Bodega Surf Cam

Okay, here it is. My first attempt at filming a ride in on the boogie board. Actually, this is several rides. It was more trouble than it was worth to turn the camera off and on each time.

You'll notice that I had little trouble keeping my head up while riding the board in. That's one drawback to the camera mounted on a helmet - I'm never completely sure that I have it aimed perfectly. But I think you'll catch the excitement of riding the wave.

There's actually a shot of me wiping out on the next to the last ride. It didn't make the cut because it extended the video beyond the length of the audio track., but it's pretty funny.

And for those who were wondering, I have a full wet suit with shoes and gloves. I'm a lot happier when I not cold.

Bodega Dunes

The showers are still free at Bodega Dunes Campground. We spent a couple of days camping at the coast where the weather was cool and cloudy. We had a blast boogie boarding, sitting around the fire, and EATING! All four of us stayed in one big tent. We took plenty of wood and burned it all up. There was a family of skunks that roamed the campgrounds that night, putting a scare into less experienced campers. (Then there was the neighbors little dog, which set to howling in the middle of the night.) But it was a very enjoyable trip

Our campsite;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Around the campfire
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The second day we walked up the beach to Salmon Creek, which is where we usually go on day trips. The driftwood fort was one of several we saw. On the way out of town we stopped at a crab shack for some sea food. While there a woman took our pictures (she thought we were looked like a happy family) for possible publication in the Nov. issue of the AAA travel magazine "VIA." Look for us.

At the beach;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;The driftwood fort
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I should be able to get a video of our boogie boarding adventures - and some footage taken with my 'action cam' fixed on a helmet I wore. It was great fun.

USS Midway

One of the best things I did in San Diego was take the USS Midway tour. This is a decommissioned aircraft carrier named for the great battle in the Pacific during WWII. It was commissioned near the end of that war and saw service in the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf wars. In fact, the best part of my time there was listening to the presentations of two pilots who flew off of it during the Vietnam War. One talked about taking off and the other about landing on a carrier. They were great!

The first photo is from the stairs leading up to the ship (you can get an idea just how big it is) looking toward the stern of the ship. The other photo is of the hanger deck where they store the planes. For perspective, I'm standing near (but not at) the front of the ship on this deck, and couldn't see to the end of it. It's over three football fields away.

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Here is a shot of a passage-way leading through multiple bulkheads. I thought it looked cool to see each door looking smaller and smaller into the distance. The one on the right is a picture of the "island." The tower where the directing of all things in the air and on the sea takes place.

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Up on the flight deck the photo on the left looks off the bow of the ship. The dashed red-white lines show the paths of the catapults that help launch the planes. The other picture is really cool. I'm standing out on one of the two "diving boards" off the bow of the ship, hanging about 60-70 ft. over the water. If you can see the portholes down low - earlier I looked out those very portholes while in the forward section of the anchor room. It was pretty neat.

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I have lots more pictures of this tour which I'll post in the coming days. I also have some of the S.D. Temple, the S.D. Pier, and Kim with Melody. Don't forget to click on the photos to see the big pictures. See you in the funny papers.

Body Worlds

One of the things I enjoyed most about our trip to San Diego was getting to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. I had wanted to see it when it was in Sacramento earlier this year, but didn't get the chance.

They had so many bodies on display, most with the skin removed, and posed in athletic positions (like swinging a bat, doing a back flip or whatever). It was absolutely amazing to look at the insides of the human body, to see the muscle structure, and the tendons being flexed. In one place they showed all the blood vessels in the head (without the skull or any other soft tissue). It was pretty cool.

My desire to work in the funeral business prompted me to study anatomy in some depth. This exhibit was a great compliment to that study.

Kimberly in San Diego

Here's a couple of photos from our trip to San Diego. To bring you up to date, Kim is going for a Masters degree in Geographic Information Systems. The leading producer of software and data in GIS (a southern Cal company called ESRI) held a world conference this past week in San Diego. Kim had the opportunity to volunteer at the conference, so Melody and I got a motel room for her to share with us. She worked at the conference all day while we played around. What a deal! The first picture is from the first evening just off of Sunset Cliffs road on Point Loma. The second one is 3 days later from the beach by the lighthouse at the tip of Point Loma. More pictures (including from my tour of the USS Midway, a decommissioned aircraft carrier) will come soon.

Melody and Kim;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Kim and Melody
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Me. At the tide pools;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;The pier where I went swimming during my 4.5 mile run
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The 4th of July in Victor, ID

Most of our kids, and their kids, spent the morning of 4th of July in Rexburg watching the parade (where they hand out free chocolate milk!). I didn't get any chocolate milk, : ( because Melody and Kim and I went to Victor (which for those who are less informed, is located 8 miles south of the the thriving metropolis of Driggs). We almost missed the parade in Victor because there was an accident on the main (only) road coming into town from the north.

But the afternoon brought better times. Everybody showed up to Melody's sister's place where her husband Bart was BBQ-ing ribs and salmon - YUMMM! Below are some pictures of the event.

Michelle, Atticus, and Trevor are in the foreground - Melody's brother Ed (on the left) and her brother-in-law Bart in the background. The other photo is Melody's younger sister Julie, her brother Ed, and her.

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Three of our girls: Kimberly, Pamela, and Molly K, all in one shot. The other one is Kayla She was licking her plate and I tried several times to catch her in the act, but couldn't. She's just too good.

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Now below, it's much eaiser to catch Grant licking his hands while eating cake. And as you see, Ian had a great time. That used to be my favorite thing to do.

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Utah/Idaho Trip - Aspen Grove Frontier Night

Melody started our trip to Utah & Idaho a couple weeks ago by driving back there while I was at AP Camp. I had to stay to conduct some important stake business on Sunday, then I flew out to Utah late that night. Monday and Tuesday we spent with Chris and Lorna (we'll post those photos later - their new house is beautiful! and Kayla and Ian are really adorable) and Tue. evening we went up to Aspen Grove to see Kim. Pam & Rob were there with their kids.

(Click the photos to enlarge for better viewing)

Grant dresses up as a vanilla Ricky Ricardo... and I don't know what Lucy is. The snow cones are free on Frontier night and Lucy did a good job of eating through the paper cup to get to the ice.

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Me, Grant, Rob & Lucy in the fort tower. Grant climbing on the rocks (he's a Master Climber, and his little sister is not far behind him). All this happening under a very ominous sky, but no rain.

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Me & Lucy waiting for the train. This is one of my favorite pictures of Lucy. Then along comes Todd driving the train. We had a blast seeing everyone
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Grandpa helps Lucy 'ramp it up' on the rocking horse.
(note the modified Grandpa Hall 'trouser hitch' movement)