More High School Basketball

Last night a friend and I drove down to watch our friend coach his basketball team at Otay Ranch High School. First let me say that we won! I had never been to this school, or even the neighborhood. During a break, I talked to one of the cheerleader's mothers (who is my insurance agents wife, part of the 'G' clan), and she told me that the reason both cheerleading squads were sitting down in the stands was because last week the Otay Ranch cheerleaders started a fight with the opposing squad. What a tough group of girls! Then this morning I realized that Otay Ranch was one of the schools involved in the big soccer brawl last month with San Ysidro High. This Friday the game is at Torry Pines, a school where a big fight is less likely to happen, but the opposing team is much better.

A Very Cold Bike Ride

I tried waiting until it warmed up outside before taking my bike ride. The temperature was 55 degrees and I saw the sun peeking through the thin layer of gray clouds, so I decided it was a good time to go. I had just finished my first yoga workout from the DVD I bought last month. The workout was titled "Yoga for Stress Relief", and was approximately 50 minutes long. I was able to do most of the exercises, which mostly involved breathing techniques. The last "pose" was too much for me - I'm flexible but I'm not able to rest my head on my knees - yet. I'd say afterwards I did feel more relaxed, now if I can only get myself to continue the yoga and try some of the other workouts on the DVD. So back to the bike ride. The sun never did re-appear, and I was not dressed for the cold. The one steep hill on the eight mile ride did warm me up, but I froze on the downhills. After a nice hot shower I feel much better, ready for the day, whatever I have planned. Possibly starting my tax return? Too much fun.

McMansions and the Snow Has Melted

Not having anything planned for the day other than a workout at the gym, I decided to go for a drive in the Mustang. My first stop was to look at some model homes in the Stonebrige Estates. Even though I gave up on buying a new house, I'm still watching the housing market, plus I was interested in seeing how new homes are being decorated to get some ideas for my remodeling. I had driven by this neighborhood a few weeks ago and saw one home that I liked, a one story, which is hard to find these days. So I walked in to the sales office for the Calabria (built by Brookfield Homes - never heard of them) models and a lady handed my the brochure. I was shocked to see the one story, plan one, was priced between $1,048,000 to $1,105,000! I thought the prices of new homes were going down, with all the foreclosures and unsold inventory of new and existing houses. I guess I was wrong. This plan was 3,780 square feet design, with an open, outdoor courtyard in the center of the home. Too bad it was so expensive, I could see my self living in this house. There was abundant natural light, large rooms and open space. Way too much for one person, but who cares. Another reason not to buy is the Mello Roos, which would bring the taxes up to 1.7%, plus there was a $100+ homeowners fee. What's amazing is that these homes in Stonebridge are selling still. Last week I drove all the way to the end of the development, which stretches for miles into the back-country of Poway and San Diego. As of now, there is only one road in, and of course one road out. The houses are surrounded by canyons and hills covered in brush that would burn very quickly in a fire. I hope they add an escape route sometime in the future.

From there I braved the traffic of people driving up to the mountains to see the snow. I didn't plan to drive much past Ramona, and I ended up turning on highway 78 back towards Escondido. First, I was surprised that all the snow from last Thursday that I photographed on Friday was gone. The only snow I could see was small patches at the tops of the highest mountains. I didn't take any photos because I didn't feel like stopping. As I dove down 78, I saw where the fire burned last October and where the road was repaired from the flooding last week. I don't know how stable the road is. In some places the dirt was completely washed out beneath the road and they quickly packed dirt back in and added new guardrails. It will probably last until the next big storm. After a quick stop at my brother's house to see his new trailer, I headed back home, picking up some beer at the store. I have tomorrow off, and will probably go on an easy bike ride in the morning and then after that...?

Video of Snow In San Diego

I took a video of the snow. This was the first time I have made a movie using my new camera, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. It looks good until I zoom in too much. The zoom is digital so it looks more grainy than I would have liked.

