Coaching for Pizza: So What Have You Been Up to Since Your Return From Sweden?

Monday, July 17, 2017

So What Have You Been Up to Since Your Return From Sweden?

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, . . .