Wow, we have been busy! (Hence the lack of blog posts...)
A couple weeks back (end of July) I finished up TGen's Helios Internship Program for students interested in science. My intern did an awesome job, and she churnned out some great work. A lot of investigators were asking very good questions and I'm sure I'll be hearing more from them in the coming weeks. We had a symposium on a Friday and after a celebratory beer with the other mentors, Mara, Rohan and the dogs picked me up and off we went on an adventure. Friday night we camped at Joshua Tree National Forest in California Absolutely gorgeous, and we found a free place to crash for the night. The next day we headed to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, about an hour outside San Diego, where we set up camp and did a couple day trips into San Diego. We LOVE to visit San Diego, but wouldn't want to live there. We took the dogs to the Mission Beach Dog Beach where Schroeder had a blast chasing balls in the ocean, and Rohan had a blast as well running through the causeway and in the waves.
We also hit up the Little Italy Mercado where Rohan got to see his favorite accordion player, Smilin' Jack. He's a little creepy, but a super nice guy. We also took time to check out the USS Midway docked museum. We couldn't go on it this time since we had the dogs, but we relaxed at the park next to it, and Rohan wouldn't stop talking about it. We walked by Petco Park (where the Padres play baseball) and ran around their Park at the Park; a really awesome idea, and Rohan loved playing in the shadow of a baseball field!
The awesome kick to the end of the trip was The Field Irish Pub. They had live dancing and Irish/Celtic music and we had the best seat in the house! They gave us an elevated booth looking down on the dancers. Rohan would take a bit and chew it while he was trying to shove his head through the banister to watch. Definitely a place to hit when we go back!
Earlier in the week Mara's vacation started (on a Wednesday...FFS), I took a day off and we headed down to Tuscon. We never really explored the area as well as we would like, so we did just that. We hit up a couple coffee shops, a couple parks, a Thai restaurant, and of course Mount Lemmon. Mt Lemmon is HUGE, and it is about a 25mi drive from the base to the top, but it has some great views and was VERY cool and comfortable at the top (100°F+ below). Rohan took it upon himself to do a Tough Mudder course which consisted of climbing, running, jumping over logs, trees, and streams...very similar to the real one...:) He had a blast exploring and has really taken to engaging his surroundings and seeing what he can find.
Such a great week for Mara to have off, we always try to make the most of these rare vacations.
Rohan being C-R-A-Z-Y in San Diego:
Irish Dancing at The Field (wish you could see how enthralled he was!):
Schroeder having fun in the causeway:
Linus the not-so water dog:
