Europe Trip to Bracknell and Prague - March 2007

I went to Europe for a week during March with my boss and several of my peers. Our group is responsible for global activities so we needed to meet up with our European co-workers to develop plans for this year and next. Hopefully, we'll do something like this for Asia in the near future. We ended up working most daylight hours but did have a few opportunities to get out and see a few sights. We did not wander far in Bracknell except for a local shopping district and a nice dinner with local co-workers and did not have time to get into London, but Prague we were able to get out a few times.

Old Town Prague is spectacular! It dates back centuries and the King's Castle actually goes back to the year 900. We had a very nice dinner one evening overlooking the river cutting through downtown, visted the King's castle and adjoining cathedral, and one morning I was able to find my way via local tram to the largest pool in the Czech Republic to do some swimming. It was not easy finding my way there ... I actually tried one day and almost made it but got lost and had to return to the hotel but the next day armed with better information I made it in time and had a nice swim workout. I've attached a few photos of Prague including the hotel I stayed at (Paris Hotel - very nice), the hotel across the street (Grand Hotel Bohemia) and the Podoli pool complex. This is definitely a place worth visiting again!

Julie's First Marathon: The "Lost Dutchman" Feb 18, 2007

Julie ran her first marathon today! What a beautiful day. Slight overcast and early morning temperatures of 40 degrees warming up to about 65 by noon.

When she mentioned it a few weeks ago I was surprised. She has really been ramping up her running this past few months and did very well in the PF Chang 1/2 marathon in January but I knew her legs were hurting. She was so uncomfortable that it did not occur to me that she would want to do the marathon but she did and I was very happy to go with her as her support crew ... and while I was there I ended up running a 10K. It is quite an impressive event that the city of Apache Junction puts on every year. A full and half marathon, a 10K, an 8K and a 2 mile run. Lots of music and food as well. All in a beautiful park nestled against the scenic Superstition mountains.

Julie got up at 3AM and I got up at 3:30AM to be able to make it to the marathon start. I dropped Julie off at the buses and they brought her six miles into the desert where they had 30 camp fires waiting to let the runners warm up while they were stretching prior to the race start. So Julie started at 7AM while I went and raced the 10K starting at 8AM. After my race I picked up my camera and went to mile 23 ... an absolutely brutal mile marker in any marathon but they had an especially nasty hill right at mile 23 that runner after runner who went by me struggled mightly to get up.

I ended taking a handful of pictures that are attached. They don't do the place justice in terms of stark beauty but two of my favority mountains in the area are "Superstition Mountain" that I have climbed a few times and one shows "4 Peaks" in the distance. I've been near to the 4 Peaks but not climbed them yet. They go up to 8,000 feet and overlook the biggest reservoir in central Arizona "Roosevelt Lake" put in by "Teddy" Roosevelt over a century ago.

The Superstition Mountain area has quite a bit of legend associated with it going back 150+ years where prospectors found gold, were killed, but the gold was rediscovered decades later only to have the miner take the secret to his grave. People still go looking for the old mines and / or hiding places for the gold.

26 mile PF Chang Marathon Jan 14, 2007

29 degrees at start time in downtown Phoenix!

What a way to start the day at 7AM in downtown Phoenix! Julie and I were entered in the PF Chang 1/2 marathon and full marathon races. Fortunately it was clear skies and no wind.

I think there were about 10,000 people entered in the marathon and about 26,000 entered in the 1/2 marathon ... quite a few folks. Julie ran well and finished in 1:56 and I did pretty good as well running the full distance in a little under 3:32.

The 3:32 time was actually good enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2008 as a 50 year old ... so I felt pretty good about that. I ended up taking a pretty good fall at the 19 mile mark running through old town scottsdale zig zagging back and forth through 90 degree turns. One particular 90 degree bend went from black top to cobblestone and I don't know whether I slipt or tripped but I went down flat on my face. Fortunately, it was cobbelstone and instead of road rash I ended up skidding on my stomach and race number and the tucking and rolling as other runners went by me. As I was tucking and rolling the crowd (yes it was packed intersection) that was previously cheering went silent as they watched me fall and then gasped as I rolled. As I was rolling I was thinking boy that is a pretty cool sound effect ... but then all I could think about was getting up and running again.

I was so proud of Julie. She has run a few of these 1/2 marathons now and runs a pretty aggressive race. There are a few trails near our house and she has been steadily increasing the distances ... and she seems to really enjoy the running and is looking very graceful as she runs. Go Julie!

