Room View in Key West

This is the view from my hotel room in Key West. Looks nice. Too bad I never went swimming. I did walk by the pool many times on the way to the pool bar, where I drank Hurricanes and Yingling beer. Yingling is very common on the East Coast. Every bar seems to serve it and it doesn't taste too bad.

I spent most of my free time sleeping, eating and watching movies. I saw Corpse Bride and Lord of War. One was a basically a fairy tale and the other was violent and depressing. Guess which is which. Both were good.

Angry in Virginia Beach

Here is the photo I've been trying to upload for the past week. They have these signs all over in Virginia Beach. I had to get a photo of one with me disobeying it. Nearby shop owners were giving us strange looks. I had never been to the beach part of Virginia Beach. It looks like a fun place to be during the Summer. After Labor Day eveyone goes home for the Winter.

Key West Stay

I was going to come home a day early but the airplane ticket was $500 more, so my boss axed that idea. If it is not raining then I will try to do something other than watch a movie during my extra day. Hopfully rain will not keep me here longer on Thursday.

Trip Report

I've been trying to upload photos from my phone, but Blogger keeps rejecting them. Once I figure the problem out I will have some interesting pictures to share from my trip.

Beer at Smokey Bones

After this beer I got a free beer because I was the only one drinking Guinness and they had an extra.

KGB Skyshow Fireworks

They said it was going to be louder than last year, so out came the earplugs. Actually, I found the show boring. There were no new special effects, no original theme and very little other than lots of fireworks. At least the Aztecs won their first game of the year.

SDSU Game/KBG Sky Show -- Beer!

Michele (with one "l") looking for a way to escape our drunken group.

TD-18/TS Rita Wins

My trip to KW is postponed due to Rita. I'll try again next week, just in time for the next storm.

Tropical Depression EIGHTEEN

This storm is headed straight towards Key West, and so am I. Tuesday should be interesting for me unless one of us changes our travel plans.

Harvest Moon

Actually, tonight is a Harvest Moon. Go out and take a look. I tried to take a photo of the Moon, but the exposure was wrong. Guess I'll just listen to some Neil Young.

Blogger Problem

There seems to be a problem accessing photos uploaded to blogger.com. Sorry for this inconvenience. Hopefully they will have it fixed soon.

They fixed it.

Interesting HDTV Forum

Since I am looking to buy a HDTV, I do a lot of research on the Internet. It is hard to find unbiased reviews of HDTV, but I found a forum that seems to have just that. There are threads on individual HDTV models and the people who post have the questions and answers that I am looking for. They discuss how the picture looks, what problems they are having and how to solve their problems. I am thinking of getting a 42 inch LCD, and there are threads about the new Samsung, Sony, Sharp and JVC sets. So if your interested, give this site a visit.

Brooklyn Electronic Stores

Since I am looking to buy a HDTV, I found this web site interesting. When you search for a HDTV online, the lowest prices seem to be from stores located in Brooklyn. I would rather buy from a local store where I can return the product if necessary, even if the price is higher.

Blog Spam

I finally got hit with blog spam! So now I have to turn on "word verification". Sorry to all you who post legitimate comments on my blog. Please don't stop posting just because you have to type in some extra letters.

WTC Photo 1999

It is that time of year again. The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I may have posted this photo before, but I still feel lucky that I was able to visit the World Trade Center in 1999. This is a photo of me on the roof taken on a sunny Spring afternoon. Look at how grey me hair is not! Later this day I ended up walking through Central Park during an Earth Day celebration. I was lucky to be on a business trip with weekends free. A quick ride on the Long Island Rail Road got me to New York City. I haven't been back since but someday soon I hope to visit this fine city again.

SDSU vs. UCLA

The crew eating and drinking before the big game against UCLA. We are in a tailgate party (Cafe Azteca) within the main tailgate area (SDSU Athletic Foundation), where we pay an extra $15 for all you can eat food and drinks. The food is really good, with roast beef and chicken, but the beer choice was between Miller Lite and a Pilsner from the Czech Republic (I don't remember the name). The Pilsner wasn't anything to blog about, but very drinkable.
The Aztecs have never beat UCLA, and this game was no different. There were lots of UCLA fans wearing their team colors, and by the third quarter the Aztec fans got really quiet. That was about the time we left. There are five more home games in the season, with the KGB Skyshow being the next. I will be out of town and will miss this big event.

