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

Morro Bay Triathlon - June 5th, 2011

Well, I did it! I completed my first triathlon. What a journey it has been to reach June 5th...and I am SO glad I did it! Here are some photos that I would like to share with you, together with a little story line.

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 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.

Japanese Tea Garden

Jacquie and I had some free time today, so we drove up to the City, went to Golden Gate Park, and spent some time at the Japanese Tea Garden. (*I posted an album, Japanese Tea Garden, below.)

Afterward, we drove to North Beach and found a great, little, Italian, sidewalk café (Trattoria Pinocchio, corner of Colombus & Vallejo), where we enjoyed a capuccino & some tiramisu.

things my hannah reminded me of

One of the privileges of being a parent is having your kids either teach you new things or remind you of things you have taught them. This happened to me at least three times yesterday during our visit to Hilo. Our daughter, Hannah, reminded me of the importance of living in the moment, of helping others when it is within our power to do so, and, to ask when you want something. I'd like to elaborate a bit more on this last lesson.

A friend from church, Eric Wong, grew-up in Hilo. So, when he heard that we would be traveling to the Big Island, he recommended we go to Two Ladies Kitchen. (*You can Yelp it for more info, but it is located at 274 Kilauea Avenue.)

So after lunch at Cafe Pesto,
which, by the way, we all strongly recommend...

we walked past the local farmer's market and purchased some papayas (7 for a dollar!).

Then we walked a bit further, arriving at the little store front kitchen, located in downtown Hilo, on Kilauea Avenue. I have to tell you, if people judged the quality of the confectionery delights produced inside the kitchen from the outward appearance of the shop, Two Ladies Kitchen would have gone out of business long ago. (*Perhaps another lesson here: we simply don't know what is inside - either a shop or a person - merely by looking at the outside.) Two Ladies Kitchen's exterior is anything but impressive. (*I think you can see what I mean when you look at the photo above.)

As we went to open the screen-door of the shop, we saw a hand-written sign which read, "No more strawberry mochi." Well, that is the one they are most famous for! We were a bit bummed-out, but decided to order some of their other flavours.

On the inside, the shop is small but colorful with live orchids and strawberries hanging from the ceiling. (*One more reminder that the thing to order there was the thing they were already out of.)