Glendale Glitters at BCS Block Party

OK ... it's the first time Glendale has hosted a block party of this size since the move from Tempe but they did a pretty good job of moving the crowd and providing an entertaining evening for a large crowd of Ohio , Florida and local fans of their respective college football teams.

The "Glendale Glitters" theme with many glowing hot air balloons, 1.5M lights, and many shops provided the setting. The Ohio State and Florida State marching bands provided the main entertainment.

Fran and I started out at Glendale Community College and took the free shuttle to downtown. Not too bad ... a 30 minute wait in the GCC parking lot and a 15 minute bus ride to get there. On the way back we lucked out and avoided the whole return line when a bus that was returning people to the GCC parking lot got out of sequence, overshot the pick up point by 100 yards and stopped right in front of us as we were on our way to go stand in line. We felt bad for all the people who had patiently waited in line but .... it sure did feel good to sit in the bus without waiting for an hour

:-O

Round trip it was about four hours from our house. We had a good two hours in the downtown area, enough to see the marching bands, take a walk around the balloons and light show, and have a couple burgers at a local restaurant. One thing we could not figure out was why there were so few places to eat. There were 10's of thousands of people in the downtown area for hours and only a few places serving food or drink.

Lunch at Carlsbad Tavern

Why write about lunch? I've wanted to go to a place called Carlsbad tavern for a few weeks since I heard about about it from a friend at work so today seemed like a good day to try it. Mom is in town for couple weeks and I was off from work ... so off we went. It's located at 3313 Hayden Road in Scottsdale and true to it's name is a New Mexico themed restaurant.

We had the Tortilla soup and the Roswell Reuben ... and they were outstanding! Right or wrong I often judge a restaurant on whether they can make a good Reuben and these folks really got it right! Now that I've checked it out I'll be back with Fran!

www.carlsbadtavern.com

See reviews: http://phoenix.citysearch.com/review/1683785

30K ARR Desert Classic - Sunday Dec 17th

Drive as far west as you can on Bell Road ... to the edge of Surprise and that is where the 30K out and back course starts.

I've been preparing for the PF Chang Marathon in January by running in distance races the last few months; a 20K, 10 Mile, 1/2 Marathon and now a 30K. I'm glad that phase is over! My calves have been crampy for the last few weeks and it was no different during the 30K. By the time I hit the 15K turn around point both my calves were pretty tight and by the time I hit 20K I was forced to slow down to a jog. Still ... I finished and that's a good thing. Now I just plan to get healed up, get loose and run shorter distances till race day! Only four weeks to go!

Race Results: http://arizonaroadracers.com/Results/desertclassic30k-2006.html

Dinner at Trente-Cinq

Our cultural maven Christy brought us together for a wonderful evening of fun, food and conversation on Saturday at "Trente-Cinq" a small restaurant on 7th street. The food was awesome ... even though the much promised Belgian Waffles were no where to be found! Dan & Liz, Fran and I, and Christy and Al had a wonderful meal and lots of fun talking about anything from bicycles, to politics, to kids, to asking ... is life that much different than it was 35 (trente cinq ... hmmm) years ago?

Christy found the place through some reviews in the local papers and after seeing some write ups on line it is easy to see why she suggested we meet there. Liz and Dan had the hallmark muscles dish, Fran, Al and Christy had the lamb, and I had a seafood entree. All awesome dishes!

This is such a fun little group we have here with some shared life experiences related to kids and school, a passion for reaching out to others, and enjoying life!

Trente-Cinq 35 [Map]
2333 N. 7th St.Phoenix, AZ 85006
602-254-0244

From the New Times: Jean-Claude Van Damme, a.k.a. “the Muscles from Brussels,” ain’t got nothing on Lionel Geuskens, the Belgian-born proprietor of Trente-Cinq 35.

From Cenpho Mavens: Trente-Cinq (French for "35") is a Belgian bistro located along a section of 7th Street between Thomas and McDowell Roads that is slowly emerging as a hub of restaurants and shops to service the evolving Coronado Historic Neighborhood. The restaurant's owner and chef, Lionel Gueskens, is a Belgian native who used to be a chef at Coup des Tartes. Apparently Chef Gueskens had a goal of opening his own restaurant by age 35, and Trente-Cinq is the result of that goal.

December 2006: Feliz Navidad y buenas fiestas a nuestros amigos y familia

Just a quick note for us to wish all our family and friends a Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a wonderful New Year in 2007!

We had a very nice 2006 and there was one special thing that I wanted to be able to say … that 2006 was the year the entire Phoenix Ryan family has Spanish as a second language ... I can’t say that … but at least one person in our family did add Spanish to her skills!

