mjgradziel.com    michael j. gradziel A decade long record of life as I know it.      Mike, most recently: We are married! Friday 23 July, at City Hall in San Francisco with our families we exchanged vows and rings and then went out to lunch. Joy stayed with her sister in San Francisco Thursday night, while I drove up Friday morning and parked my truck with the valet at our hotel. I hired a towncar and went to meet Joy along with Jomay and Adrian, and we continued to City Hall where our parents and my sister joined us. The short ceremony was perfect, conducted at the top of the grand staircase, and after taking hundreds of photos (expertly composed by Adrian, accomplished photographer) we went outside and boarded a vintage trolley that I chartered to drive us to Chaya for lunch. There we enjoyed tasty Cal-French-Asian food and a beautiful view of the sunny bay, bridge, and waterfront from our table by the windows. Afterward we walked out on the pier across from the resturant. Joy and I had a room at Vitale, a charming boutique hotel half a block away. We retreated there late in the afternoon and played a game of scrabble, supplemented by dark chocolate and red wine, before venturing out to a nearby favorite source of Peruvian ceviche where we ate far too much delicious fish. Saturday morning we went across the street to the Ferry Building farmers' market, where tasty hot breakfasts are prepared and sold. Then it was time to collect my truck from the valet and return home. Now that's done and we can get serious about wedding Phase II (Taiwan) and Phase III (big party for friends and family, this fall or next spring). see photos. Bio - Work - Projects - archived writings - favorite photos - textile collection - baking bread - recipes new house - kingdom plantae - our wedding - Photos and Commentary . . . follow the links: Pinnacles National Monument, and Emigrant Wilderness. June - July 2010. Unknown Coast, successful second attempt to see tidepools. May 2010. Yosemite with snow, Colorado, giant surf, and Pasadena revisited. Winter 2010. Lobster and Leaves in Maine and the Maritimes. October 2009. Hiking on the south border of Yosemite, and the Painted Dunes of Lassen. Summer 2009. Big Basin Redwoods, the Berkshires, and other things in the Bay Area. August 2009. Point Reyes and the Sonoma Coast, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Carmel-by-the-Sea. 2008-2009. Southern Italy: Two weeks from Calabria to Naples. A wedding, beaches, mountain hamlets, and much pizza. July 2008. Zion Canyon, the Subway canyon, Kanarra canyon, Bryce Canyon. June 2008. California wildflowers, snow and ice, Montana, Massachusetts, San Francisco, Anacapa Island, and other travels. 2008. Northern Argentina. Buenos Aires, Iguazu, Salta and the northwest, San Juan. November 2007. Climbing Mt. Whitney, berry picking, San Francisco, Catalina Island, and other weekend fun. Summer 2007. Lassen National Park, Rocky Mountains, Mt Baldy, Los Padres National Forest, San Francisco, New York. Spring 2007. New Zealand. Sixteen Days South with Joy Nov - Dec 2006. San Francisco, New York, High sierra hiking. Summer trips and photos. 2006. Monterey, Grand Junction, Tahoe, Antelope Valley, Sequoia National Park. 2006. The middle of Asia in the middle of winter. Beijing, then west to the frozen center of the continent to find mosques and mutton, among other things. Dec 2005 / Jan 2006. Sequoia NP Backpacking, Joshua Tree. A last hike in the sierras before winter, and a trip to the desert. Nov-Dec 2005. New York and MA in October The leaves turn color and Grandpa turns 90. Oct 2005. Berkeley, San Francisco, Wyoming, Santa Ynez, Palisade Glacier hike. more summer trips Aug-Sep 2005. Newport Beach kayaking, Laguna Beach, Rose Bowl fireworks. July 2005 Sierra hiking at Pine Creek at the edge of spring. June 2005 the Giant Burger, an American celebration.June 2005 Finding New England, A tale of what lives and lies along 1300 miles of New England roadways.April 2005 Desert wildflowers, Joshua Tree, Yosemite. weekend trips. 2005 Cycling in Mexico, Joshua Tree, Yosemite via snowshoes other fall fun. Fall 2004 Iqaluit and Pangnirtung in the Canadian Arctic, a land of ice and wind and carnivorous bears. August 2004 The road to Texas, on the best business trip ever. June-July 2004 Channel Island Camping, Paddling Castaic Lake, Sierra hiking. More trips. Summer 2004 Winter camping, beach in Baja, Joshua Tree, and other news. Spring 2004 French Polynesia: Tahiti and Moorea. December 2003 Phoenix Arizona, San Gabriel Mtns, California Desert. and the adventures from it. Fall 2003 Chasing the sun, six thousand miles west from Massachusetts to California. Summer 2003 Peru, Bolivia, Chile. Seven weeks solo. Mountains, rainforest, desert, and beach by bus and backpack. Summer 2003 Climbing Algonquin. To the top of the second highest peak in the Adirondacks. March 1, 2003 Notes and photos. Malibu beaches, Adirondack snow, RPI campus; weekend trips and photos. Spring 2003 Southern California. Three months of hiking, road trips, mountains, beach, and desert. Summer 2002 Mountaineering in Mexico. A week of climbing on the volcano Citlaltepetl, bustling rural markets, desolate hill towns, busy city streets, quiet alpine meadows, frozen ice gullies, wild taxi rides, and fine dining in central Mexico. Spring Break 2002 East Africa: a climb to the top of Kilimanjaro and a week in the Serengeti. Winter 2001 Adirondacks, Catskills, and White Mountains: Hiking and paddling in New York and New Hampshire. 1999-2003 Southern California. Scuba diving, hang gliding, snowboarding, hiking, rock climbing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, trail running, sailing, surfing, canoeing; Yosemite, the High Sierras, the Mojave Desert, Mexico, the California coast, the Colorado River, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Santa Barbara, San Diego, then a cross-country road trip to South Carolina. January-July 2001 Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. A return to the Algonquin highlands: gourmet cooking and beautiful sunsets on the wild but peaceful Canadian lakes, an evening in Ottawa, the Montreal nightlife... summer 2000 That '77 Honda Civic, the perfect adventure machine... summer 2000 Paddling the Connecticut. Two paddles and a canoe on the Connecticut river, fishing south.summer 1999-2001 Katahdin: a weekend in the Maine woods; Owl Mountain, Baxter Peak via Cathedral, the Knife Edge... summer 1999 Alaska, Three weeks and 1500 miles: camping on the banks of the Yukon, hiking in Denali National Park, exploring glaciers and mine ruins in Wrangell-St. Elias... summer 1998 Hong Kong and Beijing, Exploring street markets, cycling through villages near Beijing, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Imperial Palace... summer 1997 Mexico to Canada on the PCT, Dad's account from the trail in 1978. New York to New Orleans by bicycle and riverboat, 1944. Grandma's story. Questions or comments? email mike-at-mjgradziel.com Most photos are mine or Joy's (credits to others are in image captions); please credit us where appropriate.