San Francisco Day 2 and 3

The past two days have been very eventful here in California. We've enjoyed some great scenary, great wines, and some outstanding food.

Saturday was the day to begin our wine tasting adventure. We started in Livermore, which is only minutes away from Jamie's apartment. After a delicious lunch at a local dim sum restaurant and watching the US fall to Ghana in the World Cup game, we headed for the vineyards. We sampled wines at three different places, all of which were enjoyable. My favorite was the Thomas Coyne winery. I'm looking forward to ordering some wines from them when they start shipping in the fall. My favorite was their port which had a nice robust taste and was not too sweet or syrupy. Overall a very fine way to spend the afternoon.

Our next day began with more wine tasting! After a brief moment of panic when we realized we could not get out of Jamie's parking garage because of a power outage (his electric gate wouldn't open), Ida came to the rescue. She showed up with bagels, coffee, and a car that was not trapped in the garage. This time we headed north to the Sonoma wine country. We visited several wineries, all in very close proximity to each other. We started at Hook and Ladder and met one of the wine makers. They took us through ten different wines starting with the whites and ending up with some of the more robust reds. Delicious. We then visited three more wineries ending up at Deloach vineyards. We tried a Zinfandel and a Tawny (similar to a port) and several other wines. The woman that helped us out was a riot. Between the service, the previous tastings (life was pretty good by this point in the day) and the fact that we were in Sonoma wine country I ended up buying a couple bottles of wine to take home.

After a brief nap in the car and lunch at Mom's Apple Pie restaurant we headed to Muir Woods to see giant redwood trees. The park is nestled in a valley in the countryside surrounding San Francisco Bay. It's actually within a half hour drive of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city itself. The trees were awe-inspiring and spectacular. We spent time on a mile or two long path that wound its way around the basses of the giant trees. One of the areas, Cathedral Grove, has a particularly impressive grouping of trees. As we walked through the forest was silent and everyone stood in awe of the massive redwoods.

We also saw a spotted owl in the trees and watched it swoop down into the stream below and catch a frog. It brought the frog back up into its tree and enjoyed the meal while we all stood, taking it's picture. The shot below is the owl looking up from it's feast.


After Muir woods we came back to the city over the Golden Gate Bridge. There are some wonderful views of the city from the cliffs overlooking the bay on the west side of the bridge. We stopped and took pictures and then drove over the bridge on our way back to town.

From the bridge we headed to the piers along the waterfront to catch a ferry out to Alcatraz. Our plan was to tour the prison and get some great views of the city from the water. Unfortunately we didn't realize it until we were almost to our destination that the time on our reservation was 6:45 PM and not 7:45 like we had originally thought. When we arrived at the pier it was already 6:50, so Ida dropped off Jamie and we waited to see if there was something we could do. As it turns out our best option would be to get standby tickets for the following day so that's what we ended up doing. In the end I think everything worked out best because by the time the ferry debacle had ended we all realized we were starving. So instead of a depressing tour of a prison we ended up having a lovely dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant and then later took some photos of the city from the top of a parking garage. Not quite what we planned, but a lovely time all the same.

San Francisco Day One

Greetings from California! Chris and I arrived two nights ago in one piece, mostly, after being stuck in Denver for five hours. What was supposed to be an hour layover turned into a five and a half hour layover thanks to a low lever of clouds hanging over San Francisco proper. The airport was socked in so they delayed all flights coming into the city. We were supposed to get in at 6:15 PM local time and we didn't end up coming until 12:30 AM. At least we were able to stop at the In 'n Out Burger for some food once we got to town. Otherwise we pretty much went straight to bed once we got to Jamie's apartment.


Yesterday morning we woke up and made a nice breakfast of omelets, bacon, and toast and then we headed out to Mt. Diablo State Park. Mt. Diablo is just twenty minutes away from Jamie's apartment, has breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside, and you can see San Francisco Bay from the summit. We drove to the summit visitor center and planned out a hike to the top of a a different peak within the park. The North Peak hike, which is listed as a moderate hike, is actually a fairly difficult 4.6 mile trek down the side of Mt. Diablo, and up (sometimes straight up) the side of the North Peak. The trip took us two and a half hours and offered some spectacular panoramic views. The weather was perfect: sunny, clear, and warm but not hot.


