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Tag: Monterey

  • California Orthopaedic Association in Monterey

    California Orthopaedic Association in Monterey

    This year’s California Orthopaedic Association took place in beautiful Monterey.

    Hutch Huddleston and Leslie Kim put together a nice program, beginning with practice management topics. The Saturday night gala at the Poppy Hills Golf Course featured guitar and steel drum—Caribbean Extravaganza. On Sunday, we participated in the “What’s New in Hand Surgery” symposium that Neil Harness organized.

    I brought Dad and Mom, and we had a chance to explore Point Lobos, Big Sur, plus a short detour to Gilroy to visit the garlic capital of the world.

  • Western Orthopaedic Association

    Western Orthopaedic Association

    I spent the last several days in Monterey for the Western Orthopaedic Association. It was a good meeting. Ryan presented our research project there.

    After driving up Wednesday, I checked in and had dinner. The meetings started early the next morning, and most of each afternoon was free. On Thursday afternoon, I took a bike ride north along the nature trail over the dunes past Sand City. The WOA dinner was held in the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was very nice. The next afternoon after the meetings, I went on a driving tour to Gilroy and back around through Santa Cruz. Then, we went out to Montrio Bistro for dinner after the WOA reception.

    On Saturday, I drove down along Highway 1 and visited different scenic points by Big Sur. After meeting up with Brad and the rest of the crew, we hiked up to Buzzards Roost and then to Pfeiffer Falls. The kids really enjoyed this part. While the others returned first, I visited the historic Carmel Mission, stopped by Peet’s Coffee, and went out for a quick run. I made it in time for the gala.

    The trip home was uneventful, except that I got a late start and was stuck in a little bit of traffic along the 5. It was still daylight, so I constructed another stone step by the pond. Tomorrow, it’s back to work.

  • Epic Christmas Trip

    Epic Christmas Trip

    We had an epic Christmas vacation!

    On Sunday, Christmas morning, we drove up to Monterey. The drive was nice, and the scenery was beautiful, especially around the Pebble Beach area. We had Chinese food for dinner.

    The next morning, I went out for a run—just after a night of rain. The air was refreshing. After breakfast, we went to Cannery Row, and I toured the aquarium. The most spectacular part was the jellyfish exhibit. After lunch, we went to San Francisco, where Mom and Alice did a lot of shopping. I spent most of my time in Borders Books on Union Square.

    On Tuesday morning, we picked up Andy from the Oakland airport and went up to Smith River. We all stopped at the Bayshore Mall in Eureka until dark. The drive up further north was through pounding rain and howling wind.

    Anyhow, staying at Auntie Julia’s house was relaxing as usual. We spent Wednesday down by Auntie Nipa’s house and Crescent City. Thursday was spent visiting the Oregon coast. We also bought some bamboo from bamboodirect.com.

    We left Friday morning, and the travel back was an ordeal. Having been trapped by the downed trees and mudslides, we finally took the 101 to the 36 to cross over to Red Bluff. The 36 was a tortuous winding mountain road that lasted four hours, most of which was in the dark. Then, we went down to Pacific Union College via the back roads, one of which was through Butts Canyon. Driving was very difficult. I was relieved to get to Auntie Plerm’s house. The Samples did a really nice job with the remodel.

    The storm worsened that night. Electricity was knocked out, and roads out of the Napa Valley were all closed. We tried the 29, Silverado Trail, and finally decided to go down Howell Mountain into Pope Valley and get through Winters after going around Lake Berryessa. We made it to the 505, then the 80, then the 5. There were many trucks on the median and cars sliding everywhere. Thankfully, we made it home through that harrowing driving experience.