Julie (20) spent this semester in Spain at the University of Alicante studying Spanish, Spanish culture and Spanish history as part of the ASU international studies program. It was a wonderful opportunity for her to experience life and school in a different culture and it turned out pretty well for Fran and me because it gave us a place to visit for our 25th anniversary in November J All things considered … it was a great experience for Julie but homesickness can be a powerful emotion and Julie experienced it strongly. The good news for Fran and I was that it seems like we communicated more with Julie these past three months than we have in several years!

Matt (23) is working for Lockheed and has moved to Gaithersburg, MD as part of his second year of a three year training program. They are also putting him through George Washington University for his MBA. He is doing well at work and school and is a very doting boyfriend to a wonderful young lady “Bri” who is studying to be a theater manager in St Louis. Her studies and internships take her all over the U.S. and Europe and it is fascinating to listen and read about her travels.

Fran and I are doing great and enjoying the western lifestyle going out and about on one thing or another every week. Big treat … we saw the “Rolling Stones” a few weeks ago … I wanted to see them before they or I were dead! We are also enjoying watching our Matt and Julie grow into fine young people as well as watching all our other family and friends progress through their own lives. And while we have been watching everyone progress … 25 years of marriage went by! And the 25th year is one of those special anniversary years so I thought I had better get Fran something better than the cheeseboard and the food processor I bought her during our first year of marriage … Julie bailed me out and gave us a great reason to travel to Spain for our anniversary. We spent a week in Marbella in a time share resort we traded for and then two days in Alicante. Julie’s host family Ana and Luis Sanmillan and their two daughters Ana and Bea invited us over for dinner one night and we were just so pleased to be able to spend time with them and thank them for taking care of Julie for us.

We had a special treat this past summer having Joe and Karen Fortuin give us a call on a Friday evening when they were passing through Phoenix on their way back to Albuquerque. We were able to stay up past our normal 9PM J bed time and actually stayed out until 1AM with Joe and Karen catching up on over 15 years of not seeing each other! It was like we just picked up from where we left off in Utica, NY. Awesome seeing you two!

See my blog http://djrryan.blogspot.com/ for more stories and plenty of pictures. Feel free to leave a message or two on the blog. We would love to hear from you!


Dave and Fran Ryan

13.1 Mile Fiesta Bowl 1/2 Marathon - Sunday 12/3/2006

I didn't respect the marathon today ... I took it for granted that I would just go run it. My time was OK, 1:36:06 or about a 7:20 pace, but I've been paying for it all day.

http://www.raceplaceevents.com/fbm06res.htm#Male%2045-49

The marathon does funny things to you if you are not prepared ... or if you are not respectful. I had the prepared part pretty well done ... not top shape but good enough for a 7:00 pace. I cruised the 10 mile ARR Thanksgiving day race just a couple weeks ago in a 7:06 pace and felt pretty good during the race and throughout the day. I was overconfident thinking that a few extra miles was not a big deal ... just go run it ... and if there some left over energy I'll stop at LA fitness for a little extra workout. What a dreamer!

The thing about the ARR race on Thanksgiving was I had the previous 12 days off on vacation. I did some running but got lots of rest. It showed on race day as I had no pain and plenty of spring in my step. Today was different altogether ... I had gone to a Christmas party last night and ate and drank nothing that would have been good on a training table. Also, the day before I did a 1 hour swim workout followed by a 1 hour spin class ... and I had done a hard spin class on Friday as well. As a result I had no spring in my step at all and my calves were crampy the last eight miles!

By the time I got home today I was feeling pretty miserable and have felt pretty crappy all day. Next time ... I taper and I watch what I eat!!!

10 Mile Run - ARR Thanksgiving Day Race - Thursday November 23, 2006

I've got two big races coming up ... I define "big" as those where I have already pre-paid and can't get my money back if I don't participate. The RnR Phoenix on January 14th, 2007 and the Phoenix Ironman on April 15th, 2007. It's been a little tough getting ready for those events as I've had one injury or another bothering me for the last six months but thankfully I can usually bike and/or run if my shoulder hurts and can swim if my knees, calves, heels, or hamstrings hurt.

Thursday the 23rd was one of those days where nothing hurt :-) Definitely, a good day for a run. After returning from our trip to SpainI did not feel like I would be able to run fast but I at least wanted to get a race under my belt so I could gauge my fitness level leading up to the January marathon. I ended up finding a nice pace that I was able to maintain the entire race and finished in 1:10:50 or about a 7:06 per mile pace. Not too bad and it gave me confidence for my next two checkpoints; the Runners Den Fiesta Bowl 1/2 Marathon on December 3rd and the ARR 30K Classic on December 17th.

