Back in the Bay

Hello World!  

It has been a very long time since we've posted to the Avocado, but given that our family spans the nation again, it seemed a good opportunity to fire up the family blog!

Where to start?  Julie and I moved back to San Jose this April and in a blink, we have a new house, 6 months have passed and we are already into California fall.

Our new house in South San Jose

In May, Greg and were our first visitors.  We spent the weekend taking a trip to San Francisco, a drive down the coast and cooking some awesome meals at home. 

Pacific Coast

This past week we celebrated Julie's birthday with a trip to Petaluma.  Petaluma is the gateway from San Francisco to wine country (Napa/Sonoma etc.).  Cold in the mornings (40s), but right back up to the 70s-80s for mid-day. A lot of the roads in and our of Petaluma have been recently paved which made for some excellent road biking and an amazing day trip around the Marin County area.  All of the below were done within 24 hours!

Road Biking around Vineyards

Julie looking very relaxed after a ride

After hanging out in town, we went to "Point Reyes" sea cliffs.  It was totally surreal.

On the way up we stopped at Drake's Bay where there is a very loved Oyster Farm.  We had the most fresh oysters!

Then off to Point Reyes which is a n ocean cliff that towers 1400 feet above the sea.  It was very foggy and mysterious.  Julie looks like a ghost from a movie in this picture we took walking up to the lighthouse.  

It was an excellent birthday and a good reminder that even when things are busy, getting out and exploring the world is always worth it!  We're looking forward to the next weekend adventure.

changing weather and Amy's potato harvest

Hello family,

Well the season has certainly changed these past few weeks....moving from sunny days in the 60's and 70's to cool or cold days with snow and wind. As all of us who've lived in Colorado know, if you don't like the weather...just wait a day or so (or even a few hours) and it can be very different. Last week for example, we had a warm Colorado morning with blue sky and no wind..... followed by a snowy and windy afternoon. Amy and I were rushing around blowing out the sprinkler system, bringing in plants we wanted to save for another few weeks, and getting in the last vegetables from the garden as the weather was changing and I took the following pictures which I thought I'd share.

Amy harvesting potatoes that we planted last April...

snow and wind blew in during the afternoon and our resident deer wondered what happened to the beautiful weather while Amy and I sat inside by the fire admiring our potato harvest ;-)

Life is good....

Greg and Amy

Greg and Amy in October 2010

Hello family,

Amy and I have had a very fun and eventful October.....and following are a few highlights!

In early October....we sent to Washington DC to attend the wedding of one of our oldest and dearest friend's youngest daughter.

Amy with the bride (Clare)

After the wedding, we took the train to Philadephia....then rented a car to drive to Absecon New Jersey and see the area (and house) where Amy lived when she was growing up.

Amy standing in front of her Absecon, New Jersey childhood home

Then......we continued down the coast to Cape May New Jersey....a very pretty small town at the very southern tip of New Jersey with many old turn of the century Victorian homes and lots of bird life along the shore (Cape May lies along the main southern migration route for migratory birds along the eastern seashore).

Cape May is one of the few places in the world where you can stand on the same beach and watch the sunrise come up out of the Atlantic Ocean.....and in the evening.....watch the sunset go down in the Atlantic Ocean!!! ;-)

In the middle of the month......we enjoyed an evening at the ballet with Amber (the ballet production of Dracula is excellent and a fun way to get ready for Halloween.

Pre-ballet dinner at Itzakaya Den on Old South Pearl Street

Amy and Amber at Ellie Caukins Opera House

and in mid-October....we celebrated Julie's 33rd birthday with "Grams" after Julie and Joe got back from a short birthday celebration in California.

Julie and Amy

While celebrating Julie's birthday at my mom's house....my mother put on her "Boulder Mall Crawl Costume" to frighten us into the Halloween spirit!!!

Grams the Ghoul pretends to attack the birthday girl!!!!

It's VERY SCARY at Gram's house.

Finally, at the end of October....we took my mom to Salida for the weekend to celebrate her 84th birthday doing the things she loves best....spending time with her family and enjoying the beautiful Colorado outdoors.

Happy Birthday Mother.....we love YOU!!!!!

Greg and Amy

Elk hunting 2010

Hello family!!!

Thought I'd share a few pictures from my recent Elk Hunting trip. For those of you who are not archery hunters...... hunting elk with a bow and arrow is more like "chasing elk" in the forest. It involves getting up before dawn and hiking in the dark by flashlight for miles and miles. Once you hear the elk (or smell them).....if the wind is right you try and sneak up on them by sneaking through the woods and crawling over and under logs on mountains and slopes more acceptable to mountain goats than people. Then if you're lucky.....you get close enough (less than 40 yards) for a shot.....but more often than not....the elk hear or smell you first and crash off through the timber.

I hunted for 5 days.....probably walked between 50-75 miles....and only had one shot.......and I missed@@#@$%$#@#!@#@!!!! The picture of the elk being packed out is an nice four point bull elk that one of my hunting companions got on the second day of the hunt.

Sooooo......while there's no elk meat in the freezer at the Reed house this year...... the memories of spending time in the great outdoors will last forever......there's always next year :-)

Life is good!!!

Greg

CASABLANCA

Hola Familia,

It's been a little over a month since we closed on our house in Erie and we have some pictures to share.
We've named it CASABLANCA and our addres is: 2578 Reserve St. Erie, CO 80516.

There's minimal furniture in it (a bit more than the pictures show) but it truly feels like Home.

Our Grady Circle address is still "alive" and we call this house COBBLESTONE. It's on the market and fully furnished.

It's hard to believe Summer's gone; but it also feels wonderful to slowly slide into the Colorado Indian Summer.........

Love You All!

PS: There's some "code" that I couldn't get rid off towards the end of the post, the pictures of the shower doors and the stairs to the basement. Maybe Joey will fix it.

CASABLANCA





4mile Fire from Casablanca


Fire from Hwy 7 and Mountain View Blvd , which is the entry to Vista Ridge, our development





Entry Way



Papi installing lights

Kitchen





Backsplash



Dining Room



Family Room






Guest Bathroom



Entry To Master Bedroom




Master Bath


Master Bath Detail



Thick glass, Mexico style shower doors
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Stairway to Basement




Full Basement, 2005 sq.ft, for future (maybe...I like it "small".) media room, gym, bedroom, bathroom, wine cellar:




It's the perfect house for us, "lock up & go", the HOA fees take care of the beautiful grounds. The Community Center ( Cardio room, weight room, pools, locker rooms, banquet rooms ), and the Colorado National Golf Course are 3 minutes away, and the lap pool is within walking distance (Joey will like this when he comes to visit). Vista Ridge advertises the community as follows:

"Have you ever lived in a community where coming home felt like going on vacation? Families who live in Vista Ridge have that feeling all the time. It’s more than the open space and great views of the Rocky Mountains. Vista Ridge offers residents all the amenities of a five-star resort."

We are down with that!