I Bought a Mustang!

However, it is currently in 1000s of pieces waiting to be assembled into a car and then delivered to me in 6 to 8 weeks. I told the salesman at Perry Ford, who was very nice and didn't pressure me at all to buy, about my bad experience at Mossy and he took another $100 off the price. I ordered a 2006 GT Coupe Premium, redfire metallic, 5 speed manual, interior upgrade, side airbags, alarm and 18" wheels. What am I most excited about? Being able to select from 256 colors for the dashboard lights! That and the fun of driving my first real sports car. So now I wait.

Avoid Mossy Ford!

First off, DON'T GO TO MOSSY FORD! Let me regress. First I went to Kearney Mesa Ford where no salesman came near me - which was nice. All their Mustangs were MSRP, except for one V6 with dealer installed wheels - 245/45Z18 - for an extra $4000! Why on a V6? Who knows. They had several redfire Mustangs, so I was able to see which wheel looked the best with that color, and the premium aluminum did. So then I left and drove down to Mossy Ford, and as soon as I stepped foot on the lot, a slimy looking salesman rushed towards me. I tried my best to get rid of him, and when I asked for his card so I could leave, he said his cards were inside, which I knew was a trick. He took me straight to his sales manager, who tried to sell me a car today for $500 below MSRP. I told him that I didn't want to buy a car today and said that this was my second bad experience at Mossy Ford and then I left. I got home after eating lunch (another interesting story) and then took the business card, tore it in half and threw it away. My previous bad experience at Mossy Ford was a similar situation. I was interested in a blue Ford Escape. The salesman I was talking to then brought me to the sales manager, who tried to sell be a red model and told me that the color didn't matter because when you are driving a car you don't see the color except for the hood. Does that make since? No! So through the power of blogging, I am doing my best to keep people away from a dealership that I think is not worthy of your business.

Mustang Test Drive

Today I took two 2006 Mustangs for a test drive. First an automatic and then a manual. What surprised me the most was not the power, but the leg room. I actually had enough room for my tall legs. I didn't get a chance to really drive the car fast or hard because I was in Poway I there are sheriffs around every corner. The cars had plenty of power and rode fairly smooth and yet steady. They didn't have the color I wanted, Redfire Metallic, but I might end up custom ordering a Mustang so I can get the options I want without searching all local dealers for a close match.

Broncos Defeat Sundevils by one Point.

National Monuments in Arizona

The last leg of our trip took us through Arizona where we made very quick visits to two Indian ruins and a friends house. We first stopped at Montezuma Castle, where there are cliff dwellings to view. The photo on the right is all that there is to see, really. So after 45 minutes we drove down to our hotel in North Phoenix.

The next day our only plan was to visit some friends in the area, but since we had a few hours to kill first we zipped out to Casa Grande National Monument. This Indian ruin was more impressive than the last, plus you could walk right up to it (but not go in). It is covered by a large roof to prevent further erosion. There was a nice museum with interesting facts about the history of the region, plus other smaller ruins from this once thriving civilization of the 14th century.

Our last stop (almost) before heading home was to visit some friends. They had to leave an hour after we got there, so there wasn't much time to talk. The long drive across the desert on New Year's Eve brought us to the Palm Springs area for one last visit with some people I had never met. I arrived at my house before the new year and before all the drunks hit the road. At midnight I celebrated the new year with a shot of Jack Daniel's and had two days to relax before going back to work. It sure would be nice to take a vacation like that every month.

Grand Canyon in the Winter

We left Kanab early in the morning with a quick stop at trusty McDonald's for a McBreakfast meal. Our destination was the south rim of the Grand Canyon, and to get there we had to take a long and very scenic route through Navajo Nation. We arrived at the Grand Canyon rather quickly because the roads were vacant of all the summer travelers. There was plenty of sunlight left for picture taking and enjoying the beautiful views from the rim. After a few stops we ate lunch, checked into our hotel and then walked to the Rim Trail. Plenty of good viewing areas along the way and the picture taking was non-stop. Just after sunset we decided to eat at one of the nicer restaurants, but even in the winter, there was a 45 minutes wait. The fish I ate was a little dry, but the beer sure tasted good after spending the last four days in Utah where all the brews were 3.2 beer. After dinner we realized that we had over a mile to walk back to the hotel - in the dark! We walked along the main road, following the white stripe on the right side of the road which was visible only by the light from the brightly shining stars. It was very cold and as people drove by us on the street, blinding us with their headlights, they probably wondered who those crazy people were walking in the dark. Once we got to our rooms, I fell asleep very quickly. The next morning it was a blustery 8 degrees outside as we headed off to breakfast. Our goal was to hike the South Kaibab Trail down to Cedar Point. Once again, because it was winter, traffic was light and parking was available at the trailhead. The beginning of this trail takes you straight down the side of a cliff - at least it seems. From there the trail descends more gradually along switchbacks to a place called Ohh-Ahh Point. I don't think I could have made it any farther because my knees were hurting pretty bad. The hike to this point was 1.5 miles and included almost 1000 feet of elevation decline. We rested, took more photos, and then started our hike back up. Even though it was very cold, we quickly unzipped our jackets as we got very hot, as can be seen by this photo of me near a sign warning hikers not to attempt to hike down to the river and back in one day (Yes, more people gave us strange looks as I posed for this shot). It took us about an hour to hike down and not much longer to hike back up. This was a very rewarding hike. The views down inside the canyon are uniquely different than those from the rim, plus it was good exercise. This concluded our eventful trip to the Grand Canyon, which was actually just my second time visiting the South Rim. The first time was way back in 1983 with my brother and father!

