GTAMTV14

July 31, 2014

July 30, 2014 Photo (211/365): "Day 1 of GTA MTV"

Outstanding Educators • Creative Leaders • Ambassadors for Change • There is no box! • Moonshot Thinking • Solving for X • Google Classroom • HyperDocs • Thinking Inside the Sphere • Google Iron Chef • All Aboard the Magic Google Bus • Problems of Practice • Defining Challenges • Inspiring Ideas • MTV Video Teaching Awards • Minute to Win It • Google Culture • Magic Moments • Pinning Ceremony • Celebrations... I can't believe I'm actually here!

So much Google swag

What an amazing ride it's been...

Everything is blue and red and yellow and green... and Everything is Awesome!

Learning

July 29, 2014

July 29, 2014 Photo (210/365): "Learning"

I spotted this sculpture in San Francisco at the intersection of Broadway and Columbus avenues. Research revealed that Language of the Birdsby artists Brian Gogginand and Dorka Keehn, depicts a flock of 23 illuminated books "flying" over the North Beach street corner. Solar panels on the roof of the nearby City Lights Bookstore power the books' LED lights that scatter patterns on the street below. Passing under the flock, pedestrians will see words and phrases inspired by the neighborhood's legendary Beat poets, San Francisco Renaissance poets, and Chinese writers. I wish I were walking so that I could read the poetry. According to SF State Magazine, in Kabala, Renaissance magic, and alchemy, the language of the birds was used to communicate with those initiated into profound secrets -- the key to perfect knowledge. This seems like such an appropriate symbol (albeit low tech) for the next two days as I experience GTA MTV. Let the learning begin!

Apple Campus at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino California

(Is that bad? I love both Google & Apple!)

Learning straight ahead...

Carmel

July 28, 2014

July 28, 2014 Photo (209/365): "Fairytale Cottage"

Today, we were on the road by 5:00 am to beat the traffic south through San Francisco. We made it to Carmel-by-the-Sea before anything was open, so we started our day with a walk along the beach. We were so lucky to witness a pod of about a dozen dolphins playing a few hundred feet from shore. The locals walking their dogs said that it had be years since they'd seen so many dolphins. Later, we strolled through the quaint town, window shopping and spotting the "fairytale cottages," designed by Hugh Comstock in the 1920s. After lunch, we drove along 17 Mile Road which hugs the coast of the Monterey Peninsula through Pebble Beach, Lone Cypress, Seal Rock, and Monterey before heading north on the Pacific Coast Highway. What a nice way to end our California vacation!

Tasting

July 27, 2014

July 27, 2014 Photo (208/365): "Vineyards"

For the past three days, we have been touring Wine Country -- Sonoma and Napa Valley, California. We began our vacation in San Francisco with a quick overnight stay; but since we were there last year, we left town in the morning, drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, and were in Sonoma County an hour later. Per a friend's suggestion, our first stop was

Merry Edwards

in the Russian River Valley to try their Pinots. Although we enjoyed all three vintages (Coopersmith, Georganne, and Sonoma Coast), we were most impressed by their

Sauvignon Blanc

. The wines were great, but the tasting felt like a business appointment since it took place in a small office. Our next stop was lunch at the

Willow Wood Café

in Graton -- great sandwiches. Our server suggested three local vineyards (one for the gardens, one for the animals, and one for the view and the sparkling wine). Guess which one we chose? Despite the 99° temps, we enjoyed our outdoor sparkling flight on the top of a hill. Although we tried five vintages, including one first served at the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in 1983 and that continues to be served at the White House, we preferred the classic brut.

Sparkling flight at Iron Horse

Gracianna - one of our favorites

On Saturday, we drove along the scenic Alexander Valley highway to the Napa Valley. We began our day at

Sterling Vineyards

where we took a tram up into the hills to visit the winery and tasting experience. The view was spectacular! After our tour, we had a delicious lunch at the

Rutherford Grill

where we met the president of a local winery and her chef husband who offered more suggestions on their own favorite vineyards and restaurants. We took their advice and visited

Saddleback Winery

; we weren't disappointed. We ended our Saturday in Napa at

Domaine Chandon

where we tasted 11 different sparkling vintages before enjoying a bottle of

Étoile

and truffled popcorn on their beautiful terrace.