Road tripping with the boys

Except for business, I rarely travel (let alone vacation) without Sherry.  The reason is simple.  We love spending time together.  But every now and then, it’s time to head out with the boys on a good old-fashioned road trip.  These road trips are always centered around cycling but there is always a little more to them then that.

I just got home yesterday for such an adventure.  Myself and two other good friends made our way from Sonoma County down to San Diego for 4 days of “cycling”. 

Now, don’t take those quotes around the word cycling too seriously.  We did ride our bikes. In fact, we rode them a lot! But this trip was about way more then just cycling.  (If you want to read more about the cycling part, check out Lee’s Life Adventure, my cycling blog.)

Along with the phenomenal cycling we also drank our fair share of excellent wine and beer.  We ate in national food chains, local restaurants, and in the car.  We stayed in a Bed & Breakfast style hotel, your standard run-of-the-mill hotel, and an Indian casino.  And we shared a ton of laughs.

When you think about it, the “real” purpose behind this trip was a chance to hang out together as friends.  To spend some time with each other chatting, laughing, telling stories, poking fun at each other, and basically just being boys again.  The cycling was just the catalyst that got the trip started.

As I think back about this trip, it will not be the cycling that made it successful. It was time spent laughing with good friends.  That’s what I will cherish the most about this trip. 

Au revoir!

The person I am today

Sherry and I have had many conversations during our almost 24 years of marriage about how I became the person I am today.  You see if you look at my family, I am rather different with regards to things such as interests, food, wine, where I vacation, etc.  As different as I may appear, you would think the person I am today had to have its roots in my family somewhere.  

Due to recent events, I have been thinking about this question a lot and I finally came upon a big part of the answer.  The real genesis behind who I am today was my grandmother, Ruby.

To put it simply, my Ruby loved, and embraced, life.  She loved spending time with family and friends.  What she was doing was rarely as important as who she was doing it with.  She was always laughing about something and seemed to find something good and fun in everything life threw her way.  She also had an adventurous spirit and was also willing to try new things or go to new places.

I spent many hours with her as a growing, impressionable child and no matter what we were doing you could bet we were having fun in the process.  Whether it was fishing, doing yard work, playing a raucous game of UNO, or just watching TV, fun and a love for life where always near.

So this is my simple thank you to my grandmother for teaching me it’s not about how much money you make or how many possessions you own, but how you live you life that makes if fun. 

Au revoir!