Our hike along the Sierra Alta Trail

Sierra Alta Trail, Aug. 25, 2010

Three years ago today we hiked the Sierra Alta Trail in the Angeles National Forest!

The trail was about 6800 feet above sea level so nicely overlooked some canyons yet was shrouded by higher mountain peaks.

The trail was surrounded by greenery and very comfortable in temperature, a nice respite from the sandy, hot desert where we lived!

You got your own trekking pole for this hike. It was a brief enough trail that I let you walk it by yourself. You had a blast, though I had to keep telling you to wait up as you wanted to run ahead out of my sight!

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

My email to you for Aug. 24, 2013

Here is the email I sent to you on Aug,. 24, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Dear Kieran,

How are you today? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! I hope you’re doing well and are having lots of fun during this last week of summer.

I so enjoyed our time together on Thursday! You’ve gotten really tall and have quite the powerful swing when it comes to light saber battles!

Your knowledge of the states as we put together the USA map was very impressive, too! I really enjoy talking about all of the places we’ve visited and hearing about all of the states you’d still like to see. I am looking for a world map puzzle so we also can learn about countries and oceans. While you’ve never been out of the United States, perhaps when you become 18 you’ll want to travel overseas.

Teaching you how to play chess was a lot of fun, too! The game is very complicated and will take a long time learn, but you're well on your way by learning the names of the pieces, where they go on the board, and how they move.

Building the ancient Egyptian city out of the craft blocks was a good time, too. It looked just like some of the cities we saw when visiting the Egyptian section at the Museum of Man in San Diego. I posted pictures of our work online!

How did you like the book about the Titanic that you took home on Thursday? I remember reading to you kids’ books at Barnes and Noble about the Titanic and how much you enjoyed them. I thought you’d like that book!

I am so proud of you that you are about to enter first grade. You will find it a lot of fun. Always do your schoolwork, even if it’s boring or difficult, and you will do fine. In fact, you’ll find that that first grade and school in general gets easier when you do your assignments!

One book I recently read that you might like is about going to first grade. The book was called “First Grade, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson. It tells the story of Henry, who after the first day of first grade, isn’t sure how he feels about it. The teacher isn’t like his kindergarten teacher, and the fifth-graders hog the monkey bars! Will Henry come to like being in first grade? You will have to read the book and find out. When your mom takes you to the city library, I bet you’ll find the book there in the children’s section.

We next get together on Friday, Aug. 30 – just six days from now! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to bring. I see your email “send” button is not working again, as I haven’t received an email from you since Aug. 11. Perhaps you could have your mother help you with that. In any case, I have saved all of my emails for you so that if there are any of mine that you do not receive, you’ll be able to later read them.

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

Love,

Dad

Remembering our visit together

Kieran, Aug. 22, 2013

I so enjoyed our time together yesterday, Kieran! You've gotten really tall and have quite the swing when it comes to light saber battles!

Your knowledge of the states as we put together the USA map was very impressive, too! I am looking for a world map puzzle so we also can learn about countries and oceans.

Teaching you how to play chess was a lot of fun, too! The game is very complicated and will take a long time learn, but you're well on your way by learning the names of the pieces, where they go on the board, and how they move.

Building the ancient Egyptian city out of the craft blocks was a good time, too. I posted pictures of our work online!

Always pursue your dreams

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to listen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

If you meet people who are perpetually grumpy or cynical, they probably aren’t happy with themselves. They view their life as a failure, their job and home as something they must endure.

Most likely, they lack an important quality that people who generally are happy and positive possess: They don’t have a dream.

A vision for our future, of a place where we want to ultimately end up, can be a significant motivator in lives. It gives us purpose. That purpose in turn then shapes our daily decisions. We decide to save money, to study harder, to take a second job, to master new skills all to pursue our dream.

More importantly, the journey to achieving a dream also will build character and strengthen your willpower.

For example, if a woman and your dream is to slim down from a size 20 to a size 4, envisioning what you’ll  look like in a mirror, the great clothes you could wear, the compliments you will receive, and the looks of admiration from men you will get, can help you through difficult times. For example, if you have a bad day at work or just had another difficult phone conversation with your mother, rather than turning to a bowl of ice cream to alleviate your emotional pain, you instead can use that vision of what you’ll look like when slim to hold off from indulging.

If a man and your dream is to own a sports car, envisioning yourself driving that car, the happy smile of your girlfriend as she sits in the passenger seat, and the nods of respect you’ll get from other men you pass on the road, can help you through tough times. For example, when you get a bad grade on a test or a girl turns you down for a date, rather than going out drinking with the guys to deal with the depression, you instead can use your vision of turning that key in the ignition of your beautiful sports car to keep from wasting money on beer (Alcohol will just exacerbate your bad feelings anyway!).

Indeed, you may never ever own that 16-room mansion or actually reach the summit of Mount Everest – but your efforts to do so will provide an incredible payoff.

And should you achieve your dream, you’ll find that the next one you pursue will be all that much easier to obtain.    

Remember going to maritime museum?

Taking the helm of a sailing vessel
we took out into San Diego Bay.

One of your favorite places to go when I lived in Encinitas, Calif., was the San Diego Maritime Museum - and we were there two years ago today!

I think you called it the "pirate ships" because so many of the boats there were from the 1800s and used sails, just like the pirate ships of old. The museum also had submarines there that you always enjoyed exploring.

I remembered that one time we visited dancers were performing on one boat, showing the popular moves of the time that the ship sailed. You asked if we could stay and watch them, and we did. You were enamored by their moves!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our trip two years ago today to the maritime museum!

Always believe in yourself

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

Perhaps the most important gift any person ever can give is to believe in yourself. That may sound kind of selfish, but ultimately it’s what’s best for everyone.

As the old saying goes, if you do not believe in yourself, who will? After all, achieving anything of value requires some level of self-confidence. Even when no one else believes in you, an inner certainty that you can persevere and ultimately be victorious will carry you through difficult times and lead to success.

You cannot be personally happy if you do not believe in yourself. When wracked by self-doubt, you ultimately become depressed or grumpy. No one wants to be around someone who’s like that all of the time. By not believing in yourself, you actually push people away, which further feeds your isolation and self-doubt.

In addition, by grumpy and gloomy can affect other people for the worse by causing them to respond curtly to you and others. Your little black raincloud spreads across the sky of other people! Now imagine what would occur if you instead presented a sunny happiness upon others. Their moods would improve. The result in a nicer world to live in…and people who are more supportive of you when you need help and encouragement!

Recall visiting Silver City Ghost Town?

Silver City Ghost Town, Aug. 19, 2010

Four years ago today we explored the Silver City Ghost Town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains! It was a collection of buildings brought there to make up this roadside tourism attraction.

Along the way, we drove through the mountains and saw some neat country scenes! During one stretch, cattle weren;t fenced in, and we drove by thema s they stood on the road!

Twenty-one buildings in all preserved at the ghost town. The town was supposedly "haunted," but that probably was just made up to help bring people in. It also has appeared as a backdrop in a number of film and video shoots.

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