Weekend Getaway to Needles

Most people don't think of Needles, CA as a place to visit in the middle of the summer, but that is where I ended up this past weekend. A friend of mine was going there with some friends and didn't want to drive, so I said I'd be happy to drive my Mustang. We didn't leave SD until 4PM on a Friday, so we hit traffic everywhere and it took six hours to get there.

We were staying at a house that belonged to John Lee, the man who died in a plane crash last month in Needles. John Lee's girlfriend had some stuff to take care of in town and she invited people out. The first place we went to once arriving was a bar called Red Dog, which John Lee recently bought and was in the middle of renovating. Needles isn't a big town, and there aren't many bars, or any non-abandoned building, around. The Red Dog bar is not like bars I'm used to. They allow smoking inside, the beer is very cheap, and people are there to drink lots of it. I referred to the clientele as "fat, stupid people", which I know is not very nice, but I couldn't believe just how stupidly drunk people were getting. When we went back on Saturday night it was even worse, with fights almost breaking out and one drunk man started yelling at drunk woman accusing her of spilling his drink.

The house was located on the banks of the Colorado River. John Lee had a boat and it was docked below the house. Some people got up early Saturday morning and went water skiing. I hung out at the house during this time and went on the boat later with everyone. The boat had room for about 15 people and with only 9 of us there was plenty of room. We started by speeding down the river to get to the "sandbar", which was a sandbar in the middle of the river where everyone anchors their boat and walks around drinking and who knows what else. It was quite interesting. This was actually my first time doing anything like this, so it was all new to me. After about an hour we headed back to the boat and hung out a little longer. Then it was off to Topack, a bar/restaurant located just off the river, where you dock your boat and walk up a ramp to get to.
We had lunch and drank some beer, including the Topock Swordfish Amber (which I called the Toprock by mistake). We where sitting in the bar area and noticed a TV above the bar with photos being displayed. We soon realized that the photos were being taken of people in the bar when we saw pictures of us! There was a man walking around with a digital camera taking photos and then downloading them to a computer to display on the screen. It was actually very amusing to see peoples reaction when they saw themselves, especially when they were caught in a "compromising situation". As the sun was setting, we headed back to the house to relax before hitting the town again.

On Sunday we woke up early, once again, and ate breakfast at the "usual" place, Jedro's Wagon Wheel. Lisa, who was John Lee's girlfriend, knew the owner and we were treated like royalty, with at least 5 people serving us and making sure we had enough coffee and food. I ate the chicken fried steak for some reason.

After the meal, we made one more river run on the boat before most people had to head home. I wish I had been out to Needles before John Lee's accident. People say he made sure everyone had fun. He bought everyone's drinks at his bar and let everyone stay at his home, which had beds for at least 16 people.

Steve and I left around 4PM and ended up taking a short cut home. Traffic was really bad on the I40, so we took back roads down to the I10, only making one wrong turn in 29 Palms. It still took almost six hours to get home, where I slept like a rock after spending the weekend in a 110+ degrees desert.

I almost forgot to say what a fun, relaxing weekend it was and I hope I have a chance to go back there again.

Old Man In Needles, CA

Topock Swordfish Amber on The River

Topock

Colorado River in Needles

American Airlines Follow-up

After my flight got underway after a four hour delay in Miami, they announced that headsets would be free. Wow, that is a $2 value! I had my own so I didn't take one, but when they asked what drink I wanted I asked for a rum and Coke. Turns out that was free too. A $5 dollar value. Now today I got an e-mail from American telling me that I'm getting 7000 free frequent flyer miles. Much better. I didn't even have to ask.

Back to the Gym at Last

After a six month hiatus, I finally made it back to the gym for a light workout. I took it easy so I wouldn't be in too much pain this week. I stopped going to the gym back in March because I was spending so much time hiking, and the hikes were a way better workout than I was getting in the gym. Then after my big hike, I got sick and it took me over a month to recover. After that I went on the two week trip to Key West where I was so busy working I didn't have time to visit the so-called hotel gym. But now I'm trying to get back into a normal routine since my travel is over for now and I feel semi-healthy.

