Chris Brooks Newsletter 025
What a crazy month! After a cross-country drive from Oregon to western NY, we are back in Napa CA awaiting the birth of grandson Peanut.
1. 🚘 Where I've been traveling
After returning from our Arizona adventures in late March / early April, we returned to Napa for Peanut's baby shower. So much family and love surrounding Jacob and Kaitlin.
We then made our way down to southern Utah by way of Death Valley where the wild flowers were moving towards super bloom status. We spent two nights in Dead Horse Point State Park, an amazing Utah State Park that may as well be an extension of Canyonlands National Park. Being un-hurried and experienced with the area, we found plenty of time to relax, work, and revisit our favorite trails.
Next was a one night stop in Arches, focusing on the northern end and Devil's Garden. More practice offroading in our van on our way into Goblin Valley State Park.
Our big highlight was an extended stay at Capitol Reef, the often overlooked drive-by national park. The campground is nestled in the Fruita orchards with fun hiking options close by.
Then it was time to return to Sherwood Oregon to begin the process of emptying out our storage facility there. We enjoyed some play time coming through Utah and Idaho before landing in Sherwood to stay with old friends there. Our moving and storage work went just fine and we now have no possessions lingering in our former home town.
Our drive from Sherwood to Keuka Lake went well, and we even made time for a drive and two hikes in Badlands National Park. There's an amazing boondocking site just outside the north central part of park in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland.
After opening the Keuka Lake cottages (and a round of golf!) we locked everything back up, got ourselves to the airport, and flew back to California yesterday.
2. 📖 What I've been reading
Articles:
I'm a credit card reward hacking hobbyist still, so this Anatomy of a Credit Card Rewards Program was appealing and educational. I though I had a good grasp of the merchant fee side of credit card interchange, but apparently I did not.
I patiently devoured Peter Attia's straight dope on cholesterol series, trying to get a better handle on what Julie and I should actually pay attention to regarding lipid panels, atherosclerosis prevention, and new thinking around cholesterol. Those articles are over 10 years old and this is a very active field of research, so now Julie and I are listening to more recent podcasts. If you think HDL-C is "good cholesterol" and that LDL-C being high is the key indicator of atherosclerosis risk, you might want to spend some time updating your priors.
Books:
I finished Dead Lions by Mick Herron -- amazing how much plot detail you can forget after a two year gap watching the TV series! Good stuff. I see no reason not to continue the series.
In preparation for a Scotland trip in 2025, I'm reading A Course Called Scotland by Tom Coyne. Harvesting links golf course priorities as we roam with a large group to the west coast, northern highlands, and east coast.
3. 🍿 What I've been watching
YouTube:
Julie and I are watching all of The Sopranos so wanted a refresher on what Steven Van Zandt has been up to. This 60 Minutes interview was pretty good.
TV Shows:
Julie and I binged and loved the 3 Body Problem. I think the changes they made from the first book make it a better story, even if I don't love all of the casting choices.
I've only seen a smattering of The Sopranos episodes, mostly from random hotel stays with HBO throughout my corporate career. Julie and I are watching the series from the start, currently part way through season 3.
Movies :
The Zone of Interest is a creepy but amazing Auschwitz movie.
4. 🎶 What I've been listening to
Podcasts:
Still working through A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. Episode 156 right now.
Music:
Did you hear that there's a new Taylor Swift album?
The Loving Spoonful, especially John Sebastian's magical "Darling Be Home Soon."
5. 🎮 What I've been playing
I finished my Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough! Dabbling with a second run right now on a harder difficulty setting, but am mixing in some other games on my Steam Deck that have been gathering dust. This includes the great rogue poker game Balatro, Gloomhaven, and Skyrim.
Played two boardgames in real life: Apiary was OK, and The Fox Experiment which I'm still on the fence about. When Julie and I played with Jacob, I think I was wishing we had played Obsession instead.
6. ❄️ Future Winters
Julie and I are actively home shopping in Napa, with the plan of making this our home base of winter operations in the future. Stay tuned here – maybe I'll have specifics in my next newsletter.
See you in June!
-Chris