Firkin Beer!

I know I look wasted, but I'm not. I'm drinking a special brew at Karl Struass just tapped from a Firkin keg. No one at our table liked the beer but me. Others were drinking it because it was free or giving it to me after a few sips. Yes, the Strauss Stout was better, of which I had two.

LASIK Eye Surgery Results Two Year After

The strangest thing happened to my eyesight last month - it got much better! Almost two years ago I had LASIK eye surgery. My vision was around 20/30 after six months. My one complaint was that my vision got worse during the day. When I drove home from work street signs look blurry, but then after eight hours of sleep my eyes were fine again. Over time my vision got blurry earlier in the day - until last month, when my vision suddenly improved! Street signs look sharper than ever all day long. My close-up vision is also better. I don't know what happened or why, but I'm going to see my optometrist soon. I hope this vision improvement isn't temporary or a result of some kind of brain tumor!

The Actual Pyramid

We didn't hike up to the top of the pyramid this time. Nothing much to see up there anyways. They were advertising eight new condos with beach views available soon, so now is the time to buy your weekend getaway home.

SD Crooner's 45 Birthday!

SD Crooner with a cute young chick at Rosie O'Grady's in Normal Heights. We went on one of our bike pub crawls along Adams Avenue, only we started at this bar and never left. Well, we left to go eat dinner at a friend's house (She cooked us pork chops with rice and beans, and we saw her cat's five kittens!). Then we went to another bar but left because it was dead and ended up back at Rosie O'Grady's, where "Rufus" was hosting Karaoke night. There were was a strange (interesting) mix of people (OK - young and weird) in the bar, so we left after a few drinks and the night was over.

Mex Beach on Saturday

I wish San Diego beaches looked like this on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The sand is clean, the water is cool and refreshing, and no families with screaming kids to be found.

Fountain Photo

Woody and I hanging out on the fountain. I thought it was strange that the fountain was working during the time that they were trucking in water due to the water not working. Photo and the Photoshop enhancement complements of the SD Crooner.

Homies

After returning from Mexico, where we ate Mexican food all weekend, we headed to a local Mexican restaurant for a shrimp burrito. While we were waiting for our food we found a "gumball" machine that dispensed Homies. My friends collected a few of these tiny figures that they discovered at other Mexican restaurants. These two, Fat Boy and Bullet, are from series 8. There are 24 in each series. No, I don't plan on collecting them, I just think that the idea of producing a collection of Homie figures is funny and original. They cost $.50 or $.75 each, and you never know which figure you will get. If you get a duplicate, you can always trade.

Pyramid Resort 2005

This past weekend I made my annual trip to the Pyramid Resort in La Mision, Baja California. Last time I went it was cold and foggy the whole weekend, this year it was warm, sunny and froggy. We usually go on Labor Day when it seems half the population of San Diego is there. This weekend the local bars were dead. Also, we couldn't get any one to play Elvis Whiffle Ball with us, so we just practiced hitting. To entertain ourselves, we turned the game into "Dorf" Whiffle Ball. You had to be there to understand unless you remember the "Dorf on Golf" commercials. We are thinking of going back in three weeks when many people said they would be able to make the trip, but people always say they want to go, but don't. I have many more photos from the trip to post later, so stay tuned.

No More Worms or Ducks

I finally have something to do this weekend. I'm going down to Mexico! Hopefully the area where people don't get shot or kidnapped. This is our annual trek to the Pyramid Resort. As I sit in my hot house, more strange men are outside washing the walls in preparation for painting the building. They seem to paint every five years around here. I'd rather have them re-roof the building so the winter rain doesn't leak onto my nice new ceilings. If I don't leave my condo soon, I may be trapped by the spraying water, so off I am.

Picnic at Mission Bay

A rare company picnic. Food and drink for free!

