Forestplay!

Another early morning: we were up to catch the sunrise from a balloon over Cappedocia,  My only response is "Wow! This is amazing!".  Floating over the ferry chimneys is surreal, almost unbelievable.

Also in Cappedocia we had "A Day in the Life" part of the tour where we visit no tourist attractions but meet locals plus more.  Those who have traveled with this tour company to other locations say this is a highlight of previous trips.

We have pick a date and location: July 28, 2012.  Our plans are small, only family will attend.

All questions about the wedding plans should go to our joint email address: weddingplans@forestplay.us

It was a beautiful night and we had just finished dinner in one of the restaurants along the street.  We were relaxing at the roof top terrace of our hotel with views of the Bosphorus, the Marmara Sea and the Istanbul city skyline.  Near our hotel was the beautiful Blue Mosque.  We could see the colorful lights of the Bosphorus Bridge that resembles the one back home in San Francisco.

As we sat holding each other in a loveseat, looking at the sights around us, Bob said there was only one thing that could make this night more perfect...

We loved Istanbul!   It was rich in history from the Greeks to the first Eastern Roman Emperors (Constantine) to the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire and finally the Turkish Republic established by Ataturk.  Wheeeww!  That's a lot of history! And, there are remnants to explore everywhere.  Roman walls surround the hold town as you drive in from the airport and glimpse the sprawling Istanbul metropolis stretching along the Bosphorus.  

I just spent the weekend at Yosemite hiking during the day and doing astronomy during the night.

Yosemite National Park is truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth and I found this to be true both in the daylight and at night.

I did not do this alone.  I traveled with friends and shared the sky with many, many people that were truly from around the world.

Mitch and I celebrated my dad's birthday this year by following a semi-regular tradition of seeing a Major League Baseball game.  Three generations of baseball fans taking in a game in the middle of summer.

Yet another great birthday weekend celebrating my Mom getting younger.

One of our favorite invitations for dinner comes from Carl and Kathy.  They live in the mountains between Healdsburg and Geyserville. I hear they are near the Geysers, but have no idea where they are exactly.  Some day I'll figure that geographic mystery out.

What I do know is that they live in a slice of heaven on the side of a mountain in a house "off the grid" under a canopy of trees, surrounded by Kathy's bountiful gardens (does Carl get any credit for the gardening?) 

Diane and I attended the 2011 Golden Gate Star Party for astronomy under dark skies extraordinaire.  Located north of Mount Lassen in the northeast corner of California, our vacation was a road trip with some interested stops.  We borrowed George and Trina's truck (Thanks!) and drove up on Wednesday, June 30. 

Besides the excellent star party, we visited other tourist sites and relaxed, simply enjoying ourselves and the company of each other.

We celebrated a special weekend in Sonoma valley for Diane's birthday.  The goal was to visit art, drink some nice wine and relax in a comfortable country setting. 

Continue reading to see how the goals were met! 

Niece Kaylee and friend Bri have arrived in the bay area for a week of, you know, tourist-y stuff.

First night they were dragged kicking and screaming to a family pizza party welcoming them to Kaylee original homeland.

Today is my niece Jessica's 18th birthday party. I was the crazy guy with the camera. Click Read More to see all the pictures.

We had a special guest this year: Tallon was a surprise visitor.  He was happy to see everyone and experience the warm weather of California.  Little did he know it was about to get colder!

Click "Read More" to see photos from our 2010 Christmas Party

Diane and I had the time of our lives in the south of France for three weeks.  Le Provence is beautiful anytime and it was especially beautiful this year in the autumn. 

We visited the Luberon and stayed outside the village of Bonnieux.

Next we traveled to the bustling city of Aix-en-Provence.

We needed a bit of quiet so the next stop was the picturesque Alpes Maritimes.

Our last few days were on the sunny peninsula known as St. Jean Cap Ferrat or simply "Cap Ferrat", playground of the jet set. 

The slide show ready!  Click "Read More" and enjoy!