Hiking Bernardo Mountain

I had been wanting to hike to the summit of Bernardo Mountain in Escondido for some time. I had driven by this peak 1000 times but never knew it was a hiking destination until recently. First, my doctor, who is into hiking himself, recommended not only hiking to the summit, but hiking the trails of San Dieguito River Valley,  

which runs from the mountains near Julian all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Second, a friend of mine hiked to the summit and posted some very nice photos of the surrounding mountains, lakes and communities. My third reason for going on this hike was it gave me a reason to walk across the pedestrian bridge that spans Lake Hodges near interstate 15.

So I woke up late Saturday morning feeling tired, weak and fat. Those are the best reasons to go for a hike. So after breakfast I gathered my hiking equipment and headed out. When I left my house it was still kind of overcast and cool, but by the time I got to the dirt parking lot it was very warm and sunny. I started hiking around 11 AM, and took my time. Since I had never done this hike before I wanted to get plenty of photos with my new camera.

The bridge across the lake was really nice. It was wider, sturdier and shorter than I expected. I stopped several times over the lake to take more photos.

Once on the other side, I followed the hiking/biking trail westward. I'd say there were more mountain bikers than hikers, so I stayed to the right of the trail to keep out of their way. The trail then crosses a small stream where the palm trees and other vegetation keep it cooler.  Shortly after this "congested" section, the trail to the summit veers off to the right where the trial gets narrower. However, I still encountered a few more mountain bikers. After another 20 minutes of hiking I saw the last hiker/biker for the next 45 minutes. A woman was hiking down with a small dog.

 So far the trial had been very gentle and not too steep. But as I got higher up the hill the path got steeper and rockier. Once you pass a large, ugly water tank, the trail gets even steeper, which I didn't realize until the hike down where it was difficult to keep from slipping.

Finally, the summit was in sight. Once at the top I was happy that there was a very cool breeze. I was also semi-surprised that there was no one else up there, but since I hadn't seen any other hikers for a while I really wasn't that surprised. Before I rested I took advantage of the people-free summit and took many photos. I did some experimenting with the settings on my new camera to see how they would turn out. I also took a short movie, where I found out that the camera really picks up the sound of the wind. You can barely hear my voice over the wind. The biggest challenge was getting a photo of myself. I put the camera down, set the 10 second timer and hurried to get in place before the shot.

It was clear at the summit, but there was still some haze in the air, so far off mountains like Mt. Woodson and Black Mountain appeared very hazy.

After eating a snack, drinking a sports drink and stretching my leg muscles, I put my pack back on and headed back down. Hiking down went much quicker, of course, and after about 20 minutes of hiking I ran across two mountain bikers. I stopped to talk to them. They asked where this trail led, and I told them to the summit. They thought that it connected to the other side, but I told them it did not. As they debated about turning around or not, I continued on my way. In fact I went so fast I missed a turn off and ended up and a dirt road near some houses. I turned around and was only about five minutes away from my missed turn. As I got closer to the main trail there were more people, but not as many as when I started. I think the heat was keeping them away.

I crossed the cool stream again, then back to the bridge and finally my car. I had two devices recording my trip. My Garmin 500 that I use for biking, which gave me this information, and my phone which basically gave me the same statistics. The hike was almost seven miles and took me 2:45, which included lots of stops for picture taking and 20 minutes at the summit. Would I do the hike again? Yes! And I'd recommend it to any hiker, just remember to bring enough water. I drank two liters of fluid. Next time I'd like to get an earlier start, though.

Bike RIde to Waterfall in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and Beyond

After searching my blog posts for "waterfall" I found the post from when I did this ride before. Back on Halloween 2009 I rode from my house to the waterfall in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. This time I drove to the trail head and rode my bike to the waterfall, and then rode further into the canyon. Also, this time I had company. This was official a Take a Hike meetup.com event, but there was only three of us.   My friend and the organizer. And yes, it wasn't a hike, but it was good exercise. We took the path to the north of the river, which is pretty smooth and wide in most places. Since I only have a hybrid bike and not a true mountain bike I was glad there was no real deep sand or rocks. I was able to stay on my bike up and down most of the trails, only walking it in a few narrow places.

On the way back we crossed over the river and made a loop for a total of nine miles. After the ride we ate Mexican food at a near by restaurant, including this beer you see and a huge lobster burrito. After coming home and taking a shower I'm ready for bed. I hope to sleep well tonight.

Teachers Night at the Padres Game

I attended my third Padres game in five weeks. A record for me I think. I went tonight because it was teachers appreciation night and we got tickets for half price.

Got to Petco Park early enough to eat dinner and sit on in the outdoor dinning area with a view of the Convention Center, the new pedestrian walkway and Conrado Bridge.

There are teachers that got special recognition before the game. Most of the fans showed up after the first inning, so that's why there are so many empty seats. The attendance was over 29,000, which is good for a Padres game.

The Padres got themselves into a hole after Miami got a 5-0 lead after the first inning. But then later the Padres scored six runs to take the lead. Ex-Padre blew a save in the 9th after the Marlins got the lead. The game ended close to midnight in the 12th inning with the Marlins getting the win. The 4 1/2 hour game was long but fun since the Padres had many chances to win, but didn't.

Spring Break 2012

Technically this wasn't my Spring break, since I'm not in school, but it was more then my usual trip to Arizona to watch Spring training baseball. This year we left a half day earlier than usual and watch all three games of the NCAA basketball regional games in Phoenix.Our flight left San Diego on Thursday around noon, and an hour later we were in Phoenix. We had time to check-in at the hotel before heading downtown for the two sweet 16 games. Along the way we were joined by some other people we knew and climbed up to our seats. Even though we were up high we still had a good view of the whole court.

