on the patio or dinner at their table we focused our lens on the very tip-top of Mt. Tam. There we discovered a unique fixture that we just had to go and check out in person. 

So along the 101 we ventured, following signs to Muir Woods (named after that epic outdoorsman John Muir) and skirted our way up to Mt. Tamalpais. The tippy-tip-top required a bit of fancy footwork over a rocky path but the reward at the end made it all worth the effort. 

Exhibit A: fancy footwork & sweet stylin' moves (notice the robot hand)

The fixture we spotted through our lens from far far away turned out to be an old fire lookout. It appeared to be fully functional and has been taking in the magnificent views since 1937.

After our fill of breathtaking scenery we coasted down the mountain to Stinson Beach. A requisite cocktail was in order to set our afternoon straight and then we continued south on Hwy 1 - my favorite road in the land. 

View from Mt. Tam

If you haven't done PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) you just haven't lived. It represents all that is great in this lovely country of ours. It makes you feel as though everything is possible and we should take nothing for granted.... 

Get there!

Overlooking the North Bay

The OHIOians are heading south in the days to come to visit that other group of West Coast Feth's in San Jose. It's been a delightful visit and we look forward to our next adventure!

Manchego in the Window

There's been a lot of talk over here lately about adding a new addition to this team of ours. 

Back and forth we discuss whether or not we're ready for such a big change and if this is the right time. 

So to help us make a more informed decision we looked into some resources around the city and found just the one to give us the insight we needed: 

SPCA's Puppy Parenting Class 

PUPPIES you say....well, what did you think we were talking about????? 

Oh yes that other kind of 'addition'. Wellllll, we will just have to see about that another time....

Boy did we learn a lot at that class. First of all we were late, not just a few minutes but like 15 minutes late and thinking back on it that's not a good start to learning how to be a good puppy parent. 

Apparently puppies urinate frequently and thus are required to be taken out every 2 hours or so. This would be a serious adjustment to our schedules as most days we are very 'go with the flow' kind of folks. But SPCA made it clear that puppies' bladders do not accommodate such flakey behavior. Ahhh, I'm already feeling like a horrible parent!  

As we all know, during the teething process, puppies will find anything and everything within your home to chew on. I can just imagine this future scene: 

We walk in to find a half chewed voodoo doll hanging from the mouth of our dear puppy. 

Now you can't easily replace a voodoo doll my friends. This one in particular (and you are wondering why we even have a voodoo doll - you can take that up with my husband) is from Togoville, a small West African village in the country of Togo, that we had to take a boat to get to, so not cool future puppy-child!

However, puppies are loving, furry-soft, playful creatures that will love you unconditionally with their big brown puppy dog eyes and hearts; as well as leave you little presents in your shoes or under your bed. Nevertheless, there's a reason we are so smitten with our canine companions - 

c'mon they're supercute! 

All in all, the Puppy Parenting Class gave us a lot of good information, so much so that we're not really certain of our next step. There are a lot of wonderful older dogs out there that also need homes and perhaps a puppy is a choice we make later in life when we finally do decide to start adding humans to our clan. 

So at this point we are torn and won't make any hasty decisions until we feel the timing is right or fall in love with a particular dog - like that one named Manchego at the SPCA shelter!!! 

*uber-joy* 

I know it's a silly name but you should have seen him! Oh he was so cute and adorable with his sweet doggy ways and delightful jumping and playful tricks. 

Hmmm...maybe a Manchego will join our team or perhaps another dog, 

someday.....

Here's Bosco, my parent's dog who just showed up one day last October, maybe that's how you find the right one, they find you first!

Silver Lining With a Splash of Petrol

Oh my rainclouds,

it is a serious thunderstorm up in here! 

Hail, sunshine, more hail, and lots and lots of rain poureth down on Northern California this day. 

But you know what they say.....there's always a silver lining to every cloud. 

But who said such a thing in the first place? 

It isn't exactly clear but Wikipedia confirms it's an expression, a metaphor for optimism - but what's even more interesting, as you read further down their page, Silver Lining was the name of a Law & Order episode. And you know, I've concluded that I like L & O. But not Criminal Intent or any of those other hundreds of versions out there, no, just Law & Order SVU. What with all that suspense, and cool noise they make in between scenes, I see now why my family is hooked.

But I digress - see what rain does to a  person! 

So what kind of a silver lining are we talking about anyway? 

Our fireplace.

Yep, that magnificent brick structure that contains a fire breathing bundle of logs carefully purchased at our local CalMart for $9. 

(can you even believe such a thing!? 

$9 for a bundle of wood - outrageous!)

Now you can't have a $9 bundle of logs without a snazzy husband to light them! 

And let me tell you, Brian is a master at this craft (no gasoline or other illegal starters required). All those years boy scouting around have served him well.