Travel Delays in Miami

Well now it was my time for some travel delays. My flight from Key West to Miami was on-time. Then in Miami everyone boarded the plane and after ten minutes the pilot said there would be a delay while the automated landing system is checked. Then, after another 15 minutes he said they were checking the engine. Then after another 20 minutes he announced that the plane was being taken out of service but the flight wasn't canceled. First they told us to stay on the plane until they determined if there was another plane available, then they made everyone de-plane and stand in a very long, slow moving line to re-book. The plan was to get another plane to take us to Dallas, Tx. I called the airline and got booked on another flight just in case. I ended up staying on the same flight which left four hours late. This flight was supposed to continue onto San Diego, but once in Dallas they said the flight to San Diego was out of a different gate. So I called the airline again and found out I wasn't booked on that flight, so they booked me and I got to the gate in time to board the plane. I have a AA Advantage Gold card and there is a special number you can call and talk to some without being put on hold or going through an automated menu system. Once in San Diego, now four hours late, I waited for my check-in bag and was surprised that it arrived too! Another 20 minute wait for the shuttle to take me home didn't make my day any better, but at least I'm home.

High Wire Act

Pigs in a Window

Street Performers at Sunset

I had to help him with his performace. Hold a chain, lock him up and help him up.

Snorkeling in Key West

We went out on Skip's boat and he took us to an area with colorful coral reefs and fish. This is Ricardo after exploring a reef with Skip looking for a lobster. We also took the boat under US1 to a small island and walked around a bit. I got a little sunburned, but not too bad. Time for some diner and beer, now.

Lobster Fest in Key West

I ended up at the Lobster Fest three times and nerver ate any lobster!

My Nose Again!

Welcome to Key West and please watch your nose! Well, I didn't. I got off the airplane and as I was walking along the sidewalk looking for my rental car. I walked full speed into a post and smashed my nose and knees. I hit my nose in the same place as I did last year and put another cut in it. After the bleeding stopped, I drove to the hotel and put it one ice.

So for the last three days I have been working long, late nights. Tonight is the first night that I left early enough to stop at a bar and have a drink and listen to a singer at an Irish bar insult patrons as he sung, including my two co-workers. But the money in the parking meter only gave us one hour, so back in the hotel and I am ready for tomorrow where we hope to finish our work so we have a free weekend (is that a run-on sentence?).

Beer Tower

You know it must be late when someone builds the "beer tower". I spent Saturday night at a house in Desert Hot Springs that my friend was house-sitting at. Just relaxed in the pool and spa, drank beer and took strong pain killers for my tooth. Wait, that sounds like a bad combination. Guess that explains why I don't feel so good today. I'll feel even worse after waking up at 3:30 in the morning to catch a flight to Key West, which is where my next blog post will be from.

Mt. Whitney Video

Yes, more Mt. Whitney. I finally found a program to convert my camera's video files to a format that most people can view and with a smaller file size. I shot this video kind of by accident, as you can tell from my wonderful naration, but I'm glad I did because it really captures what was happening as we were climbing the switchbacks into the storm. If you have trouble watching the video, let my know and I'll try converting it to a different format. This movie is a Quicktime format.

Pizza all Weekend

Since I was supposed to be on vacation this week, and traveling for work next week, I ate all the food in my house leaving me with nothing to eat this weekend. So I ordered a X-Large pizza from a local place tonight and it was much bigger than I had expected. Looks like I'll be eating BBQ chicken all weekend long.

Root Canals and Tropical Storms

While frantically getting ready for my trip to Key West, which luckily has not been postponed because TS Chris faded away, the tooth I just had a cavity filled in started hurting more. A few hours later I'm in a chair having a root canal! Not much fun, but at least the pain is gone. Until I get a crown on the tooth, I have to chew only on the left side of my mouth to prevent the tooth from cracking. Yes, my stress level just went up one more notch.

Tropical Storm Chris

This just figures. After canceling my vacation because of a work trip, I might have to postpone my work trip because of a hurricane. Tropical Storm Chris formed yesterday out in the Atlantic and its predicted course has it hitting south Florida on Monday, the day I'm flying to Key West. Why didn't anybody tell me last week that this was going to happen? Hopefully it will not strengthen or stay on its current path. It would make my life much less stressful if it does, and stress is one thing I need no more of.