randalevan's blog

"Trust Me" and the Pacific Grove Triathlon.

Given the fact I will enter into my fifth decade tomorrow, I decided I would get one more blog post in while I am still in my forties!

I wanted to write a quick post about an amazing experience I had two weeks ago today. As many of you know, I started doing triathlons in June, a small miracle in and of itself, given the fact I hadn't been able to run (*knee problems) for over ten years, not to mention the fact that I never swim. Anyway...

Immediately following my first "tri" in Morro Bay, I signed-up for my second in Pacific Grove...scheduled for September 10th. All my training was going as planned, and except for the occasional jitters and anxiety (*prayer works great...as does telling myself to relax!), I was good to go. Well, until early Friday morning...September the 9th.

My trip to Boston

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Boston to connect with some old friends. My journey began with Don & Nancy - great people and wonderful pastors of the Vineyard Church in Kingston. The weather was great my first day in New England. We went out for lunch at the Blue Eyed Crab Grill and Raw Bar in Plymouth and we all ordered the same thing...a crab cake sandwich with some kind of sauce that included jalapeños:
On the way to the restaurant, I saw this great warning label above the storm drain...
I bet you have never seen one of these in California before!

Visiting our Washington Family

Jacquie & I had the pleasure of visiting some of our family in Washington earlier this month. We had a blast, and, were able to capture just a small amount of it on film. Hope you enjoy the photos!

We began our vacation in Seattle, at Paula & Eric's condo.

They have a fabulous view of Union Lake

Swimming in the Ocean, facing my fear.

In mid-April (*April 16th, 2011 post) I wrote a post about dealing with fear. Specifically, the fear of swimming in the ocean and finding that I was not alone...
Well, my wetsuit arrived last Friday, and so Jacquie & I decided that Sunday - Mother's Day - would be the day to head to Aquatic Park in San Francisco.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Windy, but still almost-perfect. We immediately found a parking space right across the street from Aquatic Park...a small, but significant gift from God, as anyone who lives in a city knows.

We got out of the car, I liberally applied my "anti-shark" balm

(aka "Glide", to avoid my wetsuit rubbing my skin off!), and then donned my new wetsuit

snowy new england still holds a warm place in my heart

I left our Mountain View, CA home in the wee hours of a Thursday morning in January. It was the beginning of a typical, mid-winter day in the Golden State: lo's in the hi 40's, with a hi that would reach the mid 60's. Jacquie was bringing me to the San Francisco Airport, where I would hop on a flight for Hartford, CT.

I knew the weather would be slightly different (HA!) in New England. I even knew that a blizzard had just dumped two feet of snow. But somehow, temperatures in the 20's just felt colder than they used to when we lived in Framingham, MA...a town about 20 minutes west of Boston.

Gloria's First* Day on the Job

Gloria started her first "real" job this week at Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco (www.bakerstadvertising.com)

Hannah had an old high school friend from Framingham visiting so we all drove her into work on Tuesday.
After getting her a coffee, we brought her to her new job...
(*If you look closely, the look on her face is..."DAD, TAKE THE PICTURE BEFORE ANYONE SEES YOU!" I was very impressed by the fact that she let me do it!)

While Gloria worked, Hannah & Lindsey explored and I studied. After lunch, we picked-up a flower to decorate her new office...
Needless to say, Jacquie & I are very proud of our little girl!

P.S. The "First*" in the title of this post refers to the fact that these photos were actually taken on Gloria's Second day of work...but it was the first time we visited her!

Christmas 2010

Our family has a fun tradition. The first thing the kids have done for many years is line-up in the hallway (*or staircase, when we lived in Framingham), and wait for Mom or Dad to give them the "green light" to come and get their Christmas stockings.

This year, Hannah & Gloria did not have very far to run!

New Photos Albums

Reflecting on this past year, I realized I needed to add a couple photo albums of some wonderful events that took place in 2010. One was my brother and sister in law's 25th Anniversary Celebration where they renewed their wedding vows. It took place in a beautiful house right on the beach in Oxnard, CA. (*The album is entitled, "Shane & Claire's 25th Anniversary.")

Another was Jacquie's 50th Birthday. (*Her celebration was our trip to Hawaii in August, gracias a mi madre y mi padrastro.) These photos were taken on a picnic in the mountains off Alpine Road, and then later that evening, at a fabulous restaurant called La Foret. (*To check it out, go to http://www.laforetrestaurant.com/home.htm. Pricey, but worth it for very special occasions.) Please see the album entitled "Jacquie's 50th".

Gloria's Preparing for Baker Street Advertising!

Here is Gloria in front (actually, on the side) of her new work place: Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco. (*I wanted to take a photo of her at the front door, but some of her future, fellow employees were standing just inside the door and as you might imagine, her father was being embarassing!) After we walked by her new office, we found a cool, business complex with a Starbucks and some beautiful flowers...

And, thanks to our iPhones, we found a cool café (Brioche Bakery & Cafe, 210 Columbus Avenue), where we enjoyed breakfast.

Gloria was healthy and ate the yogurt parfait. I, on the other hand, went for the breakfast croissant...

(Please take note that it DID come with salad!) We both enjoyed a tasty capuccinno...

We spent some time talking and reading, then we began to make our way to Union Square. Since we found ourselves on Kearny Street, we decided to stop by

and see out friend, Jonathan Berent.

Jonathan & Jeanne have pretty much adopted Gloria and she loves their two kids.

Then, we went over to Market Street and met up with the MBDILITW's sister, Natalie...as you can see, she was working hard...

but thankfully, was able to take a break and go out for lunch with Gloria

All in all, we had a great day together. Gloria now knows one of the many ways to make her way into the City...drive to Milbrae and take the BART. She will also check-out taking CALTRAIN into the City and then hopping on the MUNI. Well, that is what she will do until she moves!

Jacquie and I are so proud of our little girl!

Hawaiian Vacation 2010

Well, I finally posted some photos (three albums) from our Hawaiian Vacation, which took place in August. The trip was a gift from my Mom & Step-Dad to help us celebrate Jacquie's 50th Birthday...and what a celebration it was!
You can also check-out our "mochi" experience by going to my post on August 10th.
We had the time of our lives and are so grateful to have been able to enjoy such an incredible vacation.