Bay Area Aikido Tour

Gabe and I did a mini-tour of a few dojos in the SF Bay Area. We started at Aikido of Santa Cruz with Linda Holiday Sensei. They have a gorgeous dojo that they saved for ten years to buy and refurbish. We had a great Sunday morning class before driving south and meeting up with some folks from Aikido West, Mount Tamalpais and Fremont to train at Aiki Zenshin Dojo in Fremont. They had these doves perched in cages by the door. It was quaint at first, but got a little old. The class was awesome though. So much fun.

We made a trip up to San Francisco to train at City Aikido. Robert Nadeau Shihan was scheduled to teach but wasn't there for some reason. We had a fun time nonetheless. Their dojo is pretty small but that's to be expected in the city, I suppose. We met someone who trained with Hans Goto Sensei several years ago when our friend Richard trained there. She doesn't remember him so Gabe and I are convinced Richard has been telling us tall tales!

Most of our time was spent training at Aikido West in Redwood City. It was the highlight of the trip, for sure. We did some lunchtime training with Karl and his friend Jay and did a couple basics classes as well as two general classes. One was with Jane and the other was with Frank Doran Shihan. Aikido West was kind enough to allow us to stay at the dojo and sleep on the mat.

All in all, an exhausting but super cool trip!

Aikido of Fresno

Last week, I drove down into Fresno for a night to train at Aikido of Fresno with Florian Tan Sensei. The classes were relatively small but it was a lot of fun. They were a very nice group of people and the techniques we worked on were recognizable to me, but also different. I liked seeing a new perspective. The dojo was very nice inside, well-lit. And, the mat was pretty nice, too. I decided to start taking pictures of all the shomen at the various dojos I train at.

Day Trip in Yosemite

After we left the Bay Area, Gabe and I stopped at my parents' place for the night, then spent yesterday in Yosemite National Park. The weather was spectacular and the crowds were relatively small. The Merced is near flood level because of the hot temps and big snow pack – the waterfalls were gushing. It was awesome. This was Gabe's first time there so it was kind of cool seeing the Park through his eyes a little bit. I've been there a dozen times or more and I think each time has been eventful in one way or another. It was a great last trip before leaving the state.

I'm now in "final countdown mode" before moving to Philadelphia. I have a thousand things to do, both big and small (and all important) before I fly back east for a couple weeks, then come back here only to pack the car and start driving east again.

Sayonara!

Well, I did it. I left San Diego. After 15 years – my entire adult life – I packed the car and drove north. It was difficult saying goodbye to everyone (I even got a few calls as I was driving north on 15), but I'm sure once I get back east, I'll be too busy to remember. Luckily, things like blogs and emails make it easier to stay in touch with everyone. Of course, before I actually left, I ate a ceremonial burrito at Santanas (I collected ten receipts so my burrito was free!).

I stopped at Joshua Tree on my way north just to touch the rocks one more time. I went straight to my favorite spot (Gunsmoke) and worked on the route a few times before jumping back in the car and leaving the Park. I ate one last meal at The Crossroads Cafe and then drove north to my parents' place.

I'm trying to get in touch with my friends and family in the area and hope to train in Fresno, Reno, Berkeley and Redwood City before I leave. I also want to ride Highway 9 again and visit some of the state parks in the Bay Area where I learned to climb.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday before and during my drive north: