NASCAR race in Sonoma.

Post by John

On Father's Day weekend, Jessica and I decided to go watch the NASCAR race in Sonoma at the Infineon Raceway (Sears Point), since we live 3,000 miles away from our dads. I have never been to a race, but Jessica has a many under her belt. I didn't know what to expect. I knew I can't watch NASCAR on TV because watching people drive in an oval for three hours isn't my thing. The raceway in Sonoma is a road course (not an oval track), so I figured it was a good starting point. We left early Sunday morning hoping to beat the traffic, since the road we had to take was a single lane road. Unfortunately, we were about 20 minutes too late and it took us an extra 45 minutes to get to the raceway. When we finally parked and got to the track, it was about two hours before the race started. Jeff Gordon (Jessica's favorite driver) is originally from Vallejo (where Jessica works), so he was having a Q&A session. We didn't get to see it in person but we got to see it on the Jumbotron.

Jessica's Jeffy Weffy on the Big Screen

Our seats were in the ninth row up and we had a pretty good view of the track. Since it is a road course, there really aren't many seats that can see the whole track, but thanks to the Jumbtrons we could see the action that wasn't in our view.

View from our seats

As we waited for the race to start we walked around to the different vendors and watched the aerial show. The jets were pretty cool. The stunts that pulled off were amazing and some of the flybys that they did were so close. The jets were honestly feet away from each other avoiding collisions by mere seconds. Jess and I were almost too anxious too watch.

Chilling out before the race started.

The aerial show.

More of the aerial show.

When the race finally began Jessica was super excited. The cars were loud as they passed, but as Jessica explained it gets a lot louder in the heavily banked, oval tracks. The race went on and had a few cautions, mainly from spin outs. To be completely honest I had a good time. I didn't know what to expect going in, but the experience was great. There was always something to grab my attention and keep me interested. I was surprised.

First Lap around.

Jeff Gordon.

Crash on Turn 7!

Spin Out on Turn 2!

We stayed for about three quarters of the race, but we wanted to leave before everyone was leaving and beat the traffic to get home to the dogs. To our dismay, the line for the shuttle back to our car was ridiculously long, so we decided to huff it and walk the two mile hilly trek back to the car. When we were over half way there a car stopped and asked Jessica if she wanted a ride to the parking lot, so we quickly accepted!

One of the "parking lots"

One very interesting tidbit that I think would only happen on a California race track... In order to go "green", instead of mowing the large infield areas and producing a lot of carbon emissions, the raceway raises its own sheep in order to 'cut' the grass. On our exit from the track we passed by them :) I doubt Daytona does that...

Some of the lawn-mowing sheep

Our latest trip to Napa...

Post by Jessica

I would be lying to you if I said it wasn't great to live so close to Napa Valley. After our recent accreditation success at work (though not officially until Nov.), the faculty and staff thought we would celebrate in wine country. One of my colleagues, Nemesia, lives on a farm in Pope Valley which is not too far down the road from Napa. Since its out in the country, we thought it would be great to bring Rudi and Daisy out to play. The weather was actually pretty hot, but we all had a fun time sitting on the porch, drinking wine, and relaxing after the long week of site visits.

A lovely apricot pastry from Berkeley.

Chilling on the porch.

The masterminds behind our success (Gayle, Assefaw and Nemesia)

Rudi loved the attention!

So did Daisy.

After lunch, we decided to go visit a local winery, St. Clement, for some wine-tasting. The dogs had not taken their nap for the day, so we left them at Nemesia's house to rest. St. Clement had a beautiful main house and vineyard. After wine-tasting, John and I bought one of their Merlots and posed for some pictures with the faculty before we headed out to dinner.

The kids are ready for a nap.

The Main House

A view from the driveway.

Wine Tasting

The Schwinds.

Some of the Faculty and Staff (and significant others) from the Public Health Program at Touro.

