18 November, 1999
Wednesday passed with not much ado. Today though, both of us were feeling a little stir crazy. Jocelyn cleaned house a bit and Steve worked on the computer, then we took off for a nice little three to four mile hike just up the street from J's dad's house. A little path follows a very pretty little drainage ditch alongside one of the hills out here (looks a lot prettier than it sounds). The views were gorgeous and we got to challenge J's fear of heights on three tiny foot bridges.
In the afternoon we decided to take Sandy out for a spin, hoping to find some interesting driving near the fire road we scouted the other day. There were a few muddy little roads to poke around at, we even used 
4wd in some parts (but may not have had to) but we ended up back on the fire road for the spectacular views of a lovely sunset, for which this picture only offers a suggestion of the beauty.
We're off to the Monterey Bay Area tomorrow to spend some time with Steve's parents and Jocelyn's mom but mostly to surprise Steve again with yet another bday gift.
19 November, 1999
We finally got around to posting some pictures from SEMA 99 online. There weren't many trucks there worth taking pictures of (except for their humor-value- see the shots of the pimp-daddy landcruiser) and we didn't take any shots of what was probably the coolest 4x4 there- a custom red Jeep Cherokee that was built for real-world use instead of a chromed-out fireball-painted show-queen. There are a few good snaps of some rebuilt classics, though. You can see the pictures that we do have here.
20 November, 1999
Spent the day with the Broyles
clan at Mom and Dad's new home in Carmel. Great day of relaxing and playing with our three-and-a-half year-old niece, Isabelle and 19-month nephew, Austin. Spending the day with them is a great way to remember how wonderful kids are, and how very, very little we want to have any of our own any time soon!
After dinner, Isabelle and Austin helped Uncle Steve open some more birthday presents.
Later, we saw the new Bond movie with Steve's brother and sister and their spouses. Overall the movie was great but Beebee was disappointed that there weren't enough cool gadgets and Steve was disappointed out that the bond-girl (Denise Richards) couldn't act her way out of a box. We both thought it was about time that Bond got tough again. All of us were a little bummed that the theater's sound-system was on the blink. Oh-well.
22 November, 1999
Monday morning finds Steve sitting in a cafe in Santa Cruz, sipping a latte, talking to sponsors on the cell phone while updating the site from the laptop… odd that I've never felt so much like a yuppie as I do right now- homeless and jobless state not-withstanding. Life is funny like that sometimes. Beebee is off hunting for beads and heaven-knows-what with her mother.
Steve is also fighting off the beginnings of a cold/sinus thing. Probably because he spent 3 hours standing up to his thighs in 50&#deg; F water while learning how to surf-fish at Manresa State Beach with his Dad and his new rod/reel (Thanks, Dad!). Didn't catch any fish, but the weather was perfect, albeit windy, and both Steve and his father considered the trip to be a success and are already looking forward to going again.
Lunch finally rolled around and we got to enjoy a few hours with lovely Katie-lynn (Jocelyn's maid of honor). Ate at Shogun Sushi, yummy.
In the evening, Joyce (Jocelyn's mom) took us out to see Ray Brown's "Great Big Band" at the Kuumbwa in Santa Cruz. Wow! We sat 4 rows from the front of 20 people on a little tiny stage playing big music. The band was great. We had a blast. (Thanks, Joyce!) click here for more pictures from Kuumbwa.
After the show, Jocelyn took Steve out to her favorite late-night restaurant, Manuel's, for another dinner.
24 November, 1999
Tuesday morning we spent taking care of some paperwork and hanging out with Joyce.
Tuesday afternoon, Steve's best man, Keith, came into town and we got to hang with Keith, Katie-lynn and Kate's friend Craig. Keith came back with us to Joyce's for dinner and then the boys went to go play with the truck -- this was the first Keith had seen of it.
Today, we headed back up to J's dad's. Got here around 2:30 and are meeting George Carousos of Extreme Outback for dinner and to pick up some great gear (review pending) in Sonora this evening.
25 November, 1999
Thanksgiving was great. Steve and Jocelyn tested out the Black Rat hand winch-
dragging Sandy around the driveway and up and down a neighbor's driveway. Great fun. J's dad came out for a look and was quite impressed- and rightfully so, the winch works really well with a reasonable amount of effort. Stay tuned for a more complete write-up of the winch (with more pictures) soon.
Thanksgiving dinner was excellent
. We timed it just right and enjoyed the sun setting behind the table as we ate. After dinner we sat around playing games- it was only Steve's second time 
playing "Rummikub" but he managed to win two of four games (a terrible upset to Beebee who is the reigning champ). Only two of us had enough room for pumpkin pie.
26 November, 1999
We feasted on leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The stuffing and beans went first, pumpkin pie second. We headed up the hill a ways to Pinecrest Lake, one of R.K.'s favorite spots but the lake had recently been drained to make room for winter storms run-off so it was a little disappointing.
In the end it worked out great though as we took a nice long hike by Herring Creek and enjoyed a wonderful late-November day. Hunger drove us home for a late lunch and a nap.