After an extremely productive day-long executive session devoted entirely to organizational health, we were invited to dine at the home of Colin Angle, iRobot’s CEO.  The rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy some time on the mansion’s patio which overlooks the North Atlantic.  The real fun started after diner.  Colin challenged me to a “sumo wrestling” match after learning I was a former wrestler.  He wrestled at Niskayuna High School. I wrestled at cross-town rival Mont Pleasant High School in Schenectady, New York. We are about the same weight but never met at the time because he is 9 years my junior. Colin recently purchased the home adjacent to his and its empty great room was the perfect venue for our match. After setting out the mat and donning our highly padded suits, we began the epic 5 round battle. With most of the executive leadership team looking on, I was humbled when he (red belt) skillfully pushed me out of the circle to end the first round.  Once adjusted to the padded sumo style, I proceeded to win the next four rounds including one with a rather impressive head-and-arm throw (not easily executed in a fat suit and pumpkin helmet).  By any measure this was not your average touchy-feely team building affair but without a doubt the highlight of the day.  It has been 35 years since my last wrestling match and this may well be my last.  I am pleased to remain undefeated against Niskayuna wrestlers and as I walked back to the inn found myself remembering with great fondness, Larry Mulvaney, my wrestling coach. I am eternally grateful to him for what he taught me about being a warrior, a gentleman, and a leader.

The Wylie Inn and Conference Center in Beverly is a favorite iRobot executive retreat as it is within walking distance from the home of our CEO. Given the prospects of a 90-minute commute through morning traffic and an early start time tomorrow for our offsite strategy session, I opted to spend this evening at the Inn. Pictured here is Tuper Manor, where meals are served, one of three buildings on the 10 acre property .  The Inn itself is rather nondescript but quite comfortable.

I missed the ninth anniversary of my daily photo journal last month.  It all started with a photo of Maya taken on May 13, 2005.  It is hard to believe that I have managed to keep the blog going for nearly a decade (some 5,488 posts worth). Despite all the effort, I can honestly say it is one of the best things I have ever created. I am hoping one day to convert the entire thing into a book (hopefully with an app that can do this with the push of a button).

The Old North Bridge makes for a nice place to take photographs and it took little persuasion while we were in the area to interest Jeanine in a stroll down to the river.

For the first time this season, I stepped on the soccer pitch absent any nagging injuries or pain. Unfortunately, the cost of full recuperation also meant that my cardio fitness is not where it needs to be. I played 70 minutes but never really felt I made the kind of contribution of which I am capable.  Our team had to settle for a scoreless tie which did not help us move up from our third place standing with only two games remaining in the season.

Maya, on the other hand, had a tremendous game scoring a goal and two assists in a short-handed 5-1 win.

Jeanine, Nicolai, and I attended a combination celebration, fund-raiser, and launch for the Concord River Institute this evening at the home of presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Richard Goodwin, former speech writer for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Their son, Michael, is one of three co-founders and a former CCHS teacher who pioneered the Rivers and Revolutions program in which Nicolai was an inaugural student.  The institute hopes to help transform our educational system by training teachers, administrators, and students in an experiential, interdisciplinary, student owned approach to the classroom experience. We made a generous contribution to support what we believe is the future of education and to recognize the transformative impact this approach had on Nicolai’s education.

Also in attendance, seated in the row in front of me, was Lewis Katz (pictured above), co-owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and former co-owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and NBA’s New Jersey Nets.  Mr. Katz and his three guests along with the three-person crew of his Gulfstream jet all perished when it crashed on take-off from the Hanscom Field later in the evening.

When I made the connection, I was accutely reminded of the importance of living in the moment and without regrets.  The Calabria family extends our sincere condolences to all who suffered loss as a result of this tragedy.

Kyle has accepted a paid internship with Palo Alto Networks. While we are all very excited for him, it is also sad to think that he will not be coming home for the summer (for the first time).  Fortunately, he has made arrangements for time off to attend our big Calabria family reunion in Wisconsin later this month.  Jeanine and Maya are also planning to visit him in California while Nicolai and I are in Brazil for the World Cup.

Jeanine and I spent most of the day flying back to Boston from Los Angeles and were pleased to find that Nicolai and Maya had behaved quite responsibly during our absence.

Jeanine declared that she was prepared to move to Pasadena if only so that she could frequent the Urth Cafe.  Offering organic coffee, teas, and light meals featuring locally sourced ingredients, the food is incredible.  We enjoyed breakfast together before I departed for work and then a late dinner after viewing a documentary film by Katie Couric called Fed Up. This investigation of childhood obesity should be mandatory viewing for every parent in the US. The upshot; sugar is the new tobacco.

My attention turned to business this morning as I met with colleagues in our Pasadena office.  A stark contrast to iRobot’s Bedford headquarters, our office here is located on the third floor of this upscale office building.  After work, I joined my boss and two others for a nice dinner at a local steak house, quite a nice departure from camp fare (dehydrated lasagna cooked in its own pouch).

Day two on East Anacapa Island was spent exploring.  The ranger gave us the key to the lighthouse which we toured at our leisure. I spent a good portion of the morning kayaking. Jeanine enjoyed our tandem outing yesterday but was not as keen on shooting the arch or paddling into the sea caves as I was.

The most amazing sea cave I can imagine is called Cathedral.  Inside it is the size of a small room and can be accessed by one of three portals given the right sea conditions.  A fourth “window” lets in the most beautiful aqua-tinted light.  I spent about five minutes inside but failed to take a single decent photo although I did shoot enough video to give a real sense of the experience.

Jeanine and I made several excursions to Inspiration Point from which we could see the other two islets but alas the weather conditions were never favorable for photography.

In addition to the birds and sea life we encountered a most unusual White-lined Sphinx Moth which could easily be confused with a small hummingbird given how quickly it beat its wings.  It took a shutter speed of 1/2000 of a second to freeze motion.

After tolerating my fourth camp cooked meal, I believe Jeanine was quite happy to pack up and head down to the dock to meet our return boat.  We reached the Pasadena Hilton where we grabbed much anticipated hot showers before setting out to find a nice Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Anacapa Island is part of the Channel Island National Park and is composed of three narrow volcanic islets (East, Middle and West Anacapa) each 6 miles long. Located about 11 miles off the coast of Ventura, California our camping destination for the evening is East Anacapa.  With two semi-permanent residents, the park ranger and his girlfriend, our visit doubled the human population.  The island is also home to the largest breeding colony of the California Brown Pelican in the United States and the largest breeding colony of Western Gulls in the world.

Our timing could not have been better with the cutest gull chicks hatching left and right across the tiny island.

Know as an exceptional sea kayaking destination, we rented one on the mainland and took it on the boat with us to the island. Immediately after making camp and having a quick lunch we set out to explore the famous arch and numerous sea caves as well as the sea lions which abound.

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.