My trip to Georgia in April

Post by Jessica

In late April I went back home to Georgia to visit with my friends and family, and to help throw my niece a supremely awesome 5th birthday party. The first night I was there my best friend, Orit, picked me up at the airport, and we made our way to meet our other friends at my most favorite restaurant in Atlanta called Shipfieffers. We thought we would get there early so we could catch up on things before everyone else got there. Well we pulled up the place and it was boarded up...My heart seriously broke in two! I spent many Sunday evenings there as a GaTech undergrad who was completely fed up with classes and was looking to drown my sorrows in their awesome veggie wrap and feta dip :) I guess the bad economy hit the place pretty hard. Anyway, we quickly decided to move the get-together to the Cheesecake Factory instead. Back in my undergrad days I was a proud member (as well as Newsletter Editor of the 'Conservative Buzz') of the College Republicans. I met some of my best friends through CRs, and it was one of the best experiences I had at Georgia Tech. I was able to hang out (like the old days) with some of the future political leaders of this great nation: Ruth Malhotra, Orit Sklar and her brother Ilan, Chris Dempsey, Rob Grant and his wife. We had an absolute blast! I really miss the enlightening (and sometimes heated) debates. I think the waiter got a pretty good kick out of us.

Georgia Tech College Republicans Alumni

I believe someone asked me what I thought of the current administration...

Orit, Ruth and myself was known as the triumvirate... we got into a lot of trouble together :)

The next morning, I met my sister and her family at the Varsity and we drove down to the farm. Once we got there, the planning and set up for my niece's birthday party went into full swing. On Friday night we tried to do as much decorating as possible. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, we were ready to party :) The theme of the birthday was a tea party. My sister, mom and I all have party-planning genes, so we have been going a little tea party crazy over the past couple of months. We have been planning activities and buying/making awesome tea-time decorations. The main idea was for the adults to have just as much fun at the birthday party as the children.

The tea party table.

Misti's beautiful embroidered napkins.

The Birthday Girl!

At the beginning of the party, we had a bunch of cool dress-up items for the young ladies to play with. Some of the guests included my cousins and friends from church. The girls were so cute dressing up and prancing around in their fake jewelry and hats!

Mahaylee and Mackenzie posing in their tea party dresses.

Stone was the only boy at the tea party, but he held his own!

One of Kenzie's guests, Rancelynn, posing for a picture.

Monica, Jana, Misti and myself in our tea party garb.

We had a lot of activities planned for the children, but the thing they enjoyed the most was dressing up my cousin Mac and my dad. They just happened to pop into the party to hang out with the women folks, but before they knew it they were being dressed up as girls. The little ones got such a kick out of it! They would dress them up in the back room, then drag the guys into the room and show them off to all the women. You never know what they will enjoy the most!

Mac was their first experiment.

Dad was the next subject.

My mom and sister made so many yummy tea party snacks for us to eat on...little sandwiches, scones, and other baked goodies. Misti also bought all different types of teas for the women to try. The children were served pink lemonade and hot chocolate!

All the women loved the tea and snacks!

Even Stone loved the pink lemonade!

John was not able to come to Georgia with me. He had a lot of things going on at school, and someone needed to stay home with the dogs. He has been wanting to get Mackenzie 'Hungry Hungry Hippos' for quite sometime now, so we got her that and a crayola activity set for her birthday. She got a lot of cool gifts (even a handmade woodcraft lunch box from her dad!). After the gift opening, all the kids were starting to get tired so we wrapped things up. The party was loads of fun! Most of all, I think Mackenzie loved it! I have such a great time planning parties. I just wish I had more time to do it. Work and school usually gets in my way :(

Mackenzie opening up her gifts.

Playing Hungry Hungry Hippos

Everybody took a couple of hours to unwind after the party. Dealing with children is a lot of work. I stayed for 3 more days after that. The rest of the time on the farm was spent on the tractor and hanging out with my family. Dad needed help leveling out a field, so luckily I was there for another set of hands. It was great going home, as always!

Celebrating our 1st Anniversary!

Post by John

For our anniversary weekend, Jess and I made plans to stay at a cottage along the cliff side of Mendocino (on the Pacific Coast). The cottages were pet-friendly, so the dogs came along for the ride. On our way up (which was a total of 5 hours), we got to drive through the Navarro River Redwood State Park. It was really cool. It was like we were driving through a tunnel of trees along a river. When we pulled up to the cottage, it was just how we imagined it would be. We were staying right on the cliffs and peering out into the ocean with no obstruction in our way.

The first sunset of our stay in Mendocino.

A shot of a wave crashing into one of the many rocks near the cliffs.

