The Year in Pictures: July 2007

Summer! We started the month with our annual visit to the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix bicycle races. I'm indefinitely "retired" from the road racing scene, so only the two boys represented the Morris family in competition. And both did themselves proud. Here is a rather serious looking Tony awaiting the start of his heat:


Just a few days later was another landmark of summer, the Westchester Fourth of July parade.


Then it was time to travel. First it was a few days up in the Sierra Nevada visiting Pappy and otherwise frolicking in the woods while avoiding the poison oak. (Plus there was the annual waiting for the garbage truck.)



Upon returning to Southern California, we then headed further south to North County San Diego, where we mixed in visits to Legoland and the Wild Animal Park with visits to local brewing landmarks Pizza Port in Carlsbad and Stone in Escondido.



And if that was not enough, we took off at the end of the month for our main vacation, a two-week camping trip through central California, up to San Jose and back. We took the coast route up north, first camping for a night in Ventura at McGrath State Beach, followed by a night above the crashing waves of the Big Sur coastline at an old favorite of mine, Kirk Creek. We were fortunate to be treated to ideal weather, and also to snag a perfect campsite where the boys were able to scooter to their hearts' delight.

The Year in Pictures: June 2007

OK. I guess I better finish this year in review at least before the end of January.

In most families, I suppose, the month of June is celebrated as the long-awaited end to the school year and the start of summer. While that's not completely untrue for us, it must be admitted that an even bigger reason we look forward to June is the annual open house hosted by our local garbage truck drivers at the West L.A. District yards of the Bureau of Sanitation. Garbage trucks are just the start, as all sorts of heavy equipment are on display and the burgers, hot dogs, soda, and chips are all free! (It makes the perennial increase in waste-collection fees a little more palatable. A little.)


In addition to the school year (including Tony's first acting performance), June also saw the culmination of the spring sports season (including the presentation of Everett's first trophy!), scouting, and guitar and ice skating lessons.


We also found time to squeeze in a family outing to the beach and some good quality time on the bikes.

The Year in Pictures: February 2007

February proved to be a much more memorable month for the Morris family, "anchored" as it was by a Presidents' Day weekend trip to San Francisco. The trip included a much too rare visit with Aunt Kari and Uncle Eric, at their old place on Russian Hill, and some good exploring of the city on foot and by cable car--something the boys had never really done before. The official occasion of the weekend getaway, though, was a double treat for Pete: beer and bicycles.



The beer event was the annual California Homebrew Club of the Year Celebration hosted by San Francisco's own Anchor Brewery. And Pete's club, Pacific Gravity, was the winner for the second year in a row! This was a not-to-be-missed party, featuring endless supplies of the whole slate of Anchor beers and a delicious BBQ lunch all served up by Anchor employees smack dab in the middle of their brew house. Great beer, great food, and an unsurpassed view of the city from Potrero Hill. After a refreshing cab ride back into the heart of San Francisco, it was off to a nostalgia-laced, pesto-coated dinner at Caffe Michelangelo in North Beach, an old favorite of ours that we can happily say has changed very little in the last two decades.



The bicycle event was Sunday's opening Prologue Time Trial, along the Embarcadero waterfront, of the second annual Tour of California. The threatening rain held off, and while a bit cool and windy, it proved to be a nice day to hang outside and watch the spectacle of professional bike racing flash by--including a first-ever appearance by Italian superstar Paolo Bettini in the United States, in the world champion's rainbow jersey, no less! It wasn't quite the same thrill as drinking in the Anchor Brewery, but it wasn't a bad encore either.

The Tour was only getting started that weekend, of course, and like the year before, we (or at least Everett and I) went to see the final stage the following weekend here in the Southland. This year, the race ended with a 10-lap circuit race through the Long Beach waterfront. The cool, somewhat blustery weather continued, but it still was a chance to see the famous--at least in our household--Jelly Belly team car parade behind the peleton.