May was a very difficult month. Even though we had fun on a few trips, we have received some news regarding my dad’s health. He has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is a cancer of the plasma cells. He is going to start chemotherapy on June 2nd with a bone morrow transplant coming sometime in the fall/winter. This news has hit our family pretty hard and we are trying to be as up-beat as possible. It appears that there will be several treatments going on for the next year or so and we should have a better idea as we move along how well he is doing. We appreciate the support and prayers of all our family and friends. As we received this news, we were fortunate enough to get a chance to see Beth, Pete, Laura and Claire for a few days before heading off to San Francisco.

May started out with a fun trip to New York with Randy, Anna and Julie. We went to Shan Wade’s wedding and made an extended weekend out of it. We all arrived on Thursday and went to a Yankee’s baseball game. It rained during the game, but it was great to see Yankee Stadium. Friday we went to Good Morning America (yeah, I held a pink sign on national television) and also went to the Statue of Liberty. Friday night we went to see “Chicago” on Broadway and then ended the night at ESPN-zone for a beer. On Saturday we went to do some window shopping and then went to the wedding. Now, I’ve never been to a black-tie wedding, but I’ve worn several tuxes at weddings. Apparently, when you put that tux on, you feel like you can do whatever you want…and this includes dancing with the mother of the groom and playing the “air guitar” around the dance-floor. I guess I should also note here that I got one of the waiters to give me a bottle of wine to take back to our room…which Randy, Anna and I finished off around 2AM!
Deb and I were also fortunate enough to take a trip to San Francisco in May. We arrived on a Sunday and went to a baseball game between the Giants and the White Sox. Brad and Jenn showed us a nice day and we had a great Italian dinner in North Beach. I had a training seminar the Monday and Tuesday we were there, so Deb had a massage and also got a hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli square. On Tuesday, which was also our second anniversary, we went to Scoma’s (seafood) for dinner and had drinks at the Top of the Marc (great panoramic views of the city during sunset). On Wednesday, we went to Alcatraz and rode bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge and had lunch across the bay in Sausalito. After taking a ferry back and see Coit Tower, we were ready to relax. Thursday we rented a car and drove to Napa Valley. We tasted at 4 wineries (Sterling, Peju, Plumpjacks, and Black Stallion). We enjoyed a nice dinner at Mustards and were off to Sonoma the next day. Again, we went to 4 wineries (Cline, Ledson, Chateau St. Jean, and Sebastiani). We had dinner at A Girl and a Fig and were ready to head back to San Fran and not taste any wine for a few weeks! On the way back to SF, we stopped by Muir Woods and did a quick 3 mile hike. Those had to be some of the oldest trees in the world! We spent our last day with Brad and Jenn, who showed us around to Haight and Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, the Pacific Ocean, and the Mission District.

So as you can see, May was a very busy month with a lot going on. We are ready for a few weekends of Indiana and relaxing with family and friends.