The major goal of our stay was to relax, and that was exactly what we did. We did escape the cottage for a little while on our first day and we checked out the town of Mendocino. It was a typical small resort town, with a California twist. We went to the general store to get a couple snacks and what we found was quite interesting. Jessica was nearing the end of her vegan stint for lent and while looking for snacks for her we came across vegan beef jerky. Yes, vegan beef jerky and we soon came to find out that it did indeed taste like cardboard as I thought it would. We also found her some vegan ice cream which wasn't too bad, but definitely not as good as the real stuff. After we left the store we stopped by the local pizzeria and got falafels before we went home.

Downtown Mendocino with the cliffs in the background.

The local church.

The next day consisted of more R'n'R. We spent a lot of time just sitting and watching the ocean. It was nearing the end of the annual grey whale migration, though we did not see one from our cottage. A lot of time was also spent checking in on Rudi and Daisy. The cottage was enclosed by fencing, so Rudi and Daisy could wander around outside on their own and we wouldn't have to worry about them running off or falling off the cliffs. It was great, since they typically can't do that at home. The downfall as we found out soon enough was that the Mendocino area is known for an abundance of ticks. We found one on each of them at least once a day (this is even with them taking montly flea and tick medicine). One ended up being Rudi's souvenir as it was latched on Rudi until a day or two after being home.

The outside sitting area of our cottage.

Rudi taking in the scenery.

One of my many failed attempts for whale watching.

The enclosed Jacuzzi room with an awesome view.

On Saturday, we took a walk to see the local lighthouse. It was down a pretty long trail, and the sun was starting to set so we used the zoom of the camera to get this picture. Plus, there were signs that said beware of mountain lions. We didn't want to be mistaken as a treat on the trail :), so we headed home pretty soon after that.

The local light house.

A warning sign during the walk to the light house.

Before we left on Sunday, we wanted to check out the private beach the Inn had. The beach was secluded, though a lot of sea weed was washed onto shore. Rudi and Daisy made sure to check the seaweed out and it was exhausting trying to keep them from eating it. Otherwise, it was really nice beach. The waves were huge and watching them hit the cliffs up close was awesome. These are the typical beaches that are found on the west coast and SoCal. They are very rocky, and usually pretty dangerous to take a swim in.

On the beach with my beautiful wife.

Walking along the beach.

Making sure Daisy stays out of trouble.

An awesome arch in the cliffs.

The trouble-makers roaming.

We made it home safely, and had an awesome one-year anniversary! It's crazy to think how fast one year has went by!

Work Trip to Fresno (with a side trip to Sequoia National Park)

Post by Jessica

I had to make a trip to Fresno for work, so we decided to make a side trip to Sequoia National Park while down there. Fresno is located in the southern portion of the Central Valley. There is not much to see in Fresno. In fact, when I told people that I was sent to Fresno for work they would say, "Oh fun, Fresno." I was excited though because I enjoy going places I've never been before, regardless of the location. Anyway, we packed up the dogs in the car and started the five hour trip down on a Monday morning. Once we got there, I went straight to the field site visit and then John and I went to P.F. Chang's for dinner. The next morning we packed up the dogs and started on the two hour trip to Sequoia National Park. John has always wanted to go to the park, but with it being almost 7 hours away there were always shorter trips we went on. It was fun that we finally got a chance to go!

Entrance into the Park.

While we were in Fresno, the temperature was 90+. It was so hot. By the time we got the the park, there was snow all over the ground and John had was short-sleeved shirts. Needless to say, we didn't have much time to plan this trip.

Rudi and Daisy seeing the snow for the 1st time!

The dogs were definitely itching to get out of the car by the time we got there. Going up and down the windy, mountain roads was not their idea of adventure. When they hopped out of the car, they were completely mesmerized with the snow. Rudi would stick his head in the deepest snow he could fine, and then move his head around to get it all over him. Daisy would seriously hop like a jack rabbit through the snow because she kept sinking into it. It was the funniest site to see!

The Snow Plow making its way through the park.

On our way into the park, we kept seeing signs "Chains required ahead," and my Equinox is not prepared to weather the snow. We kept nervously driving on to see if there will actually come a point where we will have to turn around. We were also running low on gas, so it was quite fun! We finally got to the General Sherman Tree! It is the largest tree in the world! Pretty cool, huh?

Click on the Picture to learn more about the tree.

We had to stand pretty far away in order to get a complete shot of the tree!

The Schwind Family in front of the tree.

The Dogs are having fun in the snow!

