Although I said goodbye to him before I left for Pasadena, I was still very sad to not be there to wish Nico farewell as he departed for college. He is driving with close friend Oliver and his girlfriend Audrey to Colorado College, located in Colorado Springs. Thankfully, Maya captured the moment of departure and I did not feel so bad. The well planned road trip will start by heading north to Canada and then west over to Chicago as they make their way across the country.

I was very saddened by the news of the tragic death of Robin Williams who I have admired throughout his career. Although I was quite tired by the time my work day ended, including a very nice dinner with my colleagues, I decided to pay my respects at the impromptu memorial on the site of his Hollywood star.

I was up at 4 am this morning to catch an early flight for LAX. I arrived at iRobot’s Pasadena office by 11:30 and joined my boss for lunch. When I arrived at my hotel later in the day, I found the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile parked at the entrance (with a valet tag under the windshield wiper) of the Pasadena Hilton. No matter how sophisticated, every guest entering or leaving the hotel had to stop for a picture. There are currently six active full-size Wienermobiles, each assigned a part of the country. The “hotdogger” position of driving the Wienermobile is open to U.S. citizens, and the job lasts from the first of June until the following first of June. Only college seniors who are about to graduate are eligible.

Maya is pictured here with the other girls from her Montana cycling trip. The girls out numbered the boys 3 to 1 which was just fine with this father. Her new friends have uploaded their photos from the adventure and I have been looking through them for ones that include Maya.

I leave on a business trip to Pasadena tomorrow and will not post again until I return on Friday. Regrettably, I will not be here when Nicolai leaves for college. He is driving to Colorado via Canada with two friends and I have asked Jeanine to document his departure.

Visiting us today is my second cousin Christine and her son Drew.  It was their first visit to Concord and we were delighted to have them. We enjoyed a casual summer dinner on the porch, followed by an excursion for ice cream and playtime at Emerson Park.  I took several photos of Drew and this is among my favorites although I never really captured the beauty of his eyes. I enjoyed our time together and hope we will visit again.

The US National Team was originally scheduled for an international friendly match with Liberia.  Unfortunately, the Liberian team was unable to obtain visas due to the current Ebola health concerns in that country. Instead, the US team held an exhibition match against a Maryland able-boded over-30 mens team. To level the playing field, the able-bodied team was asked to play the ball with only their dominant foot in the first half and only their non-dominant foot in the second half. The match ended in a hard fought 5-4 victory for the able-bodied team.  Nicolai scored all 4 goals for the US team despite the fact that he often had two defenders marking him.

Attending the match was Jade, a stand-out female soccer player who recently lost her left leg.  In a ceremony before the match we presented her with a jersey and made her an honorary member of the team.  After watching  the sport being played, we are hoping she will one day join the squad.

We are headed back to Boston this evening where we will be reunited with Maya who returns today from her 500 mile biking adventure through Montana.

Nicolai and I arrived in Germantown, Maryland last night to attend the American Amputee Soccer Association (AASA) World Cup Training Camp.  The team did a morning run followed by a three hour practice followed by lunch and another three hour training session.  I did a full set of player head shots, the official team photo (featured above), and captured a lot of video of drills and intra-squad scrimmaging. Nicolai was in fine form and is anxiously looking forward to the Amputee World Cup tournament being held in Mexico later this year.

Weary and starving, the team and our local hosts enjoyed a great meal at Guapo’s Cantina, a casual Mexican restaurant with some of the finest food you can imagine.

I am afraid this baby robin will not survive the day. Jeanine called me to come with my camera when she noticed it in the yard. At this age it cannot fly and having fallen from its nest, there is little chance it can survive on the ground.  We were not prepared to adopt it and could not access the nest we suspect it fell from.  The remaining option was to let nature take its course.  Perhaps it will manage to evade predators and its mother, who remained nearby, will continue to feed it until it can fend for itself. We will hope for the best.

The earliest, pictured with her sister on the right, and the most recent photos of my mother who celebrates her 86th birthday today. A lifelong ballroom dancer, sculptor, painter, and Japanese gardener, she is as active and healthy as many half her age.  There is little doubt that I inherited my engineering skills and kinesthitic abilities from her.  I think I also received a half dose of her artistic talent which I express through my photography.  A better mother I could not have wished for.  Happy Birthday Mom.

I am fondly remembering my adventure with Kyle to Patagonia today as we celebrate his 22nd birthday from a distance.  We had such a great time that I would very much like to embark on another expedition with him.  He is getting ready to enter his senior year at Santa Clara University and I suspect it will only get harder to find the time to make such trips in the future.  That said, I am going to start planning the next one now.  I believe that your master numbered (same two digits; 11, 22, 33, …) birthdays are like chapters in a book, demarcating major points of transition. I look forward to seeing what path Kyle chooses to follow and to contrast that with my own choices as my 55th year comes to a close.

Maya tackled the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park which she described as one of the most beautiful she has ever seen.  This cell phone photo was sent by one of the group leaders.  The kids are only allowed 2 phone calls during the three week excursion and we are looking forward to hearing from her tomorrow. I am also eager to see the photos that Maya has taken on her camera.  She will be white water rafting on Wednesday and then one more thirty-mile ride before her adventure comes to a close.  She returns to Concord this Saturday and we cannot wait to see her.

While traveling down the highway at 70mph it was hard not to notice two massive Great Danes with their heads sticking out of an SUV, ears, and jowls flapping all over the place.  By the time I could pull out my camera for the high-speed snapshot, only one was still enjoying the breeze.

Homemade blueberry pie was on the dinner dessert menu this evening courtesy of Jeanine’s sister Susan. She arrived yesterday with her friend Jean and will be staying with us for the weekend.  They spent most of the day organizing our walk-in closet (read helping Jeanine decide which clothes were ready for donation) while I was reorganizing the garage to make room for my new car which should be arriving by the end of the month.

Maya’s bike expedition has entered Glacier National Park to begin their third and last week on the road.  From the Apogee blog is the first photo in which we can clearly see Maya.

I spent the better part of 6 hours installing a new washer and dryer in our second-floor laundry room.  The new units arrived this morning and were delivered to our first-floor foyer.  I managed to get the old units down and the dryer upstairs by myself (using various principles of mechanical advantage).  The washer was just too heavy so I enlisted the help of Nico and his friend.   The water supply shut-off valve was stuck in the on position which meant I had to turn off the water to the entire house and then repair the valve (extra two hours).  Mounting both units on pedestals also took longer than I would have expected but will make for a lot less bending over in the years to come and was well worth the extra effort. Jeanine made a delicious chicken cacciatore dinner as a reward and we pulled up chairs to watch the first wash cycle through the glass portals.  Possibly the most pathetic date night ever, but oddly one we both enjoyed.

We are members of a local CSA .  Each week we pick up a basketful of in season vegetables and/or fruits.  With Jeanine arriving later this evening it fell to me to make today’s pickup.  I must admit it was fun to select from the variety of offerings with the knowledge that Jeanine would transform it all into some very yummy and healthy meals.