A little rest, relaxation and reorientation in progress.

I have not been to work since last Thursday. I have slept in nearly every morning since. I have stayed up past 2200 hours (usually way past my bedtime). I have had an 8 year-old here running amuck. Man, life is good.

This week has been everything I wanted, and really needed. I am firm believer that time away from work is sometimes what people need to get themselves back together and on the right track. The last couple of weeks have been crazy to say the least, and all I can say is this last week has been extremely nice.

As you can see here, Ben is here and we are down at the waterfront. This whole waterfront idea is Eureka's big plan for tourism and general city improvement. Its a good start, and provides a pretty nice area for people to wander around and see some of the "Historical Old Town Eureka." It has actually been a while since I have been down there, and I really enjoy the area. The harbor behind us is where the commercial fleet docks. There is a pretty big business in commercial crabbing, and the dungeoness crab here is excellent. During crab season here, head to the dock and get a couple of live crabs to take home. Excellent.

I honestly think we have about ten pictures, just like this one. I don't know how old this goat is, but he is pretty much famous in our albums. For whatever reason, probably his size, he is Ben's favorite. There is nothing better than seeing a happy boy a goat together, and thanks to the Sequoia Park Zoo for providing hours of entertainment for the small coast of a donation. You really can't beat the deal. I don't think any trip outside the house here excludes a trip to the Zoo. After all, its around the corner (we can here the Spider Monkeys and Gibbons in the mornings). Why pass up such a golden opportunity. And our little zoo is going to grow as well. I was looking at the plans they have for a whole slew of new animal exhibits. I don't know when the plan to have all this work done, but when it's done I would imagine it won't be free any more. We'll just have to wait and see.

One of the major factors in Ben's life right now is his Heelys. For those who are unfamiliar with them, Heelys are shoes with a skate wheel built into the heel. So the Boy runs a little and flips his toes up and rolls away. These are the only shoes he wears and it is a chore at times to get him to not skate (like in a store). But he loves them and revels in his ability to roll anywhere he wants to.

Prepare to be educated! This is the common Llama. This one in particular is fairly photogenic and was actually a little pushy about getting his picture taken. I would imagine it was the stellar hair-do he is sporting that gives him such a sense of self confidence. Anyway, back to the Llama. Llamas and their cousins Alpacas were actually domesticated a long, long time ago from the Guanaco (they look a lot like a Llama, but not as hairy). Our little zoo actually has a couple of Guanacos, and quite honestly, aside from the interesting information about their domestication are wholly unremarkable. I was simply looking for a reason to put this picture in the Blog and have basically forced it here with this small bit of trivia. Hopefully you fell a little smarter for it.

Lastly, our day ended with us back at the house. And after a long day of playing and fun filled activities, there is nothing better than sitting on the couch with a couple of cats and playing a few video games. Tomorrow (actually today, since I didn't post this yesterday) we are going to Iver's for dinner and I should have a few good pictures from that. We'll keep you posted.