And I'm right there to ensure that the orange and red flames maintain their fiery glow. 

But I didn't learn such skills in girl scouts or any other formal setting. Instead I gained my dexterity from my clever father who from an early age showed me how to carefully build bonfires using pallets, old sheds, a small tire or two and plenty of gasoline. Talk about ultimate D.I.Y.!!!

This evening, in our lovely apartment in the town of Tiburon we shall enjoy our swell fireplace as we readily welcome days like this that just beg for a warm hearth

(without the petrol, OK, well maybe just a dash....)

Looking forward to lightin' this baby up later!

Race Day

The buzzer loudly penetrated the crisp coolness of the early morning air. Leaning over the side of the bed, the bright red lights flashed 3:30am.... 

It was finally time. 

It was race day. 

The time had come for Brian (also known as Chuck Norris to those allowed close to him) to prepare for his very 1st marathon on that tough terrain, that intense coastal battlefield called Maui. 

A refreshing shower woke his senses, freshly brewed coffee activated his anxious energy and a healthy breakfast filled the tank that would need every ounce of fuel it could consume. 

The support team, otherwise known as Coach (the wife) / Brosif (Jed the brother-in-law) / and the soon to be engaged girlfriend (Michelle aka Dirty Bit) were all there to rally behind CN. 

Like clockwork we jumped into the rental Jeep and tore off down the road in pitch dark. Not knowing exactly where the start line originated (we won't place any blame here....eh-hem) there were a few u-turns and recalculating of the GPS unit but we made it just in time. 

The race was small, around 345 people running the marathon, with the rest of the roughly 2500 participants being divided amongst the later half-marathon, 10k and marathon walk. 

CN jumped right into his stellar stretch moves, hydrated with style and mentally prepared himself to kick sand in the face of the Maui Oceanfront Marathon. The sound of conch shells signaled the start of the race and CN was off! 

Coach, Brosif and Dirty Bit ventured back to the hotel. We felt the best way to support the Norris was to channel our inner relaxation vibes through the actions of watching movies and drinking coffee. After a random but surprisingly entertaining Matthew McConaughey film we left for the finish line. 

Around 9:30am we staked our claim at the line of success. The sun was beating down a dreadful beat of heat and folks later commented that it was exceptionally warm for that January 23rd winter day. Brosif made his way down the road so as to give us a signal when there was a CN sighting. Dirty Bit and I waited anxiously for a sign, congratulating those as they made it across the finish line. 

At 4 hours, 37 minutes and 30 seconds (the time in the photo displays the half-marathon time) we witnessed the one and only cross that line he for so long sought after. He looked exhausted (of course done only for show to make other racers feel better) and went straight into a cool shower of mist. Brosif assumed the role of water boy and Dirty Bit and I the cheering squad. 

CN shared that up to mile 17 he had kept a strong constant pace. At that point, bodily functions beckoned him to make a pit stop and thereafter it was an uphill battle. The heat had been quite a contender that day but it ultimately had no hold over Brian. Without injury, at a 10 1/2 minute mile, and exceeding his fundraising goal of $1500 (raising $2,115) for the young Kenyan entrepreneurs, he successfully completed the Maui Oceanfront Marathon. 

Way to go Brian!!! Congratulations - job well done!!!

An ocean ice bath, large consumption of BBQ and beachfront chair rounded out the remainder of the day.

We Interrupt This Important Marathon Update for a Midwest Thundersnow

The Maui Marathon was brilliant, never before seen moves by the one and only Chuck Norris! 

Wait till we tell you what happened..... 

So this humpback jumped out of the water and Oh, wait, what's that? 

Oh, we need to cut to an update on the Midwest Thundersnow?

Alright....

Actually, let's divert our attention to why it is so great to be in California right now rather than the Midwest. A full report on the Maui Marathon will come following this suspense building, delay tactic list of totally awesome reasons California RULES..... 

1) It is currently a sunny 55 degrees in San Francisco
2) It is not this temperature in the Midwest
3) There is snow in Tahoe, but only there
4) There is snow everywhere in the Midwest, and a lot of it I'm told
5) I'm not wearing 30 pounds of extra clothing in order to stay warm; I'm not even wearing a coat
6) I'm not stuck in a snow drift
7) I didn't take Lake Shore Drive to get home yesterday
8) Ice cream sounds like something I would like to enjoy right now
9) There are no discussions around, hmmm how do you say, thundersnow?
10) I'm off to the beach to make a sand angel and drink a mimosa

To top things off and build even more suspense around the fantastic trip to Maui, I shall leave you with this photo and comment(s): 

Who is this mystery man with Chuck? 

Is he a king crowing CN for his victorious marathon or rather some guy we saw at a rest stop? 

Stay tuned for the answers and the full story on the Maui Oceanfront Marathon! Mahalo!