Espana - and now back home

We had a great trip to Spain and a smooth return home late Monday the 20th. Awesome time starting off on Nov 9th with a day & night in London on the 10th, six days in a Marriott time share unit in Marbella, and then two days in Alicante before returning home through London.

It was great seeing Julie and her host family in Alicante. They are a wonderful family and have a beautiful home overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The parents, Luis and Ana have two beautiful children, Ana (12) and Bea (8).

Every city we visted; Malaga, Marbella, Granada, Ronda, Seville, Alicante, and Altea were pretty as a post card. It took us a while but we even learned how to drive in the cities. Seriously, the highway system was great but the city streets for a 500+ year old city have something to be desired. Every city was driveable .... except we never did figure out Granada. We drove there easily enough from Marbella ... but still ... after visiting the Alhambra ... the city streets were completely illogical to us. Anyway, a picture of Julie, Fran and I is attached showing us at the top of the Alicante fortress overlooking the harbor.

Espana - Altea - Sunday November 19th

On our final day in Spain we drove to the beaches of Alicante. They are sooo beautiful! We did not spend much time there but it was good to take a few pictures to remember what they look like if we return sometime. The night before I ended up running several miles along the shoreline of this beach.

After sighing over the beach we drove north from Alicante in our little Mercedes to a small coastal city called Altea (all-te-ya). It was about an hour drive to reach this picturesque location and it was so worth it! We walked for quite a ways on the board woalk before eating a light lunch at one of the many retaurants lining the beach. OK ... it was not really a full lunch as the prices shocked us at first and we ordered our standard cafe con leche and a small platter of cheese.

One area that really intrigued me is shown in both pictures but is enlarged in the right hand picture is the small city next to the large rock jutting into the ocean. I'm not sure what that small city is called but the map shows a town called "Calpe" in that direction. I would love to drive to the top of that rock!

After leaving Altea we returned to Alicante and dropped Julie off at her hosts home and then drove to the airport for our flight to London via Barcelona.

Espana - Alicante Dinner at Trada Family Home - November 18, 2006

What a nice way to end our vacation and 25th wedding anniversary trip in Spain by going to the home of the family hosting Julie for the semester. They have a beautiful home with a view of the Mediterranean out their back window.

Ana, Luis, Ana (12) and Bea (9) have been Julie's family away from home these last couple months and they have taken good care of her. Julie is not easy to take good care of in that she tends to be pretty independant but Fran I could tell instantly that this is such a good home away from home for her. Julie has not had a younger sibling so having two younger sisters had to be fun for her.

Dinner starts late in Spain so we arrived at 9PM and met with the family and then Ana's brother and his wife joined us. Fran and I bought the family some things for them to remember Arizona; a booklet showing typical Arizona scenes and two ceramic pieces. One of the pieces showed a mother owl sitting on a barrel cactus with her young babaies in a hole of the cactus and the other piece showed a mother coyote and her pups resting on a rock.

We had a delightful dinner of soup, roast beef, salmon, and pastry for desert. It worked out very well from a language perspective as Ana, Ana's brother and his wife each spoke English to some degree with Ana's brother being quite fluid in his speaking.

We were very proud of Julie and her ability to speak Spanish so effortlessly while we were in alicante with her as well as during the social time during dinner. Such an awesome thing for her to travel to Spain to live with aother family and to learn about another language and culture. And we are equally impressed with the host family and their willingness to open up their home to host a foreign student.

Espana - Alicante - November 18, 2006

The area of Alicante has been inhabited for about 7000 years, first by early tribes and later by Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths and Moors.

We had quite a nice day in Alicante today first going to an open air market in the downtown area, then going to the top of the fortress that looks over Alicante and at one time protected the bay area, then we went to an exposition on the faces of Jesus. Finally, that evening we went to Julie's host family's home for the evening dinner.

The open air market is quite an eye opener with 100+ booths selling anything from shoes to scarves to clothing in one long lane and then two parallel lanes selling foods, spices, chocolates, fruits and vegetables. Many of the locals use this market to stock up on fresh produce twice per week.

After the market it was a short walk to the base of the Castillo de Santa Barbara a centuries old castle built on the summit of mount Benacantil at 166m above sea level. It was quite a hike to get to the summit but we made it to the top and were treated with a beautiful panaramic view of the entire region and took several beautiful pictures.

