Work, Bonnie Doon, Downtown, Swimming

Howdy everyone! This last week was a fun, if very busy week. At work, I just finished my 2nd prototype for Dexter, and though I didn't push it quite as far as I was hoping, the model did meet all of my goals, but I kinda ran out of time to get everything I wanted into the GUI (graphical user interface). Lots of good progress and extra capabilities going into that, and I'll post some cool pics when I can.

Other than work, there were a few other goings on in my life which I thought I would share some pics of... First of all, I did little bit of house-sitting for a fellow that Scott and I carpool with. They live in a little area called Bonnie Doon. Below is a pic of some of the road that gets me to his house. It was a magnificent drive, and hopefully this first pic can capture some of that beauty. It did add about 50 minutes to my drive, but it is a fun excursion to change up some of the monotony.



This second pic is of the house that I "sat" in. Or is that sat on... I don't know, but anyway this is a very picturesque place, and surrounded by a big redwood forest. They have a very affectionate cat named tom, and he kept me company, or maybe more accurately, I kept him company because he was definitely the master of the house. ;)



After a tough week at work, I slept in 'til about 10am and Sharon and I went on a little trek in downtown Santa Cruz. That was pretty cool because she got to point out some interesting landmarks and architectural things as well as do a bit of shopping. This pic (below) is of the Holy Cross chuch which is right next to the original Santa Cruz mission. I took some pictures of both, but the church has more interesting architecture, so I included that pic here.




Then we continued to do some shopping and did a little downtown exploring and sightseeing. Below is looking down Pacific Avenue (so named 'cause it leads to the pacific ocean). You can see the Marquee of Santa Cruz Cinema 9. I have to say that felt a little like a poodle going in and out of shops like Bunny's shoes (okay, I didn't go into Bunny's... but I dutifully stayed outside). I did follow here around in Macy's, so I think that counts. Anyhow, it was a fun trip to see what was there.





One of the shops that we needed to go into to get Sharon's watch fixed was this little watch shop that had some not-so-little furniture. I sat in a chair that was from the Land of the Giants!




So that was Saturday. That evening, we got some round table pizza (the ulti-meat, it was super good), and watched Stargate Atlantis, which I am starting to get into a little bit, but that was the end of this season. On Sunday, I went to church with Sharon and Scott, and then went to an early lunch with cousin David Lundberg and then went to his house and went for a fun hike in the San Lorenzo Valley along the San Lorenzo river. Here a few pics of that journey..




The end of the journey was at a fun swimming hole called "The Garden of Eden" which, as the name might suggest, was super relaxing and actually a very popular place considering how long the hike was to get there... (about 2.5 miles one way). So we spent some time basking in the sun and getting some swimming in, and then hiked back out. Very fun.




I guess that brings me to now, when I am just kicking back and relaxing before another week of workin' hard. Lots of fun here, but gettin' lots of work done too. Kinda missin' home and family back in Orland, but gotta keep on track. I hope everyone reading this is havin' a good one.