We've had a blast. Traveling with a nearly 3-year-old toddler, our expectations were set at near rock-bottom. We figured anything better than jet-lagged tantrums and no sleep would be a success. But, Nathan has been a total trooper and so everything has been better than we ever could have hoped. Today he seems to have hit a wall, but is napping now so hopefully he'll wake up feeling better than he did earlier. He wants to go home.

I'm glad we did this trip for a number of reasons. First, for Jo (and me). I got to see and spend some time in her hometown, Bristol, and specifically in her neighborhood of Clifton. Clifton is a nice and quaint boutique shopping district now, with good restaurants and a charm and character that makes you feel as though you've stepped out of Bristol completely. It's been fun to see the old houses where she grew up and reminisce as we've walked the streets that still hold many of the same old shops to this day. Clifton has been a good base for us for these few days - we rented a flat here and are glad we got to spend so much time in and around town.

Secondly, even though Nathan won't remember much if anything from this trip, I'm glad we brought him over. To try the trip was ambitious on our part since we didn't know how it'd pan out. It did work out, and we're thankful. But now he's gotten to see a really different part of the world. I think travel is important for anyone, so hopefully we're planting a good seed in that developing brain of his and he'll be off on his own big adventures someday. And finally, if we didn't go now, then who knows when we'd ever get to. The exchange rate sucks, fuel prices are crazy (about a pound ten sterling for a litre of petrol here!), and the world seems on the verge of going nuts. It was the right time to try this trip.

So, cheers to England and Bristol for allowing us a good time. We've met good people here, visited with old friends, have been introduced to new ones, and hopefully will be back again. I have been posting a few photos of the trip on Flickr. I can't wait to get home and see all the others.

Now, fingers crossed for the flight home. If our arm rests go up all the way then it'll be an improvement from the flight to London. Our expectations remain low. 

Holt was really amazing -- a very cute old Georgian town with cobblestone streets and an old charm. We attended a wedding near there for one of Jo's family friends, and that day was lots of fun. The reception was on a "common" English farm of 1,000 acres. It looked to me like an amazingly expensive estate. What do I know?

From Holt (in the relative southeast of England), we drove up along the coast for about 50 miles, through some beautiful villages. We then dropped down a ways and drove dozens of meandering A roads cross-country between Manchester to the north and London and Oxford to the south. The route was relatively forgettable -- the landscape was similar to driving along I-5 or 99 in California (except everything is green). We finally made it to Banbury, where we stayed one night. It was a bigger town than we expected, but home to the famed Banbury Cross. It also sits on the edge of the Cotswolds, which was our next driving route on our way to Bristol.

The Cotswolds are like a step back in time -- the villages are tiny and adorable, the buildings are older than dirt. Many date back to the 14th and 15th centuries. The countryside is gorgeous, with farmland breaking up stretches of forest, all over green rolling hills. We did a trip to Sudeley Castle in the morning, which was fantastic. Then, it was more driving and on to Bristol.

Speaking of driving, I've had my privileges revoked. I nearly got us killed twice in Banbury in a half-mile stretch, so I'm done. Jo's doing a fine job!

Bristol is a big city - nearly a million people. It's still got some small-town feel. We're staying in Clifton, which is kind of a hip neighborhood between the center of town and the Avon river gorge (spanned by the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge). 

We're here for a few days now, until the end of our trip. We've already done the city museum, seen a few Banksy paintings on various brick walls. We had a hell of a time finding our apartment, but we're settled now and looking forward to having a base for a few days after all that driving. 

This is Jo's hometown, so I'm at her whim -- sure we'll see lots of old haunts throughout the week. We've already seen a couple of houses she grew up in. We'll do a day trip to Bath, and probably into south Wales as well.

My laptop has been dead for a few days because I brought the wrong power adapter. Got a new one now, so hope to upload some photos finally tonight. 

I'll start with the bad news, or rather a complaint. United Airlines is fine, but their seats suck. The flight from SFO to Chicago was fine. Comfortable seats, Nathan had a good nap. We were happy. Then we got on the next 777 to London. Not so good. Uncomfortable seats, and arm rests that only went up 1/2 way. What's up with that? Annoying.

