Kim and Geoff - The Blog

Shirttail Run on the North Fork American

2008-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Kim and I took our tandem whitewater kayak out for a fun run down the class II+ section of the North Fork American river, not far from our home. It was so nice, we went back and did another lap. A gorgeous day on a very pretty river. Not many photos, but I did take some.

Photos here

Pauley Creek

2008-05-03T00:47:00.000-07:00

Had a fun run down Pauley Creek today. The water was low, all the big drops went are were fun, but slightly excessive butt massage on the rest.

It was a little low, but still good fun.

Pictures Here
http://www.kimandgeoff.com/kayak/pauleycreekmay2008/

Or if you are on a Mac, here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/geoffcj/PauleyCreekMay22008

Double Header on the South Yuba River and the North Fork American River

2008-04-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went paddling. Paddled my new Pyranha Everest kayak, which was awesome. Met my friend Sabrina at 1, and went and did a low water run on the South Fork Yuba. It was fun, and went smoothly. We pulled under the bridge at 4:15, and I calculated that with some quick driving and some luck, I could catch another group of friends on another river.

I had to hustle, and then flog my poor my little truck like it's never been flogged before, but I came screeching into the parking lot just as my already suited up friends were about to put on the river. Record time for sure.

My brakes were hot and smelly, but I suited up and we ran Chamberlains on the North Fork American. It was a super fun flow, about 1600. Everything went smooth, and was just fun, fun, fun. Good times with good people.

I'm not sure I've ever actually paddled two different rivers, in two completely different drainages, in one day. And yesterday I did it after lunch. Northern California is a pretty sweet place to live.

More Pictures Here
(on a Mac? Pictures Here until I fix the viewer. )

Garden Pictures

2008-04-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

Our Yard is really taking off this year, and I wanted to capture it. It's also a good excuse to play with taking macro photos.

Click to play the slideshow, click again to see the pictures bigger.

2008-04-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome, fun day skiing/snowboarding at Alpine Meadows, near Lake Tahoe. It was a pretty day, warm spring conditions. I skiied my new (used, but new to me) Telemark skis, and had a great time, though I felt a bit wobbly and insecure. Good times.

Click Play to start a slideshow, click again to see the pictures big.

Greetings fellow bicyclists!

2008-04-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

Kim and I had our maiden voyage of our new (to us) toy, a KHS tandem
Mountain bike. It was fun, we did about 15 miles after work tonight.
Nothing much, but given the short time we had available, I felt pretty
good about it. It is used, with some cosmetic nicks, but solid, and
good quality components. I've ordered some slick road bike style tires
and some other odds and ends to freshen it up a bit, but I'm excited and
looking forward to getting out for some longer road rides.

The picture isn't great, but hopefully we'll be adding some action shots
soon.

Geoff

Yosemite - April 2008 - 2nd year anniversary

2008-04-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

Kim and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary this weekend with a lovely weekend in Yosemite. Saturday morning we got up early, and drove there in time to get in a climb.

Kim is a super strong climber, but is still pretty new to traditional lead climbing. On Saturday she did her first long multipitch where she led everything, and she did an awesome, awesome job. I was very proud of her.

We stayed in Camp Curry, which was interesting, then rose and had an awesome brunch at the famous Awahnee hotel. After that we played tourist in the Valley, then went hiking in the snow. Kim wanted to see Redwoods, so that's what we did. It was a nice hike and a good time.

Click Play to see more photos, click image again to see them bigger:

Deep Sea Fishing

2008-03-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

My husband and friends took me out to celebrate my belated 30th birthday with a deep sea fishing trip. It had been postponed for 3 months for various reasons, so even the sore throat and start of a cold that I woke up with that morning couldn't keep me off the water. John, Phuong, and Hong picked us up bright an early at 6:30 AM so we could get on the first boat out. We figured we'd try to be pros like that. We left out of Marina Del Ray. The early morning light graced the sailboats and danced off the harbor water. The waves were rough but Geoff looked like a kid in a candy store, he was so happy to be on a boat. Geoff grew up on the water and looked right at home. He ended up catching three fish, one that we endearingly named Nemo. Phuong and John didn't take well to the waves, but were such great sports that we still went on to gorge on Brazilian BBQ afterwards. I didn't catch much, except for seasickness and one fish too small to keep. Hong turned out to be the most surprisingly resilient to the rough waters that day. She ended up taking two fish home. I think I've used up my allotment for water adventure in birthday celebrations but it was worth it! I had such a fun day, between the fishing and the three hour buffet. Thanks guys!

See the pictures here.

Ton and Wu Ping's Wedding - 3/15/2008

2008-03-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Kim's brother Ton married Wu Ping (Secilia) last Saturday. It was a very nice ceremony, followed by a nice reception with the traditional 10 course Chinese food dinner.

