John Michael’s class presented their annual play today. This was the funniest one they have performed and they did a great job. John Michael was “John Edwards” a psychic.
Murder at Brantley Manor
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Lake Lanier July 3-6
What a great vacation and family get-together!
Thank you, Mary Pat!
Lake Lanier July 2, 2019
Having a great time with the Claffy family on Lake Lanier
Videos
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June Vacations
Two weeks ago we took John Michael to Woodward West for a 6 night summer scooter camp. On the way we stopped at Skypark to take a mountain bike skills lesson and stayed the night at the lovely Skyforest Inn, pretty much across the highway from Skypark.
John Michael rented a dual-suspension bike for the lesson and, after saying, all day, “I love this bike!” got it for himself. He learned the lessons better than the other adult in the class, better than kc, and much better than me!
After a second day at Skypark we drove him to Woodward West, checked him in and kc and I proceeded up the coast. Along the way, we rode in Montana de Oro State Park. It was absolutely beautiful, along the coast near Morro Bay. It was a pretty tough ride, but it was a perfect day.
We were able to stay in the house of one of kc’s colleagues who lives in Monterey so that was really nice. We did ride one day along the 17 Mile Drive of Pebble Beach. There were pretty areas, but it was a completely unwelcoming place.
We rode another day at Fort Ord – nice trails, but it was not that pretty, so we drove north to the Sequel Demonstration Forest, just southwest of Santa Cruz, and rode the “Flowy Trail Loop.” What a beautiful place – pine trees and fern forest floors with a light fog throughout. Great day.
Here he shows how to drop off a ledge.
Here he shows to to jump at the top of a hillock.
On the way back to get John Michael from camp, we stopped at the “Tehachapi Loop”, a place where trains come up or down the pass from the Central Valley of California. This “spiral loop” allows trains to flatten the grade and as they traverse it, they cross-over themselves (if long enough). There were a number of people there to see the site and hoping to see a train, some had been there previously and been disappointed. We were very lucky to be there when two trains, simultaneously, traversed the loop. It was one of the coolest engineering things I’ve seen.
After collecting John Michael from Woodward West (where he had a blast and did not want to leave.) We rode another two days at Skypark. Below are two very cool videos he made. At least watch the “Go Faster Mom!” video to hear his funny commentary.
On the Notty or Nice video you can hear him singing to himself as he goes down. I’m (far) behind him, jaw clenched, hoping not to die.
Memorial Day weekend, 2019
Mary Pat came to San Diego for a short visit and the four of us drove up to Big Bear Lake to celebrate her birthday, kc’s birthday and kc and my wedding anniversary (5/25)!
We all spent Friday at Santa’s Village/Skypark. The weather was great and Mary Pat visited all the Santa’s Village attractions while we rode the trails.
Saturday, kc, John Michael and I returned to Skypark for more great riding and Mary Pat explored the village at Big Bear Lake. The weather was pretty bad on Sunday – wind and sleet, so we stayed in the condo, played dominoes, John Michael finished his “Birds of Prey” book report, and then he and I ventured out into the bad weather to see the “festivities” in the village. Because of the weather, they were pretty sad.
Monday we woke to the beauty of 3 inches of snow, got to our favorite breakfast spot early, then headed down the mountain to warmer temperatures and home.
Great weekend!
Vert Ramp success
On Thursday, John Michael’s idol, Raymond Warner, came to Clairemont to practice on the “vert ramp.” Of course, if Raymond was doing it, then John Michael must also.
Now this is a daunting feature of the park that few kids will drop-in on. I’ve been on the top to take photos and the drop is fearsome, the first five feet are vertical and the bottom is a looong way.
So, yesterday, John Michael spent about 5 minutes perched on the edge, then made the drop, to a lot of cheers.
Today, Raymond returned and John Michael got back to the ramp and really began to master it.
Warren-Walker art show 2019
It’s hard to believe that third grade is nearly over, but the annual art show indicates the classroom year is coming to an end.
Lake arrowhead trip
kc’s research group, CAIDA, held a staff retreat at the UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead last week (third week in March). As it was scheduled during John Michael’s spring break, he and I went along for some fun.
We were able to spend some time with kc, but less than we would have liked. The first day there, the three of us did a nice mountain bike ride from the center.
While we were at the center and kc was in meetings, John Michael and I explored the nearby area and lakeshore, played a lot of table tennis and horseshoes, and goofed around in the pool.
On the second day there, John Michael and I went to Skypark at Santa’s Village. This is a quirky (but very nice) place that has both a Christmas-themed park with rides and restaurants AND a complex and varied cross-country and downhill mountain bike park. Unlike other downhill parks, one has to ride uphill to go downhill (no lifts). John Michael doesn’t like to climb, but he was actually quite good at it, passing a lot of adults and never being passed. His highlight of the trip was successfully descending the “Arrow” trail, classified as an “Expert” trail. He left me in the dust.
On the third day, we went to nearby Crestline so that he could scooter at a skatepark. He had a good time, but like most skateparks it is not as elaborate or difficult as his home park, Clairemont.
Sometimes “skill building means failing
Scenes from our Lake Arrowhead trip
Scooter zone!
On the 22nd of February, John Michael and kc had the day off so with Mary Pat and me, drove to Riverside, California to Scooter Zone, an indoor scooter park with a foam pit and challenging ramps. John Michael had been wanting to visit for some time.
Scooter – A John Michael Movie
Last week, while kc was out of town, John Michael asked me if I knew anything about the iMovie app on his iPad. I told him that it can be used to make movies from videos. He disappeared for about an hour. He came back to where I was and I heard this dramatic music playing. He had made this movie from videos on his iPad. No help from anyone.