Bike Resting on Bench

I know it looks like my bike is taking a rest, but I'm the one that needed a break. I rode it up a very long, steep hill without stopping, a route I haven't taken in a while. What I great day for a ride, clear and sunny with a slight breeze. I'm going to look into getting different gears for this bike. I could have used one easier gear up the hill like my old bike had. But on the plus side, it gave my legs a good workout, and a good workout they'll need before hiking Mt. Whitney in July. Yes, we got our permits for an overnight hike in mid-July. I can't wait.

Dennis French

Sadly, I just attended the services for Dennis French, who lost his battle with leukemia last Saturday. I didn't know Dennis that well, we worked together for two years, and I ran into him and his son a few times at the San Diego Comic-Con. I had been reading his wife's blog, where she reported on his daily progress. The church service was nice, set in a brightly lit chapel down in Bonita, a nice area I had never been to. Afterwards, everyone was invited over to their home for catered Mexican food. I didn't stay too long, and drove home and then hiked Iron Mt. at a good fast pace. It is 4:30 and the day has just flew by. Time to relax and watch some college basketball.

Baseball and I

Yes, I don't look very natural in this pose. Must have been the heat. I did have a great time this year watching baseball. I needed this time away from work to relax, which is hard to do these days.




Trever Hoffman pitching in a game the Padres lost big time. In the later innings it was so quite that you could hear all the fans yelling their insults at the players. I watched some of the replay of this game and they showed this one White Sox fan yelling non-stop. We were actually very quite for once. Must have been the heat.



Looks like Greene might have gotten a haircut, or two. He is one of the few popular Padres left after last season's mass exodus.



Fans were ruthless towards him. Wells didn't pitch well and allowed many runs. One fan first yelled "I'll give you a beer if you get a strikeout!". Then he shouted "How about a keg?". David Wells is a veteran and could care less about what someone in the stands says. And by veteran I mean rich.

Hiking Camelback Mountain

For the third year in a row we hiked Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. This year we decided to hike up from the west side, which is slightly shorter but much steeper than the east side. We got an early start, as the temperature was expected to reach 100 degrees. We in fact lucked out because we were in the shade most of the way up, being on the west side of the mountain. Pictured above is the beginning of the trail, and you can see Steve getting his pack ready and Mike already headed up.



Once the man-made steps end, the natural trail begins. This is the steepest portion of the hike, and the steepest trail I have ever climbed. They built a rail into the rocks to help you up, so I just powered my way up with my arms. In fact, this hike required lots of arm use on the way up and down. My arms hurt in strange places the next day, as well as my legs. I can see why people enjoy this hike. There were even some hikers running up and down. Most were younger than me, some were older.



It takes about an hour to reach the top. At one point, the top seems so far and high up, and then suddenly you are there. For all the people I saw hiking up, I was surprised how few were at the top. I wouldn't be surprised if many who attempt this hike don't make it, especially those who are not prepared, hiking without water and such. Yes, we all look a little worn out, except for Mike, the young one in the group, who led the whole way up.



Proof that I made it. We got back down, which was almost harder, drank our traditional beer in the parking lot, and drove back to the hotel to get ready for the day. We still had a baseball game, happy hour and an evening in Tempe at The Library.

The Big Bang Bar

After leaving The Library on Sunday, we ventured outside and saw that there was a piano bar located below. So we walked down to check it out. There weren't many people inside, but there was live music in the form of dueling pianos. The two piano players were good, and after a while they were joined on stage by two more musicians, a singer and drummer. I was amazed at how many songs they knew, as the played almost all songs that were requested. I requested Just a Girl by No Doubt, which they didn't know but played Spider Web instead. As the night progressed, the place got very busy and entertaining. They called people up on stage who were celebrating birthdays and encouraged audience participation. After three hours we were ready to catch a cab and head back to the hotel. When the evening started, I was working on about 50% of my energy. I peaked at 110% but was quickly declining as the beer and sun took their toll.