The first game was Louisville at Michigan State. This was a slow, low-scoring game and Louisville won. After a 30 break game two started, Florida at Marquette. This was a much faster, more intensive game. In fact, at half time we decided to move up (or down) to closer seats that we saw had been empty the whole first half. Probably from fans who were there just to watch the first game. So we walked down to the lower level and sat in the nice, padded seats with a much better view of the game.

The game was more exciting when you sit closer to the action, and this game was higher scoring and faster paced than the first. Florida won by one point, meaning the game on Saturday would be Florida against Louisville.

After the game we zipped back to the hotel to meet up with one of the other people that sat with us and followed him to a restaurant in Mesa that we had never been too before. The food was good and the bill with all the food and beer was really cheep.Back at the hotel we went to bed, not staying out nearly as late as we did in you younger days.

Friday morning we were up for our free breakfast at the Embassy Suites hotel where Pam, a longtime cook at the hotel, made us fresh omelets. Our plan was to leave early and pick up our friend and his son at the airport, however, they had missed their flight from Denver due to various reasons. Luckily they were able to catch a flight 90 minutes later. So we all piled in the big, white van, went to the airport and then made a stop at the Talking Stick Casino for a little gambling. This casino is across the freeway from the ballpark we were headed to. I played some 25 cent video poker and once I started getting some good hands I bet more money and ended up winning $20.25! Well, I couldn't stop my winning streak there, so I played the Wheel of Fortune game and quickly lost $20. But I was still up 25 cents, so I stopped gambling.

After a quick drive to the park, we parked our van and just by chance, just like last year, we happened to park next to the guy who we sold three of our tickets to. I think his name was Marcus. We hung out with him and his friends, playing some disc toss game (well, I didn't play). As game time approached we went inside to see the Rockies play the Cubs. Our friend's from Denver were there to see the Rockies, of course. The Rockies won, I think, and we left shortly before the last inning. Then, about 15 minutes of driving in traffic as we headed home, someone realized he forgot his backpack, which contained a camera. So we made a u-turn and drove back to the park where he found the pack as it was being taken to lost and found. All was good.

Once at the hotel we rested up (translated: took a short nap) before going out to dinner. We went back to Arribas, a Mexican place we ate at last year. The food was good, but not great. After dinner we somehow decided to go bowling again, just like last year. There is a bowling alley across from our hotel. We got there just before 10 and waited to bowl until 10 because they were having a special where you could bowl unlimited games. There were eight of us so we broke off into two teams to have a contest for the highest score. I hoped my team wasn't relying on me to score too high. But surprisingly, I bowled my best game ever, around 140, on the first game. Yes, that is good for me. But, not being a bowler, my score declined in games two and three. My bowling arm just gave out, that and the beer. So our team lost :-(

Per tradition, we had planned to hike Camelback Mountain sometime on this trip, and the next morning was the best opportunity. So those of us that wanted to hike decided to wake up by 7AM to get ready to go, which seemed like a bad decision considering it was already 1 AM. Well, there would be time to sleep later.

My alarm went off at 6:45 and when I went to check on the others I was surprised that everyone was awake and ready for breakfast. So we ate quickly and then jumped in the van and drove to the  Echo Canyon trail head, which is the starting point for the shorter but much steeper hike up the mountain. We were there a little later than planned, but the parking lot was full and they had rangers and police there making sure people didn't block traffic. After circling the lot a few times, Steve let us off the van and he drove around some more with no luck getting a parking spot. So he drove to the place a few miles away where they had a shuttle service back to the trail head.

Once we started hiking it was obvious that this trail had gotten very popular. There was a constant stream of hikers the whole way up. I'd say that there were six times as many hikers as last time we hiked this trail. The two really steep section that have a metal hand rail to grab onto to pull yourself up the rocks was as crowded as those pictures you see of people climbing half dome in Yosemite. There was someone right in front of you and right behind you.

We ended up breaking up into groups, with the fast people, medium hikers and slower hikers. I was in the medium group most of the way - by myself, which I guess didn't make it a group. I am normally in good shape, but not after a long day and night of drinking lots of beer and getting little sleep.Once I got to the top the first group was there resting and just like the trial up, it was packed with people. I wished I had taken a photo of all hikers. Once the rest made it up we took this group photo. Don't let the smiles fool you, we were all really tired, except for Mark, the young kid who is in good shape and drank no beer the day before.

We then made the steep decent down the mountain as fast as we could. We needed to get back to the hotel and get ready for the second day of the NCAA basketball game. The game started at 1:30 and it was already 11:00. But we made it back to our hotel, got ready and back downtown and into our seats in time for the tip off. We had the same seats as before, high up in the arena. Since this was a "elite eight" game, the teams were the winners of the two games we saw on Thursday. They both played good and the game was more exciting than the other two. Louisville came from behind and beat Florida, and after the game we went down to the lower seats to see the post-game ceremony, which include the cutting of the net by each player and coach of the winning team. I'm glad we stayed for that because it was quite fun watching the team celebrate.

