Monday, July 17, 2017:
First and foremost,
Happy 46th Wedding Anniversary to my bride Laurie!
Since our return to California, we have been quite busy.
Let's see what we have been up to . . .
Camarillo YMCA Flag Football
game watching Holtz Murphy
in action our first weekend home
News from the Wäsby Warriors,
new turf was just installed at the
Södervikskolan practice facility!
Much of the past few weeks, we've had fun being with our family again.
Grandson Jacob with a
bunch of new Star Wars toys
Mike, Mary, Jacob and me
Hiding from Mary
Blowing bubbles in the backyard
Just a fun day!
Meanwhile,
in Burbank, California . . .
I LOVE Daim chocolate!
We bought four jars of sill at
$2.49 a jar here
They coast about 50 cents a jar in Sweden.
With Pat FitzGerald,
we were the two finalists in the
Carpinteria Beach Best Beard Contest
Pat won.
With Andy, Jenn, Laurie and
Kevin at Cronies for breakfast
The Las Vegas crowd came into Camarillo for my 70th birthday celebration on July 7th.
With Kevin at Camarillo's
Air Museum
Kevin in a cockpit of a
vintage plane
I Love WWII nose art
While these plane markings are
interesting . . .
. . . these are OUTSTANDING!
With Kevin and a bottle of
Coca Cola labeled CONTRERAS
at the factory
Mary impishly invading
Jacob and Kevin's games
Selfie
Kevin, me and Jacob
Mary getting cuddly
Mary riding the rocking horse
the her Great Grandpa Bill made
for Laurie in about 1950
Delicious cake for my 70th
trip around the Sun
With Andy and Mike
Kevin and Jacob sharing a quiet
moment after we ate
some birthday cake
I love this photo of former
Rio Mesa H.S. teacher/coach
John Velasquez as he finished
his Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage
about a week ago
A great accomplishment that I am sure has had a positive influence on John.
At the Rio Mesa H.S. Passing and
Linemen's Tournaments
With Ryan Bolland the
Head Coach of Buena H.S.
Ryan played Varsity football at Buena in 2002 and 2003 when I was coaching there. He would also coach with me in Sweden with the Hässleholm Hurricanes back in 2010.
I think he will do a great job at Buena given some time.
Buena H.S. lineman
doing a Power Clean in the
Rio Mesa H.S. Linemen's Tournament
Rio Mesa Spartans in red
That crossbar could use a new coat of paint before the start of the season.
We had Jacob over at the house for a sleepover, I asked him what he wanted to do. His enthusiastic answer . . .
"Go to the Camarillo Library, Poppo!"
COOL!
I enjoyed seeing many of my former
Rio Mesa H.S. colleagues at the monthly
retirees breakfast at Eggs and Things
in Camarillo
We cruised down to Newport Beach, California to see our college friends Sandy and Loren Brucker.
A GREAT spot for lunch
Simple decor led us to fabulous
fish and clam chowder at
the Crab Cooker
The Newport Beach Wedge,
one of California's most famous
and dangerous body surfing spots
It was relatively calm on this day.
Neighboring Balboa Bay was
even calmer
The iconic Ferris Wheel
at the Balboa Fun Zone
Newport Beach's equally iconic
Balboa Pavilion
A new found hole-in-the-wall
Mexican restaurant in Costa Mesa
Laurie loved her soft taco and I
was happy with my carnitas burrito
This led up to last Friday's lunch meeting in Burbank with fellow University of Washington alumni and, as it turns out, Coaching for Pizza blog groupies, . . .
. . . Mike D'Antuono and Paul Sabolic
It was fantastic to see these two reprobates and share tales for a couple of hours.
Since we met in Burbank, once our lunch meeting was over I headed over to the Burbank branch of Porto's Cuban Bakery.
There is Porto's on the corner
This is why I came
Dylan Moore in action with his
Camarillo YMCA Flag Football
team last Saturday
On Sunday we headed with
friends to enjoy the 104+°F heat
in Las Vegas for a few days
while staying at the Flamingo
46 years of wedded bliss
The Vegas Strip at night
The Flamingo's pool was
THE place to be today
So what's up next on the American football coaching scene?
A great 17 day experience
in August in Mexico City
I'll be south of the border in August to first coach the Europe Warriors all-star team's Special Teams in our game against the UNAM Pumas.
After coaching the game, we will remain in Mexico City for about a week to conduct clinics for Mexican players and coaches.
Do I have any coaching plans in the works after the exciting Europe Warriors experience?
Stay tuned . . .
Reading Is FUNdamental
A solid read that again
gave us good insights
into the stark life living
in the Scottish Hebrides
