Halloween is a wonderful time of year. Leanne and I love dressing up in costumes. Even more than that, however, we love dressing up Miles!

Below are the many outfits of Miles.

This year Leanne and I dressed up as minions!

This year was eventful, particularly because we added a new member to our family! Miles, our puppy. When I started my 30th year, I set out a goal to record one second of video for every day and I just about did it. The idea for this was so I could remember the highlights of my year. Some days choosing just one moment was hard. Other days it was hard to find a moment to choose. Enjoy the video!

One day off for the week before switching to nights. There’s no time to lose! We headed straight for Winters, CA for the Blue Ridge Trailhead and proceeded to climb up the mountain. Miles handled the 5 mile trek like a champ.

Leanne had a golden weekend (what we call a weekend with two days off in residency), so we decided to make the most of it. Thursday night we packed our bags and Friday, right after work, I headed to Sacramento to pick up Leanne from UC Davis. From there we headed toward South Lake Tahoe, CA.

We checked into an AirBnB that accepted puppies. The plan originally was to ski since the slopes are normally teeming with fresh powdery snow by this time, but this has been an unusual year. Snow came really late and really little, so most slopes are still closed and the snow is not yet great for skiing. This did not deter us! We decided to go hiking instead!

We picked a hard 10.5 mile trail, out and back, that took us from the ground all the way up to the peak of Mount Tallac! We started at an elevation around 6000 feet and climbed up to 9000 feet!

The trail was hard but was breathtakingly beautiful. Miles had an absolute blast as well!

After an incredible effort, climbing jagged rocks and hardened ice for which we had to attach microspikes to our shoes to climb, we finally got to the top! Miles, amazingly at only 8 months old, also made it with us!

The views at the top were so gorgeous that words cannot describe it.

The problem came on the trek down. By the time we finally made it up, it was already well into afternoon. The sun would be setting by 4:30pm and if we didn’t go fast down, we could get stuck on the trail at night. South Lake Tahoe gets below freezing at night and the woods in the dark can also be dangerous due to bears and other wildlife. We had to get down the mountain and without delay. Those 5 miles down were the fastest I’ve ever hiked.

We were at the end of the trail when it got dark but we were close enough to use flashlights and make it through. Taking off those boots and taking a hot shower after that crazy all-day hike (from 8am until 5:30pm) was the best feeling ever.

The following is the documentary I made that captures the hiking experience. I can’t wait to climb the next mountain!

Leanne and I went to see Rocky Horror Picture Show, a live musical based on the musical comedy horror film from 1975 which parodies science fiction and B movies from the 1930s to 1960s. Definitely not our usual pick for theater, but our friend invited us so we went.

It was hilarious and wild, definitely filled with unexpected twists and turns, and was overall a lot of fun. Many of the people there have gone multiple times over the years and there’s a whole cult following for the film/musical. It always amazes me how many subcultures there are!

Leanne has been so busy in her away rotation in San José that she hasn’t had much time to hang out or recuperate. She had this weekend off so we knew we had to make it count!

We started on Friday night by going to downtown Suisun for dinner  at Cast Iron Grill. After a wonderful seafood dinner and a warming pumpkin drink, we headed for Craft n Cork for a nightcap.

The following morning, this morning, there was no time to lose! After we got up and got ourselves delicious Starbucks pumpkin cold brews and Miles a puppachino (he won’t let us go to Starbucks without getting his favorite order), we headed to San Francisco!

First stop was for Vietnamese coffee at Ilana’s. Vietnamese coffee is so delicious. Then we headed for Lands End beach.

Miles loved running around by the ocean and found so many other pups to play with. The weather was absolutely stunningly perfect and so clear you could see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge!

One of the best parts of the trip was that we happened to go right when the famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels were doing a stunt show with F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets!

The best part is the weekend isn’t over yet!

With a heat wave hitting Fairfield and temperature going up to 110, we decided to head for the cool Pacific coast and enjoy the day at the Golden Gate Park!

Mr. Miles got to meet ducks and geese, other puppies, and other dog lovers while we strolled through the whole park.

In the main area there’s a fairground location. In the morning on the grassy areas, groups of people were doing Tai Chi and other martial arts, which was very fun to see!

Miles walked miles and miles and did great! We will definitely be coming back soon!

Today for 4th of July, we had company over. For lunch I made my world famous penne with fresh grape tomatoes and basil from the garden and wild caught shrimp. For dinner of course we had to grill! Burgers, corn on the cob, grilled peppers.. mmm..

When it got dark out we headed toward Vacaville to catch the fireworks show. Of course the pictures don’t capture how beautiful they were!

Today is Saturday, July 3rd. It’s getting hot so it’s the perfect time to get out of town and head toward the cooler coast. Leanne, Miles, our friend Kate, and I packed up the Subaru and headed foe the coast!

First stop was an oyster restaurant near Point Reyes Beach. The oysters were so fresh and delicious!

Because the waters are so choppy near Point Reyes, there historically have been a huge number of shipwrecks. Right near the oyster restaurant was one such shipwreck which we had to explore.

Next stop was the Cyprus Tunnel! This is a tunnel made of cyprus trees that you can walk through. It was so beautiful!

Finally, it was time to head to the beach! This was Mile’s first time he’s been to the beach and he loved it! He learned how to dig in the sand and loved stepping in the sand as well. The Pacific water was freezing! However, nothing beats the serene sound of the waves along with the salty smell of the ocean breeze.

Miles is now fully vaccinated against all the deadly puppy viruses, and as such it was finally time to take him out to explore the big city. How would he do? We know he’s only been in the suburbs. How would he react to thousands upon thousands of people, hundreds of other puppies, bustling traffic, noises from every direction, and the smells. The smells! The smell of fresh mozzarella melted on the pizza at an outdoor table while walking past Little Italy, the smell of the bay over Fisherman’s Wharf, the smell of authentic Chinese food at the dim sum restaurant, the smells at the parks, the smells on the sidewalk. So many new smells!

Turns out our puppy handled everything like a champ. Not only did he not get overwhelmed by anything, but he adjusted to city life exceptionally fast! He got so many pets and praises from passerbys and he reveled in the attention! Half a dozen girls told him immediately that they loved him. One of the girl’s boyfriend looked at her and said, “what the heck? It took you a year to say that to me and you just met him!” 😄

Some of our puppy’s favorite moments were meeting other puppies at Washington Park, learning how to step on grates, getting showered with attention everywhere he went, and a nice long nap after about 5 miles of walking when Leanne and I ate at a restaurant at Pier 39.

When we finally went to leave SF, we put him to sleep in the backseat of our SUV. As we were driving out of the city, a whole family was looking at our backseat, smiling and waving at our car. So we look around to see what they’re looking at. Turns out Miles was sitting with his head looking out the window, smiling at the family and soaking up just a last bit of attention and love from the people of SF. We will have to take our city puppy back soon!