Sharks game

I randomly received two tickets to tonight's San Jose Sharks game. This was to be my second ever Sharks game and my friend Sara's first. They played against the Colorado Avalanche which is likely the only other NHL team I could name off the top of my head. Lucky for us the Sharks were gracious enough to win 3 to 1.

Back in Palo Alto after the game I noticed Hoover Tower eerily lit with bright red light in celebration of tommorow's 110th Big Game against Cal. After dropping Sara off I ran home bundled up some more, grabbed my camera and headed out to get some cool pictures. Unfortunately the red lights were already turned off so I settled for some normal night shots of the tower under light clouds, eerily backlit from a 3rd quarter moon. I bumped up the color in Photoshop to get a little more red out of the sky.

The Aquabats

Stephanie had invited anyone and everyone (ages three and over) to go to The Aquabats show with her so I tagged along. We met up with Angela on the side of the freeway (okay the park & ride) and the three of us headed into the city to Slim's. We decided we were hungry so we ordered nachos - who knew Slim's had such good nachos?

The opening act was uh, interesting, but entertaining none the less. The next band was pretty good, a local bunch that reminded me of The Killers. Then came The Aquabats. Apparently these guys have been around since I was in high school! I had vaguely heard of them before but no real experience with them. Lots of energy, as I expected, and very entertaining. They were a very tight band. Did I mention their tight blue spandex shirts, baggy black shorts, zorro masks and helmets?

The absolute highlight of the show, however, was featured guest, Quinn. Quinn is a real superhero, with powers and everything. He can even fly. By the way, Quinn is three. Even though he tried to tell the audience he was five. I guess if you are a superhero it doesn't really matter what age you are. Anyways, after he helped The Aquabats throw away trash on stage during their song, Throw Away The Trash, we got to watch Quinn fly up off the stage, through the air and then do some pretty sweet crowd surfing! It was a real treat and something I never would have believed if I had not been there myself to witness such an amazing event.


Angela shows off her newly acquired skill: The Aquabats sign


Stephanie gets her groove on next to a guy wearing a Van Halen t-shirt. I hope he doesn't jinx the band by wearing their t-shirt. I have tickets to see them December 22nd - if they don't break up before then.

The Leaves Are Falling

London Planetree
Platanus acerifolia

A hybrid between the American and Oriental Sycamore, it is a popular urban tree because of its ability to withstand air pollution, drought and soil compaction. It is found in many neighborhoods throughout Palo Alto.

The cutting of the Bradshaw family Christmas tree via Sequoya-cam

Bradshaw family tradition dictates that on the Friday or Saturday immediately following Thanksgiving the family shall pack turkey sandwiches and the dog into several vehicles, trek up into the hills and embark on a great search for the Bradshaw family Christmas tree. Generally tradition dictates that said tree shall be a Douglas fir no shorter than 10 feet, but this rule can be overturned by a majority vote in favor of a different species or stature of tree. In recent years the Christmas tree farm of choice has been Happy Elves Christmas tree farm located high on Page Mill Road. This year due to a shortage of trees at Happy Elves we opted to continue on to even higher ground, and return to Skyline Ranch Christmas tree farm, frequented in years past.

Various and varying degrees of excitement and attitude toward this outing are exhibited by the male members of the Bradshaw clan but two constants have remained steadfast on these excursions:
(1) Mamma B's ability to pull off planning, execution and full participation by all family members currently residing locally or visiting the homestead for the holiday.
(2) Sequoya's near euphoric excitement for this event.

The majority of Sequoya's excitement comes from being allowed to run as free and wild as she pleases during our search for the perfect tree. This year I attached a small digital camera to her collar and set it to take pictures every five seconds. However most all of these pictures consisted of the ground passing by in a streaking blur. These few usable shots may or may not have had a helping human hand holding her and her collar still.


Andy and I gear up for the felling of the tree.


John and Steve save a grasshopper - for later feeding to Bryan and Tauna's pet spider.


The choice of beanie today was total coincidence.

My idea of a good trip

Backpacking in Portola Redwoods State Park

Mountain Biking Up Stevens Canyon

The Ride: Canyon Trail through Montebello Open Space Preserve.
Starting Point: Junction of Stevens Canyon Rd. and Mt. Eden Rd. (x at lower right)
Total Distance: ~17 mi.
Net Elevation Gain: ~2,000 ft.
Distance Climbing: ~12 mi.
Distance Descending: ~5 mi.
Terrain: Paved, Unpaved, Fire Road, Singletrack
Direction Of Travel On Map: Clockwise


It's always a nice view from the top of Black Mountain (el. 2805')


Getting ready to make the paved drop down Montebello Rd. back to the beginning.