More from our Picnic in Anza-Borrego

Anza-Borrego Desert 3/27

Saturday morning I filled half a dozen water bottles with ice and water and then loaded them into the car; along with hiking boots, a jacket, a couple of hats, and a camera. After stopping for gas and air I headed east on the 8 to La Mesa to pick up Steve and Jeff. They brought along a picnic lunch, snacks, and more water. Back in the car we continued east on the 8, then north on the 79, pausing to put the top down to enjoy the bright, sunny, scenic drive. We made a pit stop at Lake Cuyamaca, which had the most water in it we'd seen, and a brief stop in Julian to buy an apple pie. Once we got to the Visitors Center in Borrego Springs we found a nice shady spot and enjoyed Steve's wonderful ham & cheese sandwiches and homemade potato salad.

More pictures and details of our adventures coming soon!

Meerkat

Caterpillar

Lilies

Arranged by Andreas Loeffler.

After Sunset

Julian

Morning Light

Spider Web

Jennifer

This weekend Jennifer came from Chicago to escape winter and catch up with friends. So Friday night I headed downtown to the Gaslamp District to hang out with her and a bunch of other people I haven't seen much of since I worked at the architecture firm. We had so much fun and it was great seeing everybody.

Avatar

Sunday morning I left the house at 11 and walked 1 block to Starbucks and picked up a coffee, a frapacino, and an iced green tea. A few minutes later Heriberto and Skip pulled up in Heri’s car. I handed in the drinks, jumped in the back, and off we zoomed to the Santa Fe Depot downtown (although we had to steer Heriberto passed the airport; he kept thinking we were flying and started to turn at Laurel). They just started boarding Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner as we walked up so we got on and found seats on the ocean side. Before we knew it we were gliding smoothly, quietly, quickly through downtown past the airport, Mission Bay, La Jolla; heading towards Irvine and the giant IMAX movie theater at the Irvine Spectrum Mall to see Avatar in 3D.

A word to the wise: do not travel with us if you’re super cool and will be embarrassed by 3 goof balls acting like teenage tourists taking pictures of each other and carrying on at every amazing sight along the way. We’ll understand if you spend most of the trip in the café car.

The train ride is truly beautiful, going right along the beach in many places. And it’s fun to see familiar sights from a different perspective and notice things you miss from the car.

Getting off the train in Irvine.

After the movie we walked through the mall towards the Corner Bakery to get something to eat; each of us with our camera wanting to get a picture of everything in sight. It was like herding kittens, only no one was doing the herding.

I had to show off my camera’s waterproof capabilities so I took a picture below the surface of the water of one of the fountains. Then, while still holding the camera under water, I turned it around and took a picture of us through the water.

On the train ride back to San Diego, we got 2 pairs of seats facing each other and had a great time talking, not worrying about traffic. What a fun day! Thank you, Heriberto and Skip.

Nik Comedy Night

Friday afternoon we closed the office promptly at 5pm to celebrate the launching of our newest software, Viveza 2. We met for dinner at Saffron - Chicken and then walked next door to the comedy club for an evening of Whose Line is it Anyway style improve. So much fun!

Tony and his lovely wife waiting for the show to begin.

Tierney onstage doing a great job of directing a skit about characters at Nik.

Morneé after suggesting an off-color topic.

Do I have to admit to knowing these people?