I Found the Ducks

After seven years of living in this neighborhood, I finally found the "hidden" lake. All the signs were there. People walking with fishing poles, a blob of blue on a map and ducks crossing the street. I had never tried to find the lake before today, which was the goal of my evening bike ride. It took me about 15 minutes of following dead-end streets and climbing steep hills before I saw the unmarked path to the lake, which lies about 1000 feet from my home. Riding my bike down to the lake, I saw ducks swimming happily and a man fishing for dinner. Mystery solved.

House Back in Order

The painters came in force this morning. Four men arrived at 9:15 and they were finished by 1:30. My ceiling looks great. Better than I expected. It was worth the money and hassle. It took me the next three hours to put all my stuff back in its place and I feel much less out-of-wack.There is still work to be done: new entertainment center, putting unused furniture in the garage and installing a shelf in my computer room.

Waiting for the Worms

Tomorrow a painter is coming over to paint my ceiling. My house has been in disarray ever since I had my popcorn ceiling removed over a month ago. At the time I didn't realize that the process required two steps: removal and painting. It will be so nice to have this home improvement project finished. I can hang pictures back on the wall and redisplay my action figure collection. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do during the day, as I can not stay at home while the work is being done. I guess I'll go for a drive and listen to some more Pink Floyd.

Afternoon Beer

Yes, I do sometimes eat a meal without drinking a beer. Sometimes. It is just that no photos are taken on those occasions. We were celebrating my brother's (not pictured) birthday at Oggi's and I was the designated drinker.

Bald Ernie

Ernie is suddenly popular with the ladies. They like a bald head.

Starships Above

The Enterprise and Voyager flying high above at the entrance to Quark's. Next time I come here I will hopefully have more time to enjoy the entire Star Trek Experience. It seemed like a fun place for a Trekkie like me.

Reception Gift Opening

The newlyweds opening the cards and gifts that they told people not to get them. Don't they look cute? The reception was a blast that lasted long into the night. Everybody came out for this "small" wedding. I talked to people I hadn't seen in years.

Jayne and Mark's Wedding

I took this photo after the wedding. The 15 minute wedding was very nice.Quick and too the point. I'm happy for my friends and their new life together in Las Vegas. I also now I have someone to visit when I am in or passing through Vegas.

Drinking at Quark's

Here we are drinking a mini Warp Core Breach at Quark's. After we each ordered our first drink, we saw another table getting served this cool looking concoction, so we had to try it. You can't tell, but the there is steam rising from the "fish bowl". I tried a Mind Meld also, which didn't impress me. All their cocktails have clever Star Trek names. My favorite was the James Tea Kirk. I had to explain this to the others - they are non-believers. I had to drag them to this off-Strip hotel, but they all had a good time. No stay at Quark's would be complete without the Holy Rings of Betazed, our last food before the evening's wedding.

Smoking a Hookah

I didn't know what a hookah is, and I still don't, but this is a different way to smoke a cigar. We chose a mango flavored one, and unlike when you smoke a cigar the traditional way, with this contraption it is not as harsh (not that I smoke cigars too often).

Monte Carlo Pub & Brewery

Drinking a Silver State Stout at the brewery. I didn't try the other beers (except for a small sip of the Red and Wheat) so I can't tell you which one is best, but the Stout wasn't bad.

Vegas Weekend

Tomorrow I fly to Las Vegas for the weekend. One of my best friends (MG) is getting married at The Little Church of the West. It will be a fun weekend, despite the heat. I will bring my camera and take some pictures to post afterwards. Who knows what I will photograph.

Pre-Street Scene Beer

Here is a picture of me drinking Arrogant Bastard Ale at Trophy's before heading to the Street Scene.

Street Scene 2005 Review

Last night I attended Street Scene at the Q with my sister. We started the evening with a beer and dinner at Trophy's. It was a good thing that we drank two beers because those were the only beers that we would be drinking the whole night. We made the mistake of waiting to get our wrist bands and by then the lines for the wrist bands (which allow you entrance into the beer gardens) were so long that we weren't willing to wait one hour and possibly miss an entire act. On the positive side, we saved money and I didn't have to worry about driving home.

The first band we saw was Hot Hot Heat. I had heard a few of their songs on 91X and wanted to check them out. They played an energetic set, with a few slow (boring) songs thrown in. After that we made our way access the parking lot, which was quite and long walk that we made several times during the night (just ask my legs this morning!), and listened to Kasabian. I had never heard of them before (although I recognized one of their songs). They were the surprise band of the night. All their songs were good. Their singer obviously had some electronic effects added to his voice, but I kind of like that sound - reminds me of the bands of the 80s.