Baseball in Arizona 2007

During the four days, we saw four games. Rockies at the Giants in Scottsdale, Padres at the Cubs in Mesa, White Sox at the Padres in Peoria and Padres at A's in Phoenix.

The Library

Our waitress at The Library Bar and Grill, a new hot spot in Tempe near ASU that we discovered. They must have a very strict hiring policy, as the waitresses wear very small mini-skirts, and, at least during busy times, get up on the bar and dance to a song or two. It was a fun place with a good mix of people. We ended up here three times including on St. Patrick's day. The last day were were there, Sunday evening, it was dead, and we overheard our bartender complaining to someone that she had a bunch of old men at her bar. Well sorry! I don't feel old. She didn't look happy at all to be there, so I won't keep her comment from keeping me from going back next year.

Steve and Mike in the Sun

Down from a high of 12 people, there were only three of us this year for the annual trip to watch Spring Training baseball in the desert. Three of the four days the temperature hit a record high, and all four days it got to over 90 degrees. Sitting in the sun for three hours just drains you of energy no matter how much water you drink. After getting back to the hotel I just wanted to rest, but there was no time to relax as there was more drinking to be done at the happy hour.

Sunday Drive to Palomar Mountain

After spending the morning watching college basketball, I decided it was time to go for a relaxing drive up to the mountains. When I stepped out of the house I couldn't believe how warm it was. What a perfect day for a drive. I headed north through Escondido, Valley Center, past the new, huge Rincon Casino, to the base of Palomar Mountain. Turns out I wasn't the only one out for a drive up the hill. There were the usual "daredevils" speeding up and down on their fast motorcycles, mixed in with a few bicyclists brave enough to share the road with the somewhat dangerous conditions. And then there was me. Stuck behind a slow truck all the way up. At the top I found a place to take a few photos looking west towards the ocean.



Then I turned east and headed to Lake Henshaw. There isn't much lake left, but it made for a nice picture from a newly built lookout platform. I drove almost the whole time with my windows down because it was so nice. I finally turned on the AC as I got closer to home and out of the cooler mountains.



The car is looking good a usual. I did get a few opportunities to zip around sharp corners, but most of the time I was limited in speed by cars, trucks and even very slow Harley riders. I came home via Santa Isabel and Ramona, which made for a nice round trip. Once home, I collapsed in my lay-z-boy chair. Driving (fast) is tiring! Next weekend is all about beer, relaxing and baseball. Did I mention beer? It is our annual trip to watch spring training baseball in Arizona.

Foreclosure Ranch

Note added 02/22/2009: The BMIT blog has been shut down. I guess since the author finally bought a home he no longer had a reason to blog about the reasons not to buy a house. Too bad, I liked his blog.

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Seems that is the new nickname for the 4S Ranch community in San Diego. As Spring nears, I have resumed my search for a house. I have expanded my areas of interest to the 4S Ranch, where prices on homes built in the last few years seem to be falling. I stumbled upon a blog called Bubble Markets Inventory Tracking . It has very useful information about the housing market, and is especially harsh on all the "house flippers" out there who thought they'd get rich quickly by buying and selling quickly. After reading the posts about the 4S Ranch, it makes me want to wait longer to buy, because prices might still be falling.

Another useful web site I found is called SDLookup. Just enter an address of a San Diego property and it will show you the history of how much was paid and when for the home. I entered my address and sure enough, it showed how much I paid and when. Interestingly, it showed that my home was valued $20,000 more that what I paid. That is nice to know.

Using all this free online information (I love the Internet), combined with the site realtor.com, and someone like me is much more informed that the average buyer lets say ten years ago. I have found listings on realtor.com that don't include an address, but do list the selling realtor. So search for the realtor and then from that site search for the house and sometimes you can get the address. Enter that address into SDLookup.com and they you know how much the current owner paid. All very interesting stuff.

Since I change my mind constantly as to if I want to move and where I want to move to, it seems like I'm at a wait-and-see mode. I get the feeling that I'll know when it is time to buy and then the boxing-up of my belongings will begin - and I already have some of the boxes!