We left the arena, got our van and back to the hotel we went. I got in a good hour-long nap. After all, it was Saturday, our night to dress up and go out to an expensive restaurant for some steak and seafood. We had reservation at Eddie V's in north Scottsdale. The drive there from the hotel seemed to take forever, as I let everyone in the van know. We got to the place about 15 minutes late, but got seated quickly, except the table only held eight people and there were nine of us. Eventually they got us another two seats after the couple next to us left.  Now I'm not a big steak fan, so I went with the basic, filet mignon, medium. The steak was good, but what I really enjoyed were the sides. Besides each of us ordering our main course, we ordered  about four appetizers and five side dishes to share. I think the side dishes were the best, especially the macaroni and cheese. Our waitress was really nice, and the staff was really good about keeping our table clean, almost too good. They were ready to take away our appetizer plates before we were finished.

After almost two hours we were finished. I think everyone enjoyed there food, and we agreed that we'd go there again, but I prefer to try a new place each time. Back at the hotel we were done for the night. Everyone was tired so we went to bed to get ready for Sunday.

Our game for Sunday was in Peoria to see the Padres play the Diamondbacks. Peoria is one of the furthest parks from our hotel, but we still got there and got good parking with plenty of time to have some beers in the parking lot before heading in. We had really
good seats, once again. Near the end of the game we spotted Kevin Towers sitting in our section. He was wearing a really bright, pink shirt and wasn't hard to miss. When we were hear once many years ago we got a group photo of us with him, so KC took the initiative and walked up to him as asked if he'd take a photo with us, and he did! It came out very well, but I don't have a copy of that photo yet. I believe the Padres lost that game, but it is Spring training, so the games don't count. After the game, before going back to the hotel, we made an out-of-the-way side trip to the stadium in Surprise to buy some gifts at their gift shop since the one in Peoria was running low on merchandise. I didn't buy anything this year. When I do buy a shirt, I end up never wearing it for some reason. I bought an nice black Angels polo shirt last year and forgot I even had it until I packed for this trip. But I didn't bring it since it was black and that is not a good color for sitting in the hot sun.

For dinner this Sunday night we went back to the Four Peaks Brewery where we went to last year. Once again we had a short wait for a table but once seated we had quick, but not necessarily good service. Our waiter was not really friendly. He seem almost annoyed that he had to serve us. Plus, they did that thing where they bring out the appetizers and two minutes later they bring out your main course. The beer and food were good, but we agreed that he would get no more than 15% for a tip, unlike the cute Romanian waitress from Eddie V's who was tipped generously

It was Sunday night, our last night in town, so our motto was that we were "going hard", meaning we'd stay up late and have lots of fun.  Well, we had fun but didn't last too much longer into the night after hitting another bar or two. That's was just fine. It is nice waking up without a headache.

It is always a bummer waking up the last morning and having to pack your bags. Yes, our flight didn't leave until 5:40 PM and we still had another game to watch, but everyone's mood was kind of somber. Our motto for the day was "finishing strong". The last game was the Angels vs. the Rockies at the Angels' stadium in Tempe, very near our hotel. We got there two hours before the game, and we needed that time to finish our beer. We had so much beer we were giving it away to everyone who walked by - who looked to be at least 21, of course. The weather was much better than last year when it was cold and raining. We were told is was raining in San Diego Monday morning, but not in Tempe. Some of the gang went into the park early to get autographs, and the rest of us went in just in time for the first pitch. Those of us that had to fly home at 5:40 left around four. We said our farewells to Mark and his son who were flying home later and Rick and his father who were driving home.

We got to the airport with plenty of time, except for the two who had to return the rental van. They got to the boarding gate just in time, making us who were already there feel stupid as we sat at the wrong gate and missed our boarding group. But no worries, we should have boarded in group A but got in just before group B boarded. The flight home was quick and non-eventful. I got back to my house by eight and in bed by 10, ready to get up for work the next day (not really). However, come Wednesday I got sick and missed a day of work. As I write this I still don't feel 100% well. That's what happens when you have too much fun and not enough rest. So, now the countdown until next year!

Rainy St. Patrick's Day.

View of the big storm hitting San Diego on St. Patrick's Day. I did get out of the house for some shopping and food and am now drinking a Guinness beer.

Highway 52 Bike Ride

Just like my bike ride a week ago along highway 56, I didn't really know if I was going to go all the way with this Saturday bike ride. I woke up with a headache, but after coffee, food and aspirin I felt better. So I put on my biking gear, filled my water containers, pumped up my tires and headed off. My ultimate goal was to ride from my house to Santee via the bike path along highway 52. Getting there is not direct. You have to take lots of surface streets, pass over many freeways, some twice, and then after about seven miles of riding you reach the beginning of the bike path.

I had seen this bike path before as I drove along 52, but never really saw many bikers using it, unlike the path along highway 56. Probably because it is so hard to get to, plus, the hill you have to climb to get from one side to the other is pretty steep. The bike path is on the north side of the freeway, and is separated from the freeway, most of the way, by a duel guard rail. However, you are riding very close to the freeway where cars and trucks are flying by at 60 to 80 MPH.

I was lucky that it wasn't too warm and there was a slight breeze to keep me cool. The path heading east was not as steep as I thought. I averaged about 8 MPH up to the summit, which is 821 feet above sea level, as you can see by the sign in the photo above. I had to stop, take off my backpack, get my phone to take this photo. I'm sure people driving by wondered what I was doing. After this small break is was all down hill. The hill was steep and I easily did 30 MPH but didn't feel comfortable going much faster. The bike path is not that wide, and there was a cross wind that made me feel less stable. Then there were the two bridges. They spanned valleys that were at least 100 feet below, and not liking high places, I slowed down and and tried not to look over the guard rail.

Once I got to the bottom where the bike path ends, I took a surface street another mile before I stopped to eat a protein bar, stretch my legs, and take a photo of my bike with El Capitan mountain in the background. After resting about 10 minutes under the shade of the tree I put my back pack back on and headed back home. It was only 14 miles to get here, so I knew my ride would be about 28 miles, and it was.

