Beau's Blog

As I write this, it’s 5pm on May 18th and I’m in Tachikawa, Tokyo at Caffe Veloce indulging on iced matcha and a matcha cake. Normally I stay away from caffeine in the afternoons, but “normally” I’m not working until 1am like I am now in Japan. I call that glass half full!

Apr 25, 2023 | Good Times in Santa Cruz | 0 miles driven

While this was the fourth day in a row of waking up in a new place, this was the first day I had work and therefore a stronger sense of a constant since leaving home. Err leaving Boulder. What is home anyway? I suppose that topic would be a great write up for me – stay tuned. My first meeting was at 7am so the day started with work AKA talking to my computer.

I then made sure to get outside for my morning walk routine which I strive to do ASAP after waking up. Katie kindly made a delicious potato and veggie scramble that I enjoyed after my morning meetings. The day flew by pretty uneventfully. For lunch, Dad and I made toasted cheesy veggie sandwiches which we consumed as we basked outside in the perfectly comfortable sunshine. We had talked about several fun evening options post work, but a sunset kayak or UCSC mountain bike ride just could not compete with where Dad and I got started with disc golf. DeLa (De Laveaga disc golf course) is a special place. When I was 10, our friend David took Dad and me there to show us this sport we hadn’t heard of before. We were totally into mountain unicycling at the time and the park where the course was also has many trails so we unicycled between holes during our first disc golf experience. A lot has changed since then and I now believe mountain unicycling and disc golf are best done separately. In any case, Dad and I have been coming to DeLa for over 20 years and it is a world famous 39 year old course featuring top tier professional competitions so we had to play it while I was in town. We played about 12 holes before it started getting dark and our stomachs had something to say about our itinerary. I particularly delighted in playing a nostalgic course but as a more well rounded disc golfer than before who could actually throw backhand lines. This did not result in any birdies for me but I’m doing my best to appreciate the process and be patient with outcomes.

After the short 8 minute drive home, we walked over to Sante Adairius for a lovely dinner. It was especially lovely in contrast to the last time I was there last summer when I received texts alerting me to likely covid exposure. Fortunately I did not receive any of these texts and instead it was all smiles and no stresses.

All in all, it was another good day. I paused before falling asleep to take note that I was able to sleep in the same place two nights in a row – the first time since leaving Boulder.

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Apr 26, 2023 | Davis Has A Great Grocery Store | 149 miles driven

I woke up feeling keenly aware that it was yet another travel day! First though, I savored my morning stroll, this time featuring a classic Santa Cruz fog. Then I worked till lunch when Dad and I had leftover pizza out on the patio. It felt weird sharing a meal together when we had enjoyed nearly every meal together over the last week but knowing there would not be another until August.

After lunch, there was time for more work and final packing. We then drove over to San Jose airport where I dropped off Dad for his trip to San Diego to join a few friends for a sailing race. Next I braved the evening traffic driving up to Davis to see Dale and Liz. Rush hour traffic meant a less direct route than normal and exploring highways I’ve spent very little or no time on before despite growing up in The Bay.

I arrived just as Dale finished up his last work from home meeting of the day and we went to a favorite spot in town – Nugget Market – to grab some sandwiches for dinner. Between the bomb deli, solid beer selection (they had Pliny the Elder), delicious looking pre-made food and reasonable prices all around, I can see why Dale and Liz like this place so much. Afterwards, Liz came back work and the three of us caught up, devoured the sandwiches and watched the Warriors beat the Kings in playoff game 5. Liz being from the Sacramento area and Dale being from the Bay meant there was some friendly banter too. All three of us were on the same page about an early bedtime – certainly a shift in habits for all of us compared to our college days up late studying and having fun. These are two of my closest friends and I’ve known them since high school/college but since moving to Colorado I’ve barely seen them. I’m so glad I could visit!