Way Too Many Selfies!

 Well gentle readers, as my summer break comes to a close, I took a few days to check off two more National Parks in my quest to hit all 63 National Parks. "Did you travel alone?" you might inquiry gentle reader. I did, as Rusty stayed home to nurse an ankle injury and to care for Evie who is experiencing health issues associated with old age (she is ten after all and 100lb. Stockton born street dogs age so much faster). Yosiell is busy prepping shows and does not share my passion for all things hiking and nature. To be honest, a few days alone with my thoughts to regroup after so much change was probably just what the doctor ordered.  

Enough suspense gentle readers, the two parks I visited were King's Canyon, and Sequoia...sister parks very close together.  These parks are a mere four hours from our doorstep. I have visited each of these parks as a wee young'un, but only remember the picutres and not the actual visit. I'm sure there was lots of surly teen drama my parents had to deal with as we were not the easy happy go lucky Brady Bunch siblings.  

I arrived at noon at King's Canyon, usually my first stop in every National Park is the visitor center to talk with a Ranger about recommendations of hikes, cool activties, or just ways to avoid hoards of people. I've never been disappointed by suggestions and recommendations from the Park Rangers, a group of people appreciative of a pinch of friendliness and charm (something I've been told I have in abundance...or was it agressiveness and an unnatural disregard for personal space...who can say?),  

Every park has what I call the Disneyesque Attractions (i.e the world's largest tree, the highest waterfall, the most beautiful field of flowers...etc.) These attractions are usually less than half a mile on a paved path leading from the pretty large parking lot. To be honest, I'm not really knocking these things as they tend to be amazing sites regardless of struggling through the masses of tourists both foreign and domestic. 

Arriving so late on my first day, my first stop was the General Grant Tree. Defintely a Disney like attraction but amazing none the less. This is considered the second largest tree by volume on Earth.  (Not the tallest nor the oldest but the second greatest trunk volume). Which is the largest, you may be wondering, gentle reader, have no fear your intrepid explorer and author did visit the largest tree by volume this trip and it is listed later in this missive.  

The General Grant using an iphone pano sweep from top to bottom of the tree for the picture. (This is also considered our National Christmas tree...I'm sure there is an adorable story to go with this designation but it escapes me at the moment). 

Pretty frickin' awesome to be in the presence of this 1,800 old tree. This tree was a sapling in about 200AD. This tree is 7 times older than our fledgling democratic experiment of a country. Humbling to be sure gentle reader. 

Very close to this impressive massive tree is a short hike called North Grove Loop (1.2 miles). I needed to stretch my legs ater the long drive so I took this trail. Walking the trail, I saw a total of one other person. This short hike reminded me that the forest has a distinctive smell that is as intoxicating as ambrosia. The hike also passes several spots recovering from fires in the recent past providing a dfferent smell. One can still smell the charred trunks of trees, reminding hikers that all is temporary so enjoy while it lasts. 

My finally adventure of the day was a hike suggested by the Ranger, starting at Panoramic Point and following the Park Ridge Trail. Although I only did a short amount of the trail the vistas were incredible and managed to instill a sense of wonder and awe.  

Panoramic Point View

A view from the Park Ridge Trail. This four mile out and back hike was a little more than I wanted to do for an afternoon but will one day return to see the Park Ridge Lookout, I'm sure it is incredible.

Another view from the trail. A small enticing lake in the distant.

After a restless night's sleep in a very rundown over priced motel in Three Rivers (mere minutes from Sequia's entrance but 75 minutes from King's Canyon entrance), I left early to hit the Mist Falls trail. This trail is 9.2 miles round trip with only 800 feet of elevation but all the elevation is in the last two miles before the falls.  

A very warm day to hike to the falls, Two miles are comletely flat and sandy before the elevation begins. 

Wonderful canyon views on the way to the falls, 

After two hours of hiking, I arrived at the aptly named mist falls! 

Standing on this rock in the warm summer sun, the generously spraying mist was a welcome relief sending this intrepid adventurer into nirvana for a brief few seconds. 