Kim and I wish them many, many years of happy marriage.

See the pictures here.

Very, very cool optical illusion I made.

2008-03-14T18:52:00.001-07:00

Stare at the Dot in the center of the picture for 30 seconds
WITHOUT looking away, put your mouse over the picture
Looks like you are looking at a normal color photo, right?
Nope...Look Away without moving your mouse.

Believe it or not, there are only two pictures. The weird color one, and a b/w one. Pretty neat huh?

This is the tutorial I used. Let me know what you think.

Peru. I miss it.

2008-03-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was looking in my Picassa albums, and saw a folder of pictures that Nickolaus and Melissa Brown (brother and sister) had sent me. They were our trailmates on the Inca Trail when we went to Peru last fall, and were awesome. Loved them both. They had a few cool shots that I hope they don't mind me sharing here.

I want to go back to Peru. I loved it there. No place I've visited has made me yearn to return like Peru has. Ever.

Nepal photos

2008-03-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

In January 2000, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Nepal to complete field research for my masters thesis in point of use drinking water treatment. I fell in love with the country and traveled back at the end of the year to spend a month trekking, rafting, and traveling. Nepal is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. However, I think it skims the heavens for more reasons than just being the home of Everest. Here are some photos:

http://www.kimandgeoff.com/travel/nepal/index.html

I've got more photos, so I'll add to the collection when I can dig them up.

Kern River Weekend

2008-03-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Headed out to Kernville this weekend. Not many pictures, but I ran Brush creek a couple times, and ran the Chemise Gorge Section, The Thunder Run, Cables and the Powerhouse. Made some new friends and got to spend time with some old friends. Very good time.

More pictures here.

Sespe Creek - Class V - 3 Days

2008-03-07T17:59:00.001-08:00

An awesome wilderness adventure-
http://kimandgeoff.com/kayak/sespeCreek.html

In Loving Memory - Lt. Gen. Hal B Jennings, Jr. MD

2008-03-06T20:22:00.001-08:00

My Grandpa Jennings passed away a few weeks ago. Kim and I travelled to
texas for his funeral, which was a celebration of his life, and honored
his long and decorated military career.
I've posted a tribute page to him, with photos.
http://kimandgeoff.com/grandpa/hbj.html

-Geoff

Subscribe to this blog via Email

2008-03-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Would you like to always get emails when I update this page? Enter your email below and you'll get all the updates. I promise, no spam, just all the updates to the page.This subscription service is provided by Feedburner, so once you click subscribe, you need to follow their subscription follow-up.

Spring is here.

2008-03-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

It's spring, and our trees and flowers are starting to bloom.

Time to do some work and planting for this year.

UC Davis Graduate School of Management Snow Day 2008

2008-03-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Another out of date post. But I'm getting caught up, I promise. A few weeks ago, the Graduate School of Management hosted their Annual Snow day, for alumni and students. Gorgeous conditions and a super nice day at Kirkwood.

An album of pictures is available here.

Cousin Annie's Wedding

2008-02-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

(click slideshow to see large photos)

Kim's Cousin Annie got married last month. I'm playing catch-up with this blog, so apologies for the out of order posts.

Kim and I spend a day in San Antonio, Texas

2008-02-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

(click slideshow for larger images)

Kim and I were in San Antonio for my Grandfather's funeral last weekend. It was a sad weekend, of course, but it was nice to see my family so much.

On Sunday morning, my parents were going over some stuff with my Grandma, so Kim and I took the morning and went to downtown San Antonio. We visited several historical sites, including a cathedral built by the Spanish missionaries in the 1700's, and the Alamo, a famous battle site in Texas history.

We also went to the Riverwalk area, where we walked around a bit, and kim enjoyed some Texas Style BBQ ribs.

North Fork American Run - From January 2008

2008-02-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a ton of paddling this year, and taken even fewer picture, but these are a couple photos from a January trip down the NF American. It was a fun run, and a gorgeous day.

Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise and John's Welcome Home Party

2008-02-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

These Photos are from October, 2007, but I'd never linked to them from here. Last October, we did a Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise in Long Beach to celebrate Phoung's Birthday. The following day, there was an 80's themed party to welcome John home from the army.

Surfing this weekend

2008-02-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

Taylor wrote:

> Got Vitamin I? (Ibuprofin)
> You guys must have done the equivalent of running a marathon
> yesterday. 5 or 6 hour session!?
>

We were out least 6 hours. Maybe closer to seven. It was incredible.
I'm pretty beat today. Typing is hard.