The ride back up the summit was slightly steeper. I averaged 6 or 7 MPH, either that or my legs were really tired, which they were. One major hazard on the bike path is the grates over the water drains. The spaces between the metal grates are wider than bicycle tires, so you have to be careful not to ride over them. I assumed that if I did ride over the drains, the bike would get stuck causing me to crash, and there are quite a few along the west-bound side of the path.  Other than that, the ride back was uneventful. I only saw there other bikers on the path, so I didn't have to worry about being passed or passing any one, unlike the ride along Kearney Villa Road where I was passed by two large groups of bikers.

Once back at the end of the bike path, I retraced my ride back home. I think I had a good tail wind and made pretty good time. The entire bike ride took 2:20 minutes. My average speed was 11.6 MPH, which I think includes the stops I made. My computer does not record average moving speed separately from average overall speed, apparently. I burned 1556 calories, so I had to be sure to eat a healthy lunch and dinner, because one cheeseburger could add those calories right back on to my belly. So, after this fun and challenging ride, I need to plan my next biking adventure.

SR56 Bike Ride

So my plan was to go for a bike ride this morning, but not the usual route. I decided to ride towards California State Route 56 (SR 56) from my house, with the possible intention of taking the bike path along the highway all the way to the end. It was a six mile bike ride to get to the beginning of the bike path along SR 56, and I felt good, so I kept on going.

I had wanted to take the ride for some time, but never felt I was ready. I thought about bringing (on my car's bike rack) my bike to the starting point, but I really prefer riding from my home. What I liked about this ride was being able to ride without worrying about traffic or stopping. Well, at the very start you have to cross over Interstate 15, and the intersection there is very busy and I'd say dangerous. I waited for the cross walk but made sure the drivers turning right in front of me saw me, as they were looking to the left for on-coming traffic.I'll admit that a week before I come close to hitting a biker there, but to my defense, he was wearing all white and blended into the background.

The path at the beginning was a little narrow, with brush growing on either side that needed trimming. Then the path followed a road before the "real" SR 56 bike path began. Since the path heads west towards the coast, it is mostly downhill. Along the way you have to cross some street and wait for the cross-walk signal. There was also that point on the trail where a biker was kill last year. There was a nice memorial for the man, including a white painted bike attached to the fence.

As I got closer to the ocean, I wasn't quite sure how far the bike trail went, but my  plan was to stay on the trail and not take any local streets. At one point the trail paralleled a private street where there were signs that  indicated where the bike trail was and where the "private property" was. It was a nice, well kept neighborhood in Carmel Valley. From there the bike trail went over a small creek (yes, I had to ride through water), under some bridges and then joined up with a local riding/running trail. As I continued to follow the trail it came to an end, with a sign indicating the "END", as you can see from the photo. The mileage to this point was 16.5. At this point you are almost to Interstate 5. I stopped here to stretch my legs and eat a snack. After about 10 minutes I turned around and headed home.

The temperature at the start of the ride was around 55 degrees, but was slowly warming up. Also, the wind switched directions and was now blowing from the east, so I had a nice strong head wind riding back. I was doing fine for a while, but then my leg muscles really started to burn. I knew I could make it home, but each small hill felt much steeper that it was. It was a very good ride and I'm glad I went all the way to the end (well, the end would have been the Pacific Ocean if I'd taking the surface street - maybe next time). Once home I looked at the data recorded by my Garmin 500.

Distance: 32.92 mi
Time: 2:49:23
Avg Speed: 11.7 mph
Calories: 1,747 C
Moving Speed: 13.1
Max Speed: 34

Elevation Gain:	3,276 ft
Elevation Loss:	3,270 ft
MinElevation:	-158 ft
MaxElevation:	688 ft

After Storm Hike Up Iron Mountain

I had planned to hike Iron Mountain if the storm had passed and it wasn't too cold. So I slept in and around 10:30 in the morning I got ready and headed out. The parking lot was almost empty, which was a good sign that the trail would not be crowded.

The photo above is one I've never taken before, but decided to stop on the way down because the sun had come out and the contrast of the cactus in the foreground with the mountain in the distance made for a good photo.

This is a section of the original trail up the mountain. I now take the alternate trail that bypasses this rocky section. This was the first time I had seen the "improvements" made to the trail. They cut away all the brush on either side of the trail and it looks really ugly. I think enough people complained that "they" stopped the trail improvements last year.

There was lots of snow visible on the local mountains. Now, a few years ago after a bigger storm, there was even more snow, with a light dusting in Ramona. I was lucky that Cuyamaca and Palomar Mountain were cloud free and the snow was visible, plus, there was enough light from the Sun shining through the mostly cloudy skies to light up the landscape.

I encountered very few hikers during this hike. Only the hard-core hikers were out. I stopped more than usual on the way up to take photos. I used an app on my Android phone for the first time called My Tracks. It tracked my hike and saved the information so that I could view it in Google Maps and see how fast I hiked and what the elevation gain was - and more.

My hiking time was 2:20, with two hours of moving and 20 minutes of stopping. I'm really glad I took this hike on one of my forced-vacation work days.

Cylons - From Toaster to Number Six

Ordered all six of the Cylon figures from the NBC Universal store online. Sale was all six for $29 and free shipping. Pretty good figures, well made and very well packed.