After a long, hot, challenging hike, it was time to rest these weary bones by going back to the motel and hopping in the pool.   An early night for yours truly for sure.  It has been awhile since I've pushed my limits. Although I've had longer and more difficult hikes, this hike was challenging because I've not been on long hikes in quite sometime. This was certainly a signal to get my ass in gear and step up my hiking game. Tomorrow? Sequoia.

When I get to a park early I like to ask the ranger at the entrnnce what things I should do before the attractions get too crowded. the ranger without hesitation said, "General Sherman Tree and Moro Rock..." Well, these certainly are the Disneyesque attractions promised on every website and every brochure, but I'm game! 

First stop, General Sherman Tree...parking is a bit confusing but once there it is a half mile walk down a fairly steep paved path to quite frankly see a tree that looks so similar to the General Grant I felt almost cheated. 

The General Sherman is the largest by volume tree in the world. It is also 2,200 years old. The oldest Sequia is 3,266 years old, and is in this same park. Over a thousand years older...what?!?! These time frames are unfathomable and very humbling.  

Beautiful, majestic, and stately...the tree's not so bad either (Waka, waka). 

A short drive from the big ol' timber giant, Moro Rock. This large granite dome can be summited with the aid of 350 granite steps starting right in the parking lot. Disney couldn't have planned it any better. Pretty cool attraction, although parts are a little precarious as the railing present on most of the way up gives way to granite rocks arranged as a sort of half walls coming up to the knee as one ascends toward the top. These are less like railings and more like tripping hazards. As most of my hiking friends know, I am not a lithe graceful hiker rather a lumbering slowly moving graceless plodder. Tripping hazards aside, no problem getting to the top, and surprisingly I did not tumble over the edge. 

Yes, this is where I will be climbing to...the scale is a little off as it is more impressive in size than it seems. 

Me at the top enjoying the view.

Amazing view! 

After 350 steps, time for a stop at the visitors center. While waiting for the ranger for some recommendations, I saw two kids get sworn in as part of the parks Junior Rangers program. Super cute, this almost makes me miss being back at school. 

Instead of going on another hike, I opted to plop down the $26 for the Crystal Cave tour. The promise of a chilly 50 degrees in the cave was too much to pass up on this warm day.  

Getting to the cave was a bit of an adventure in itself. The road to the parking lot is long and filled with potholes and bumps creating an incredibly bumpy ride. My chiropractor is not going to be pleased. 

After checking in, another half mile walk down a steep paved pathway...I'm starting to sense a pattern to the Disneyfication process. When one approaches the entrance to the cave the temperature drops fairly quikly....ah sweet cool relief. 

Essentially this cave is formed because the marbe is surrounded by a shist shell. Shist does not erode in water but marble does. Wow, I was actually paying attention! That's not a usual trait for principals.  

After the cave was rediscovered (evidence suggest native Americans of the area used the cave for thousands of years),  this became a tourist attraction in the 1930's. The paths through were dirt and the sparkly formsations were covered in dust as people walked through. These can't be cleaned but there is evidence the cave will recover and will be Crystal once again, now that the path is cement and the amount of visitors is limited.  

Another selfie.  After the cave, once again I was ready for a cool dip at the motel, so no long hikes on this day. 

Looking through the photos, there are tons of selfies, sorry about that gentle readers. When travelling alone, one is the subject of EVERY photo. Other notes about travelling alone, you become everyone else's photographer - a quick note to all those people that asked me to take their photo, sorry but I warned you I'm a crappy photographer. Also, when alone lots of people tlak to you...it was nice to interact with so many strangers if only for a few seconds. 

This concludes my solo summer adventure to King's Canyon and Sequia Natonal Park. Although not my favorite National parks, these parks offered wonderful attractions and a welcoming atmosphere. Would I go back? Yes, but at a different time of year to see a different side of the park. 

Well gentle readers thanks for sticking out this longpost about my short trip.  School starts soon and I look forward to a quick final year as a principal. All I can think about right now is getting through the beginning of the year but I know this year will go fast. Keep checking in firends to keep up dated on all the news that's fit to print. 

