MrAndrewBradley

In preparation for a "Staycation" at Lake Bradley (aka my parent's house) next weekend with family, we headed to the Bradley Lodge this weekend to preview thousands of slides from the 60s. 70s and early 80s all to make a shorter slide show to watch as we sit by the "lake" next weekend and remember the "good ol' days." While at the Lodge my dad also installed a new light fixture in one of the bathrooms and we had lunch at Bristol's in Arnold, where I had to have a sandwich called "The Bradley." We asked the waiter about the name, his response … the crab sandwich was named for a person that frequented the restaurant named Brad who was always "crabby." Back at the Lodge, there is also a new crib (an upgrade from the previous porta-crib) for what will be a new " niec-phew " (aka Luke's "bro-sis") in the coming months.

Every so often I get sent links to videos on YouTube that are pretty interesting. So watch, think and then realize that there is so much that we will never know. You might also want to consider reading 50 Facts that Should Change the World . Another good video ... Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

I had a great weekend. First on Friday I saw the crew taping an episode of " The Mentalist " near my office and went to a meeting at the Mexican Consulate . Then on Saturday I went with a few friends on what was supposed to be a relaxing bike ride to Folsom Lake ... it was relaxing, but on the five bikes that went, we had four flat tires … my bike had two of them :-)... the important part was that we all had a great time. After our bike ride we headed to Bayside for the Saturday night service before walking around The Fountains and having dinner at The Counter . Sunday I went with my parent's to see the " With Malice Toward None " exhibit on Abraham Lincoln at the California Museum which although not for kids (like the rest of the museum is), was very interesting and had lots of original letters, drawings and photographs of Lincoln. Some of the highlights for me included an original draft of the Gettysburg Address , drafts of the Emancipation Proclamation...

My 11-day road trip ended this morning and on final count, I stopped in at least 24 cities across two states and drove 2,000 miles (about the same as driving from Sacramento, CA to Chicago, IL ) in my Hertz Prius . In addition to the 19 cities I knew I was visiting or had already visited ( see last post ), I ended up making stops in Clearlake's Lucerne ( Fosters Freeze , yummy), Arcata for some gas, Grants Pass and Ashland in Oregon ( who knew it would be quicker to drive 100+ miles out of my way into Oregon to get back to Roseville ), walked across the Sundial Bridge in Redding and finally slept in Corning (although only 130 or so miles from home, I was way too tired to keep driving). It was a great trip through some beautiful parts of California and although I didn't make a lot of stops, I saw the entrances for lots of state parks , the Trees of Mystery , saw some of the most beautiful redwood forests while driving along Highway 101 , the " Redwood Highway ,...

Although not quite the same as visiting 11 countries in 17 days like I did while in Europe a few years ago, I am currently in the middle of visiting 19 California cities in 11 days. I started out by driving to Bakersfield last week with a brief stop in Turlock , since then I have been to Hanford , Tulare , Visalia , Fresno , Modesto , San Jose , Arnold , Dorrington , Camp Connell , Murphy's , Roseville and Sacramento ; soon I will head out for the last leg of the trip: Ukiah , Willits , Laytonville , Eureka and Crescent City . It has been a whirl wind of long, but fun (and hot), days with the " Help is Here Express " team and with family at the Bradley Lodge , where I went to Mercer Cavern's with my cousin and aunt, wine tasting around Murphy's and I finally made it to the Big Tree's Village pool/recreation center (it only took 23 months of my parents owning the Lodge for me to get there). While in Roseville/Sacramento for the last 36 hours " Fort...

It was a fun weekend of family time in Sacramento and Roseville . First my family ( brother's family - aka parent's of my nephew, our parents and our grandma) met at my parent’s house for a beautiful dinner in their backyard under the pergola. Then on Saturday I met everyone in Old Sacramento , where I was a “home town tourist” and we climbed aboard the Sacramento Southern Railroad for a ride down the Sacramento River , with views of the State Capitol , Tower Bridge , the river, the Delta King , Miller Park and of course, I-5 . As a parent on the train told their child, we were riding on “ Thomas the Tank Engine’s ” cousin, I might say it is more distant than that, but it seemed to work for almost every kid, including my nephew, Luke, who loves the Thomas DVDs and playing with his Thomas’ train set. After a ride down the river and some time walking around Old Sacramento we all headed to my house in Roseville for lunch and to hang out before starting the family progressive ...

Well, after being "featured" in the Sacramento Bee on Friday for purchasing " Fort Bradley " it was time to "finish" the backyard. My parent's and I spent Saturday and Sunday putting up the pergola that has been mentioned so many times on my blog as one of the last projects to be done and now it is done!! After the pergola went up (and we took pictures) we added drawer pulls and knobs to the kitchen and laundry room cabinets and drawers, so now I can say, not only is the inside done , but so is the backyard (done meaning, there is still more to do, but no more "major" projects are left). As if putting up a pergola and finishing things up around my house were not enough to make it a great weekend, my parent's and I also went to a family friend's wedding. It is kind of a cool story, the mom of the girl who got married was my mom's college neighbor and was in my parent's wedding , so now, my family has been to two of her thr...