After our hike we came back to Jamie's apartment with a stop at Yogurtland on the way. It's a frozen yogurt bar where you can create your own combination of yogurt and toppings. They have about 12 different flavors of yogurt and dozens of toppings. Needless to say this was very refreshing after being out in the sun for almost three hours. When we got back to Jamie's we hopped in the hot tub to soothe our aching muscles and then made dinner plans. Dinner was at a very nice seafood place in downtown called The Waterfront. The three of us met up with Ida, Jamie's girlfriend, for dinner. I had the Cioppino which is a mixture of different seafood all put together in a tomato based broth. Delicious. I ended up wearing much of my dungeness crab though.

Today we are off for lunch nearby and then to the Sonoma wine country. It's not a bad life.

Sold

Today it became official. We accepted an offer from a potential buyer for our house. It has been on the market since early May and today it finally sold. We are still waiting for the pending home inspection and radon test but I don't think we'll have a problem with that. So after five years on Drummond Street we get ready to say goodbye to our first home.

This has been a great home for us and we're going to miss it. I'll miss banging my head into the ceiling upstairs every time I reach for a book off of the book shelves. I'll miss the goofy entertainment room (formerly the MAN ROOM) in the basement which also doubles as my music library. I'll miss the backyard, the neighborhood, the Thanksgivings we've hosted. I love the way the sun pours into our living room each morning; the bright winter mornings and the filtered light of fall. I'll miss our ridiculous wildflower garden in the front and our patchy vegetable garden in the backyard. Most of all I'll miss being home.

With that being said, we need to start packing. Our closing date is July 12 and it will come faster than we can imagine. We have to pack our whole house plus there's a lot to get rid of in the next fourteen days. We're going to start next week because both Kaia and I will be out of town for the weekend. She's hanging out in Minneapolis and I will be in San Francisco. This is actually a good scenario because if I left town and Kaia were home alone she might have thrown out or donated all of our worldly possessions by the time I return. We'll tackle it together I think.

Let the countdown to closing begin!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Kaia and I are magical. We have the ability to produce tremendous volumes of rain wherever we go camping. Last year we drove around Lake Superior on the "Circle Tour," a 1300 mile trek around the great lake that took us through 3 states and a large portion of Ontario in Canada. Throughout our journey we were accompanied by copious amounts of rain and several nights where temperatures dipped into the 30s (in August). Or take the camping trip to Tettegouche State Park on the North Shore. It was raining and in the upper 30s and 40s for three straight days. We hiked for miles in ankle deep water because, dammit, it was our vacation.

It should be no surprise then that Monday afternoon we were greeted by a deluge at Trempealeau State Park about 20 miles north of La Crosse. This rainstorm brought bouts of one and half to two inches of rain per hour - while we were in the middle of our 26 mile bike ride. But let me not get ahead of myself.

We visited my parents Sunday night for Father's Day. It was nice to see them and we took them out to Buzzard Billy's in downtown La Crosse for a nice dinner. I had the seafood jambalaya which I can highly recommend. We commenced the evening with me trying out my dad's new recumbent tricycle in a spin around the block. It was a fun ride. I'll have to get myself one someday. Afterward we went for dinner and then headed to our campsite at the park. We already had set up the tent on our way down to La Crosse so it was a perfect evening. Campfire, stars, bright moon, early to bed.

We got up the next morning and planned our adventure for the day. We started off with a 3.6 mile canoe trip around Trempealeau Bay. It's a trail that follows a little stream around the edges of a huge marsh all smack dab in the middle of the river bluffs. We saw otters, pelicans, herons, turtles, fish, and lots of birds. It took us about an hour and a half and it was pretty relaxing. There was one harrowing incident with a downed tree that almost took my head off as we crossed beneath it but otherwise we were fine. After the canoe trip we visited the nature center in the park and then had lunch.

It was in the midst of the 26 mile bike ride from the park to Lyttle's Landing that we encountered rain. It was threatening all morning and early afternoon and it even sprinkled on us a bit on our way away from the park. As we began our return trip the rain started to pick up. By the time made it back to the town of Trempealeau it was coming down pretty hard and we took refuge in a coffee shop to wait out the rain. We played a game of cribbage and the local sheriff told us that we were in for a deluge. After waiting for about a half hour it became apparent that we either had to make a break for it or sit in Trempealeau with our six remaining dollars for the rest of the night. We found a slight break in the rain and we pedaled furiously back to our campsite. After surveying the weather we decided to pack it in and return home a day early. We were both defeated so we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at Manny's in town when we got back. We were truly roughing it no longer.