Burying St. Joseph

OK gentle readers, life has descended into chaos once again  After 17 years in Oakland, we moved out of our house.  17 seems to be the prophetic number as we rented a place in Castro Valley just 17 miles from our Oakland place.  Although we have only been here officially for one week, we are mostly moved in and enjoying a nice view and a large five bedroom three bathroom home.  The neighborhood is five minutes from Lake Chabot regional park and a bit closer to my work shortening my commute by about 17 minutes (Another 17? Coincidence? I think not). 

The view from the deck in our new pad! 

Our frst weekend in the house with a celebratory Kung Fu Girl reisling. Yes, we look tired, and bedraggled, but excited for a new adventura. 

You may be asking yoursef, "Why now?".  An entirely fair question. Since Rusty has retired, he has spent all of his time as the construction manager for our basement construction. this is a frustrating and difficult job. We are way over time and way over budget for getting this complete.  But now we are on the verge of completion. Paying a mortgage plus the loan  for construction is a huge disincentive for staying when we can sell the house (our neighborhood Glenview still has a strong market) and save the equity for our ultimate move in June of 2027, my projected retirement date. 

We are also saving in other ways. Yosiell is using one of the rooms as a studio. We can also actually get rid of our expensive storage unit in Oakland and bring all of our crap into the garage for a thorough once over to get rid of junk. 

Psyhologists list moving as a top stressor in a person's life, and being midstream into this move it is clearly true for us. We are exhausted mentally and physically. and are counting down the minutes until we are finished with constuction, staging the house, and have signed the papers for a sale. 

Living in Castro Valley is a bit of a full circle moment for me as when we first moved back to California, I got a job as a principal here. So, although we have never lived here, I'm pretty familiar with this small unincorporated town. 

There are several ways that the stress on moving can be lessened, inclduing de-cluttering (still working on that), and prioritizing self care. I wouldn't say we are prioritizing self care at the moment, but yesterday I did go on a long walk at Lake Chabot, a five minute drive from our doorstep.  

Memorial Day weekend six mile hike. The day was absolutely perfect and once away from the Lake Marina, few crowds and a chance to decompress. 

A Blue Heron hanging out in the shade. 

My friend Bruno met me out for the walk. He's good company for sure. We talk mostly about cool space stuff as he's an astrophysicist. 

The Marina, a picture of the swan boats for rent. I'm deifnitely going to rent one before leaving Castro Valley! 

In the spirit of continuing our self care, Memorial day is a day off from work and we had friends over for a Memorial Day barbecue. Rusty insisted on moving the extremely heavy Komodo Dragon egg smoker to this rental place. It took four of us and an insistence that the smoker get used weekly for us to be motivated enough to get it on the truck.  This weekend we made good on that promise and we used it as an amazing pizza oven. Hooray! Our first dinner party.

Ivan and Rusty making pizzas for the smoker. 

Anand creating a pizza master piece. 

Yosiell in pizza bliss. I gotta say, the pizza from the smoker was exceptional. 

Full approval from the chef! 

We have lived in Oakland a very long time. We've developed many memories and had many adventures. It is impossible to move without feelings of nostalgia.  The neighborhood we are leaving is filled with the best neighbors we have ever had. Our Halloween Trick or Treating game is legendary, with three hundred kids showing up on our doorstep.  The National Night Out party was always right in front of our house.  We have witnessed families move in and kids grow into adult hood. We have helped each other out countless times with so may things. We have partied together, mourned the loss of family members and pets together, and gossiped with each other on nearly a daily basis. I couldn't have asked for a better neighborhood, truly a wonderful community.  So yes, a sense of nostalgia and longing has crept into my  consciousness (and I'm sure into Rusty's and Yosiell's as well).  Ardley Avenue (and Oakland) will be missed. 

 

Theres an old folk belief that if you bury a statue of St. Jospeph in your yard upside down and facing toward where you want buyers to come in, you'll sell your house quicker. We aren't Catholic, but I have purchased my statue from Monsignor Bezos at the cathedral of Amazon, and we have every intention of supporting this pagan Catholic practice. We will let you know how it goes gentle reader. 

Keep us in your thoughts and send us your positive vibes as we manage the last of this grueling and long process. Wish us luck gentle readers! 

