A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Skateboarder

Last Sunday, Timon and I went to Jacob's birthday party. Jacob is (hold on to yer hats) Timon's cousin Tess and her husband Chad's boy. Being the offspring of Tess and Chad, Jacob is destined to excel at All Things Physical, and at 2 years old he pretty much kicks my butt in the following: rock climbing, sprinting, biking and now skateboarding. Never mind that he can barely [sit still to] pronouce the word "skateboard", the little guy took one look at his birthday present and hopped right on.

Click here or here to see Jacob in action.

And of course, the joys of parenting:

Ride 'em like an Indian

Yesterday Timon and I went horseback riding. Timon was carrying the camera, at least until it flew out of the saddlebag while he was galloping across a field on top of a mountain at 10,000 feet. But luckily as I was flying behind him my horse didn't crush the camera, and so we retained the photos of me grinning like a fool for nearly three hours.

Timon was riding Mr. Ed, and I was on Bandit. Bandit and I had some issues, culminating in him trying to buck me off twice (no, Timon didn't manage a photo of that). But I held on, and managed not to get thrown. When I got Bandit back on all four feet and turned around, our guide, Todd, looked at us and merely said, "You looked like a freakin' Indian riding that thing." I'm not really sure if that was a compliment, or pointing out the lack of skill in controlling my horse, but anyway, a sentence relating me, bucking and Indian is yet another reminder that we ain't in New York City anymore.

Doc Holiday and me

The best thing to happen to us so far occured last night, and I'm so giddy about it I can't really get it out. We went to this bar, called the Silver Dollar, and its located in Leadville (yes, LEADVILLE - we are living in the wild west). The backdrop to this poor deserted mining town is a massive snow-capped mountain range with little brightly-painted colored shacks in front of it. And then smack in the middle of town is the Silver Dollar bar, established in 1879. With original tile, mirrors, cash registers, and the walls covered in paraphanalia of people crossing the rockies for the last 120 years. In fact, DOC HOLIDAY WALKED ON THE SAME TILES AND SAT AT THE SAME BAR STOOLS AND LOOKED IN THE SAME MIRRORS that Timon and I did yesterday. Now, maybe I wouldn't have cared too much a few months ago, but damn, it really feels like history out here, and a very fucking cool part of american history to boot.

Arrival in Colorado

Sitting on the balcony watching the sunset.

We were forced to drink the best bottle of pinot that we brought back from the honeymoon in California when the pressure from the altitude pushed the cork open just a little...

Where we are staying

Road Trip

Here are a few pics from the road trip out to Colorado, on which we took a detour through the Badlands in South Dakota. I'll be doing more extensive posting as soon as I can tear myself away from the great mountain playground outside our doors.

Driving to Wine Country

We woke up early due to jet lag and went for a swim in the pool.

left the city via Golden Gate

and in less than 2 hours we arrived at Tim n' Tony's little cottage in the Russian River Valley.

We couldn't possibly imagine what the directions meant when they said, "Don't stop driving until you see the Donkey!"

but there he was.

Dinner at Quince

Mika sent us out to one of the best meals of our life, at Quince.

Everything was incredible, from the wine and cheese to the perfect service. Thanks Mika! We toasted to having you for a sister, how lucky we are!

Honeymooning

We arrived in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon and were promptly met by the elusive James. Actually, he's not too hard to find - just head straight to the bar.

The view from our room at the W.