Flogging Molly is a must-see. When they start playing, people rush to the stage to join the always wild mosh pit. I describe their music as angry, intense Irish songs. They know how to energize the crowd, especially with their George Bush basing statement (leave politics off the stage, I say). After about 20 minutes we went to see Black Eyed Peas, who were either a no-show or started way late. Since they will be opening up for Gwen Stefani later this year, I will catch their act then (not that I am a really big fan). This allowed us more time with Flogging Molly before we ventured over to Garbage. Now I have all their albums, and love their music, but I does not translate well into a live show. Shirley Manson sounded remarkable as did her band, but they never got the crowd going, everybody just stood there listening.

The next set of shows were the headliners. We mistakenly missed most of Social Distortion's act while waiting for The White Stripes to play. After waiting for over 45 minutes, we listened to Social D, who were the loudest band there. They played one of their new songs, which was surprising good. Then we heard music coming from the next stage and rushed over to catch The White Stripes. With only two band members, their performance was not what I expected. After two songs we made our last stop to listen to a few songs by The Killers. Once again, I was not impressed. So we journeyed to the trolley to beat the rush and got back to the car rather quickly.

The good: more space, no pushing, quality bands.

The bad: no beer (due to long lines), late bands (due to traffic, I guess), fewer stages, less variety of music (no Zydeco, Ska, ...), younger crowd (I felt old).

Will I go next year? Probably not, unless they resolve issues mentioned above.

Bloggers Help Missing Woman

Someone must have read my post about all the media attention that is given to missing rich, white women. When I read an article about a pregnant woman that had been missing for nine days, I thought, "She must not be a rich, white woman or her face would have been all over the news eight days ago." Sure enough, I was right. She is black and Hispanic. This article in the USA Today discusses how bloggers were partly responsible for getting this woman some media coverage. After all, we all know that Natalee Holloway won't be found alive, so lets try to find someone who might still be.

Summer Vacation 2005

Keith's summer vacation 2005: This year I planned my summer vacation around my annual trip to Lake Tahoe, once again. I had originally planned to drive to Utah first, but those plans fell through thanks to poor planning on my part. Instead, I spent my first day driving to Bishop, CA. Pictured here is a sign I saw as I took my first bike ride of the trip. 3205 miles is a long way to ride, so I think next time I will fly. A little web research found this information about this very long highway. It took me about eight hours to drive to Bishop, so I was ready for some exercise. Besides, there wasn't much to do in this town. After my ride, I ate dinner at Whisky Creak, a restaurant within walking distance of my hotel. They had a selection Mammoth Brewing Company beers, of which I tried and enjoyed all four, especailly the Double Nut Brown.

The next day I headed north to Mammoth Lakes. Since this drive was so short, I took the long way there. I headed up Highway 6 to a town called Benton. From there I took a turn to the west where I saw a sign saying "No services next 47 miles". I looked at my gas gauge at it was close to empty! So a quick U-turn I made and filled my tank up with gas at $2.79/gal.The drive across the mountains was very scenic. There was no one else on this road. I rolled down my widows so I could smell the clean, crisp mountain air. It didn't take long for me to reach the 395 and then Mammoth, where I arrived before hotel check-in time.

My first destination was the Inyo Craters. I had been here once before during the winter, where my friend and I hike through the deep snow to get there. This time I was able to drive to the trailhead and take a short hike. I extended my hike as much as I could, walking around these interesting holes in the ground. From there I ended up driving to some lakes above Mammoth. Pictured here is Lake Mary (I think). I took a short hike and snapped a few photos. I would have like to taken a longer hike, but since I was by myself and didn't have any maps and not enough food, I didn't walk far. I drove back down to Twin Lakes where I hiked by some campsites to the base of a waterfall. This looks like a great place to camp, despite the threat of bears.

By now I could check in to my hotel. I got there by early afternoon and after a short break I hopped on my bike and went for a little ride. After about 45 minutes I was done. At 8000 ft., this was the highest elevation I had ever ridden. After another break, I ate a steak dinner a local restaurant and then turned in for the night.