The exposition on the faces of Jesus was actually in three locations but we chose to go to only one in the Concatedral de San Nicolas. The Cathedral was recently renovated and sits in the heart of downtown accessible only on foot as the streets are very narrow and appear to be shut off from normal car access. Inside the cathedral is a series of paintings, statues, and ornamental pieces all devoted to the Christian faith and mass. The exposition attempts to answer why so many cultures and peoples represent Jesus differently in appearance from blue haired blond to dark and swarthy in complexion. Pretty church and what must be priceless memorabilia but maybe because so much was in Spanish (there were a few English subtitles) I missed the point of the exposition.

Leaving the exposition we went to the seafront promenade (Paseo de la Explanada) an absolutely stunning walkway along the harbor frontage built in 1957 with more than six and a half million small tiles. After that we went back to the Hotel MIO CID to rest up until time for dinner and Julie went back to her room to rest as well. I ended up going for a run on the Alicante beach. Wow! Totally gorgeous and it just goes on for miles. True to form I did not try to return the way I came and ended up getting lost for a while and what should have been a 45 minute run turned into 90 minutes! But ... were those beaches nice or what!

Espana - Lunch in Puerto Banus - Thursday Nov 16th

Today was supposed to be a trip to Gibralter but we were diverted to a sales pitch and a nice lunch in Puerto Banus after being contacted by the Marriott sales rep Wednesday night. The weather for Thursday was going to be rainy anyway and she convinced us to stay in Marbella and enjoy the sights. She stopped by with a free bottle of wine and gave us the overview of how the Marriott Marbella resort worked and what were some of the nicer restaurants and attractions in the area. We told "Suzanne" about our owning a Starwood time share unit and that we had traded for the Marriott location where we were at but that we would be willing to go through a sales pitch at the new Marriott "Playa Andalucia" resort just south of Marbella.

The sales pitch at the Playa Andalucia was low key and we learned a lot more about how the time share industry works and how to get the best value for our unit or any future unit we may buy. In return for our time we recieved two $100 euro gift certificates to be redeemed when staying at a Marriott for a two day period.

After our visit to Playa Andalucia we travelled north returning towards Marbella and stopped in Puerto Banus, a small city that is playground to some of the world's richest people. It was raining quite heavily and we walked through the narrow streets to the water front that was lined with multi-million dollar yachts and expensive restaurants and shops. On a nice day it would have been quite pleasant to wander the streets. As it was we just wanted to get off our feet and out of the rain so we quick stepped into a little Italian restaurant. The staff were very friendly and the food was quite excellent and that helped take the sting out of the 16 Euro salad, 15 Euro pizza, and 4 Euro bottles of water that Fran and I split.

Steep prices aside, Puerto Banus is a must stop on a future trip.

Espana - Seville - Wednesday November 15, 2006

The Marbella to Seville trip was our longest yet taking about three hours to complete each way. As we did the prior day in Ronda we made our way to a parking garage in the part of the city we wanted to be in and then walked. It was a lot of walking but we managed to see the two primary sites on our list; the Plaza de Espana and the Seville Cathedral & La Giralda. Along the way we managed to get next to the "Rio Guadalquivir" that cuts through Seville and is lined with parks and homes, had lunch next to the bull fighting ring and went on a tour bus ride (top deck) around a good portion of the downtown area.

The Plaza de Espana is a spectacular semi-circular plaza built as the center piece of a 1929 exposition. There are numerous sections embedded into the semi-circle depicting historic moments and heraldic symbols from the 40 regions of Spain. Most surfaces are completely covered with beautiful glzed tiles. It has a spectactular fountain in the center and a boating canal that follows the arc of the structure.

The Seville Cathedral is the largest church by volume (they have a Guiness Boook of Records certificate handy to attest :-) in all of Christiandom. It was built to replace the Almohad mosque over 500 years ago, starting in 1401 and completed 100 years later. It measures 415 feet by 270 feet and is 140 feet high. La Giralda is the grand tower adjacent to the church. It was built between 1172 and 1195 and is the symbol of Seville. La Giralda has 35 ramps, instead of stairs, that make the climb easier as well as allowing a man on horse back to make the climb. The top of La Giralda allows for good roof top views of the Cathedral and surrounding areas.

Espana - Ronda - Tuesday November 14, 2006

Ronda is located in the mountains near Marbella and half the fun getting there is taking the winding roads. The sky was somewhat overcast as we travelled to and from Ronda but with the Mediterranean in the background the view from the mountain roads was spectacular.

The Puente Nuevo "New Bridge" (built in late 1700s) over the river Guadalevin is the symbol of Ronda. It bridges two parts of the city over a 300 foot deep gorge. Ronda is one of the oldest towns in spain with caves and relics dating back to the stone age. Located near Ronda is the archeological site of the Roman town Acripa. Also, Ronda is the home to bullfighting. Starting approximately 500 years ago the tradition of men challenging bulls in battle originated in Ronda.

