Hurricane Harvey

It is hard to believe this is happening in a place near and dear to my heart, happening to people who are near and dear to me, when the weather in California is sunny and bright (and hot, 100+) and people at work seem oblivious.

My parents have been sending semi-regular updates and Gil's sister and her family have been posting updates on Facebook.  Both are safe and the latter stayed dry.

The following pictures are ones my parents have sent as Harvey took his time sight-seeing over Houston.

Looking west down the street.  Starting to fill.

 Looking west down a fuller street.

 Water creeping up the front walk.

Water starting to crest over the front porch step.

 Water lapping at the threshold.

 The back room of the house is lower than the rest and was the only room to take on water.  Not much compared to some places in the city, or even on my parents' block, but enough to make my parents (and me) hold their breath that it wouldn't rise any higher and into the rest of the house.

 My mother, with her never-failing smile, scraping up ruined carpet and padding in the back room.

Forty years in this house and who knows how many countless storms and a handful of hurricanes, this was the first time the house had water in it.  Says something about how much water Harvey dumped.

There are quite a few friends I have yet to hear from and my hope is that they are all safe.  My prayers go out to my fellow Texans and Houstonians as they begin to dry out.

Bring on the clean-up (and the mosquitoes).

Eccles Family Visit

 My parents and brother flew in Thursday afternoon for a quick visit.  I was able to take Friday off but Gil had to work.  He was missed in the day's adventures.

First stop Friday morning was my work station.  I showed off my office.  I showed my dad one of our database programs and he was familiar with the platform.  

We hiked to Cody Lake.  The weather was beautiful and the scenery lovely.

 Just missing Gil.

 We then went down to Coloma, to Marshall Gold Discovery, where Sutter found that famous first piece of gold.  It was really hot and we didn't spent too much time wandering around the site.

 Saturday we attended the Sacramento Temple as a family.  My dad had some family names and we were able to seal three of my paternal grandmother's adopted children to her.  It was very special.

We got lunch and took it back to the apartment.  The three of them left that afternoon.  It was a quick but wonderful visit.

Big Basin and Santa Cruz

Gil loves the beach and has been pining for some ocean time all summer.  We finally headed to Santa Cruz this past weekend.

We left Friday after work and drove down to San Jose.  We were up early Saturday and meandered our way to Santa Cruz.  We passed through Big Basin State Park and stopped to admire the massive Redwoods.  It was very crowded by the time we arrived and we didn't explore as much as we would have liked.  We bought our California State Parks annual pass in anticipation of future visits.

We went to a favorite beach of Gil's in Santa Cruz.  He had both his surf boards strapped to the top of the car and his wet suit in the back, but strong rip currents kept him from using any of it.  We set up our umbrella and beach towels and Gil was off into the waves.  The cold water of the Pacific doesn't seem to bother him.  I was content to sit on the beach with my book and enjoy the sun and sound of the surf.

 We drove into Santa Cruz proper and got some lunch, then walked and explored.  We went out on the boardwalk, did some touristy things (e-hem, shopping), and then spent an inordinate amount of time watching the sea lions.  They were quite entertaining.

 Another beautiful California summer day and perfect for a beach outing.

Pyramid Creek Trail

The most popular trail in my district of the Eldorado National Forest is Pyramid Creek.  I'm embarrassed to say, all the times I visited the trailhead, all the headaches I had over getting the plumbing working at the trailhead, all the trash I've picked up at the trailhead, the few times I've cleaned the visitor nasty-fied restrooms at the trailhead, the many conversations I've had with visitors at the trailhead, the meetings I've had about the trail and trailhead, I have never been past the trailhead.  Embarrassing!

Finally, ten months into my new position, Gil and I headed up Pyramid Creek.  It was overcast and threatening rain, which made for some pretty dramatic views down the canyon.

It was a beautiful hike and now I can say I've done it.