Dani reserved us a spot on Wrights Beach near Bodega bay so we could camp at least one night while we were on vacation. The area is my kind of climate: harsh weather and a chill in the air in the middle of summer. Listening to the sound of the crashing waves while we slept was something special.

The beach and waves were really something to see: powerful waves crashing on the rocks among seals and whales coming up for air further out. We were warned not to go in the water (120 people have died there) and after getting close to the water and seeing how powerful it was I don’t feel a strong desire to disobey.

One of the nice things about living in the bay area is the redwood groves scattered around the area. It’s a special experience to wander around the temperate rainforest where redwoods grow. Armstrong Redwoods state reserve is one of the best parks I’ve been to, especially for just hiking around on the well-maintained paths. The giant redwoods are really something to see.

I remember reading Jack London’s books as a kid and being enthralled by them. I’ve seen references to him scattered around the bay area here and about his life. It’s a bit of an understatement to say he had an interesting life indeed. It turns out his gravesite and the ruins of his dream home are (along with a museum) part of a state park near Sonoma. Danielle and I wandered around there one day, which was a pretty amazing experience for me.
The ruins of Wolf House are nice to see; A hike of about a mile takes you to a small clearing in a forest where the stone remains of the 4 story dream home he and his wife built still stand. It’s been about a hundred years since the house burned down, and in that time the surrounding forest has swallowed up most of the site. The materials scattered around the museum and on the site indicate that the spot used to have a lovely view of Sonoma valley, and it’s a powerful reminder of the march of time that the forest has come to cover it all up. You could walk by it 50 yards away and never see it.

There are, as always, more pictures in the Flickr gallery.

Dani and I took a trip to Sonoma to check out some of the wineries there. I had a great time wandering around the beautiful area and tasting some good wines. It was a pretty pricy place and not somewhere that I felt entirely comfortable, but it was a great trip.
I was surprised how fast the town shuts down after dark though; things seem to close up shop around 9, which is odd for a touristy place.

Dani and I rented Kayaks and wandered around Lake Tahoe for a few hours. I had been looking forward to this quite a bit and thought it was a blast. I think I need to live somewhere that I can buy a Kayak and take it out on the weekends. Some of the most fun I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to do it again.

• Alameda county fair
• San Francisco day trips (mission district, etc)
• Union square and Pier 39 for the 4th of July fireworks
• Murphys California (a cute little town)
• Kayaking on Lake Tahoe
• Casinos in South Lake Tahoe
• Armstrong Redwoods state reserve
• Jack London state historic park (where the author is buried)
• Camping on Wrights Beach near Bodega Bay
• Sonoma spa and wine tastings
• Wandering around the Pleasanton / Livermore area

We had a great time and I missed her quite a bit so it was good to see each other again. There should be some pictures in the Flickr gallery.

Dave, Matt, and I took a nice stroll around Golden Gate Park the other day, spending most of our time in the area around the beach. There are some ruins of an old bath house north of the main beach area which were interesting to see. The park is always a nice day trip of course.

This past Saturday we took off for a day of hiking in Yosemite national park, which is a few hours away by car. The weather was great and the views were spectacular. We hiked 4 mile trail from the valley floor all the way up to Glacier Point, which ended up being a few atmospheric layers above where we started (3200′ elevation gain). We climbed switchbacks for over 3 hours straight before finally ending up at the top. Looking down at the valley floor from the top of the climb was an incredible experience. The views of the falls and half dome were great, and the valley floor seemed ridiculously far away (which it was after 3 hours of climbing). Going back down went faster of course, but it was pretty hard on the knees that were already sore from all the biking. My calves are still sore from all the climbing. The Flickr gallery has some pictures, though they don’t really do justice to the scale of the scenery.

Ian, Cassie, and I went down to the Mission district to check out Carnaval. It’s mostly a parade and street fair with live music and other things to check out. Despite the crowds it was a pretty good time. Lines for everything but the people watching was good. Pictures in the Flickr gallery if you’re interested.

I’ve been enjoying riding my bike ride into the lab in the mornings, but I think I overdid it a bit. The shortest route is 11 miles round trip, and I’ve been using my bike to do most of my other commuting / errands so I ended up riding 60+ miles a week without really building up to it, which was a mistake. I ended up getting neck and knee pain so I’ve had to lay off it for the last few days and drive around, which I don’t like. I’ve found that ever since I moved to Boulder I just don’t like driving very much. That’s a good thing for the environ ment, and for me I suppose.

Being away from my life always puts me in a reflective mood, and I’m at a critical juncture in my academic life now with finding a topic and all that.  Hopefully the work here at the lab this summer will go a long way towards that. We’ll see.

So far the lab has been a good experience, though I’m a bit lost with the work I’m doing. I haven’t done anything with multigrid methods before and now this has become the focus of my work and I’m having to cram a lot of math in very quickly. Hopefully I can move past this phase and be comfortable enough with the material to make some forward progress. I’m part of a pretty well-integrated group so that’s good. I really enjoy hanging out with the folks in my group so I feel pretty comfortable where I’m at.