Westmoreland Asays

I enjoy the end of August for various reasons. The temperatures aren't so hot, the kids are almost back in school, and Hood-to-Coast comes to town (literally, this year, as the exchange point for legs 12 and 13 was in our neighborhood, at Oaks Park, because of construction closer into town). I once again photographed the runners on Legs 5 and 35. Friday was mild and overcast and a bit rainy, and Saturday was warm, warm, warm. My body is still aging, and it takes three or four days for the extreme soreness in my upper legs to dissipate. Hood-to-Coast is all about the participants so, without further delay, I present to you my Hood-to-Coasties for 2013 (remember, these are all photos I took). I've noticed trends in race over the last decade, and 2013 was the year of the tongue and the high-five. I saw lots of tongue aimed at my direction, and five or six runners gave me high-fives or fist bumps (kind of sweaty-gross, but whatever). Here are the best tongue shots . Fam...

A few months ago Meg asked our children if they would prefer to visit Disneyland or Legoland. Apparently, they overwhelmingly voted for Legoland , much to Meg's disappointment (the kids are somewhat price-conscious, but I don't think that influenced their decision). Meg had thought to drive down with just the kids, but I convinced her to let me come, too, and to use our Southwest points to fly to Southern California (I'm not much of a road-tripper). We had thought to visit the Redwood forests of Northern California on our return drive, and although this omission disappointed Aaron, I think everyone enjoyed the relatively easy travel arrangements--plus, this leaves us with another travel destination for the future (we don't often repeat our travel destinations). Early Saturday morning we picked up some friends who drove us to the airport (and babysat the van for the week so they could pick us up again). We had to change planes in Sacramento, and that flight was del...