Four years ago today: Palm Springs, Baby!

Feb. 6, 2010, Palm Springs Air Museum

Four years ago today, we went to the air museum in Palm Springs, Calif.! The weather was extremely wet and cold, and I didn't want us to suffer through it again at Disneyland, like we did the day before. So I came up with the bright idea of driving from Pomona (where we were staying) to Palm Springs, where I thought its separation from the L.A. basin would make the weather there fairly nice (at least that was my experience inthe past when I lived in Palm Springs!).

The weather was warmer in Palm Springs - but ran still fell, though it was a little lighter.

We started the day having lunch at Ruby's Diner in downtown Palm Springs. Then we spent a couple of hours at the air museum. We both were getting a little tired and had a long drive back, so we drove on the I-10 into the L.A. metro area, stopping at Toys R Us in Ontario, where we bought a toy (Though I can't seem to remember what it was - I think it was a tree house explorer kit with animals) and then went back to the hotel.

Here are a bunch of pictures from our time at the air museum!

Our first visit to California Adventure!

Dancing with Donald Duck, Sept. 11, 2009

Four years ago today, we made out first visit together to the California Adventure theme park!

Staying in Pomona the night before, we waited for the park to open and got to walk around it with virtually nobody there. Our walk (You were in the stroller.) began counterclockwise, first going through Condor Flats then into the Grizzly Peak Rec Area.

That's when we first discovered the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail! It included a walk across the rope bridges high above the play area.

We also got to meet lots of the characters there. The lines definitely were not as long as at Disneyland!

Here's are a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure that day!

My email for week of July 14-20, 2013

Here is my letter to you for July 20, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I am doing fine, though I miss you very much! I did not receive your email this week – could resend it to me, please?

How has summer school been going? What kind of things are you studying? Have you finished learning about the presidents and which ones are on money? There are a lot of presidents to learn about, aren’t there?! In a previous email, I told you about my favorite president, Abraham Lincoln. Do you have a president that you like or admire more than the others?

What kind of stuff have you been doing for fun this summer? When I was a little boy your age, I lived on a farm near Elmwood, Wisconsin, and spent my summers playing outside. We had a big pile of sand that I could run my trucks and construction toys through all day long! I also liked to check out all of the animals on our farm, which were kept in different buildings. We had cows in the barn, two pigs in their own little shed, chickens in the chicken shack, and cats in our hay mow. Sometimes I also visited my best friend, Ronald, who lived next door. We thought it was amusing that both of our names started with the letters “Ro”!

Do you have plans to go to the State Fair later this summer? It doesn’t start for another month or so. It always is a lot of fun – there are carnival rides, farm animals, interesting displays, and lots of great fair food like cotton candy and corn dogs. I have not been to the State Fair in many years, and I hope you get to go since you live so close to it. The fair is held in St. Paul, and it’s much bigger than the Los Angeles County Fair that we used to go to in Pomona…you may not remember that fair, though, as the last time we went you were just three years old. Here are some pictures of it. 

Another great event in Minnesota held each summer is the Renaissance Festival. That is when people dress up like they live in the Middle Ages in England. People back then had castles, and there were knights! The festival also has lots of fun shows you can go to and neat costumes and toys you can buy. We went to a few Renaissance festivals when we lived in California; at one of them, you got a Robin Hood cap. At another one in San Diego, you dressed up in a knight costume! I hope you can go to the Renaissance Festival in Minnesota!

How is your baseball throwing and catching coming along? If you like, I will pick up a softball for us to toss to one another when we get together. The visitor center has a playground area outside that we can go to and safely throw the ball without worry about breaking windows. Just let me know!

We now get to see each other every other week, and we next get together on Friday, July 26 – that’s in just six days! I can hardly wait to see you again! I’ll bring the tote full of new stuff for us to do and with some of our old favorite standbys in it as well. Let me know in your next letter if there’s anything special toys or books that you would like me to bring.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much! I’ll see you on Friday!

Love,

Dad

Our mini-vacation at Disneyland

Trying to make the "C" a "G" at the
California Adventure entry.

Three years ago today, we began a four-day mini-vacation at Disneyland and California Adventure. We went to each park Thursday through Sunday and stayed in Pomona!

At this time in your life, you liked to meet the Disney characters. Donald Duck was your favorite, you said, and you got to meet him at California Adventure! I think you also met Goofy, Mickey, Minnie Mouse and the bears as well.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our California Adventure portion of the mini-vacation. If you were to go to the theme park today, you would find that it has changed - they tore down the letters in front of the park and changed the central area. I kind of like it the "old way" - the way it's shown in these pictures - but the new look is nice, too.

Seeing the statues at Western University

A year ago today we stopped off to see some life-sized art with a visit to the bronze statues by internationally renowned sculptor Seward Johnson on display at the Western University of Health Sciences campus in Pomona, Calif.

We'd seen the statues before during the many times we'd visited the campus. Your mother was enrolled in an FNP program there while you were a preschooler. You always were fascinated by them, especially the one of two painters (see photo at above right).

I remember that we were on on our way to Disneyland that morning, and you asked if we could stop to see the statues! We were driving just a few miles away from them, so I said, sure.

Here's a whole bunch of photos of our visit to the bronze statues.

Recall going to the big RV show?

A year ago today we attended the the 58th annual California RV Show at the Fairplex (the Los Angeles County fairgrounds) in Pomona, Calif. It was the second time we'd been to the show, though we've stopped off to tour RVs displayed at other fairs.

You actually asked me if we could go to the RV show! You always liked walking through them, opening the cupboards, sitting in the drivers seat pretending to drive them, playing with the radios, and climbing all over the beds!

For lunch, we stopped off at a stand and enjoyed hot dogs from the famous Pink's in west Los Angeles. They had a stand at the fairgrounds. I'd have to say it was the best hot dog I've ever had!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from the RV show.