Da Fourth

We had a good Fourth of July weekend (that's the US Independence Day, for you furriners). Debbi came down around lunchtime on Friday and we went to the Peninsula Creamery for lunch, and then spent much of the day puttering around until the evening, when we hopped on our bikes and biked to Shoreline Park for the fireworks. It was barely windy (but still a little chilly), and we got a spot right in front of the fireworks, so we had a fantastic view. We brought my waterproof blanket, our books and some munchies, and had a great time, including the ride to and from the park (the latter in the dark!). Lots of people walked or rode the Stevens Creek Trail to the fireworks, so we were in good company.

Saturday was mostly taken up with my friend Chad's long weekend barbecue party. Chad is one of my many friends who moved to the valley from the peninsula just as I was going the other way around. They all wanted houses with yards, whereas I wanted the location. So it goes.

A bunch of people showed up, some I knew, some I didn't, and we all ooh'ed and aah'ed over Chad and Camille's recently landscaped yard. And, of course, we played with their toy poms, Eskimo and Tarbey, who are both little yapping balls of energy - great for parties, but they'd probably drive me nuts to live with them! (Not to mention the cats would kick their little furry asses.) We stayed there later than we'd expected, mainly due to the lure of s'mores. Mmmm.

I hadn't seen Chad in a while - I haven't often gone to gaming at Subrata's lately because I haven't been in a gaming mood and the group's gotten small lately. So it was good to see him. Better yet, Debbi had a great time, even though she didn't know people there very well. A good bunch of folks.

Today was highlighted by a drive to San Jose and a 15-mile bike ride along the Los Gatos Creek Trail, which as I've said before is the thing I miss most about living in Campbell. It wasn't too hot, and the trail was active but not crowded. Took us about 90 minutes to do the full trip, which isn't bad. Debbi's gotten a lot better at riding, as she can keep up with me pretty well these days. I may have to start riding in a higher gear!

Other than that we went to the Stone Cold Creamery (my selection today was especially good: white chocolate ice cream with brownies and Reese's peanut butter cups mixed in) and watched some baseball and cooked dinner (I grilled some brats, how Wisconsin of me).

Ah, and my yellow brandywine tomatoes are finally starting to bear some fruit - only about 3 weeks or so after the cherry and roma tomatoes sprouted fruit. Heck, the cherry tomatoes just need to turn red to be edible. And I'm going to have dozens of them. Yeesh!

I can't believe the weekend has gone by so quickly. Where does the time go?