So much for our camping experience. We'll have to try again later this summer :(

Not Much Going On

It's been a few days since I wrote anything so I thought I would fill you in on what's been happening. The answer is: not much. Oh, the joys of summer when a person can while away lazy afternoons reading a book on a sun drenched deck. Or, in my case, obsessing over things like Brahms scores and registration for graduate classes. I wouldn't necessarily call it whiling away.

Thursday and Friday were not necessarily memorable days. They kind of blended, one right into the other. Friday night our neighbors came over and we grilled chicken legs and kabobs. We had a delightful supper and then I presented them with a lecture on Brahms 1st Symphony. Now, to be fair, they asked me if I could talk about some of the music that I was studying because they were interested in knowing what I was doing in preparation for the workshop in the Czech Republic this summer. So I organized some thoughts, we had dinner, and we discussed Brahms. Afterward we listened to the entire symphony around the bonfire pit in the backyard. It was actually a pretty nice night.

Yesterday Kaia and I attended some graduation parties in the afternoon and I registered for some classes. I managed to get myself registered for conducting lessons and a course called "problems and methods". Other than that I still need to see what else I should take. There is a seminar that I need to take and there are some music history courses and some other electives from which to choose. I just need to figure out a sequence for the courses. Ultimately I need to be fully registered by the end of the first week of classes so there is still time.

Last night Kaia and I went out for dinner with Nobu. After dinner he came over and we watched the Berlin Philharmonic on their Digital Concert Hall. It was incredible. For 5 euro (roughly $6.15) I ordered a concert of Brahms Symphony No. 1 and Dvorak Slavonic Dances. It all came streaming to my laptop, which we then plugged in to our stereo. The picture clarity is outstanding and sound is unbelievable. We thoroughly enjoyed the concert. I have plans to order more in the next few weeks, but first I need to get the cable to hook my laptop up to our TV. Then we can really enjoy!

Kaia and I are headed off for a camping trip today. We are going to visit my parents in La Crosse for father's day and then we are going camping at Perrot State Park. It's our first "vacation" of the summer and I'm looking forward to a change of scenery.

Good News

Today has been a very good day. I found out this afternoon that I will be getting a .25 TA position next year observing student teachers from U of I in the Fall and Spring. This means that I will be getting my tuition covered and a small stipend. They will have me observe wind and percussion students, which is right up my alley since I have experience with several student teachers of my own over the past eight years. I think the TA will be a good fit for me and I'll be able to keep working as a teacher in some aspect or other. I've enjoyed working with student teachers in the past and I look forward to continuing.

This morning Kaia and I booked our lodging for Prague and Vienna. They are charming little places that are located right in the center of each town. In Prague we are staying at the Green Garland Pension which is located right across the street from Bethlehem Chapel and just blocks away from the Charles Bridge. Our Vienna Lodging is called Schweizer Pension located just a couple of blocks from the Danube in one direction and a few blocks from St. Stephens in the center of the city in the other. Both places are small and run by very nice people who we contacted personally for the reservations. In Prague, the owner of the Pension is going to arrange a taxi from the airport for us. There will be a driver with a sign that says our name on it - just like in the movies. By the way, a pension is like a hotel but with the main entrance not at street level if you were wondering.

Other than these exciting developments today has been a good study day for me. I'm working on learning a lot of repertoire for the workshop so I've studied for a few hours every day this week. I have a list of excerpts to prepare from each piece, but I'm trying to learn the entire work so I know the context.

And on that note, it's back to studying for me...

A Shot in the Dark

Did you know that it's been 14 years since I last had a tetanus shot? I didn't either but I found that out today. In order to go to grad school I need to have all of my shots updated, kind of like a cat getting adopted from the humane society. Little did I know that it's actually somewhat difficult to figure out your immunization history if you don't visit the doctor regularly.