Bryce Canyon in the Winter

Continuing on our Winter vacation, we left Salt Lake City and headed south to Kanab, stopping at Bryce Canyon on the way. This was my fourth trip to this national park, and the second time I've been there in the winter. The snow on the ground provided a very scenic view, however, it prevented us from hiking down into the canyon, which I have done before and would like to do again.We arrived about two hours before sunset, so we didn't have much time to enjoy this crowd-free visit. After a stop at the visitors center, we continued on to Kanab, UT, where we ate a very filling dinner and rested up for the next day's drive to the Grand Canyon.

Mardi Gras Trip ...

... has been canceled! My friend started planning a trip to New Orleans a year ago, long before Katrina, to celebrate our friends 40th birthday. We were going to surprise him, but because most of the invitees couldn't go, including the guest of honor, the trip has been canceled. Instead we will make our yearly trek to Phoenix for Spring Training baseball in late March. Someday I'll make it to The Big Easy, maybe even during Mardi Gras.

Time For Cigars and Whiskey

A 3 Liter Bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale

Opened for the first time in five years for a special occasion.

Joey Smoking a Cigar

The Stragglers Finishing off the Food and Beer

Karl Strauss Firkin Jan 06

Latter Day Stout

By now you are probably getting tired of seeing pictures of me holding a beer (a trend started by my sister). I know I am. However, I traveled all the way to Salt Lake City just to try the Latter Day Stout at the Desert Edge Brewery. This stout had great flavor, however, it was a little to watery for me. I like my beers dark and thick. I would have liked to try their other beers, however, I dragged my brother and sister-in-law here and they don't drink beer, plus we had other sites to visit (see previous post). Next time I'm in SLC I'll revisit this place and try their other selections of brews and food.

Christmas Time at the Mormon Temple

During Christmas, the grounds around the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City are decorated with bright, colorful lights and open to the public. It is quite a wonderful site. The tree you see on the right in this photo must of had one million red lights. It looked like there were lights on every single branch and twig of the tree. Walking around and looking at all these decorations really got me into the Christmas spirit, even though Christmas was already over.

HP Officejet 7310xi

Up until one hour ago I was happy with this printer/scanner/fax which I bought at Costco. When I printed a simple document, half the lines were missing! After several printer cleanings, which use up paper and expensive ink, the printer is almost printing normal again. I had an Epson that would not print well after weeks of non-use, but I expected more from this HP printer. If it keeps giving me trouble I'll have to take advantage of Costco's return policy (you can return anything except computers anytime for any reason).

What a Perfect Rainy, Winter Day

Today is the perfect day for a winter storm. I had planned to stay home and do laundry, watch bowl games and post blogs, which is exactly what I'm doing now, all at the same time! I'm not looking forwards to going back to work tomorrow. I don't even know if I still have a job. I would rather stay on vacation - for the rest of my life.

Christmas and Skiing in Utah

Spending Christmas Eve and morning in a Casino was kind of surreal. We drove to Mesquite on Christmas Eve, stopping in Las Vegas for a buffet and a visit with relatives. On Christmas morning, we ate a breakfast buffet at the casino and then I gambled and lost $1 playing slots. Gambling on Christmas must be a sin, but oh well. From there we drove to our Aunts husbands son's house for a Christmas meal. This too turned into a buffet, with lots of good food and desserts. Most of the people there, and it was a full house, were not directly related to me, so it was nice of them to invite us on a short notice.

The day after Christmas we went skiing at Alta. Now I hadn't been skiing in over eight years, so I felt like a beginner. Even though I have my own skis, I still rented. Skis are now shaped differently, making them easier to turn - or so I was told. I still had trouble turning and had to snow-plow way too much. I think part of the problem is my right ankle moves around in my boot, plus I could use a ski lesson, which I have never taken.


The ski conditions were almost perfect. It snowed the whole day, so there was a nice thin layer of powder covering the hills (much better than ice). The only problem was with the blowing snow it was sometimes difficult to see the terrain. I quit around 3:00 as my legs were getting tired and sore. Back at the car, we saw that there was about 4" of snow on the hood.

The next day I convinced my Brother and his wife to go cross country skiing. There was a place in Park City where my sister and I skied before. It was on a golf course with three different trails to choose from. This time we opted for the 3 km one. By the time we were done we were all tired, hot and ready to stop. Cross country skiing is a lot of work, and yet still fun, at least I think so. So we returned our rented skis, ate lunch and went back to our Aunt and Uncles house for the night.

Family in Salt Lake City

Here is a family photo taken in Salt Lake City after Christmas. It wasn't easy getting this many people to pose for a group photo, plus I had trouble setting the timer on my camera. It took many tries to get this picture, but I think it turned out well. Everyone was smiling because they had been laughing at my Uncle and I as we attempted to operate our cameras.

2006 Rav 4

They took my 2001 Rav 4, stretched it 14 inches and added a larger optional V6 engine. I don't know if I like the look, but I like the extra interior room and horsepower.

Orange Hot Rod

This car really stood out at the car show. Not sure what it was, other than very orange and without tail lights.

2006 Mustang at the Car Show

Here's my brother sitting in a new torch red Mustang. I prefer the redfire metallic color, but all new Mustangs look good.

2005 San Diego Auto Show

Cute but expensive two-seater at the car show. We walked the entire floor, spending time looking at the hot new Ford Mustangs and ignoring the boring Lincons.