The next morning I concluded my Mammoth stay with a trip to Devils Postpile. I took the shuttle as required and was lucky to have a bus drive that was very knowledgeable about the history of the national monument. She gave us a very interesting overview during the drive down into the valley. The hike from the ranger station to Devils Postpile was very short. All of a sudden I was there! Because of the position of the sun, it was hard to find the best angle to take a good photo of this strange formation of rocks. After a short hike to the river below and then to the top of the Postpile, I headed on to Rainbow Falls. It always amazes me the number of people that are ill prepared for hiking. They have no water and are wearing sandals! I had two bottles of water and good hiking boots.

The hike to Rainbow falls wasn't that difficult, but the sun was very intense, and the last 1/2 mile of the trail was an area devastated by a wildfire a few years ago, so there was no shade. Rainbow Falls was one of the best waterfalls I have ever seen. A steep hike to the base of the falls provided relief in the form of a heavy mist. A few photos and movies later, I began my trek back to the shuttle stop for the ride back to my car.

The drive to Lake Tahoe went by quickly. I arrived at the house by 5 PM, before most of the others, who had driven up to participate in a softball tournament. I come just to watch, since I don't play softball. The weekend tournament started off with a loss, but after three wins, the team made to Sunday. The morning game didn't go so well, and after a valiant effort by the players, they lost their second and final game - time to party! After all, we are at Lake Tahoe.

The rest of the week we did the usual: bike ride, hike and boat ride on the lake. The hike this year was a repeat of years before, but with more people. There was about 16 of us on the hike, kids and adults (I'm not sure which one I am). It was the children leading the group, anxious to reach our destination: Eagle Lake. Once there, we relaxed. The kids took off their shoes and waded in the water. I walked around taking photos.

Our bike ride was fun as usual, but with two flat tires and one wipe-out. The boat ride on the lake was enjoyable. I opted not to ride the inner-tube for fear of dislocating my shoulder like last years disaster. I did however swim to the island in Emerald Bay and jump off a rock with the kids. It was funny. After swimming back to the boat, the rock looked much smaller and shorter than it did when I was standing on the top about to jump in the cold waters.

After a few nights of beer drinking and poker games, I needed to drive home a day early so I could attend the Comic-Com (see posts below). The drive took eleven hours, and due to lack of sleep, I was lucky I didn't close my eyes and drive off the road! The desert was extremely hot, but my car's A/C saved me. Once again, another fun trip to Lake Tahoe.

Strange Summer Weather

I woke up last night around 3:30 AM to the distant sound of rumbling thunder. Looking out my bedroom window, which faces the east, I saw the brilliant flashes of lightening illuminating the sky. Some of the bolts of lightening branched out in a web-like pattern, producing a wonderful natural light show. Because it was so hot, I had my window and blinds open which made the thunder much louder. As the hour ticked on, the storm got closer until I heard a strange sound - rain! It actually rained for about an hour, and I continued to hear thunder until almost 6 AM. Summer thundershowers are not unheard of here, but still very rare. Apparently this storm is being driven my the remnants of Hurricane Emily, which formed in the Caribbean and moved west over Mexico. The best part of this storm is that the cloud cover has cooled the air and now my house is around 74 degrees (yesterday it was almost 90 inside).

Another Rainbow Falls Movie

Click on the picture above to see Rainbow Falls in action (warning: larger file to download). When I hiked to the base of the waterfall the mist it produced felt so good in the noontime heat. A lady there told me that when she was here a few years ago this waterfall was far less spectacular.

Rainbow Falls in Action

Click on the picture above to see where Rainbow Falls got its name. I arrived at the best time of the day to get this movie.

Autograph from Clare Kramer

Here is a scan of the autograph I got from the Buffy actress.

Spring Training 2005 Group Photo

My friend just sent me this photo of my friends and I taken at the Braves park in Orlando during Spring Training. Yes, the shadows are shading our faces, but you can still see that we are all having a great time.