All six Cylon Models

Thanksgiving Vacation 2011: Best Of Photos

Lisbon, Madrid and Toledo

Thanksgiving Vacation 2011: The Long Trip Home

The Famous Bear and Tree

Our bus didn't leave until noon, but we wanted to have a few hours in Madrid before we left, so no sleeping in once again. And yes, I was still sick. Another breakfast at the hotel, perhaps our last meal for a while, as we didn't know if there would be any places to get food on the bus ride. We spent our last hours in Madrid walking around the local streets, looking for an open book store along the way. It was also the sunniest day of the trip so I got a few last photos in, including one of a bear and tree statue, a symbol we saw all over Madrid which is the official symbol of Madrid. You can Google that if you want more information. We did find a book store and bought a book, then headed back to the hotel to check out.

Now we had to take the metro to the bus station, dragging our luggage with us. We all packed light which made waking up and down the subway stairs not too tiring. Once at the stop nearest the bus station, we eventually found the station, but it wasn't all the easy to see from the street. We still had plenty of time before the bus departed, so we relaxed until they posted the gate number. Until now we had no idea what kind of bus it was and were happy to see that it was a large bus with big, roomy seats that had way more room than our last flight. Also, it wasn't full, so I had a row to myself, or maybe there was only one seat on my side of the bus, I can't remember. Now we were all dreading an eight hour bus ride, but once we got going the ride wasn't all that bad. And as a bonus, the bus had free wireless Internet access, provided I assume by some kind of Wi-Fi (or Wi-Max) along the freeway.

I spent some time on the Internet, even getting assigned seats on my flights for the next day. Otherwise I listened to music on my iPod, read my book and watched to countryside. There wasn't a lot to see, some small towns along the way, but there was at least one large castle on a hill. There were also lots of farms with cows and sheep, and I even saw one sheep with a duck riding on its back. No one believes me because I didn't get a photo, but I really did see it. The bus made one 15 minute food/bathroom break, but there was no pre-made sandwiches, so I just got some chips from a vending machine. The bus also stopped at two or three other cities to let for passengers not going all the way to Lisbon. In fact at the last stop about half the bus emptied out, and once everyone was off the bus it drove away with all our luggage! Well, the driver actually just went to fill it up with fuel so it returned in five minutes.

Warning sign on the Metro

When we crossed the border into Portugal the bus had to stop for inspection. An immigrations officer boarded the bus and checked everyone's identification. Most people had some kind of ID card, but when he got to me and saw I had a passport he asked me many questions. I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition! Then again, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. After satisfied that I was entering the country legally he gave my brother and his wife the 3rd degree (whatever that means). By now people are looking at us, probably just annoyed that we were holding up the bus. It must have been a slow day, because there were also two or three officers outside the bus checking the luggage compartment and I even saw a dog, probably checking for drugs. We eventually got on our way. We were six hours into the ride and it was starting to get dark. After more driving we saw the lights of Lisbon, and took a very long bridge over the bay before pulling into the bus station.

Once off the bus, we tried looking for a place to eat there, but nothing looked good. So we got a cab to our hotel, a quick 10 minute drive. When we checked in, the receptionist was really nice, and gave us both free Internet access and said we would have a food bag, or basket, when we checked out. She also told us where there was a restaurant within walking distance. After a quick break in our rooms we walked the deserted streets in this industrial section of the city to the restaurant, which was small but had a simple menu and of course cold beer. We all ordered fish, and my brother's came as a whole fish on a plate, head, eyes and all. I guess this was our Thanksgiving meal, but it sure didn't feel like Thanksgiving and I kept forgetting it was. We all thought the food was good, and after paying we walked back to the hotel, our last one of the trip, and decided we should leave by 5 AM for the airport. Since the airport was shut down this day due to the general strike, we didn't know what to expect the next morning. It was either going to be a zoo with long lines and perhaps even missing planes, or there would be no issues at all.

View from our bus in Madrid. It got better.

We lucked-out. No lines and our plane was there. Since we were flying business class we got access to the Blue Lounge, which offered free food and drinks. When we checked in we were told the lounge was far from our departing gate, but we didn't know how far. We were one of the last ones on the plane as we had to go through passport control and the plane boarded way earlier that we expected. The flight left on time and after two hours we were back at London Heathrow. Our connecting flight left from terminal 5, so we had to take a shuttle to get there, but we also had five hours before our flight left. So we went to the British Airways lounge and helped ourselves to the free food and lots of coffee. When they finally posted the gate number, this time we made our way to the gate as fast as we could and we made it there about 20 minutes before the started boarding.

This was my first time flying business class in a 777, and thanks to my brother I had a nice isolated seat, one that I could get in and out of without having to walk in front of anyone, and no one had to walk in front of me. The only downside was I was facing backwards! Also, the business section was only about half full, so there was no one in the seat next to me. Once we took off, they started serving dinner, which included appetizers and a desert along with more beer. I only watched one movie on the flight, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. I enjoyed part two much more that part one. After the movie ended, and after they dimmed to cabin lights, I attempted to get some sleep. The seat reclined fully flat, but I couldn't recline it all the way because my feet hit the bulkhead. Still, way more comfortable than flying in coach. When I went to bed we were about four hours into our 11 hour flight. I did fall asleep, but must have woken up about 20 times. I didn't think I got much sleep, but when they turned the lights on to serve another meal, there were two hours left, so five hours went by pretty quickly. The  plane took the Polar route, flying north of Iceland and then down through Canada. We were above Salt Lake City when I woke up.

