I am teaching Alex how to tell cardinal directions by using two sticks and the sun
near the Pyramid Lake Museum.
We took Alex up to the observation platform at Heavenly Valley Lake Tahoe.
We took Alex on a Lake Tahoe cruise.
Alex riding a device called "The Turtle" in a park near home.
We went to Pyramid Lake...
near home to shoot off some fireworks.
Alex at 11 years old and just coming out from completing his first official SAT.
Alex's Official SAT results qualified him for entrance to the University of Nevada, Reno.
His total SAT scores were hundreds of points higher than the average college entrance score...
and for his math score in particular:
...and Alex was 11 years old at the time.
However...we thought Alex too young to go into university...
so, we entered him into Coral Academy of Science for 6th grade.
Alex kept getting various awards and acceptance into various gifted children university programs...
and from Mensa.
Alex was accepted into the Johns Hopkins University SET (Study of Exceptional Talent) program
for gifted children.
Alex loves fish.
We took Alex Black Light Bowling after him completing his SATs as a treat.
I taught Alex the basics of pool.
Alex riding his "Turtle" at a nearby park.
I took Alex to a nearby wilderness and reservoir area.
Alex and I climbed a nearby hill so he could practice plinking with his slingshot...
and then later with his bow.
I also bought Alex a BB gun to teach him the basics of shooting in our backyard.
Alex at a Lake Tahoe math camp.
He stayed for a week.
We visited Yosemite National Park.
We also went to Mammoth Mountain.
We ate near the top of Mammoth Mountain in a cafe.
Alex at a small amusement park for some relaxing fun.
Alex enjoying one of many nearby pools.
Alex on the way to his middle school.
We drove him to and from school.
We often ate out at different restaurants.
Alex relaxing at home.
Alex loved to read in his spare time.
We took Alex to nearby park for a ballon festival.
Afterwards...
we ate out.
Once Alex got into middle school...
I reviewed his homework with him.
We went to another nearby attraction for a hike.
We sometimes visited San Francisco or Santa Cruz from Reno.
There are many attractions at or near Lake Tahoe...
and so...
we often went, as it was so near our home.
We would often just take a ride into the mountains.
Alex studied at the dinning room table for a few years...
until we got him his own desk and full sized Mac computer.
We spent the day at Donner Lake and summit.
Alex loved math.
Alex turned twelve...
and we celebrated at home.
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Alex received his award from his earlier proctored testing:
Alex entered a national essay contest.
He had taken:
1st place local
1st place Regional
and 2nd place in the state...
just missing going to the nationals.
Alex and I discussing a topic at a sushi restaurant in Reno, adjacent to the Truckee River.
Alex in Las Vegas for his first ARML competition.
I bought some mountain bikes for all of us to ride...
although it would usually just be Alex and I riding them.
We would try many different nearby mountain trails.
After our mountain rides...
we would often stop in a restaurant to eat something.
Alex had a favorite spot on the sofa where he would often read.
We visited my elder sister and her family in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Alex and my mother in a Korean BBQ restaurant.
At the time...
my mother also lived in the bay area.
The Santa Cruz Pier was my favorite place to relax during my university years.
We visited San Francisco often.
We once went to Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July.
I took Alex camping at Pyramid Lake.
Alex is FaceTiming on his iPad to his mother at home.
I took Alex on a rather lengthy mountain ride in preparation for our mountain bike ride
down Mammoth Mountain.
We were both tired on our way back up this long mountain grade...
and had to rest multiple times before we made the top.
We are at home preparing for another bike ride in the mountains.
We are at Mammoth Mountain...
ready for the gondola ride up to the top for our ride down.
We had ridden down on an intermediate route.
After our long ride down Mammoth Mountain...
the tendons in my legs were sore for a week.
I took Alex on a medium length bike ride on a path adjacent to the Truckee River.
After our ride...
we ate at a river restaurant.
Alex sometimes enjoyed going to a blacklight miniature golf place.
Alex and I at a nearby park as we watched the setting sun.
He was always so affectionate and sweet.
During Autumn...
we would often take a ride into the nearby mountains.
Alex and his mother would often walk around the neighborhood.
For Alex's 13th birthday...
we went to a Teppanyaki restaurant.
Alex once again doing his favorite leisure activity...
reading.
Alex and I would exercise by walking a quarter mile while carrying weights.
During winter...
we would sometimes visit various ski locations.
Just one of many luminescent sunrises and sunsets we could often see from home.
Alex's first time snow sledding.
I took Alex to a nearby ski resort several times.
He learned to ski better than I ever could.
A comparison photo of me at 13 years old as a freshman in high school...
and Alex at 12 years old below.
You can tell how much more focused his eyes are.
Alex was far more mature and knowledgeable at this age than was I.
Actually...
Alex has always been far more intelligent in most respects...
than I have ever been.
Alex got my naturally wavy hair.
Although I am half Japanese (mother's side)...
I expressed my father's British Isle / Germanic / Nordic lineage on the outside...
and even more so the more I aged.
As Alex's mother is full Japanese...
this makes Alex 3/4 Japanese.
Alex and I at Lake Tahoe after he turned 12 years old.
I was 52 years old in this picture.
I had fully retired the year before.
I had taken Alex fishing...
and although we hadn't caught anything...
it was good to get out into the outdoors again.
In the next article...
I chronicle Alex from 13 through 14 years old.
Alex would continue to amaze us through some more
of his achievements.
But...
most of all...
Alex had always been pure of heart...
a very sweet and affectionate child
who was always gentle and kind to animals and to everyone he met.
As a matter of fact...
had we caught any fish...
I would have let them go.
It is one thing to eat already dead fish...
it is another matter entirely to have to kill them.
Alex and I are similar in this respect...
I also love animals.
