The 8th Annual Angel Adventure

This is my page about the Angel Adventure. Used to be, around Mid-June of each year, my family and I would go on a walk. Not just any walk, mind you, but a five-mile tramp around the edges of Angel Island (the reason the event was called Angel Island Adventure).

This year the event changed its name — not only because we couldn't fit all of us in one picnic area on the Island, but because we've grown the event to where it is being held in multiple cities. Last year we added an Angel Adventure in San Diego, another in Santa Barbara, California — and still another in Orange County, California. This year, we've gone "nation-wide" with the addition of an Adventure in Fox Valley, Wisconsin and Denver, Colorado. There are plans afoot for another Adventure on the East Coast, as well.

I'm writing this on June 8th, 2002. We just spent the day with new friends and old at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, California. We gathered together to celebrate life, to celebrate being together, to celebrate those we have known. And, of course, we were gathering together to raise funds for the National Brain Tumor Foundation.

One way or another, all of us have been touched by the disease - someone in our families or one of our friends or even we, ourselves, have encountered a brain tumor. I am one of the lucky ones. I am an eight-year survivor of a brain tumor. The tumor that invaded my head was a mixed type - consisting of part slow-growing oligodendroglioma, and part quickly-growing anaplastic astrocytoma. It's been gone now for eight years. It was hard to get rid of it, I lost my hair and some of my mobility... but I'm here. I made it.

A special note to those friends who donated so generously this year: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your kindnesses and your gifts to the National Brain Tumor Foundation. Thanks to you and others like you, the Bay Area Angel Adventure raised over $90,000.00 toward brain tumor research this year.  I'm saying "raised over..." because of a generous donor who is planning to contribute additional funds each time Barry Bonds hits a home run this June. Barry — if you're out there, I just want you to know we're all wishing you one heck of a June!

We had some special guests at this year's Adventure: Mark Ibanez, Sportscaster of Channel 2, Vida Blue from the San Francisco Giants organization, and Orlando Cepeda all came to spend some time with us today. The weather, as usual for this event, couldn't have been nicer, with the temperature in San Francisco reaching a balmy 75 degrees and sunny. What a great day this has been!

Here are some of the pictures my wife took, before the battery ran out on her camera (click the small pictures to view larger pictures)...

Vida Blue, Me and Mark Ibañez June 8, 2002	Janice June 8, 2002	Pre-Walk Opening Comments June 8, 2002
Thank you, Sponsors and Committee! June 8, 2002	Me and Vida Blue June 8, 2002	Me at Pac Bell Park June 8, 2002
Baseball? What baseball? June 8, 2002	Janis and Me June 8, 2002	Me and Jon June 8, 2002
Me and Jon (again) June 8, 2002	Mark Ibañez and Me June 8, 2002	Mark Ibañez June 8, 2002
Co-Founder of NBTF June 8, 2002	Co-Founder of NBTF June 8, 2002	Pre-Walk Gathering June 8, 2002
MC Mark Ibañez June 8, 2002	Reason for Walking #1 June 8, 2002	Me! June 8, 2002
Young Walkers June 8, 2002	Reason for Walking #2 June 8, 2002	Reason for Walking #3 June 8, 2002
Reason for Walking #4 June 8, 2002	Reason for Walking #5 June 8, 2002	Reason for Walking #6 June 8, 2002
Reason for Walking #7 June 8, 2002	Team Tony June 8, 2002	More of Team Tony June 8, 2002
Johanna's Reason June 8, 2002	Marcia, or Michelle? June 8, 2002	Marcia, Michelle and Me June 8, 2002
Me, again! June 8, 2002	2002's Memory Board June 8, 2002

Previous Years at Angel Island