Flashback October 31, 2008: Coarctation of the Aorta Artery

I've wanted to write about this for quite some time, but I have a tough time getting the words out. It was a really scary and draining ordeal that I wouldn't wish upon any little one or their parents.

A few weeks prior to Halloween, my wife took my son in to see the pediatrician due to him picking up pink eye from one of the neighbors boys. It was during this visit that we heard the first words that nobody wants to hear. The doctor was listening to his heart, and heard a murmur. She felt it was serious enough that we should make an appointment with a specialized pediatric cardiologist as soon as possible. Within a week, my wife was at the UC Davis Medical Center where my son would undergo a echocardiogram.

Mysterious

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
~Albert Einstein ~

Vernal Pools

Today I tagged along with my wife and daughter as they had a little outing to the Mather Field Vernal Pools with their girl scout troop.

Clean New Look

Wiley and Clean: 17-40mm F/4L @ 29mm, F/4, 1/200th ISO 200,
Manual flash at 1/4 power fired in Softbox about 2 feet away.

Making some changes with the blog, and I hit on it a bit with the last post. I think it's a much cleaner, streamlined look, and I'm liking it much better. None of the templates were doing what I wanted, so I figured 'what the heck, I'm a software engineer', and I went into the html and fixed it myself.

Flashback(December 19, 2008): Old Town Auburn

Continuing my flashback series, partially because I have nothing new, and partially because I regret not sharing all the interesting places I've discovered over the last year....


Placer County Court House: 17-40mm F/4L @ 17mm, F/8, 1/500th, and ISO 400

Auburn is a cool little town only about 20 minutes from where I live, and I figured it would be the perfect place to test out my new camera. I had talked about meeting up with somebody from work for this little outing, but he ended up being busy so I was left to explore on my own.

Flashback (December 18, 2008): New Camera

Okay, so I was a lazy blogger over the last year or so and I have decided to flashback on a few events in no particular order.

This one was a key event for my photography. I had been using a Canon 20D camera over the last four years or so. It was a great camera, and I took some amazing shots with it, but over time I grew to know it's limitations all too well. The main problems to me were the flaky autofocus and crop sized sensor. I admired the 5D from afar for quite some time and envisioned myself going after the successor to it. Well, the successor came, and though an amazing camera, I wasn't blown away by the new features enough to sink that much cash into it. My decision therefore was to get a good condition used 5D instead.

Thoughts on The Lost Coast

I really enjoyed my journey down the Lost Coast. Like all good trips, it was much more than the footsteps that made up the 25 miles. There's something about being out in the wild, with everything you need on your back, to make you feel like you're alive. You become more aware of the air you are breathing, the sun that is on your face, and beautiful sights that your eyes are witnessing. Sounds are more clear, thoughts more focused, and everything just feels right with the world. It is a feeling I used to know well when I was younger, and I am thankful to have it rekindled in my soul.

Leaving The Lost Coast

Day 4, Racing the waves out:

The final morning started early at about 6:30. I broke down my tent and packed everything up while boiling water for our final breakfast on the coast. We ate fairly quickly and headed out around 7:30, which was a good thing because we were surprised at how high the water had come already.

Hiking The Lost Coast

Day 3, Last Camp:

I woke up early this morning, got the fire going again, and ate some instant oatmeal and warmed up tortillas. Our sheltered spots in the Beachwood Inn proved to be nice and warm out of the ocean breeze, and I had slept pretty well. We were in no rush, and I took the time to try and tape up my blisters as well as I could.

Lost Coast Trail

Day 2, my struggles begin:

I tossed and turned a bit the night before, with my knees aching and my feet feeling a bit tender. Yet, it was a beautiful morning. The winds had died down, and the weather was feeling a bit warmer. After a breakfast of instant oatmeal, I broke camp, packed up, and was ready to move on.

The Lost Coast

Being a father of two young children, I don't often get the chance to get out and be adventurous. So when the opportunity presented itself when my wife planned a trip for 12 days to visit friends and family with the kids, I jumped on it and started planning a trip as wild as I could come up with. I knew I wanted to go backpacking, but the prospect of camping in the snow wasn't as appealing as it once was when I was a crazy youth. Thus, I thought about exploring somewhere near the coast. What better coast in California than the Lost Coast. So I got a hold of my buddy Rob and talked him into joining me on a 25 mile journey down one of the only remaining stretches of pristine coast line in the country. Below is day one of our trip. I'll be adding the rest over the next few days.