The Fruit Bowl is a Stockton Institution. From its beginnings in 1947 as a small fruit stand on Waterloo Road selling seasonal fresh fruit (mostly peaches) it has evolved into a large shop with a wide variety of fruits, nuts and vegetables, all grown locally. They also have a bake shop with wonderful pies, cookies, [...]
Last Friday and Sunday I pressure washed the exterior of our house. The vinyl siding cleaned up nicely. Diane was very happy and kept saying how great the house looked. And if Stoker is happy everybody is happy. But no good deed goes unpunished. On Monday, I got out our electric lawn mower to cut [...]
Poor Stoker. After the Gorge de la Nesque ride we were sitting at lunch. I enjoyed my entree, a goat cheese tart. But during the plat I started to feel pressure on my temples, and my vision was obscured by shimmering lights I wasn’t dizzy or nauseous. I thought I might have gotten a bit [...]
The 5th day of the Cevennes Tour is the ‘Queen Stage’, the longest and hardest day of the tour. 75 miles and 7600 feet of up and down. I was worried about my legs and the weather. But the winds of the previous 3 days finally died down, and it was sunny and dry with [...]
…at least for this year. After a month in Malaucene we did our last long guided tandem ride on May 31. The weather was perfect and the ride was wonderful. It was also pretty hilly. Stoker had been getting stronger each day during our trip, and she did really well. There was a long climb [...]
If you are a baseball fan, imagine taking batting practice in Yankee Stadium, then flying to Boston to do the same thing at Fenway Park on the same day. On May 22 I did the cycling equivalent. Two of the most famous climbs that are raced in the Tour de France are Mont Ventoux and [...]
is French, and sort of translates into ‘a day without’ or ’an off day’, or ‘one of those days’. I had all three last Tuesday. Stoker and I have put all our medical issues behind us and are well into our cycling preparation for a trip to France. After a 6 week hiatus from tandem riding, [...]
Diane and I are fortunate to have been seeing the same family physician since we moved back to Stockton 35 years ago. And he is a Linden Local: he grew up on a farm just down the road from ours. He is a really good doctor and it is nice to have someone we know [...]
California had gone from worrying about drought and water shortages to worrying about flooding. In a way that is good news as long as your property is on high ground. Casa Brumby is elevated a bit above the surrounding land and should stay dry. The end of the drought and our personal lack of flood [...]
Stoker and I noticed the goat with his/her head and horns poking through the wire fence. And we heard the bleating, which might have meant ‘Hi there’ or ‘ The grass really IS better on this side’. But it also could have meant ‘I’m stuck, you dumb human. Help me get out!’ Stoker wanted to [...]