America's Cup

In case you're unaware, the pinnacle of competitive yachting season is upon us.  Oh, yes!  In fact, today was the 19th and final race of the America's Cup.  A matchup for the ages: Oracle (USA) vs Emirates (New Zealand).  It was only a few days ago that the Kiwi held a 8-1 lead over the Americans.  Since then, Team Oracle has battled back to tie the score and force one final, winner takes all, rubber match.

Being on sabbatical and all...I couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend.  I was expecting a raucous crowd and the San Franciscans were happy to oblige!  Actually, I kid.  Yes, there was a surprisingly huge number of spectators but wow...except for the families that had pulled their kids out of school to attend the event (really?), the crowds were very well behaved.

I had an excellent view of the start.  Here's the first 65 seconds of the race.  I don't know very much about yachting - go fast was never my area of expertise - but I was sure that Oracle has D.O.N.E. at the 23rd second of the video.

San Francisco Bay offers loads of photo opportunities from all angles.  The combination of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz ensured that each picture had something special in the background.  This was my favorite pic.

San Francisco is rather proud of it's bridges.  I showed up early enough that I could get-in a run from Crissy Field, across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.  It was really cool - the views were as great as could possibly be expected on a clear day.  Up next is the (new) east span of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge.

Could You Live in a Houseboat?

Sausalito is a short drive over the Golden Gate from San Francisco.  It's a small coastal town with one claim to fame: a thriving houseboat community.  Ali and I live way too close to this little adventure NOT to pay it a visit.  Fortunately, the community opens their doors once a year and allows visitors to tour some of the homes.

I was struck by the size of the community (over 400 houseboats) and their cost: we saw one home that was for sale for over $1M!  Really?  Another surprise was the size of the living space.  I don't recall anything that had fewer than two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  The easily dwarf our Nob Hill apartment.  All of the boats were well maintained.  Each home was unique and intriguing in it's own way.  There's something for everyone...including a Chuck Norris slot machine (manufactured by Mills Novelty Company).  How could I resist?

Dominic DiMaggio (...and Joe too)

I've been catching up on my reading list over the last couple weeks.  ...one of the many many MANY things that makes sabbatical so sabbaticooool.  OK, now that that's out of my system...

I just finished The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship.  It is, first and foremost, a story about the relationships between Ted Williams and other Red Sox greats Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom DiMaggio.

This book was one piece of a larger christmas gift from Ali's parents that contained various different Red Sox memorabilia.  If anyone's struggling to find me a gift, this is a good lead to follow!

I was pleasantly surprised as I read about the roots that some of these guys had in the old Pacific Coast League.  As it turns out, Dom grew up less than a mile away from our current home!  I couldn't wait to get home and run over to the place where Dom (OK - Joe too) grew up: 2047 Taylor Street.

If you look at the map, you'll see a playground that was named after Dom's brother (Yankee and debatably the best baseball player ever), Joe.  Despite an excellent career, often against all odds, Dom never really got the credit he deserved.

Here I am in front of the house.  The entrance on the right leads to 2047.  It's difficult for me to say how much the house has changed over the 90 years since they lived there.

Truthfully, it's a bit underwhelming.  I was expecting, at least, a placard.  In lieu of any identifying mark, I couldn't help but wonder if the addresses have changed over the years.  Perhaps I'm at the wrong house!?  ...wouldn't be the first time.

Back to Boston

There’s no place I’ve been that’s quite like Fenway Park.  Each visit brings an intoxicating mixture of moments frozen in time, a century’s old lore, zealots united, traditions honored, and the promise of October baseball.

We were excited to be back in Boston for a couple days and even happier to have tickets for (likely) the last home series against the Yankees this season.  This is the second time that we’ve had seats atop the Green Monster and we’re fortunate to share the experience with Ali’s parents in celebration of their 40^th wedding anniversary(!).

One of this seasons little treasures is right to announce our disapproval of Alex Rodriquez with even more vitriol than usual.  By the way, he went 0 for 3.  The Boston faithful are somewhat of a spectacle to be observed.  I tried to record some of the fun but the audio didn’t do it justice.  I did, however, capture both the Boston accent and it's spirit in all it's glory.  This “offer” came from the gentleman behind us and was directed towards Red Sox left fielder Johnny Gomes (out of frame).

The Red Sox won and moved one step closer to clinching the top spot in the American League.  I wouldn’t be entirely honest if I didn't admit to the haunting memories of September 2011.  Fortunately, most of that team is long gone!  'Love That Dirty Water' is a little bit sweeter after the Sox beat the Yankees. 

Sabbatical: Take Two

Remember the feeling of the last day of school?  How's about the first day of summer?  I've been so fortunate as to reconnect with those childlike emotions not once but twice during the last nine years.  That's right folks, Sabbatical Part Deux has started!

Last time around I got married: I love you, Wifey!  

This time, however, relaxing takes center-stage.  We've got trips planned to Connecticut, Boston, and Tahoe.  In between those trips, I've made lots of time for downtime and re-energizing.  The possibilities are exciting: golf, tennis, boxing, a new language, build a piece of furniture, reading, writing, exercise, and so on.  ...not to mention that the Red Sox are headed for the playoffs and the English Premier, National Football, and Champions Leagues are all getting underway.  Woo to the hoo.