The Joshua Tree night skies are dark enough for good astrophotography. It may be necessary to click on the above photo to fully appreciate the details of the Milky Way. After breaking camp we made visits to Skull Rock, Split Rock, and the Cholla Cactus Garden.
We had hoped to make Lost Palms Oasis our final destination in the park but found the access road closed due to construction. With a little extra time in our budget we decided to drive to Santa Barbara for dinner where we enjoyed a fine Italian meal and a leisurely stroll up and down the main tourist corridor and a quick visit to the beach.
An early start had us in Joshua Tree National Park in time to secure a nice secluded site in the Jumbo Rocks campground. The 794,000 acres park has less than 500 sites and we knew they would fill quickly on this holiday weekend.
With our base of operation established, we set out to visit the park and made several 1-mile hikes to visit Hidden Valley, Arch Rock, White Tanks, Barker’s Dam, Keys View, and Cap Rock.
Jeanine and I flew to Los Angeles this afternoon and then drove to Riverside where we stayed at the romantic Mission Inn. Originally built as a two-story adobe guesthouse in 1876, the Inn has been expanded over the years into an enchanting European castle. The Inn has hosted 10 American presidents, dozens of celebrities, and an impressive list of social leaders (my favorites: Albert Einstein).
Jeanine was in the mood to prepare a lovely dinner this evening, our last with Maya, before we leave for a one-week vacation in California. Nicolai returns from his week long visit with with Kyle on Saturday and we will miss him by one day. He lost his phone just before departing and we have not had many details of the sibling reunion.
I will try to post from the road during the coming week, hopefully, with better follow through than my last attempt from Spain.
Today I had a rare chance to do some actual engineering at work. You would be amazed at how much of my normal day is consumed with meetings, resource planning, budgets, schedules, staffing issues and the like. To top things off, I came up with an extremely creative new feature for one of our products that could make a huge difference in the market if we elect to implement it.
At iRobot we make extensive use of our AVA 500 Telepresence Robots. Last week, for the first time ever, we had a meeting with two participants attending via AVA. I have proposed an idea for a cartoon which has a bunch of AVAs sitting around a table having a virtual meeting. If I ever find a free moment at work, I may orchestrate a photo of exactly such a scene. I think it would be really funny.
With real sadness, I placed my John Deere tractor up for sale on Craig’s List today. I need to start making room for the new BMW when it arrives. I purchased it when Kyle was born and it has been a reliable workhorse that has never let me down. Since moving to Concord (11 years ago) it has remained largely idle as we employ a lawn service to mow the lawn. I had a half dozen inquiries within hours of the listing going active. John Deere tractors of this vintage were made to much higher standards than the current ones and even those stand a cut above the competition.
Maya produced an exceptionally nice goal this afternoon , scoring from the top of the box on a powerful left footed drive. She played center midfield for 90 minutes and helped her team to a 4-1 win. Her distribution, vision, and tenacity on the ball reminded me so much of her brothers. They would have been very proud of their baby sister today.
Although I was almost feeling match ready, I wisely sat out this morning to give my tweaked hammy a little more time to full mend. My team managed to tie Belmont, the first place team in the division, which was a great outcome given how many injured players we have at the moment.
The Concord Journal carried a nice article about Nicolai this week covering his involvement with Powerade and trip to Barcelona to meet Andres Iniesta. First Spain, then Italy, and today Nico is off to California to visit with Kyle for a week. He is racking up the frequent flier miles.
My day started with a very enjoyable test drive of a Tesla Model S. In twenty five years, I predict people will look back and regard the internal combustion engine as a relic. This is the car that will have set those dominoes in motion. It is a no compromise Automobile 2.0 whose only downside is an exorbitant price tag. As battery technology improves, electric cars will eventually cost less than their petroleum fueled counterparts. Despite the extreme temptation to pick up the Model S, I think I will stick with my original plan and wait until the company comes out with their all wheel drive Model X cross-over, scheduled for release in 2015.
My brother-in-law’s father, John “Jack” Elliott Quinn, age 79, passed away yesterday from Parkinson’s Disease complications. Jack was a gentle and kind soul who loved spending time with his grandchildren, Johnnie and Rachel, and his “grand puppies”, Harpo and Bella. Jack also loved gardening, was a wonderful cook, enjoyed doing Civil War re-enactments, and was an avid reader of anything history or Civil War related. He served in the army from 1957-1959 and worked at the General Electric company for his entire career. A fellow photographer, Jack enjoyed documenting his adventures and kept meticulous photobooks, labeled with fine details.
Our thoughts are with my sister Alissa and her family on this sad day.
At her high school freshman class awards ceremony, Maya received a High Honors award as well as certificates of excellence in Math, French and PE. We are enormously proud of Maya and she has started her secondary education on an extremely positive note.
Nicolai returned from Italy this evening with tales of fine food and an extremely successful presentation which earned him a standing ovation. He shared the stage with world famous soccer player, Luis Figo of Portugal and Western Union CEO, Hikmet Ersek who invited him to dine at his table. Later he enjoyed watching the Europa League Finals in style for the luxury WU suite. Despite nearly missing his return flight, Nico appeared tired but otherwise no worse for wear.world-famous
In the tradition of Native American naming, this evening’s full moon is known as the flower moon, to reflect the spring blooms seen this month. Jeanine alerted me to the moon rise and I took this photo hand-held with a 300mm lens.
Maya and Sarinnagh will be joined later this evening by Fiona for a backyard camping sleepover. This adventure is somehow related to a school project which involvesbuilding a fire using flint and steel. The girls made quick work of tent setup on our recently plowed and beach soft field. If the clouds cooperate they will enjoy a beautiful full moon to illuminate their campground.