The Year of the Snake Draws to a Close

According to my favorite Chinese restaurant's placemat, the year of the snake is a year marked by wisdom and intuition.  It's a year punctuated by strategy and introspection. Characteristics of this year include rebirth. As we look back at 2025, this certainly seems to hold true for the household of 3940 Ardley.  We've been through many transformations and changes this year (lots of inner alchemy) all in preparation for the bold moves promised by 2026, the year of the Fire Horse. 

On the Job Front...Retirement on the Horizon:

As for my career, I finished my first full year back in elementary school. Making the transition was no easy task, not so much because of the work, students, or school, but really because my work in middle school, although stressful, relied heavily upon muscle memory for much of it, I'm sure my first few months were filled with confusion and a fair amount of eye rolling from my staff as I relearned the particular ways of elementary once again.  At middle  school often my exhaustion was from feeling beaten down from negative energy, difficult decisions, and depressing experiences. At elementary, I often leave work bolstered with good vibes and fun memories. I'm still exhausted but way more satisfied.

I know my transition out of this career and into retirement is on the horizon and although I dont know the exact date yet, it is hard to avoid short timers syndrome.  There is nothing easy about education any more. The work of administration has become increasingly filled with tasks to satisfy state and federal mandates/compliances and less about my true passion, working with students and families to ensure all students learn at high levels. It's a corny sentence I know, I truly still believe my job is to focus my efforts on the students that need me the most, our students and families that are often under represented in the school system.  The prospect of retirement is both scary and exciting and of course I'm filled with mixed emotions about it. 

I think we all know me well enough that I won't be totally out of education even after retiring, I'm excited to be at the crossroads with an unclear picture of where the next path will take me. (Quite frankly not having a career plan is a new thing for me!) 

Speaking of retirees, Rusty is now officially retired. He has been off since June on full salary and benefits in an early out/golden handshake type of scenario. 

June retirement party.

Naughty boys at the retirment party...I call shenanigans.

As of his 62nd birthday, he is officially retired, a pensioner as it were.  That full salary goes away but so does the stress and strife of working with the current federal govenrment.  Rusty's first retirement party (with mostly EPA folks) was in June. His final retirement party was on the winter solstice this year - he shared the day with Lance, our very close friend from Sacramento also retiring. The evening was filled with good friends, good food, and lots of laughter.  Although I try not to tell other people's story, it has been interesting to witness Rusty's shift into retirement. I think he never really retired, he just switched jobs into managing our construction in the basement. I think he still hasn't wrapped his head around it as he hasn't joined a pickle ball league nor has he taken to getting up early for coffee at fast food restaurants with the other old guy retirees. 

Construction: 

"We are on time and under budget..." said no contractor ever.  The basement remodel has been a comedy of surprises, on top of a big mid-ocean whirlpool sucking down our money and  time.  Finding foundation issues (two years ago) was a huge set back but now we are actually seeing progress and can see that this too shall end.  I'm confident the project will be finished in the next few months. Rusty has been managng the construction like a champ and I believe that's the only reason we are seeing progress. 

Travel:

Our big travel this year has been an international trip to Japan. This was an expensive trip constraining our travel budget for other destinations. Well worth it though, gentle readers. Japan was wacky, weird, and wonderful.  As I typically do, I created a full travel blog on Japan and yet it still doesn't seem to  capture the mystery and magic of ths ancent/modern island.  Walt's Blog on Japan. If interested in a day by day account of our adventure check it out. 

Holidays: 

Our holidays this year were consumed with all things Aussie.  Ms. Di Drew made an appearance for a week at Thanksgiving and two weeks at Christmas.  She brought with her a true Aussie legend, Col.  Many adventures were had during their stay, a tale that could only be told in pictures.

Look who landed in Oakland.  

Buena Vista winery does not disappoint. 

A night at the Zoo for Glowfari. A chilly but wonderous night of glowing displays.  

An ode to Oakland! 

Oaklandlandmarks are the stars of the show. 

Mandatory pano-trick photography on the bridge. 

Thanksgiving card games, good times.

What an amazing turkey!

A winery in Berkeley?  Who knew? 

Official retirement party with coworkers and friends (sorry not many pics of this one). 