We learned from our trip to Granada to not try to navigate the entire city by car ... it's just too frustrating unless you are a local, so we parked and walked into town and came across an old hotel called "El Tajo" that looked like it would be a wonderful place to stay but we asked for suggestions for tourists and the hotel manager gave us a small map that proved to be excellent in guiding us. We used the map to take us down the main shopping streets (closed to autos) and plazas, as well as, the Puerto Nuevo, and the various churches and other sites. Standing at the edge of the city and looking into the fields below provided a perspective that I would imagine has not changed in a thousand years.

Ronda turned out to be my favorite city to visit. True it was not next to the Mediterranean but the history, architecture, and relaxed lifestyle was beautiful.

Espana - Granada - Monday November 13, 2006

Granada was our first trip away from Marbella and after a couple uncertain moments where we were trying to figure our the Spanish roadsigns we had a very pleasant two hour trip up through Malaga and on into Granada. Fortunately, there were a number of signs pointing the way to our primary destination the "Alhambra" a huge fortress built on a mountain side by the Moors over 1,000 years ago. The photos don't do it justice as there are so many magnificent views but one of the photos above shows Fran at the top of city facing side of the fortress with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. The Sierra Nevadas are the highest mountain range in Spain and already hold a significant amount of snow. Another photo shows the view from atop Alhambra looking down on the interior walls and showing the outlines of living accomodations.

We learned in history class about the "Crusades" and the conflicts that raged through the Middle Ages, but it is here that these lessons come to life. The Alhambra is on a site that once was Christian, then Moorish when the Jewish inhabitants helped the Moors drive the Christians out, then reverted back to Christian in the 15th century as the Jews and Moors were either driven from Spain or converted to Christians. The Alhambra structure reflects Moorish as well as Christian styles although clearly the elegance and style of this huge structure is from the Moorsih tradition.

Seemingly unrelated and housed in the second story of the round coloseum like structure was a display about the life and times of Christopher Columbus. Pretty interesting as it covered not only the successes of Columbus but his failures and wanderings before he died.

Espana - Marbella - Sunday November 12, 2006

Fran and I arrived at the Marriott Marbella Beach Resort on Saturday November 11th and we kept pretty close to the resort to get used to the accomodations and to recover a little bit more from the jet lag. The resort is really quite lovely with a beach on the Mediterranean, pool, restaurants, store and a workout center. There are also numerous restaurants all around the area.

On Sunday we drove from the resort to the city of Marbella and walked on the boardwalk for a while before eating a wonderful pizza lunch at a little Italian restaurant called "Da Fabio". The beaches that we could see in Marbella range from pretty nice to "OK". The Mediterranean is the background so you can't go wrong but if you don't go to a fee for service part of the beach make sure you bring a chair because it can get pretty rocky in the free parts of the beach.

London - Covent Garden - Friday November 10, 2006

Fran and I travelled from Phoenix through Chicago on Thursday evening and landed in London late morning on Friday the 10th. after checking in at the Sheraton we made our way downtown via the public bus back to the airport and then down to Covent Garden via the "Tube". There are many many places we could have chosen but since we were very limited by time we had to select one spot and since Covent Garden is so poular with restaurants and theater it seemed like a good bet. We walked around for a little bit but it was quite cold and windy ... curiously the locals looked at us like we did not recognize balmy weather :-) We went into a renovated buliding filled with shops and came across a very delightful little restaurant called "Punch and Judy" where we had dinner.

I say delightful because I really enjoyed the place and the food. Perhaps because it was so new and different for me because when I looked up the restaurant on a local London restaurant review ... it did not fair so well: http://www.fluidfoundation.com/venueDetails.asp?Venue_ID=441


I made sure to write a nice review just to list them up a little :-)

Rolling Stones in Phoenix November 8th 2006

Well THAT was a concert! Fran and I went to see the Rolling Stones tonight at the new Cardinal Stadium. Beautiful place and the concert was awesome!

Grip It, Rip It, Stick It

What a name for a golf tournament but ... I leave that to our golfing legend / security guard Don. As brainchild and host for the infamous annual tournament where golfers of all abilities are brought together for a morning of fun, sun and golf.

The interpid IT team of Alan, David, Anders and Dave managed a respectable -4 to par total score on the par 63 using a scramble format. David and Anders were the mainstays contributing the majority of the drives, chips and putts while yours truly managed to contribute a putt or two ... putting before the others could prepare themselves. Alan contributed well, including a magnificent final hole, final tee shot to within three feet of the pin to allow us to birdie the final hole.

