Summertime in the Sunset

Ok, the first thing that should be obvious about this picture is that there is NO WAY this pic was taken in the Sunset during the summer... shorts in SF in August?? This is AP in the middle of a huge water fight at our family 4th of July picnic up in Oregon (Columbia River Gorge). These guys look pretty fierce, but its for a good reason... on the opposing side is Benjamin!! We took two trips up to Oregon this summer, the first for windsurfing and the 4th of July picnic, the second for our wedding party / reception (also managed to squeeze a little windsurfing!). The Columbia river gorge is absolutely one of my favorite places on the planet... for soo many reasons... whitewater rafting, hiking, windsurfing, winery tours, cherries, Hood River, and of course relaxing with the family.

Maybe part of the reason we love (pretty sure AP is w/ me on this) Oregon so much during the summer has to do with the weather we have in SF during the summer. You'd think that living in Northern California would be fantastic in the summer, which it probably is in most places... except in the Sunset district of San Francisco. We were expecting some gloom when we left the Mission and into our home in the Sunset, but July and August were simply depressing... I guess I shouldn't complain too much because I was able to get several days of windsurfing at Crissy field, several of which I was on the 5M sail (means good wind), and we took lots of fun trips to south to Santa Cruz and north up to Sonoma. But really... its crazy to think that I regularly had to use my windshield wipers driving to work (due to the fog), and wintertime jackets in the middle of August if you want to hang out in your back yard. Last comment on SF summer temps... average temperatures in August in SF were LOWER than Anchorage, Alaska!

Here is a link for more pics... http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradoteeple/sets/1216335/