Comic Book Conventions Web Site

Somehow a link to my blog made it on the site comicbookconventions.com. My blog is being visited constantly by people interested in last weekends Comic-Con here in San Diego. I now wish that I had brought my camera and had taken more photos to share like I did last year. I'd like to thank all those visitors who spent their time reading my posts.

Comic-Con 2005: Days 2 & 3

Saturday started off with breakfast at Dublin Square - the same place I ate dinner the night before. I won't say the food was bad, but it was cold and the portions were small. After a quick walk to the Convention Center, I began my tour of the booths that I missed the day before - mostly the big corporate ones like Star Wars. Pictured below is a Christmas tree that has way more geeky ornaments than my tree. Because my legs were tired from the day before I ventured to the Stargate panel. Since I don't watch the show I took a lunch break until the Family Guy panel started. They showed a few clips from the new Family guy DVD movie and explained that the DVD had good stuff that they can't show on television, which is hard to believe after last weeks barfing scene (which was really funny).

I then tried to get into the Serenity panel but the line was too long, so I went to listen to Ray Bradbury and other legendary authors speak. All three were very old and had to be reminded constantly what they were talking about. I almost fell asleep until the moderator called up a special guest: Arnold Kunert. Never heard of him before? That's because he is a nobody. His only claim to fame is that he knows Ray Bradbury and apparently got Ray Harryhausen an academy award. How do I know Arnold Kunert? He was my neighbor and English teacher in high school. He was a bad neighbor (with a mean wife) but a good teacher.

The next presentation in this room was The Simpsons. Matt Groening is always fun to listen to. He's one of those people who never has a serious answer to a fan's question. The highlight of the panel was when they showed the introduction scene to this years Halloween special.

After that panel was over is was time for dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery with a group of fellow Comic-Con attendees. Nothing tastes better than a good Stout beer after a day of watching people dressed up as their favorite movie or comic book character. In fact, as we walked to the trolley, we saw Chewbacca riding in a pedicab up 5th Ave - classic!

Sunday I had intended to buy some action figures, but didn't because then I would have to carry them home on a crowed trolley. I just attended two panels: The 4400 and Starship Smackdown Finale. The 4400 is a show on the USA network that I had never seen befpre. They showed a new episode and it was surprisingly good! I might even DVR a few episodes. The Q&A was not so good since one of the producers (Ira Steven Behr of Deep Space Nine) did all the talking while the actors just sat there waiting for him to shut up. Since I had to rid myself of some morning coffee, I left and had lunch.

The final panel of the day was the Starship Smackdown. This is one of the geekiest panels at the Con. Basically a group of seven sci-fi "experts" debate which starship (of 16 chosen by the audiance) would win in a battle against another starship. This years winner: The Defiant from Star Trek DS9 (which beat the Millenium Falcon). It was way past my time to go home and get ready for my return to work after a two week vacation. I really need to find a way to retire at age 38. I'd like to take a two week vacation every two weeks.

I want this tree!

Homer on tree.

Comic-Con 2005: Day 1

After a much needed eight hours of sleep, I continued my vacation by going down to the convention center for the 2005 Comic-Con. The parking lot at the trolley station was already full, so I headed downtown and found parking near a shuttle stop. The shuttle got stuck in traffic, but I still got there before 10 AM and quickly obtained my pass. The day started out poorly because they were making everyone line up in rows upstairs to enter the exhibit hall. By the time my row was let in, all the doors to the hall were already wide open! Way to control the crowds.

I headed straight to the Diamond Select Toys booth hoping to buy the Welcome to the Hellmouth Vampire Darla Figure. Only 1500 of these figures were made and they had been on sale for over a day, so I was afraid they would be sold out. Luckily, there were stacks of them left so I bought one. The DST booth also announced autograph signing by various actors, including Clare Kramer, who played the hell goddess Glorificus on Buffy the Vampile Slayer season 5. I finally decided to get her autograph (which did cost $15, including a 8x10 photograph of her). She was actually very nice. She asked my how my day was and signed the photo "Keith, Y Best Wishes, Clare Kramer". Very nice. Something to frame and hang on my wall.

