Alcatraz Tour Photos Cont.

Alcatraz Tour Photos

Sea Lions on Pier 39

Seals on Pier 39

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA

Golden Gate Bridge

Avenue of the Giants

Redwood National Park-Northern California

Elk in Redwood National Park

While travelling down highway 101 mom ( I know I was suprised too!) spotted the heard of elk off the side of the road. Thet were just on the other side of a wood fence, maybe 15 feet away from us.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon

Tacoma Cont.

Tacoma, WA Photos Cont.

The Bridge of Glass is a collection of work by Tacoma Artist Dale Chihuly. The pieces below are located on the bridge, suspended above your head. They resemble Chihuly's glass ceiling at the Bellagio in Vegas.

Vacation

I'm currently writing this from a hotel in Brookings, Oregon, just a few short miles from California. We arrived in Seattle yesterday afternoon and spend the night in Tacoma at the Hotel Murano. We toured the Glass Museum this morning and then hit the road. Tomorrow the plan is to hit Redwood National Parks before continuing on to San Francisco. Here are a few photos from Hotel Murano.

News Update

So a few little things to report. As some of you may have already heard, I've injured my knee. New Years I had a bambi on ice moment, felt a pop mid-slide which brought me to the ground in pain. The next morning I gimped a little, but was able to walk so I dismissed it as nothing. Since then it's been a little tender and pretty bruised. I saw my PCP Monday who referred me to an Orthopedic Specialist. The PCP thought that perhaps I had torn my Medial Meniscus. I met with the Ortho Doc and had a few films taken. Apparently I've dislocated my patella (knee cap). The X-rays show that both knee caps are slightly shifted laterally, this is causing the patella ligament to be stretched causing the knee cap to be higher so that it doesn't glide across the groove like it should. The right side is much more pronounced then the left. The doctor suggested Physical Therapy but stated the only long term fix is surgery that involves resizing the ligaments and tendons that hold the knee cap in place. Personally I'd like to avoid surgery at all cost and am hoping the PT will alleviate the problem. Left uncorrected this will continue to happen, each occurrence you risk fragmenting the bone as well as tearing any number of ligaments in the knee.

On a happier note, Kel and I have done a little more research and have solidified our trip. We both decided that we would like to be in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day (which is a 5 day long festival). We'll spend 4 nights in Dublin, then on to Waterford (castle and crystal factory), then to Blarney to kiss the Blarney stone, rounding out our trip just north of Dublin. Our stay in Dublin will be downtown near Trinity College at the Trinity Hotel which appears to be very swanky from the website photos. I'm so excited and I can't wait. Now that it's all planned and paid for I'm only worried about driving on the wrong side of the road.