Carmel 2008 Trip Report

Well, by now you're figured out that we went to Carmel for a few days in June (if you've stayed current with The Swan Man Blog). This is something we have done 11 out of the last 12 years in June. We are extremely lucky to have wonderful sharing parents, who are lucky enough to have wonderful sharing friends, who are nice enough to allow the Parents to house-sit every year in June for 2 weeks. And what a house it is! Sitting high in Carmel-by-the-Sea on Santa Rita Street, the house is surrounded by Carmel 'old-forest' trees and has a nice view of the ocean and Point Lobos from the second story deck on the back of the house.

For the last 4 years I've ventured out onto the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Course. This year and last, Tracy came along for the adventure! She beat me this year, because she finished the 18th hole using the same ball she started with (a nice new TaylorMade Noodle+ Lady). That's right, her golf ball is named after pasta. I, on the other hand did not finish using the same ball I started with. So I had a 2, and she had a 1, and of course in golf, the lowest score wins. And that's how I score when I play golf.

Since I love golf, that was a really great part of the trip. But we had other fun too! We visited the Carmel Mission on Thursday morning (for the first time!). We hung out at the beach one afternoon. We drove 17 mile drive and then ate lunch at Lover's Point. We ate gourmet dinners and watched sunsets. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the trip as usual. This year was a little different, in that, the tempurature was hitting the 90's on Thursday and Friday. I think that's the hottest it's ever been while we have visited in the last 12 years. But it was worth it because of the thunderstorm that kicked off and boomed past the house on Saturday. Here's a small taste of that...

Carmel 2008 Vacation Pictures

I've put pictures of our Carmel vacation on Picasa. I tried to pick out the best ones! The pictures are nice, being there was better! The thunderstorm video is coming next!

Carmel 2008 - The California Oak Moth

We've just spent a few days in Carmel-by-the-Sea and the Monterey Penninsula. One thing we noticed was that the California Oak Moths are thriving in Carmel this year. Just like Tracy and I, they seem to like Carmel a lot. They flutter all around, taking in the sights and enjoying good meals (just like Tracy and I). They appear to be more active in the morning, then they all take naps in the afternoon (Tracy and I stayed awake). On Wednesday morning we went for a walk near the Tor house. Not only where there thousands of Oak Moths fluttering all around, but there were thousands of little tiny flying bugs. They were swarming all over the place! I also got some shots of them in some ivy under an Oak tree, and of course there was the one hanging out at every Oak Moth's favorite hot-spot - Starbucks.

8th Grade Promotion

Nick's last day of 8th grade was today. We attended a 2 hour Promotion Ceremony this morning. Nick was mentioned at least 3 times besides the time he came up for his 'Certificate of Promotion'. Here's a look at the awards he's received in the last few weeks...

Some of the items in this picture are -

• Scholarship Award
• President's Education Awards Program - Outstanding Academic Excellence
• Track Coach's Award
• Slick Rock Student Film Festival - Best Documentary
• Honor Roll
• Character Counts - Responsibility Award
• He had 320 AR Points which was the highest in the 8th Grade

Plus - He was one of only 3 students that had a 4.0 grade point average throughout the entire 7th and 8th Grade.

Can you tell? Tracy and I are very pleased.

We tell people we went for quality, not quantity. He's continually proving that statement is true!

Generational Picture

Nick and I went for a quick Petaluma vacation on Memorial day weekend. Here's three generations of Tom Swans! From left to right - Thomas Gregory (Greg), Thomas Sydney (Tom) and Thomas Nicholas (Nick).