I was a little surprised that we bypassed central London on the way in, and headed straight for the Canary Wharf area, which is like another city unto itself. Shiny glass financial and insurance buildings, very modern looking developments that sit atop renovated docks. Some older buildings remain, but most have been converted to condos and such. We went out for pints there around 5pm yesterday, and the area was teeming with young people getting off work.

After a good night's sleep after our arrival, we did all the touristy stuff in London yesterday. A guided Thames boat tour, a look around the Tower of London, a walk around Westminster Abbey and parliament buildings, and a lap around Trafalgar Square. The highlight of the day was browsing around the National (art) Gallery, which is filled with some amazing old paintings by the masters of their day. We even saw Van Gogh's sunflowers. Nice.

A restless night last night, but we're up and ready to go rent our car and drive up to Holt. Wedding tomorrow. Should be fun. Will try to post photos soon, too.

But today I sensed trouble when I walked in the door of the makeshift donation room, and saw a woman laying on the floor in the corner, feet up, and being tended to by a nurse. The woman was awake and seemingly alert, but she probably had passed out.

Still, I was undeterred.

I sat down, and the phlebotomist asked if it was my first time. I said no, and that my left arm was usually the one they wanted (the chair was set up for my right arm). Nevertheless, she prepped my right arm, and stuck me with the needle. She stuck me in an area that's never been stuck before: not in the center of my arm but off to the left, toward the inside of my arm. It hurt like hell. It immediately swelled up, and a look of surprise washed over her face. She clearly panicked a little, and she began taking the needle out, apologizing.

It hurt and was swollen, like there was a golf ball under my skin. But blood wasn't spurting all over so I wasn't really afraid. She patched me up and came back with an ice pack: a surgical glove with an ice cube in it. She strapped it to my arm.

We decided to try the left arm now -- the one I had originally suggested. That hurt a little more than usual, too, but the blood was flowing and I thought I was in the clear. Then the blood stopped. I started sweating it a bit as she moved the needle around in my vein. That hurt a lot. The blood clotted. "Your body is doing what it's supposed to do." She told me.

I was in pain. They patched me up and sent me to the cantina for cheap cookies and juice. Other Yahoos looked at me like I was nuts because I A. failed to donate any blood despite having both arms pricked or B. was laughing to myself as I Twittered the whole event as it was happening. Typing with one hand became difficult as both arms were wounded.

The whole thing was stupid. I just hope it feels better tomorrow. Ouch!

We knocked out the floors and windows shortly before and after we moved in. It seems like we never stop painting. Now we're doing the kitchen. It's actually been going pretty smoothly, all things considered. Our contractor has been great (happy to make a recommendation to anyone) and is very well organized. There are certain things that suck about remodeling, which are mostly out of his control. They include:

• Dust
• Clutter
  
• Broken things
• Bad decisions (by us)
  

Let's start with the dust. Our house is nearly uninhabitable right now. When I sit down on the couch, you can practically see a poof of dust rise from it. The floors are coated. It gets tracked all over the house. Living without a functional kitchen is an inconvenience that I can bear (washing dishes in the sink and eating out are getting old, but it's not impossible). This fine dust that is everywhere, including my lungs, is really annoying.

Adding to the mess, the contents of our former kitchen are strewn about the family room, dining areas and living room. There is shit everywhere in our house where you'd actually want to hang out. This, combined with the dust is starting to make our place look like something you'd see on the news, minus the 67 feral cats and 24 emaciated dogs kept in pens.

Today, they're hanging the upper cabinets on the wall. Great. However they opened one box only to realize the hinges on a cabinet are all broken. This will require a new cabinet. I'm waiting for a call back from the manufacturer to see how long this will take.

Like any modern family, for some reason we needed a beverage center -- a glorified mini-fridge that sits underneath our new counter and faces out toward the family room. It will hold wine for us, beer for me, and if there's any room leftover, drinks for kids. We ordered the wrong one. That was dumb, and it's been a pain in the ass getting the one we wanted. Long story, not worth the detail.