My day started when I stopped at the Luther Midelfort clinic in downtown to pick up a copy of my immunization history. After being sent from one part of the clinic/hospital complex to another (at one point I ended up in the HR department) I finally found out that, according to Luther clinic, I don't have any record of immunizations in Eau Claire. That sent me panicking somewhat because in 15 days I have to have my history on file at the U of Illinois or otherwise I can't enroll in the fall.

Luckily my parents knew where I could find the information. Thank God for parents! I had to call a clinic in Eagan, MN and they mailed my records out today. In the meantime I found out that it's been 14 years since I had a tetanus shot. The U of I wants one within the past 10 years, so I made an appointment for this afternoon. So after running around this morning to get my information, and then hitting some golf balls this afternoon, I went in for my shot. It was actually pretty quick and easy. It didn't even hurt as much as I thought it would.

Now everything should be on track for all of the medical history paperwork I need to submit. I'm still waiting to see what classes to register for and some other pertinent information but at least I won't be dropped from the program because I didn't get my shots!

Does Anyone Want to Buy a House?

Good price, cute house, great neighborhood...

Well, it's another rainy day here in Eau Claire. We had an open house today and a showing right beforehand. Hopefully something will happen soon. This is our second open house since we went on the market a month ago. We lowered the price a bit so I hope that will help out. Personally I'm getting tired of keeping the house clean. It's a drag.

Today was also a day to visit grad parties. We went to a few and ate a lot of food. Probably we won't be eating much for dinner this evening. Last night we hung out for a bit with my student teacher from last semester. He has a new job in Amery, WI and he told us all about his first few days of summer school. I think it will be a good fit for him. They are working on a lot of summer marching band. I smile when I think of that (mainly because it's not me).

I beginning to get myself into score study mode. In a month Kaia and I will be headed to the Czech Republic for the International Conducting Workshop and Festival. It's a week and a half long festival where I get to work with some fabulous teachers and conduct a professional orchestra. Right now I'm in the midst of studying two Brahms Symphonies, a Tchaikovsky Symphony, two Stravinsky Ballets, Romeo and Juliet and the Violin Concerto (Tchaikovsky). It's a lot to get ready but I've actually studied and conducted at least bits of most of the repertoire before. The festival is held in a town called Zlin on the eastern side of the country. It's pretty close to Slovakia and Poland. See map below:


We're leaving on July 14th and we will be back at the beginning of August. We fly to Prague to spend a couple of days, go to Zlin for a week and a half, then go to Vienna for a few days, then fly home. I know, it's a hard knock life.

In a couple of weekends my friend Chris and I are headed to San Francisco to visit out friend Jamie for an extended weekend. We're going to tour Alcatraz and visit Muir Woods and hang out for 4 days. I'm hoping that we can also take a tour of a vineyard or two while we're out there. It should be a fun time. We haven't seen Jamie for a while so I'm really looking forward to it.

The Beginning

Yesterday was my very last day as a teacher. It's amazing to say that. Eight years of my life and a career as a public school teacher came to an end when I turned in my keys and walked out of the band room for the last time. What an amazing ride it has been.

This week has been emotional for many reasons. Of course I didn't really stop to think about how my career was ending because I was so wrapped up in the moment with my students. First and foremost I miss my kids. I knew it was going to be difficult leaving, but it has been excruciating to say the least. I've never felt so loved by a group of people as I did in the last few days of school. We all came together to say our goodbyes to one another and I began to realize the depth of my affection for these wonderful people that I work with on a day-to-day basis. My life will be very different without them.

Monday was our last day with seniors. I had the final wind ensemble rehearsal of my career first thing in the morning. We practiced through Jupiter from The Planets in preparation for our graduation performance. The kids cleaned out their lockers and turned in music. The remainder of the day was spent cleaning, organizing, straightening, collecting, and talking. I had good talks with several of my students and things kept appearing on my desk: a note here, a card there. By the end of the day I took the freshman band outside so they could run around. I sat in an office chair at the top of the hill overlooking the athletic fields, eating a popsicle, helping a senior (who is going into music) study for a music theory entrance exam.

Tuesday was our last day with students. We had combined rehearsal for graduation with two bands in the gym at the beginning of the day. The rest of the day was spent putting away a year worth of uniforms, music, and equipment. My student teacher and I went out for Chinese food for lunch and reflected on the year and returned to school in an MSG induced coma. It was a quiet remainder to the day. A couple of kids stopped in and said their goodbyes. We finished cleaning.