Most of the day was spent wandering up and down the halls looking at all the exhibits. This is no easy task since the hall is so big - just ask my legs! The only panel I wanted to see today was the Battlestar Galactica one. They had a producer and some of the cast. This show must be popular because the room was almost full and the audience was very loud. Other than showing a few previews of season 2, there wasn't much to see. After that panel was a presentation of Bones, a new drama on Fox. They ended up showing the pilot episode in its entirety. The episode started off really good, but ended rather abruptly. The star of the show, Emily Deschanel, and supporting actor, David Boreanaz, spoke after the screening. I must say that David Boreanaz is a much better speaker. He was both very funny and intelligent sounding. Emily Deschanel played her role as a forensic anthropologist perfectly, but when answering questions she sounded like an idiot with her silly giggle.

I had some time left so I walked over to the Star Wars Spectacular, hosted by Steve Sansweet. I was an hour late and didn't see any surprise guests they might of had. When the Q&A started, I headed out the door and ended up at an Irish Pub drinking beer and eating a chicken boxty - very tasty. Now I need to rest up for the biggest day - Saturday.

Anakin/Darth Vader

First Half of Vacation is Over

I'm back from Lake Tahoe - many blogs posts to come, including non-cell phone photos. These posts will have to wait since I'm going to Comic-Con for the next three days (missed today due to long drive home), which I will also be blogging about daily.

Lake Tahoe From Roof of House

Deck view

Eagle Lake

Hike to lake.

Poker Game.

Poker

Fun at Zephyr Cove

Beach

Devil's Postpile

Devils Postpile

Inyo Crater at Mammoth.

Inyo Crater

Rainbow Falls at Devil's Postpile

Rainbow Falls

Off I am to Bishop

So I'm having this dream where I'm running from a huge tornado that is heading towards me and I suddenly wake up - just it time! Then I hear my quiet doorbell ring. It is the windshield repair man. Since they didn't call me back I wasn't expecting him, but I'm glad my car is ready for the road trip. So off to Bishop, CA I go.

Packed and Ready to go

I'm leaving tomorrow for my vacation to Lake Tahoe via Bishop and Mammoth. My car is packed with everything I might need including a box containing among other items Windex and paper towels in an attempt to keep a family tradition alive. My only stress right now is I was going to have a crack in my windshield repaired today but the damage was to much so the windshield needs replacing. No time for that until I get back.

I might have access to a computer and internet on this trip but I like to avoid computers when I'm on vacation, so I might just be posting photos taken from my cell phone. I will have my digital camera, so expect copious pictures to be posted upon my return.

Pacific Beach on the 4th

I took this photo as I rode my bike along the boardwalk in Pacific Beach. All these people having fun in the California sun. I began my morning trek (on my Trek) near Sea World. I followed the bike paths to Ocean Beach where I had to dodge lots of dogs, especially near Dog Beach. The smell of all the BBQs made me hungry. From there I biked to Mission Beach, with a detour out on the jetty. From Mission Beach I followed the board walk to Pacific Beach. The city did a great job of widening the path, making room for bikers and pedestrians. However, this improvement only works if the people walking stay out of the bike lane! Anyways, feeling famished, I ended up at Jack In the Box where I bought a bacon double cheese burger on Ciabatta bread. I don't eat many burgers these days and this one tasted stupendous. With my full stomach, I headed over to Sail Bay and wound my way back to my car (encountering many clueless people standing in the middle of the bike path). The round trip took about three hours. Now it is beer time.

Craziness

Now what? 'P' is on the table, 'T' is making faces and 'S' - well he is in his own world. This picture would be better without all the clutter in the foreground. However, I'm just happy that I got a photo of 'T' before she left us.

I'm on Vacation!

So now what? My plans take me to Mammoth next Thursday. I'm thinking of leaving a day early and staying in Bishop on Wednesday. Tuesday I have some chores to attend to at home. So that leaves the 4th and this weekend. No plans for the 4th. Sunday I might go to the O.C. for some entertainment. Saturday sounds like a good day for a bike ride around the bay. And tonight, Friday? Well, I was going to go camping again but it turned into a situation of "Two's Company and Three's a crowd". Oh well. Time to catch up on T.V., laundry and blogging.

More Picacho Pictures

Steve enjoying a massage. I hope my turn is next.

Another view of the surrounding scenery. Just before sunset the rocks seem to glow brilliantly.