Tom & Brenda's Family Journal

Monday was a wonderful day spent with Kathy & Phil at their bike shop, Sprockets.  They have a well-stocked shop and it really gave me the bug to start biking more.  Kathy and Phil left Wednesday for a biking tour of Italy.  This is their second time to explore the southern Mediterranean area. We were there to watch the bike race, Tour of California.  An added benefit was that many of Kathy and Phil's friends came to see the race there too.  We had fun meeting some interesting people who were friendly and open.   The friends are a very supportive circle for Kathy & Phil.   We did get to see Lance Armstrong pass in the race.  He is the fifth rider in this picture. Tour of California is still running and wraps up today. Kathy & Phil made it fun for the spectators with popcorn and lots of bike people enjoying the race. Link, Kathy & Phil's dog enjoyed the day too.  He goes to work every day with them. After a great lunch with Kathy and Phil, we hit the road and mad...

Our trip the last two days has covered some of the most beautiful sights we have ever seen.  We spent Saturday morning exploring Morro Bay.  The Morro Rock sits out in the Pacific.  We hiked around the area and down to the beach.  I had hoped to see surfers while here and there were many of them venturing into the water this morning.  What surprised me was that all the surfers I saw were old.  About my age.  Not the picture I had of California surfers.   We have been traveling up the California Pacific Coast on Highway 1 that winds up and down through mountains and running right next to the Pacific Ocean.  Yesterday's travel was through most areas with very little commercial development but many turn-outs to watch the ocean. We also stopped at Hearst Castle which was the home of William Randolph Hearst and is now a California State Park.  We spent several hours there and there is no way to adequately describe the beauty of the place.  This picture is taken from the road that approa...