Graduation was Tuesday night. The band played really well and the ceremony itself didn't take as long as years past. Perhaps it was the smaller senior class or maybe it was a streamlined process with less speakers. Either way it went relatively quickly. Before I knew it I was conducting the final bars of Fairest of the Fair and the seniors had recessed out. That's when it hit home and I broke down. Eight years of teaching. My favorite job. My students. I gave so many hugs that night and I must be in a bizillion pictures. It took me over an hour to get to my office and get ready to leave school after the ceremony.

This is Kaia and me leaving the house on our last day.

Yesterday was very low-key. I didn't go to the final all staff meeting in the commons. I didn't have it in me to listen to people talk about what a great year it has been. Have a great summer. See you next year. Instead I stayed in my room and finished cleaning everything up for the last time. There were some students that stopped by. One kid helped me for several hours clean and organize and then we had a beautiful heart-to-heart talk. My student teacher, now a band director in Amery, called me from his very first day of work (summer band) to check in. I went out for a last lunch with some of the music teachers in the district. After lunch there were some loose ends to tie up and then it was over.

It's been an incredible ride the last eight years and I am glad it ended at North High School. Now a new day is beginning. I've got my coffee, I've got my Brahms, and I'm ready to begin the next chapter of my life.

Might(y) River Conquest

When the forecast says 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms there is still a 40 percent chance that it won't rain. Unfortunately, on Sunday, the 60 percent chance won out. The picture above is me and my pasty friend Chris right before we set out on what turned out to be a three and a half hour tube run down the Chippewa River in Eau Claire. We put in at Phoenix Park in downtown EC and ducked rain, lightening, and wind as we made our way down the river. It was fun but by the end my knuckles were turning purple and I was freezing cold. At least the sun was out for part of the day and we did get to see some of the airshow that was going on from the river. Not too bad for a day of hypothermia in the early part of the summer.

Otherwise the weekend was good. Chris showed up on Saturday night and we had a bonfire and grilled out before we both fell asleep around midnight - while watching The Tick (the cartoon not the live-action movie). It's just not quite what it used to be when we could stay up until 4 AM at the drop of a hat. After Chris left Kaia and I got together with our small-group from church for some friendly backyard games. We dominated at washers (Kaia and I won the tournament) and secured bragging rights for our next round. It's the little victories in life that keep a person moving.

Today was our second to last day with students. I will write more about this later. It's been interesting and emotional to say the least. Everything is my last... One more day with students and then a teacher workday. We're almost to the finish line.

The Incredibox

This has nothing to do with conducting, music, or what's going on in my life but you should go to this link and check it out. You can spend hours with this:

Incredibox

Last Youth Orchestra Performance

Thursday night was my last ever performance with the Chippewa Valley Youth Symphony in Eau Claire. We had our end of the year concert a few weeks ago but we ended up adding a wine and cheese fundraiser to the end of the season. It was me and a reduced orchestra nestled into the hillside of the 18th green at the Eau Claire Golf and Country Club. Between the gnats, the encroaching thunderstorm, and the perilous hillside perch it was a memorable performance. You can see our setup in the photo below. The hill slopes off right behind the brass section to the 18th green.

All in all the event went pretty well. The country club liked us, I think, and the highlight of the evening for the students was to eat the leftover food from the $100 per plate dinner once the concert was over. I have to admit this was a highlight for me too. The food was delicious and it was a nice treat after our performance. I really like the bacon wrapped meat personally.

Yesterday evening Kaia and I went to Ron Keezer's 70th birthday party. The event was held at the Keezer household just a few blocks away from our home. It was quite a shindig. There was tons of food, lots of people, and as an added bonus Ron's son Geoffrey was tending the grill. If you don't know Geoffrey Keezer let's just say he's one of the most amazing jazz pianists on the face of the earth today and, as it turns out, he's not bad at grilling out. The event was a veritable who's who of musicians and music educators in Eau Claire. There were so many people Ron managed to get the street in front of his house blocked off by the police.

This weekend is going to be nice and relaxing. I am going to a graduation party at some point this afternoon and Chris Hahn will be coming over from St. Paul later in the day. Last time Chris was in town we had a roaring bonfire and ended up walking all over town taking pictures until 4 AM. I'll let you know if anything like that occurs this time.