After our light lunch, the time went quickly and soon we were preparing to land. It was nice landing in San Diego and not having to jump on another plane. This was our first time arriving in San Diego on an international flight, so I didn't know what to expect for passport on control and customs, but we got through quickly. It took awhile for our luggage to arrive, but once it did we left the airport to catch the shuttle to the parking. By the time I got home 24 hours had passed since I woke up. It was about 8 PM, and as usual, I can't just go to bed no matter how tired I am. I emptied my luggage, took a shower and read my e-mail. Then I had the sudden urge to sleep and sleep I did. A solid 11 hours!  We flew home on a Friday, so I had two days to recover before going back to work, but overall I experienced very little jet-lag. So another fun-filled Thanksgiving vacation was over, sadly with out our sister, who was in the middle of her three week work trip. Where are we going next year? Maybe the Maldives, a small island country somewhere off the coast of India. Now that's going to be a long trip.

Thanksgiving Vacation 2011: Toledo and Madrid, Spain

Yes, you know what's coming next. My alarm went off at 6:45 AM so I could be ready to be at breakfast for our 15 minute alloted eating time and then off to the train station. What I didn't like is my throat felt very sore and I felt like I might have a cold. Not good. I'd hoped it was just from the cold, dry air from the conditioner. The elevator actually had a floor labeled "Breakfast", which was floor one. I got there five minutes early and had to wait with another man, not knowing that some people were already eating. They found a different entrance that wasn't blocked by a red, velvet rope. Once inside, I quickly grabbed some food and made a fresh cappuccino using the coffee machine. The food was much better than the breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Lisbon. After about five minutes my traveling companions showed up and our 15 minute food break lasted longer than expected (no, I'm not blaming you guys, just stating facts). When we left for the train, we thought we had plenty of time to catch our train. The Metros were all on time and we arrived at the train station about five minutes before our train to Toledo was to depart. We thought we didn't need to rush, and were lucky there were no delays getting there. Once we found our seats we settled in for the 30 minute ride to Toledo.

The train was a high speed express train, with no stops, only a few slow-down points. It was sunny when we left but the skis got darker as we headed south. I enjoyed looking out at the countryside, even if there wasn't much to see other than green hills. When we arrived at the train station in Toledo, we got a taxi to take us up the hill to the main sites, as suggested by Rick Steves, who's book we were using as a travel guide. We were apparently early as most of the sites didn't open until 10 AM and it was only 9:30. So we wandered around the steep and narrow streets looking for our first stop, the Cathedral of Toledo, listed as the largest Cathedral in Spain. Due to the narrow, curvy, streets and high buildings, it was difficult to see much beyond a few buildings, but we managed to find the Cathedral. Since we had time to spare, we wandered around the streets some more, finding a cute cat that was waiting for birds to eat the bread crumbs left by the owner, I assume. This cat was not afraid of people or cars and was happy to be petted.

Then as we walked some more, a nice man speaking Spanish told us of a shop that was open and encouraged us to visit it. Luckily my sister-in-law spook enough Spanish to understand him. Of course he worked there and that was his job - to get people to the shop. When we entered he took us to the factory where they make the products they sell, showing us how they use very thin strips of gold to decorate the trinkets, such as ear rings and necklaces. So then we spent a few minutes in the shop, not planning to buy anything as the prices were probably very high since they were not labeled on the merchandise. So we made our escape, only to run into the man, and one of his co-workers later. They were desperate for business, I guess. Back at the Cathedral the crowds had increased, including tour groups. At ten the ticket office opened and we bought our entrance tickets plus access to the tower, whatever that was.

Once inside the Cathedral we were not disappointed. It was heavily decorated with very expensive, ornate woodwork, paintings and sculptors. Once again, no photography was allowed, except everyone seemed to be taking pictures. Yes, I took a picture just before we left, but was discrete about it. Our trip up to the tower was scheduled for 10:30, so we wandered to the meeting point. We had to be led by a man who unlocked various doors as we made our way up some stairs, eventually leading to the tower, where the stairs were very steep and the passageways was narrow and twisting. Along the way there were spots to take pictures of the city. The highest we could go was up to the bell tower, where there were great views of the city, but the windows were blocked by metal guards. Everyone in this group took many pictures and after about 15 minutes we were led back down.

We spent some more time exploring the Cathedral, looking into each open room, one of which had a collection of very expensive and heavy looking robes. Another room had national treasures, including a very complex and shiny gold Processional Monstrance. I still don't know what that is, but it contains 5,600 pieces joined by 12,500 screws. This is where I took my forbidden picture. Well, we had enough of this site so we headed back out to find our next destination, but once we got there we decided it wasn't worth it to go in. So we explored a few shops, where I almost bought one of my souvenir magnets, or even a small painted cow or cat statue, but I didn't. By now the sun was finally starting to shine and we also thought it best to get some food. We found a nice place to eat outside, one with a wide variety of menu items. This was the first time I've seen a place that charges slightly more for the food if you eat outside, but sitting outside is great for people watching, so outside we sat. I ordered pizza, which was good but not great. We had our one and only group photo taken here by the waitress. After paying our bill, we looked at the clock and felt it was time to head back to the train station. We only allowed ourselves less then four hours here in Toledo, as we wanted to get back to Madrid before dark. It would have been nice to have another hour there, as there was some train ride that took you on a tour around and outside the city.

