Days 42-45

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Wendy and Logan arrived at LAX about 9pm last night. I'm very happy Wendy was willing to fly down and visit, both so that I could see them and so they could meet my new friends and enjoy some of the California weather. Wendy's been a real trooper and flying with a 17 month old who wants to jump down and run around on the airplane wasn't easy. This was Logan's first airplane ride and while he liked it and thought the turbulence was funny, it's a long time for him to sit in one place and Wendy had her hands full keeping him occupied and using his "indoor voice."

We didn't have classes today, but instead Jim Lee, President and COO of Stater Brothers' Markets, came and spoke to us along with the folks here this week for the FIM Executive Program (including Andrew). Jim was great and talked a lot about his experience with Ralph's, Wild Oats, and now Stater. I've been very impressed with all of our speakers and the candor with which they speak. They'll answer any question you ask if they possibly can and give very personal accounts of how they made it to where they are now.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Since we had today off, I took Wendy and Logan down to the beach. Logan had never been to a beach with actual sand before and at first he didn't like it. He kept trying to brush it off of his hands and feet, but after about ten minutes of sitting on the sand he started playing with it and dumping it into and out of a bucket while Wendy buried his feet in the sand. We only stayed for about an hour so that he didn't get too much sun, but we had a great time.

Above, Logan and Daddy. Below, Logan playing with Mommy.

After the beach we stopped at Bristol Farms to pick up a few things for dinner. They're probably the closest thing to a Haggen there is down here, except perhaps Gelson's, but neither one is as big, as nice, or as friendly as a Haggen, on top of which their prices are out of sight. That said, they're still neat stores with some interesting and unusual items and Bristol's meat program is pretty terrific (including their dry aged beef).

Three of my friends - Ron (Unified), Michelle (Dole), and Dawn (Safeway) - came over for dinner and we had a great time. It was nice for Wendy to get to talk with them some more and hear from other people what the program was all about and what they thought of it. Ron also scored some big points with Wendy by bringing Logan an Easter basket with some trucks and other fun stuff to play with in it.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Today we took Logan to the L.A. zoo. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking very smart about the trip and we didn't leave until noon. The Zoo is only about 25 miles away, but it ended up taking us two and half hours to get there because of the traffic. When we got there it was in the low 90's so most of the animals weren't too excited about getting up and moving around. We still had fun and Logan really liked the Giraffes and Zebras.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Wendy and Logan flew back to Bellingham this morning and I got back to business. It was great having them here and now I feel like we're coming into the home stretch.