Big Dog Parade 2008

This is my new favorite Santa Barbara parade. Fiesta Parade & Summer Solstice have nothing on the Big Dog Parade. This is what parades should be: Silliness and costumes followed by a party at a beachside park. This was yet another adventure that would not have been enjoyed without my mentoring.

I Maddonari 2008

As many of you know, I am a mentor to a young boy through Hospice of Santa Barbara's "I Have a Friend" program. In addition to how happy it makes me feel to give back, I also gain the benefit of doing really cool stuff that I have lost touch with as I have gotten older. I Maddonari falls into that category. I will never post pictures or the name of the child I mentor due to confidentiality reasons, but a lot of the cool stuff I get to do is with him.

On a sad note, just before the event, the legendary Father Virgil Cordano passed away the week of the event. I know Father Virgil as the priest who did the liturgy services at Marymount, my private elementary school. I am not Catholic, but found him to be a really inspirational person, able to balance spirituality and fun in a way that made him an icon to Santa Barbara. He will be missed.

Shop Night Out

This year, it seems the bike shop has decided that having more social events is important. Conveniently, a brew house has opened up across the street from each shop. It is like the universe is calling for Bicycle Bob's Happy Hours. Check out these pics from a May outing.

Sam & Melinda at El Cap

On Saturday, May 10, 2008, we were pleased to attend the wedding of our friends Sam & Melinda. It was a non-traditional wedding held at El Capitan State Beach, with the reception to follow as a big beach party. We know Sam through the bike community (He has worked at Bob's with Roger and was one of the original team members of the race team now known as Platinum Performance), so there were quite a few familiar faces at the wedding, like Luke & Tiffany, Dr. Dave, Mike & Tiff and Kim.

After a beautiful, personal beachside ceremony:

The couple held their "receiving line" in a flower filled meadow at the end of a nature trail:

And we spent the rest of the afternoon toasting the couple and enjoying all the sun & surf that makes Santa Barbara great. A big thanks to Sam & Melinda for making my first visit to El Capitan special (can you believe it, I've never been before?!).