The train to Madrid arrived on time, and we quickly zipped back to Madrid. From the train station, the next museum we wanted to visit, the one that was closed the day before, was a short walk away. This museum, the Paseo Del Arte Prado, I believe,  had more modern artwork by artists such as Pablo Picasso. Specifically, we, or at least my sister-in-law, wanted to see his painting Guernica, a famous painting depicting WWII bombing of a city in Spain by the Germans. There was also a series of pictures taken during the painting, showing the progression of the artwork. I found that very interesting as well. We didn't want to spend too much time in this museum as there were other sites to see before dark. We next headed to the Royal Palace of Madrid. At first we thought it was closed because there were signs saying closed due to special event. But there was also a line forming at the entrance, so we got in line and tried to figure out what the line was for. Turns out the Palace was opening at 3:30, and also this day it was free to locals. We seemed to be the only non-locals in line, but there was no way they would deny our entrance.


Even better. We got in for free! The man asked us where we were from and my brother replied "America". Then he asked again and our response was "Europe". The man finally said "You are from England" and he smiled and let us in. I guess he liked us, because we did see other people paying for their tickets. Security was tight at the Palace. We had to have all our stuff put through a scanner just like an airport. We were lucky to get in so quick, however, we got stuck behind several large, slow moving tour groups. You have to follow a path that takes you through many overly decorated and large rooms. Once again, no photos allowed, and they were serious. Armed guards were watching you at times. Each room had a purpose and was uniquely decorated with furniture, paintings and carpet. There was a giant room who's purpose was a dressing room. Another room was for dining, with a table that could seat over 100 people. The next room had the silverware, made of real silver, and other serving ware. Once we got by the tour groups the rooms were less crowded.

We then explored a few more rooms in the Palace, one of which had violins made by Antonio Stradivari. Another room had very old and working clocks. This was a special exhibit at the Palace. The last room we saw contained lots of armor and armory. Since we had seen a similar exhibit in Vienna last year, we didn't spend too much time here. So we left the Palace and looked for a place to get some coffee. My throat was feeling much worse and some hot coffee sounded good. We stopped in at a chain restaurant called Pans. The drink did make me feel better, but I could tell my cold was getting worse. We left there and headed to another plaza, only to find a Christmas market being constructed. It looked as if it would be ready to open the next day, the day we left. So no Gluhwein for me this year, then again, that drink was in Vienna and Germany. We continued to wander the streets, eventually making our way back towards our hotel. Along the way we ended up at Sol plaza again, and now the Christmas tree was lit up. I snapped a few photos with the sunset in the background. Also, there were a lot more people out today than there were the day before, probably because it wasn't raining. This also meant that we needed to be slightly more concerned about pick-pockets.

Back at the hotel we took another pre-dinner break before heading back out. To our surprise, there was some big event going on near the theater, with news vans and lots of people. Interested, we crossed the street where there was a large screen. They were interviewer stars from Puss In Boots, but we couldn't tell if they were actually there or not. We saw them on the screen with the background looking like the walls that everyone was looking at, but we never actually saw any of the actors, even when we got closer. We later found out that they were there, including Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek. After this excitement we wandered the streets  looking for a place to eat, eventually deciding on a buffet. Once again we were early, but that just meant more food for use. The food was pretty good, but most of it shoudld have been warmer. We knew if our sister was there she would be avoiding this food as food poisoning  is always a risk if it isn't hot enough, but I'm happy to say we didn't get sick. The best food was the lasagna, which was also the hottest entree. Of course, the deserts were good, but also limited in choices. We left with full stomaches, and after more walking, we went back to the hotel to get ready for checking out the next day. I hopped I would wake up feeling better, because we had our eight hour bus ride and I didn't want to be coughing and what not all day long.

Thanksgiving Vacation 2011: Madrid, Spain Day 1

I has happy that I slept pretty well this night. Usually it is the second night on an overseas trip where I wake up 20 times or at 1 AM and can't get back to sleep. We have yet another flight to catch and need to figure out what to do about the upcoming strike. We skip breakfast at the hotel and grab a taxi to the airport. This ride was very quick and cost only 10 Euros. My taxi driver from the airport must have taken the longest route possible. Now I know why the group of men in line before me didn't get into her cab but took the next one instead. Once at the airport we quickly checked-in. Our flight was on Iberia airlines, and after checking in we found the sales desk to ask about the strike. Now for some reason, no one in Portugal seemed to know anything about this strike. They all said "What are you talking about?". After looking at the computer, the agent finally admitted that our flight and all flights on the 24th were canceled. She said there was a flight on the 23rd that left Madrid at 3:30, but we didn't want to do that, because we'd have less than a day in Madrid and then would need to spend a day in Portugal during the strike when the transportation was all shut down. More thinking, mostly by my brother who was very concerned about our situation. We had time for breakfast at the airport, and I selected pancakes at McDonald's. Bad choice as they were very small and I was hungry a few hours later.

Our plane departed on time, and luckily it was a short flight because our seats had no leg room. My brother and I's legs were jammed against the seat back. When we landed in Madrid and got our bags, we checked again for an alternative way back. After a long wait we did book a return flight the next day, but really didn't want to use it. We also looked into renting a car one way, but that was going to cost at least 700 Euros! No way. Another cab ride to the hotel, which was about a 30 minute drive from the airport. We didn't get ripped-off, which was nice. Once in the hotel and check-in to our rooms, we asked the man at the front desk about ways to get to Lisbon, such as train or bus. He looked on the Internet and found a train, but it left too late or early. Then he found a bus that left on the 24th at noon and arrived in Lisbon at 7 PM. We ended up getting seats on this bus so now we had a way back and could enjoy our time in Madrid.

