Elton’s fingers still fly with an amazing reach to play his signature chords and get down with a little rock and roll boogie woogie piano.

Got an extra half-hour with Elton John engaging the audience between every song and often stepping out from behind the piano to chat us up. Evidently the show two days before was cut short when Elton John threw a tantrum and left the stage after 35 minutes. Now he seemed eager to make it up.

As you can see, the chameleon piano morphs its skin to match the nifty visuals on the background screen.

With three percussionists, the band made itself felt. When they reached a crescendo, my clothes would literally vibrate.

Good vibes indeed!

Here is the fun and scenic route we took that day. The hybrid was so quiet, we surprised a bobcat on the road. No photos of that either. She ran the other way in an instant.

Back at the ranch, the newly planted trees are fenced to protect the new kids on the block from browsing animals.

If you appreciate the Nature Conservancy’s work, or just want to do a Good Thing, please visit my personal fund-raising page and consider a donation.

Of course the Google-plex has its share of parking lots, but maybe more interesting is the alternate transportation.  Over the hill lounge the shuttle buses, waiting to take the Googlers home.

Further down the bay are the NASA blimp hangers, in process of restoration by Google execs in exchange for parking spots for their personal jets.

Plenty of grass to go around, even early in the season

A day off from dressage for this self-assured athlete:

What can I say about this beast that hasn’t already been said by the dog?

Here’s what the horse thinks of that!

In the end, I made a new friend

1. It sits right up at the top of Skyline and drops steeply to the southwest, giving expansive views of the redwood forest out to Monterey Bay
2. Its on and off and on the closure list of state parks, which means you might want to check out those views while you still can.

On Feb 26, I acted as the sweep for a Sempervirens Fund hike around the Saratoga Gap and Ridge Trails.   Hike leader Scott Peden snapped excellent photos, including a panel of wildflowers.  He also got a great shot of the woodpecker we saw.

Here’s Scott pointing out all the land across the San Lorenzo watershed — half of which is scheduled for closure in July if it can’t find funding.

Along the trail…my role as caboose gives a nice vantage point.
Nobody can resist touching the Madrone “refrigerator trees”.  Old growth redwoods live in Castle Rock, too.

When you visit Castle Rock State Park, I just have one request:  Please pony up for parking or buy a parks pass.  Your dollars count towards keeping the parks open and maintained.

The 911 memorial is under construction, but meanwhile we have this one:

Of interest to traders and train riders:

The subway mosiac leads to NYSE behind protective fences:

No tours of the exchange, so back on the train:

NASDAQ on Times Square:

Oh yeah, I did work on this trip.  Here’s my presentation on Divergences at the Traders Expo New York:

Finally, a little rest and refreshment in the room:

So rather than ski the mega-steeps, I got to photograph them from afar.   Here is The Brink – the steep run on the top right – a favorite from last year.

Its was tough (sarc):  11 inches of new snow on my birthday and I had to ski green groomers.   At least the cake was good!

Even though I wasn’t presenting, I decided to go to the Expo and attend the sessions.   As a bonus, my cousin Kris was in Las Vegas the same week and so my mother decided to come along.   Here’s the three of us in the cafe in front of the Paris hotel:

A good time was had by all !