Grillin on the Beach

We finally made it down to the beach to have a cookout. We used our fabulous gifts from Jon and Julie. We found a nice beach on the way to Santa Barbara that was pretty quiet snd started cooking! In this picture, I'm kicking back because I finally got the fire started. We used some organic charcoal...which was a bit hard to get started. Thank goodness for drift wood. :)

Here we are feeling hungry for some hot dogs!

Cindy and Sarah are cooking with our telescoping skewers! I have a feeling we will enjoy these a lot in the years to come.

What cookout is complete without some smores? We browned up some marshmallows on the grill, opened our super-sized Hershey bar, and had a few just before sunset.

Studios

After 10 months of being in Los Angeles, we finally made our first trip to a studio backlot! You might recognize some of the scenes shown below, starting with the famous Animaniacs water tower.

We haven't seen too many episodes of ER, but here is a photo outside of the emergency room entrance. We enjoyed walking down the fake streets of Chicago. The EL tracks are mostly plastic and fiberglass.

This was some kind of racing car. I don't really remember much about it. I tried to open the door, but it appeared to be stuck...

Here's another set that we enjoyed. You'll recognize this as Central Perk from the TV show Friends. It was pulled out of storage for a recent reunion show and left out for long-term exhibition. What a treat.

Have we enticed anybody to come out for a visit yet?

Visitors

We had a visitor from Ohio last week. Sarah and her grandfather Jim drove across the country to see us. They both enjoyed their first visit to the Pacific Ocean.
















Jim treated us to dinner at the Outback Steakhouse in Thousand Oaks. It was very nice to have visitors to share experiences with.


















We have several other pictures, so check out our Picasa site.

Birthdays

Birthday season is upon us again! Cindy and I both have birthdays in June. This is the first time since getting married that we haven't had a "Big Birthday" in Ohio since Dad also has a June birthday. Thanks to everybody for the cards. As you see in the photo, Cindy made a tasty chocolate cake!


For Cindy's birthday, we went to the Griffith observatory to see something new. We had a good time seeing the exhibits and really enjoyed the great views of the city and of the mountains.



One of the best views is of the famous Hollywood sign...a real estate promotion turned international icon.





When we got home that evening Cindy opened her card and gift. Somehow I convinced her that she didn't need any gifts, so she was surprised.

Graduation

Every now and then you come to a point in life that you know you'll remember and recognize as a turning point. I've had a few of those over the last few years. Getting married, turning 30 years old, watching my little sister get married, moving to California, and now completing my PhD. All of these things only happen once, but graduation has been one of my most hard-fought accomplishments. Here are some photos from the day.












This picture is inside the Convocation Center immediately after the ceremony.









This one is with my advisor, Chris, after the ceremony.












Brad gave me a Fisher Price medical kit as a gag gift. I'm testing the stethoscope in this photo.









Mom and Dad gave me a nice frame as a gift to display my diploma. I had a great weekend being back in Athens and Dayton. I was most honored to have all of my friends and family at the ceremony and spending the day with me. I wouldn't want to relive the many years of work to get here, but I certainly enjoyed all of them as I went along.

Memorial Weekend

Here goes my (Jeff's) first blog posting... I guess I'm running about a month behind.















For the holiday weekend, we visited San Simeon, which is the home of the Hearst Castle.

This photo shows W.R.'s lovely pool. I think I'm in the wrong business...

Next we visited Paso Robles, which is central coast wine country. Cindy enjoyed driving through the open farmland.















Finally, we visited a few of the Spanish missions on our return drive home. Here is one of them...La Purisima...which has been preserved and maintained as a state historical park.

I guess that's all for now. I'll update you on a few more of our events soon.


For more pics, visit our picasa site.

More Visitors!

For some reason, family are being drawn to CA during this time of year, and we are thankful for it! Jeff's parents recently visited and we were able to see several new sites as well as old favorites.
We're getting pretty good at this 'tour guide' gig, so we will be ready when you visit:)
Check out our Picasa Album for more pics from the week!