A Year in the Life - 2015

Yet another full orbit around the sun and here I am, once again, sorting through photos of the past year, musing over good times and travels; special occasions; family. The hard part is selecting twenty-or-so images that commemorate the year. For Terry, 2015 was a year of recovery. She spent an exorbitant amount of time nursing and rehabbing an injured knee, where outdoor activities frequently came with restrictions. For her spring break, when we normally pack the van and hit the road with mountain bikes and climbing gear, we instead settled for rebuilding the garage workshop and hanging drywall. I didn’t have a clue how to hang drywall, but Ter sure did—thank God. Meanwhile, on the work front, she’s teaching another 5th Grade GATE class, while I spent much of my time ushering several solar projects along, two of which were energized last year. Our kids are doing great. The grandkids are a joy. Life is good.

FEBRUARY

Terry powers through the crux of The Flue at Joshua Tree, proving that, even without a 
right ACL, she’s still in the game. By February, after months of physical therapy, her 
doctor told her that she was now ready for ACL reconstruction surgery. However, since 
she needed to take six weeks off after the operation, she opted to wait until the school 
year was out. In the meantime, Doc said no climbing; no mountain-biking; no stunts that 
would cause re-injury. In essence, this was our last climbing day of the year. It just wasn’t 
worth the risk. 

MARCH

Logan is poised to knock it out of the park during a winter league game. He was 6½ years old when this photo was taken. He’s full of life and curiosity; loves being outdoors and on the move.  

MAY

My wife is so beautiful. This was taken at the Mission Inn in Riverside, where we celebrated my birthday and an early Father’s Day get-together with my girls. 

JUNE

Hannah was Terry’s running companion for many years—years longer than she’s known me. Hannah lived to run. As soon as she saw you grab your running shoes, she’d perk up and tremble with unbridled energy; dart over and stare at her leash where it hung on the wall. But age took its toll. In early June, she passed away peacefully at home in Terry’s arms. Letting go was difficult. But Hannah had lived a good dog’s life. I know she’s up in heaven now, chasing tennis balls. 

My brother, Tom, and his wife, Eileen, celebrated their 25th anniversary in Las Vegas,
renewing their vows in the presence of the King. Tom rented the top-floor penthouse for the
occasion. To say there was a big party afterwards is an understatement. In the words of
Elvis himself: “Do something worth remembering.”  

The afternoon sun cuts a mosaic of shadows and light on the 12-century ruins of Jerpoint Abbey in Ireland. After partying with Elvis in Vegas, we flew directly to the Isle of Éire for an unforgettable road trip. We rented a car the first week and toured the island. The second week, we traveled by bicycle on provincial lanes.

Terry pedals across the open country of Ireland’s Beara Peninsula on Day 3 of our six-day 
cycling tour. Just four months before departure, Doc had given her the green light to ride her 
road bike, which didn’t leave much time to get into shape. “Take it easy,” Doc advised. 
Yeah. Right. She cranked up and over all the mountain passes, no problemo.  

At Crowley’s Bar in Kenmare, venerated local, Mike Murphy (white rugby jersey), has Jamie blushing and Shay in stitches during one of his waggish yarns about the British. Jamie hails from London, but the ribbing is all in good fun. Jamie and Shay were our Backroads trip leaders for the cycling tour, guides extraordinaire. As for the local pubs: They are the essence of every community in Ireland, and we spent two weeks seeking them out. One could subtitle this summer road trip the Pubs & Castles Tour. 

We shared the road to Ballaghbeama Gap with a flock of sheep on Day 4 of the cycling 
tour—an ethereal day of mist-shrouded mountains and verdant valleys. In road-biking 
parlance, this is Nirvana.

JULY

Eleven days after returning from Ireland, Terry underwent surgery to rebuild the ACL in her right knee. I took this photo soon after the operation, while she was still all smiles and loaded up on pain killers. She pretty much lived here on the sofa for ten days and couldn’t drive for six weeks. Full recovery is nine months, so the remainder of the year was a routine of rehab and physical therapy.

AUGUST

We took a drive up the coast to San Simeon to celebrate our anniversary, taking in a tour
of Hearst Castle. That was probably pushing it, being just five weeks after Terry’s surgery
(there were 109 steps to climb on the tour). Doc stipulated no walking on the beach
and no wading into the surf. So we hung out in the bar and drank Margaritas. Ole!  :-)   

SEPTEMBER

For what has become the semi-ritual practice, we had Logan and Hayden over Labor Day weekend. It was a full-fun affair: a walk in the park; a train ride to San Juan Capistrano; the petting zoo; an afternoon matinee. Grandkids are awesome.    

OCTOBER

We managed to get most of the family out to Joshua Tree for a weekend campout and a 
little top-roping. Good times were had by all. Pass the s'mores.

And the big announcement of the year: Doug and Brianna are engaged! Yep. He proposed to her in Rowena, Oregon, as the sun was setting on the Columbia River Gorge. Rather romantic, I’d say. The big day is coming up May 7th. 

After fifteen weeks of post-surgery rehab and indoor training, Terry gets the "OK" to start
road-cycling again. It’s got to be flat and easy, but it’s a start. What a magnificent day, to
see her back in the saddle again.  

NOVEMBER

Hayden works out the moves at the climbing gym. Heather & CJ went away for the weekend to celebrate their 10th anniversary, so Hayden and Logan spent quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. The climbing gym was a big hit. Natural ascensionists, they are.

Heather and Allie joined us on Thanksgiving Day. I love Thanksgiving. It’s the best holiday of the year. Life can sometimes be a drudge, but as long as I have these two young ladies in my life, everything will be just right with the world. Yes, it’s a time to be very thankful. 

DECEMBER 

Heather and CJ hosted the family Christmas get-together. Heather cooked a scrumptious dinner. Then we sat by the fire and watched the grandkids open their gifts with unrestrained zeal.    

Christmas Day in Yorba Linda. Randi, Kevin, Doug and Bri came over, and Terry prepared
an incredible meal. Christmas music on the stereo; mistletoe; a crackling fire. ‘Tis the season.
Cheers!!

This is Tequesquite Solar Project in Riverside, built on the City’s old landfill. It was energized
in September and delivers 7.5 megawatts of clean, renewable power to about 1,600 nearby
homes. Presently, it’s the largest solar PV plant in the country operating on a
decommissioned landfill. That makes it special. But what makes it really special is that it
would be my very last project—my final day at the City was December 17th. I’m now retired. 

…and this, folks, would be my last Holiday Pub Crawl with the amazing Power Resources crew: the dynamo of Riverside Public Utilities. I’m sure gonna miss this gang.

On a sunny New Year's Day, we went for a spin up Telegraph Canyon with Randi and
Kevin. It was an impeccable day. A short break was required halfway up so Kevin could
repair a flat on their tandem. As for Ter: she was grinning from ear to ear the whole ride.
This was her first time in the saddle of her beloved Lush since tearing her ACL eighteen
months ago. It’s been a long road, indeed, and both of us are looking ahead to a whole
new chapter in 2016. 

The full set of 'Best of 2015' photos can be found here...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/91696789@N00/albums/72157664295741472/page1