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There's some talk in meteorological circles that we might get some rain this week. So far only clouds. My nephew is out visiting from Connecticut, and was talking about the impending blizzard he will be flying back into. I am once again grateful for our mild weather. Rain would be good, though.

I walked along the local creek this morning. There were a few people out, but mostly I had the place to myself. There were two teenagers sitting on the only picnic table along the trail, smoking some weed and eating a pizza. As I walked past, they both said, "Happy New Year Sir!"

tree

After the walk I went to Target to get a new coffee maker, and some Moleskine notebooks to keep track of music I want to listen to. I got the same kind of coffee maker we have had. It only makes 4 cups, but that's perfect for us. Mr. Coffee.

I attempted a nap, but Malida came home and started making noise and turning on the lights. I got up and cleaned the new coffee maker and messed with a music playlist I am working on. It is the best of 2017, part 2. I did best of 2017, part 1 last week. There was a lot of great music put out this past year.

In the evening we met my sister and her family for dinner at a nice place downtown. They had eaten here on their anniversary, and wanted to take us and their visiting son for the new year. Our table was not in the main dining room, but in one of two wine rooms they have in the back.

Renee and Paul

My sister Renee and her husband Paul.

It was a nice room. Quiet so we could talk. The food was fantastic.

Ethan and Malida

My nephew who is visiting, with Malida. He is in the navy and works on a submarine. How old do you think he is? Nope.

scotch

I really wanted Malida to snag that bottle of 18 year old Macallan, but no go.

I believe that was the last of our holiday-related social events. We were supposed to have one more dinner at our house on Thursday, but the people who were coming backed out due to flu-like symptoms. Malida says, "good!"
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A shiny new year! A chance to start fresh. I didn't make any resolutions, but I did decide to keep doing what I have been doing.

One thing I changed is how I order my pictures on the site where I keep them. I usually keep the first 6 months in one file, and then have a part 2 for the second 6 months worth. This year I decided to separate them by month, as I saw one of my friends do. Seems easier to manage.

Malida woke me up while she was getting ready for work to tell me the coffee pot wasn't working. Looks like the heating element went out. I boiled up some water and poured it over the grounds, and we had coffee. I'll get a new pot tomorrow.

After she left, I wandered around for a bit, and decided to take a hike. I headed up to Auburn, which is about an hour northeast of here. There are all sorts of hiking trails up there. I had one in mind, but when I got there, I could see about 100 people gathering at the trailhead, so I went farther up. I guess everyone had the same idea. I found a spot near the north fork of the American River where there was a free parking spot, and headed up the trail.

north fork trail

It was a beautiful day that got up to the mid 60s. The trail is actually a really old roadbed that winds up a hill above the river. The road that replaced it is above, but that road has been replaced by an even newer road. The trail is popular with both hikers and mountain bikers. You have to keep an ear out because the bikers come flying down the path, and you have to get out of the way.

biker

Everyone I saw was super friendly and we all wished each other a happy new year. Whenever I would hear a bike, I would step to the side and see if I could get a good shot of them.

panning

At some point I decided to try some panning shots. It's where you set a fairly show shutter speed, and pan the camera as the person goes by, taking the picture when they are right in front of you. Ideally you get a clear shot of the subject with a blurred out background. This isn't the best shot, but it was fun to play around with it.

rapids

I also tried using really slow shutter speeds to freeze the water. Normally I would do this with a tripod, but this camera has some image stabilization features that make it possible to get a relatively clear shot handheld. Next time I will bring a tripod, but this was pretty cool.

bridge

After the hike I took the old road up to the new road, to the Foresthill Bridge. It is the highest bridge in California--730 feet from the roadway to the river below. This was my first visit, though I have been up in the area many times. All those people down under the bridge are Russian tourists.

bridge2

Another perspective.

It was a fun day, and I ended up walking about 6 miles. I feel good about that. This costal landscape class I am taking in the spring will involve a long hike, and I am getting ready for it.

After I got home, I stopped by to visit my friend Dan. He spent a good part of the day waiting in line to buy some now-legal marijuana products. He gave me some edible gummy worms. I haven't tried them yet.

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