My back improved well enough for my sons and I to take a trip up to the Bay Area to see my mom and a couple of days of sightseeing...which...I am very grateful for...because this may be the last summer my sons are all able to get away together...at the same time...My mom is not doing too well these days so I was glad my sons could hang out and spend some time with her....I don't expect her to live another year...but...I thought that last summer as well....she will soon be 93 years old...she still has alot of fight in her...but...her body is no longer cooperating....After three days of visiting my mom my sons and I went up to Santa Rosa and hung out for three days...We did a little shopping, going to movies, and some sightseeing...Normally, we camp out and do alot of hiking/biking, etc. but my back restricted what we could do. We did do a little bit of hiking which I probably shouldn't have done because my back is bothering me quite a bit now. I start therapy later today and hopefully that will help get me back into shape so I can resume some of my outdoor activities which I love to do but have had to put on hold for over a month now....the highlights of the trip included seeing the new Harry Potter and Die Hard movies. I enjoyed them both...very entertaining...The other highlight was the road trip we took to the coast one day when the fog finally took a twenty four hour break...I allowed my sons to drive most of the way...They loved it....We saw a really cool lighthouse....beach....a few Elk...and...just a lot of beautiful rolling hills...Northern California is very different, geographically, than Southern California...and...imo...much more beautiful...One can actually see Redwood groves...Elk...and wilderness....within an hours drive of San Francisco...and...Unlike Southern California...the folks up north haven't cut down every tree and covered the landscape in concrete...It's a whole different attitude up north...anyway...Just got back...and spending the next week at home...doing therapy...and...if I get better I hope to go up to my old stomping grounds in Humboldt country and spend a week or so before I have to go back to work in the middle of August...