Ano Nuevo state park elephant seals...so cool! 

Christmas dinner with just the chosen fam! A New Orleans feast! 

Ocean beach pano trick photography, yes, I'm obsessed!

A few days in Paso Robles, another wine region  - small, intmate, extremely fun, and relatively affordable! Check it out gentle readers. 

And of course Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista Inn. 

Mandatory cable car ride. 

Another year at Breakfast of Champions, New Year's day shenanigans. Surprisingly fun this year. 

And soon after new year's day the long journey for our intrepid explorers back to far north Queensland, I know they are broke but happy! They will be missed until we meet again. 

Health: 

No one warned me that when you hit your sixties, your number of vistis to the emergency room rises exponentially. In 2025 I spent a night in the hospital with excessive diarhea and dehydration, and at the start of 2026 another trip to the emergency room after four or five incidents of the same thng. This problem seems to be recurring and even though I've hade every test immaginable, still no reason why...and before my kind gentle readers throw out suggestions, yes, I'm going to a GI soon to help figure this out.  I'm suspecting some form of IBS, looking at symptoms, it doesn't seem to rise to the level Crohn's. (Don't you just love patients that self diagnose - I know doctors do - tee hee). 

Rusty on the other hand, ended up three days in the hospital at the end of January with sepsis.  The cause is still unknown.  He is fine now, but it was a bit concerning for a few days as it took a long time for the fever to break.  He was in good hands at Sutter hospital, in the wing of the hospital that the nuses say is haunted.  No, we didn't experience any fun haunted events. 

The Art of Yosiell Lorenzo:

Yosiell has had a very successful 2026. But this success didn't come without some hard earned blood, sweat, and tears.  More accurate, travellng to lots of different shows, long nights designing, and racking up those frequent flyer points.  His art just gets better every single year and his fan base expands every year too. It's amazing to see his art not only in every state but in different countries as well.  At the start of 2026, Yosiell has decided to merge his worlds and rebrand as the "Midnight Conjurer".  This rebranding allows him to create many different worlds under the same umbrella and is really a chnace to expand his creativity.  

He has lots of really cool changes coming under this new brand in 2026, so gentle reader, get on his mailing list and check out his shop.    Midnight Conjurer Website

As we move into the year of the fire horse, a year marked by transformation, bold actions, and intense energy, I'm ready. Lately I've felt like we've been in a state of limbo here on Ardley ave. I know that it is important to embrace the characteristics of the year of the snake to prepare oneself for the bold moves to come, so being in limbo is just a chance to prepare.  Now it's time to make some moves. I'm predicting big changes in 2026, and gentle readers, I'm here for it. 

Vanquishing the Darkness

 Is anyone else experiencing a bit of existential angst, gentle readers? Often times I run the risk of succombing to the feelings of hopelessness and the dread that social media tends to foster even in the most positive of people. Of course with the current political climate that sense of impending doom is omnipresent now-a-days and it isn't easy to getaway from it. 

The long nights are here and people throughout the ages have chosen to pierce the darkness with all manner of light.  We haven't yet hit the longest night of the year, and the subsequent dawn hearalding a return to light. This is one of my favorite nights of the year, because the dawn heralds such hope.  I'm choosing to face the darkness head on early this year. (Don't worry, gentle reader, I will still post on Facebook my favorite clip from Northern Exposure titled "More Light" on the solistice). How am I facing the darkness, with lots more time watching sunsrises and sunsets, lighting candles more often, and spending more time out in the sunshine. 

When the existential angst gets overwhelming I know the cure is not simply to "find the light". For me searching out the light is a reminder that, "Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise." (Victor Hugo) Really, essentially I am an opitmist and must believe there must be hope even when we have to search hard to find it. 

So, gentle reader, a few photos to remind me to find the light. 

Alameda beach chilly fall sunrise (photo by Anand)

Lake Merritt fall sunrise. 

Sunrise at Sibley State Park (Fall) 

Sunset at Lake Elizabeth in Fremont (Early November) 

Bellingham, September 2024.

Bellingham, September 2024. 

On this Thnaksgiving Day, I hope you find a way to fight your own version of existential dread, and find your light.