Another member of our IT department, Al, managed to get himself associated with the winning team at -16 to par. Quiet guy ... but he knows how to pick his team mates !

MS150 ... a.k.a. MS172

October 28th and 29th were beautiful days for a long bike ride. Even better to support the Multiple Scerosis Society and their MS150 ... a 150 mile bike ride from Lake Pleasant to Parker on the border of Arizona and California. Actually, there is an opportunity to finish in Parker after traveling 150 miles ... OR add on another 22 miles and travel into California follow the Colorado River north for a ways then cross over the Parker Dam. After traveling that far it's just too tempting to make the full distance ... but that last 22 miles is Bumpy & Hilly!

I went with a friend from work, his wife and several of their friends. Being the older member of the group I thought they would defer to my seniority and we could travel at a leasurely pace. Little did I realize they would push me faster ... for a longer period of time than I had ever ridden! Out of a total of approximately 14 legs (10-15 miles each) over the two days we traveled quite fast for each of the legs while resting at each of the break areas. More than half of the legs saw us traveling in excess of 22 mph and a few averaging 24 miles per hour peaking in the high 20s for flat roads with no wind. Even the hill climbing legs saw us traveling at a brisk pace.

So ... great time and I look forward to doing it again next time. Who's interested in signing up?

some photos of Alan & Jen, Julian, Lars & Jen and Dave?

First Day: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=055Q005F020077&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=055Q005F020076&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

Dave: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=055Q005F020082&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

Alan: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=055Q005F020081&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

Jen: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=055Q005F0A0081&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

Lars & Jen: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=055Q005F0A0091&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1


Second Day: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=055Q005F0A0080&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

Religion and Foreign Policy

Wow. Different topic this time!

I went to a lecture by Jack Miles, a Pulitzer Prize winning author of "God, A Biography". He was hosted by ASU's Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at the Old Main building this afternoon. Several hundred people in attendance as he spoke about some of the situations we are in globally and how some of our foreign policy leaders have no insight to some of the basic religious differences that exist in countries where we are trying to have an influence; in particular, the lack of basic historical knowledge and lack of understanding differences within the Islamic community (why are Shites and Sunni different) was astounding.

The biggest takeaway that I had was related to how we counter the growing fundamentalist threat (Islamic, Christian, Hindu, Jewish) is through openness not confrontation.

The author espoused the theory that relationships between countries that support freedom of religion will be resistant to warefare brought about by Al Qaeda type organizations. My analogy to this is how our current United States National Security policy is economic security (see: http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/published/pentagonsnewmap.htm) and that strong economic relationships with free market economies define a network of connected nations that will be resistant to warfare amongst themselves.

Throughout this country and many others, organizations are springing up with the sole intent of providing openness and a forum for discussion about religion and conflict. We've proven that conflict only yields eye for an eye. Maybe we should try this light and openness thing ...

Matt and a 23 year old picture

I was just going through some photos and came across one that I love. Both our kids have great pictures and memories of when they were younger but this one is in our front hallway and I can't but get a chuckle out of it every time I walk by.

23 years ago this month Matt was nine months old. What a fun kid he has been since the day he was born!

This picture captures Matt's personality to a T. Persisent: he walked from his mom's side around the whole room holding onto furniture to get to his Uncle Mark taking the picture. Inquisitive: he loved to find out what was going on every where. Fun Loving: he always loved to have fun and would curl into a little ball when tickled.

Now he is a big guy, 6 foot four, and living on the East Coast making a living and going to school. We are so proud of him.

20K South Mountain Classic - Oct 15, 2006

A beautiful day for a run. Lots of fun last Sunday helping the Arizona Road Racers set up the race ... OK I only helped with the registration and then running.

My hamstrings were a little tight from over working them the prior week but they behaved long enough to let me finish. I had a time of 1:45 ... slower than I would have liked but it was a nice steady pace and was actually the longest competitive run I've done since the Springtime.

SACistan: A Crucible Of Swimming?

A thought that has recently piqued my interest is related to the masters swimming team that I have belonged to since the Spring of 2001. Not so much the swimming part of it ... the great friendships, and not even the social network we have developed, but more around how does a swim team come into existance ... and grow, evolve and thrive over 20+ years?

On one level, the long term survival of a swim team is about reproduction. Kind of like evolutionary biology, where organisms that survive long enough to reproduce create the next generation. Those that don't tend to fade away. So if the swim program keeps attracting new swimmers ... and they stay, the swim program can continuously regenerate itself, and evolve.