Here's how it looked last week (my flickr gallery):

But these things are frustrating and they pile up on each other. Next week, we go on vacation to the UK for a couple weeks, and I'm starting to wonder if the kitchen will really be done by the time we're back. It's possible, but I fear the dust and mess will be there to greet us on our return.

Michael Phelps may be winning a bunch of gold medals, but I couldn't help but feel that this weekend we've been witnessing the birth of a new Chinese Century. There's probably a rocky road ahead, but it sure will be interesting to watch unfold. 

I am in decent shape overall, but nothing like the pre-kid days of a couple of years ago when any week would consist of playing soccer twice, doing spinning classes and hitting the gym 4x a week, plus surfing, hiking, etc. on weekends. Now I just cling to any exercise I can get, whenever I can get it: A couple days in the gym during lunchtime per week plus some weekend warrior activity (surfing, golf, biking, etc).

I have never been a runner. I hate running, despite playing many running-based sports over the years (football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse). I  don't find the singular act of running fun at all. I'd rather do any other exercise than run any distance more than a mile or two. I find it totally boring, it hurts my body, and generally just don't get the point. Mix running in with something else (like kicking a ball) and then you've got something I'm interested in.

Did I mention that I hate running?

So there were over 180 Yahoos signed up for this run yesterday, and I ended up running with a couple guys, Carlos and Ryan. Carlos is a runner -- he spends time doing it and is running the San Francisco (half) Marathon this weekend. That is hardcore. We started out jogging, and about 2/3 of the way through Ryan decided to take off, so he did. Me and Carlos built up some speed along the way and finished together (strong, I might add).

Carlos also had a Garmin GPS watch, which output our stats. That was cool to see:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/452886

• Total distance: 3.39 mi
• Time 32:35
• Avg pace: 9:36 min/mi
• Fastest pace: 7:02 min/mi (we turned it on for the last half mile or so)

Seeing our stats and graphs is neat, and I can imagine having access to this data being addictive to runners. Yesterday's run was actually pretty fun, in that it was an accomplishment (albeit a small one). And, I got a commemorative t-shirt and snacks.

Still, I am not a runner, and probably never will be. See you on the stairmaster.

Foo Fighters:

When we started our descent, I could make out the Monterey Bay to the northwest, and then just out to the west was Big Sur. Once I was able to focus through the hazy sky, I could see the smoke bellowing up from the Santa Lucia Mountains below. It appeared the whole range was on fire -- smoke was coming up from seemingly everywhere. I was shocked by how expansive the fires were.

Here's what it looks like from space today: 

We normally visit Big Sur over the July 4th holiday. This year we opted to go in the Fall instead. That turned out to be a good choice, since the whole area was evacuated and shut down during the holiday. I just hope there's something to go back to in September. Cooler air is supposed to come back this weekend, so hopefully it'll help. I understand that burning is often good for nature, but seeing the all that smoke hurt. I can't imagine what life is like for those who've been evacuated from Big Sur, not to mention all the other fires burning in the state.

Last night, I threw together a collection of my favorite photos of Big Sur from flickr -- better and happier times from my favorite place on earth. 

A friend sent me a link to the image I was looking for that really tells the story of how the fire smoke is blanketing our region. Amazing.

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Since Friday of last week, smoke has started filling the valley, casting an eerie, heavy haze over things. I can't see the hills around the valley, which is really rare. From time to time, it smells like a campfire outside. Air quality warnings are in effect for the whole region, and being outside generally just stinks right now. Firesare burning on both ends of the SF Bay, so no matter which way the wind blows it's not doing any good. On this NOAA analysis, you can see the smoke blowing out to Utah. Today, you can see wisps of smoke on the visible satellite image blowing to the southwest.

Most of the more recent fires were caused by a weird dry lightning storm that blew through the area on Saturday. We just don't get that kind of weather here very often, especially in June. On Saturday, we were down at the beach and got to talking to a local family. They swore they had seen a funnel cloud over the water, and at one point it was hailing on the beach while temps were in the mid-90s. We all remarked that we'd never seen anything like it in this area.

Crazy. I hope it all stops, and soon. 

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