My Santa Cruz Weekend

It's been three years since I saw my mom, but this past weekend I saw her again because she was about to turn 80. So, she, two of my brothers and I went to Vasona Park in Los Gatos, and spent some time. We talked about a lot of things, and it was also much better than Sacramento, which was well into 100 degrees. Only 90 in Los Gatos.



Andrew, who just turned 50, is in he far left. Mom in the middle, and my brother John next to her in black. If nothing else, we were surprised to see how many cousins we had.

Vasona is a really nice place. It has creeks, lots of room, and nice facilities. It also has a mini railroad. It's kind of puny compared to the railroad I live close to...the full-sized kind...but I think I got a nice picture here....



TGhere were also dozens of Canadian geese grazing on the meadow, and not too concerned about the people around them. That's how I got these shots....





I spent the rest of the weekend in Santa Cruz. It's chancged a bit since the last time I was there. For one thing, KSBW, who's been the NBC affiliate since Noah sailed on the Ark, just added a second channel that's devoted to ABC. I've heard of lots of network channels creating a second channel for MyNetwork TV or the CW, but ABC? I guess there are some people who still hate KGO for forcing KNTV San Jose to drop its ABC affiliate status more than a decade ago. The Santa Cruz and Salinas areas always relied on KNTV for their ABC shows, and didn't like to go all the way to San Francisco to get them. So, that's why KSBW is a two-network channel again (it used to carry CBS and NBC shows in the 1960's), only with two digital channels.

Also, the Big Ass Coffee place was replaced by a pizza parlor, and I saw this vacant store.



With a name like that, it shold be filled with something, right?

The biggest surprise was this...



Santa Cruz gets a pro team?
This happened recently, but the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League will apparently move to Santa Cruz late this year. The city's auditorium is too small, so a 3500-seat tent will be installed. I guess maybe it will be close to the Boardwalk. They hope UC Santa Cruz can build a 5000 seat facility. I just wonder where, because that school is mostly in the foothills.

We have talked about getting together again, and I'd like that, maybe during the holidays. I realize I'm not very close to my family, mainly because of my interests and the fact I live way too far away. Now that my mom is close to Reno, and the rest of the brood is about 3 and a half hours away, I should make more of an effort.
I will take this chance while I still can. Mom is 80, and I'm 53. We ain't getting any younger.