Here is a picture of me drinking Arrogant Bastard Ale at Trophy's before heading to the Street Scene.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
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.
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.
Friday, July 29, 2005
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.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
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.
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).
Friday, July 22, 2005
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.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
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.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
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.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
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 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.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
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.
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.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
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.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Monday, July 11, 2005
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
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.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
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.
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.
Monday, July 04, 2005
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.
Friday, July 01, 2005
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.
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