View of Snow From Iron Mountain

I went for a hike up Iron Mountain today hoping to get some good photos of the snow in the local San Diego mountains, and I couldn't believe how much snow there was and how low it had fallen. This photo is of Ramona, and you can see the hills above are covered with the white powder.

What I was really hoping to see was snow on Iron Mountain. As I was nearing to top, I spotted this patch of icy snow along side the trail. There were other places of snow further up, mostly in the shade as it was melting quick.

At the top of the mountain, I had a panoramic view of all the snow from Palomar to Laguna. There were snow covered mountains in the distance which were probably in San Bernadino.

This is the most snow I've ever seen on Palomar Mountain. I'm sure many people will be heading up to the mountains this weekend with their children, hoping to find a place to play in the snow.


Another photo of snow. The hike up the hill was nice. Very few people, lots of sun and not too cold. The wind was stronger on the west side, and I'm glad I wore my wind-breaker. I had another jacket in my backpack but didn't need it. I was surprised by how much water there was flowing in the small, usually dry, creeks. In fact, I had to cross a dozen very small streams on the way up, plus walk though mud, which is what hiking is all about!



You always see lots of private and military airplanes when you go on this hike. This large transport was banking to the right, probably getting ready to land at Miramar. I used my camera's zoom to get this shot, and somehow it came out very clear. I really like my new camera. I'll be posting a movie I took of the snow later.

Another 4-Day Weekend

My four-day weekend is starting off with lots of rain and cold weather from a storm that the weather forecasters said wasn't going to affect us. I'm looking outside, expecting to see snow, as it is in the low 40s! I hope it warms up. I'd like to go on a hike or bike ride this weekend. Other than that, I have no plans. However, I remember being very sick last year at this time, so just the fact that I'm healthy might make the time off work enjoyable. After Presidents Day on Monday, we go into our holiday drought with three months of no holidays. I'll break up that time with four days in Arizona for Spring Training baseball next month which I'm really looking forwards to. We have eight people going, at least on the weekend, and two people who have never been. Plus, there is the triumph return of Mark W. from Denver.

Leela and Zapp Futurama Action Figures

The next two Futurama action figures just came out, Leela and Zapp Brannigan. Now, you might be amazed, but I have not yet purchased or even watched the new, highly anticipated, Futurama DVDs. They have been out for a few months. I didn't see them at Costco, so I guess it's Amazon.com time.

Great Day for a Bike Ride

This was the perfect day for me to complete the bike ride that I attempted last year but didn't finish due to my derailleur breaking. The round trip was about 12 miles, and this time I had no bike problems. The ride was a great workout and I'm sure my leg muscles will be sore tomorrow.

Super Bowl XLII

For a game I didn't even want to watch, it turned out to be an exciting game, mostly in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. And as I predicted, the Giants won.

Happy FeBREWary

Well, here are some random thoughts, because my readers demanded a new blog post.


My neighbor had an open house today, so I did the "nosy neighbor" thing and took a look at her condominium. I found out that her realtor was her sister. We talked for about 20 minutes, or should I say she spent 20 minutes talking about what a great time it is to buy because the housing market has bottomed-out. Why is it that only realtors are the ones making this claim, and have been for the past two years. Anyhow, Micki was a nice woman and I'm sure she'll sell the home to some nice people.


Is it possible for both teams to loose in tomorrow's Superbowl? Somehow I think the Giants will win. We'll see.


As you can see, this has been another very boring day for me. I drove around, went to the store, filled my car up with $2.89/gallon gas, and drove by the old family home. Looks like the owners finally moved in. In fact, the house was still decorated with Christmas lights! Also, the re-landscaping has begun. I didn't take any photos because I didn't want to look suspicious.


Speaking of the housing market, there was a recent article about how some families that have had their houses foreclosed on have not only abandoned their pets, but have actually locked them in closets, leaving them to starve to death! That is so sad. If I ever buy a house, I'll make sure that no stray pets were left there by the previous owner.


Well, that is all I have to talk about for now. Have fun watching the big game tomorrow, or whatever else you might do.