July 4, 2013 and Salmon Fishing at Yes Bay Lodge, Ketchikan, Alaska

Brother Jim visited us in the Bay Area for the Fourth of July.  He arrived on the 2nd and while in Novato enjoyed seeing the California Science Center in San Francisco, the Napa River area, and the Sonoma fireworks. 

On July 6th, Jim and I flew through Seattle to Ketchikan, Alaska.  From there we went on a "Pirate Airworks" beaver fifty miles east of Ketchikan to Yes Bay Lodge.  We chose Yes Bay Lodge because I had been there three other times and loved both the people and the location.

We stayed at Yes Bay for three days and caught king, silver, pink, and chub salmon, halibut, rock fish, and flounder.  The biggest fish went to Jim as he caught two twenty plus pound halibut and a 24.5 pound king.  I caught the most fish, but my biggest catches were only a 19.5 pound king and a 11.5 pound chub.  Our guide, shown in the pictures, was Shawn "Snowman" Falkoner.  As you can see from the pictures, the weather was nice on the 7th, but then closed in and rained the rest of the time.

Below are pictures of Yes Bay and some of our catch:

Yes Bay Lodge

 

 My 19.5 Pound King Salmon, Caught on July 7, 2013

 

 

Jim's 24.5 pound King Salmon Caught on July 8, 2013

July 7, 2013 Morning Catch

 

July 9, 2013 Morning Catch

 

July 9, 2013 Afternoon Catch

Roy & EM's 50th Wedding Anniversary, June 1, 2013 in Pasadena, California

The weekend on June 1, 2013, family members gathered at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena to celebrate Roy and Em's (Mary Martha) 50th wedding celebration. In attendance were my brothers Dave Schall, and Jim Schall, their daughter, Laura, and grand daughters, Sara and Emma, their son, Seth, and his fiance, Kattie Johnson, Cousin Hugh Elwood and his wife Marilyn, and Georgia and me.

The weekend started with a wonderful dinner at Bistro 45 in Pasadena and was followed with a private dinner on Saturday at the Langham Huntington hotel. Dinner on Saturday was preceded with cocktails on the TAPS patio with the beautiful hotel gardens as a back drop.

The celebration was concluded Sunday morning with a brunch on the hotel's patio. All in all a wonderful weekend for a very special couple.

Below are pictures of the event:

Friday's Dinner at Bistro 45

Roy & EM at Bistro 45

 

Dessert Plate at Bistro 45

 

Roy, EM, and Seth on the TAPS Patio

Roy & EM at Cocktails on TAPS Patio

 

 

 Set Up of the Private Dining Room for Saturday's Dinner Celebration

 

One of Seven Table Flower Arrangements for Saturday's Dinner

 

 

Dessert Cake

 

Sunday Brunch on the Patio

 

EM with a 50th Anniversary Special Plate at Brunch

 

Roy & EM with 50th Anniversary Special Plate at Brunch

Spring Break, Skiing at Lake Tahoe

March 15th, we rented a house at Tahoe Donner, and Melissa, Keith, Kellen, Cairn, and Lain joined us for six days of skiing.  We also celebrated Cairn's 5th birthday on March 16th at the "Burger Me" restaurant in Truckee. 

After a warm up day at Tahoe Donner ski area, we spent the next four days at Northstar and Squaw Valley.  Cairn, who was transitioning to being 5, kept saying that we were skiing at "Squid Valley". 

Below are pictures of all of us during the week:

Kellen & Cairn at Tahoe Donner

Melissa & Kellen at Tahoe Donner

Cairn's Birthday Dinner at "Burger Me"

Georgia, Melissa, Kellen, & Keith at Northstar

Cairn at Squaw Valley

Hugh & Kellen at Squaw Valley

Hugh & Kellen

"Is it really spring at Squaw Valley"

Group Photo on the Deck

Lain relaxing in the tub at Tahoe Donner

March Sonoma County Barrel Tasting,

On March 1-3, 2013 we joined some friends from Santa Fe, up state New York, and the Bay Area to barrel taste some of the 2012 harvest wines from the Sonoma area.  In total our tasting group numbered 18. 

We enjoyed numerous Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Zinfandels, and Cabernets from both the Russian River and Dry Creek Valleys.  On Saturday night ten of us had a wonderful dinner at the Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, California with some of the finest wines we provided from our cellars.

Georgia and Bonnie Spear at Hook & Ladder Winery

 

Mike & Bonnie Spear at Hook and Ladder Winery

 

(Mike is a classmate of Hugh's from the US Naval Academy and was raised in Sebastopol, California. He is a wine aficionado, and is known by the group as the "Chief Grape".)

 

A picture of the 2013 barrel tasting group at Hook & Ladder

 

 

 Tasting Pinot Noir at Siduri Winery in Santa Rosa.  The winery had about 20 different pinots available for tasting from the barrel.

 

 

 

 

February Skiing in the High Sierras

 

 

 

The first week in February we went to Lake Tahoe to enjoy some winter fun.  Staying at the Sunnyside Resort, it was a stone's throw to the slopes at Squaw Valley.  We enjoyed the sun and snow for two days before returning home. 

Pictured are Georgia and I with Lake Tahoe is the background, traversing over to the Shirley Lake lift.  The last picture is looking at the Siberia Express lift on a "blue bird" day.

 

 

On The Road To California Quilt Show

The "On The Road To California" quilt show was held in the Ontario Convension Center January 25 to January 27, 2013.  Georgia, being quite a quilter, attended Thursday, Friday and took a quilting class on Saturday.  On Friday, I accompanied her to see some of the wonderful quilts on display.  One that I found most interesting was a five quilt display of old Route 66.  In front of one of the five quilts was a Harley Davidson motor cycle.  We took the opportunity to have Georgia get on it for a "photo op" session.

Below are our pictures of the motor cycle and some of the fasinating quilts on display:

Georgia and the Harley

 

"Best in Show" Quilt titled "Feathers".  It won a $5,000 prize.

100% Silk Quilt including the batting.  My guess is that it is valued at around $40,000.  It took about one year to make.

 

Beautiful design for a quilt with the sun light coming out from the clouds.  An example of the quilter's creativity

Southern California Visit

Georgia and I rented an apartment for six months in Upland, California starting December 12, 2012, so we could spend more time with Melissa, Keith, and our grandsons.  Christmas was at Melissa and Keith's house.  On New Years eve, Georgia and I had dinner with my brother, Roy and his wife, Em.  Since the first of the year, we have been spending lots of time relieving Melissa of her child duties and enjoying it most of the time.  We have taken the boys to the La Brea Tar Pits, out to eat, the Ontario Reign hockey club game, and playing some tennis.  Below are some of our memories:

The Grand kids with the Christmas Tree

 

Christmas Eve Dinner at Melissa's

 

 

Roy and Em at New Year's Eve Dinner

Georgia & Hugh at New Year's Eve Dinner

Kellen and Carin at La Brea Tar Pits

 

 

Georgia, Kellen, & Cairn at La Brea Tar Pits

 

Melissa with her New Christmas Ski Helmet

 

Cairn with his "build a bear" he calls "Fluffy-Fluffy"

Cairn at Claremont

 

Georgia and Lain at Claremont