But I suppose where my real question is related to is the patterns of evolution of a swim team. There are many public and private pools in Phoenix capable of sustaining a swim team, but why do some pools have teams and some pools don't? And the pools that have swim teams ... why are some teams bigger, or more competitive, or more social than others? Why do some teams come into existance only to fade away after a few years? Why do some teams last for decades even after most of (or all) the original members have long since left?

And OK I got it ... you need a pool to have swim team, but ... there are evolutionary pattern theorists that talk about time and those that talk about space. Maybe their thoughts can be extended to swim teams ...

• Time: Do swim teams form and evolve in a smooth and gradual manner over time or through a series of bursts of change interspersed with periods of stability?
• Space: Are there conditions that exist at some pools that essentially become better crucibles for swim team formation and are more nuturing than others?

OK, that's enough. Too many questions. I'll write more when I talk with Steve Bo.

Reference: http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7995205

Julie is back in Spain

Julie was home for the week and just returned to her school in Spain. She is making what was a daunting trip on the first time in August seem routine. Fran and I brought her to the airport last night, she gave us an email update from London this morning, and then a safe arrival note when she arrived at her hosts home.

When she first told us she wanted to come home for a few days after six weeks of taking classes I was worried she would not want to go back. But she was really feeling bad, really homesick, missing her family and her boyfriend Tim. It was really great to see her though, she is so open to discussion, so interested in exploring thoughts and feelings. If that's what six weeks abroad will do I am all for it!

She is now recharged and knows that we love her so much and fully support her no matter what she chooses. OK, I'll be upset if she came home before the end of the semester, but really this is about experiences and decisions. And these are her experiences and her decisions. Like any of our decisions she will be proud of what she has done or if not she will use the decisions she makes as a learning experience.

Vote for Sparky Prelude

ASU Homecoming Weekend: Current students turn out and alumni return in droves for; parties, a big football game, and a fun parade.

I'm part of the Arizona state University Parents Association. A group of parents 6,000+ at last count who have chosen to identify themselves as a member of an association that has at it's mission core to do good things for the students, the teachers and administration, and the university. There are a few philanthropic things that we do during the course of the academic year but throughout the year have a little fun along the way. One of our more outgoing moments is around the time of "Homecoming Weekend" where current students turn out and alumni return to campus in droves. There are parties, a big football game, and a parade!

The fun part is that the Parents Association enters a float in the parade and a team of parents and student scholarship winners build the float and walk with it down the parade route. This year's parade theme is "Maroon and Gold, Catch the Spirit"! Our float is built along the theme of movie "Napolean Dynamite" where we will have parents and students dressed in character ... the only twist being that instead of the infamous "Vote for Pedro" expression from the movie we will be promoting our ASU mascot by wearing T-Shirts that say "Vote for Sparky". Hopefully, Sparky will be voted in as Homecoming King!

Anyway, today we did all the float preparations, and are now ready for next week and our parade down University Boulevard!

See our link for more info: www.asu.edu/parents

Julie is Home for the Week!

Well, we have mixed emotions, but in the end are overjoyed to see our daughter Julie. She is studying abroad this Fall semester and has been out of country for six weeks. We thought she would be gone until mid-December but she has a really bad case of "I miss my boyfriend". Not "I miss my parents" but alas we have to take what we can get I guess.

She will be home for a week (I checked, she has a return ticket) and then will stay with her host until her planned departure date 9 weeks from now. Having been overseas in multiple cities I realize how absolutely isolating the experience can be and I support her need to come home and 'touch base' so to speak. Coming from a background in the U.S. where choice, freedom and autonomy are rooted in her personal makeup to suddenly be living in a different part of the world must be quite a challenge. Not only is the language different but the different social obligations (e.g. living with a host family), sense of uprootedness, and not wanting to submit to local practices can create an overwhelming sense of lack of control. Scary, challenging, ... yes but this must be an incredible learning experience for her as well!

DJRR

Friday Night at Streets of New York

Another Friday night in Phoenix. Fran and I went to Streets of New York for dinner. There are so many restaurants to choose from around here ... sometimes it just seems hard to decide. We ended up going to SNY not because the service is good, but the food is inexpensive, there is no wait, and it is a nice relaxing time to be alone. No different tonight, we left the busy restaurants of Desert Ridge behind and spent a nice relaxing time at SNY.

Hey but who did we see ... Steve Pohle! What a nice surprise. Steve was out with his family and saw us sitting there and came over to say hi. Always a pleasure to see "6:12" aka Steve-Bo from my Scottsdale swim club.

Julie is home safe. She arrived this evening from Spain and is home for the week. Tim picked her up and will drive her to Flagstaff tomorrow to see a rugby match he is in with NAU.

DJR