Since the drive home was going to take us a while, we made this a pretty short trip. Here are the rest of the pictures.

My car fitting between two giant sequoias!

Wildlife on the side of the road.

A nice panoramic shot after we got off the mountains.

Rudi playing at a dog park we found on the side of the interstate.

Daisy soaking up the sun.

Dad's Fishing Trip Pictures

Post by Jessica

My dad went on a fishing trip with some friends in the James River in Virginia on Valentine's Day weekend (leaving my very understanding mother back in Georgia). Well, turns out the catfish out there are GINORMOUS, and I just had to share these pictures with everyone. What are they putting in that water?

Visitors from the East

Post by John

For Spring Break, instead of going to visit the east coast, a part of the east coast came to visit us. My mom and brother flew in late on Tuesday night, March 17th. Jess and I picked them up at the Sacramento airport and brought them to our place where they were quickly greeted by Rudi and Daisy! The next morning Rudi got to properly introduce himself by waking everyone up with a sloppy kiss! Unfortunately, Jess and I both had some plans for the day. Jessica had to take a final in the morning, then take off to work to give a lecture. I had to proctor and grade an exam in the afternoon, so I had an opportunity to spend some of the day with our guests. I took them to campus and showed them around, then I took them to town where we got some awesome frozen yogurt. Time was not on our side, so I dropped mom and Anthony off at the bowling alley on campus and went to work. Jess and I both got home fairly late that night, so we did not get to do much else.

Rudi being Rudi

We did not do very much on Thursday since we would be busy the next couple of days. We ended up staying local and visiting Old Sacramento. Later that day we met up with Jessica's classmate, Stephanie. We all went out for some Thai food, which was awesome. Friday was the start of our mini road trip of the Bay area. We started off by heading to Napa Valley. Once we got there we were starving, so we went to V. Suitti and their awesome deli. Their Italian meats remind me of NY. They have an outside sitting area for everyone to eat, so the dogs got a chance to get out of the car with us to enjoy the nice day. After lunch, we drove to St. Supery for a winery tour and wine tasting, which took up most of the afternoon. We then drove to our hotel right outside of San Francisco, which was our destination for the next day.

The driveway to St. Supery

Wine tasting with one of the "bartenders"

We left for SF early in the morning the next day. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge for our first stop, Presidio. Here we got to walk along the bay, see Alcatraz from a distance and look at the Golden Gate bridge from down under. We also got to see seals off the dock where people were fishing.

Taking a little breather from our walk

From Presidio, we drove to Lumbard Street to see the "Crookedest Street in the nation". Telegraph Hill was close by so we stopped to see the city from atop the hill. Besides the great views, I thought we would try to see the Parrots on Telegraph Hill. Jessica and I attempted to see these birds once before, when Jessica's friend Orit was out here, but we had no luck. Since then, Jess and I saw a documentary on how these birds got here. It was a pretty interesting movie, and with much surprise we actually got to see the parrots this time. They are a bit difficult to spot, since they blend in, but we got some good pics of them. After seeing the birds we went to see "The Painted Ladies". These houses were the ones that you see in the background of Full House reruns. Then next on the agenda was a drive through Haight-Ashbury to get to Golden Gate Park.

The parrots on Telegraph Hill

Golden Gate Park is a really large park, so we drove through the park and stopped at anything we thought was stop worthy. The first stop was when we saw buffalo in the park. Then we saw an old school Dutch Windmill. Eventually we got to the ocean and stopped for some grub.

The park entrance

If buffalo's don't have wings, where do buffalo wings come from?

The first windmill I have seen that was not on a farm or mini-golf course.

After our late lunch, we drove down Market Street on though Union Square. By that time the weather was starting to turn for the worse and we decided to get back home. The next day it was decided that we lay low and take it easy, so our visitors had an easier adjustment from the jet lag when they get back the next day. Most of the morning was spent chilling out, while my mom and Jessica tried to figure out her embroidery machine she got from her Daddy for Christmas.

Jessica's first embroidery project

After lunch, my mom, Anthony and I all went bowling, while Jessica got some much need work done. That night we stayed in and watched some movies, since we would be waking up ridiculously early to bring the fam to the airport (Jessica bought the Twilight dvd the day it was released!)....We are always so happy to have our family and friends from the East Coast to visit with us! We miss everyone a lot, so its great to see them as much as possible.