To sum up:

Saturday I joined Dennis St. Clair at Bolsa Chica. It was big. Big
and stompy and big. Did I mention big? I hate guessing wave heights,
but it was well, well overhead on the standup surfers. When I got out,
there were only a dozen or so guys out. 3-4 times as many standing on
the beach, watching. There were some incredible rides to be had, and
some punishing beat downs if you picked the wrong wave. Enough fun
waves to make it worthwhile. Good times. I had errands to do with Kim,
so it wasn't a long session, but I didn't want to get out of the
water. I did take one really bad hit/wipe out, and that made me a
little cautious about the waves I took.

Sunday morning I made the long drive to meet Chris at C-Street in
Ventura. I was out of bed at 4, on the road by 4:30. Kim's family
thinks I'm crazy. They may be right. Launching was tough, I broke a fin
and dinged my boat getting washed back on the rocks. (High tide). We
were both getting some fun rides, but it crowded fast. The waves were
incredible, but I was nervous taking off with people everywhere. We
paddled north and surfed uncrowded waves. They were not crowded for a
reason! Drop in, scream across a face, and bail out before the brutal
closeout. At least, that's what I did. Chris was surfing deeper,
staying on the wave longer, and instead of bailing out, throwing air
moves at the end. I hope when I'm old I can surf like Chris does.

We were out there for 3.5 hours or so, and I was starting to sink. I
wasn't catching a ton of rides, due to fear and crowds. Chris was still
getting a bunch. I paddled in, and inspected the damage. Chris came
in, and we decided to find a surf shop. I bought some UV resin, Chris
got coffee, and we patch my boats. Then drove north, looking at some
crowded spots and then settling on paddling out near Emma woods state
park, and out to the Overheads spot.

WOW. Wow. wow. I'd never surfed there before. loved it. loved it.
loved it. Simply awesome. Steep drops, shoulders and walls, and
L-O-N-G rides. I was think I may have covered more distance in that
session that any other surf session ever. Simply, simply awesome. I
like that spot a lot. Simply fun. Taylor showed up, and joined us and
just a handful of board surfers for many, many,many rides. Chris headed
in, and I tried to stick it out, but eventually I was just whipped.

It was a long drive home, and I get home to find out I'm needed to help
move. Heavy things. DOH.

Super fun day.

I miss my Grandpa

2008-02-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa passed away last week. I'm really going to miss him. He was an awesome Grandpa.

He wrote his own obituary, and I've copied it below.

JENNINGS
Lieutenant General Hal B. Jennings, Jr., M.D., US Army (Retired) passed away on Feb. 12, 2008 at the age of 92. He is survived by wife Flora Gene (Dixie); son Ronald; and daughter Cathy Hampton. Cathy and Ronald with their spouses live in Plano, TX. Also, there remain 5 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Hal graduated from DeVilbiss High School (1933) in Toledo, Ohio; University of Toledo with BS degree (1937); and from the University of Michigan with an MD degree and a temporary commission of 1st Lieutenant in the Army Reserve Medical Corps (1941). He took competitive examinations for a Regular Army Commission while overseas in World War II. He received his Regular Army Commission in the Medical Corps in December 1944. After World War II, having spent 32 months overseas in the South Pacific, he was trained in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery by Dr. James Barrett Brown at Washington University (Barnes Hospital) in St. Louis, MO. He became a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in 1953. Hal made a career of surgery in the Regular Army and while overseas in Vietnam was appointed Surgeon General of the Army (1969-1973). After Army Retirement he spent two years (1973-1974) as CEO of the American Urological Association in Baltimore, MD. He completely retired, in Dec. 1975 and Hal & Dixie moved to Beaufort, SC. In February 1987 Hal and Dixie made a final move to the Army Residence Community in San Antonio, TX. Volunteer service in the Executive Service Corps of San Antonio and the Army Medical Museum Foundation occupied his retirement time in San Antonio. His greatest pleasures in surgery were the repair of cleft lips and palates, and other congenital deformities. In lieu of flowers please send all donations to the Army Residence Community, 7400 Crestway, San Antonio, TX 78239 in the name of LTG Hal B. Jennings, Jr.

New Blog

2008-02-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

I've changed the "Recent Additions" page to this new blog format. This was intended to do several things:

Make is easier to make changes, especially to add small notes. This site has mostly focused on photos/big trips/etc. Adding or changing pages was too much work to update "just a fun day" or other news from Kim and I. The blog makes updates as easy as sending an email, so expect more.
You can get an email anytime we make a change to the site, simply submit your email here.
Several people have requested an RSS or Atom Feed. There is now one, and if you subscribe, you can get updates whenever we make changes. RSS feeds are a super great, easy way to keep track of changes on many modern websites. For more info, check out the wikipedia entry:
Our Feed is over on the right, in the lower part of the sidebar.
It'll serve as a dated archive. Major changes and updates to the site will still get menu items on the left, simpl/small changes will be searchable by "Label".

Just Below this Post, there is a post that includes the links from the old "Recent Additions" page, so if you need more reading, click here.