We started walking towards our first destination, one of the three main museums. Just like in Lisbon, most of the people walking had places to go and work to do, but as we approached the first museum the number of tourists increased. I believe we went to the Paseo Del Arte Museum first, where we bought tickets for all three museums. This museum was very large with lots of rooms, and no cameras allowed. The paintings were the usual ones, mostly religious, depicting Jesus as a baby or on the cross. We'd felt like we had seem them all before in other museums in other European cities. It would have taken all day to see all the artwork, so we didn't spend too much time in each room. When we started to run low on energy, we found our way to the cafeteria and had a light lunch. The food was surprisingly good and I was glad to get some water. All that walking made me dehydrated, and I'm used to drinking lots of water as many of you know. After lunch we made our way back to the coat check to get our coats, and then left for the next museum.

Turns out this one was closed on Tuesdays. So what next. Across the street we saw a big building that my brother said looked like a train station. And since we needed train tickets for our trip to Toledo the next day we walked over there. To our amazement, the station had a giant indoor tropical garden, compete with palm trees, ponds and lots of turtles. They kept it very humid with misters spraying water. After snapping some photos, we found where to buy our tickets, and ended up buying them right then. We also figured out where to catch the train, and also where the Metro station was in the train station, as we needed to take the Metro there from our hotel in the morning.

It was starting to get dark, and had rained while we were in the museum. After walking around some more we took the Metro back to our hotel for a pre-dinner break. For dinner I had already decided that we were going to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe since it was within walking distance of our hotel. This Hard Rock looked just like all the others and had the same food on the menu. I ordered a beer, of course, and a 10 ounce cheeseburger with onion rings. Yum! Our waitress was very nice, and the music and videos provided even more entertainment. Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel and then explored the pedestrian shopping zones near by. It was only 9:30, but the prostitutes were out in force. They were not trying to hide. There must have been 10 or more women in skimpy outfits standing in the middle of the walkway looking for business. It was funny that just around the corner there was a police station. I guess this activity is tolerated but not necessarily legal. I did not bring one of them back to the hotel just in case you wondered. It would have been like a scene from Pretty Woman.

We ended up in Sol Plaza, where there was a large metal Christmas Tree that was not lit up yet. In fact all the street were lined with Christmas lights that were not turned on. In past trips to Europe they seem to turn the lights on the day we leave. We took a different path back to the hotel, avoiding the ladies of the evening, and headed back to our rooms. Our train left at 8:10 in the morning, and we would have just enough time to get our free breakfast, which didn't start until 7:30. So after getting on the Internet, which was free in this hotel, the Best Western Hotel Atlantico, I went to bed sometime before midnight. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Thanksgiving Vacation 2011: Lisbon, Portugal.

So my alarm goes off at 7:15 AM and I "jump" out of bed. I slept pretty well, considering the eight hour time difference. I was down in the lobby of the hotel by eight, where I sat and waited until by brother and his wife came down. I waited until 8:20 and then walked to the front desk and asked if they had checked in last night. The answer was "no". Great. They got stuck in London and I had no idea when they'd show up. So I was forced to pay the 20 Euro for one day's access to the Internet, as that was the only way I could contact them. Our phones don't work outside the US.

Back up in my room, I booted my laptop and logged into Facebook, and sure enough there were messages for me saying that their flight was canceled and they would be arriving in the morning around 11 AM. This was good news, but now I had three hours to kill until they showed up. So after eating breakfast at the hotel, which wasn't very good, especially for 10 Euros, I asked the people at the front desk where I could walk to for some photo opportunities. They gave me a map of the city and showed me two places near by, one was a museum, which was closed, and the other was a park that had good views on a clear day. It was not clear and had rained during the night.

I was now on my own, walking down the streets of a foreign city, trying not to look like a tourist, which was pretty hard since I was the only tourist. Everyone else on the streets was walking somewhere with a purpose - not looking at maps of taking photos. The area around the museum wasn't very interesting. A pond with ducks, some statues and a homeless man. Then I walked to a park, called the Eduardo VII Park. This place did have a great view towards the harbor, and even though it was cloudy, I was still able to get some good photos of the city. Plus, there were a few other tourists there, but not many. I did some more walking, and around 10:30 I decided I'd better head back to the hotel.

It took me exactly 30 minutes to get to the hotel, and I walked in right a 11 AM and there they were, my brother and his wife checking in at the front desk! They made it. After a short turnaround, we headed out, as there wasn't much time left to see the whole city. Our main destination was St. George's Castle, the biggest landmark in the city, sitting high on a hill near the harbor. Our first adventure was finding the metro station and buying tickets. Finding the station was easy - just a few blocks away. But I took longer to figure out where and how to buy a day-pass for the metro. The kiosks didn't have instructions in English. When we thought we got the passes, we tried to use them at the metro entrance and were rejected. Turns out we bought train passes. So we tried again and this time we got the correct tickets and proceeded to the metro. It took two metro lines and less than 10 minutes to get to the castle stop.

We spent some time wandering around this historic district of Lisbon. Down by the harbor we saw a cruise ship, so we knew there would be small crowd at the castle. We opted to walk up the steep streets leading to the castle, and even though it was cold, I got quite warm. Once we bought our tickets, we entered the castle and found a spot that had a great view of the city. I took many photos and even a short movie. Then when the Sun came out, I took more photos, this time with better light. Eventually we entered the main castle. There really isn't much to see in the castle, but what was fun was climbing all the stairs and exploring the various lookout posts, which provided ever better views of the city. One thing we noticed is that there weren't many safety rails in some places. You could walk across a walkway with no railing and if you fall it was a good 100 feet below. There were also many cats walking around, one of which was sleeping surrounded by bird feathers. He must have had a very filling lunch.

Eventually we realized that we needed lunch too. There was a small cafe where I bought a sandwich and water. We ate outside, where brightly colored, and very brave peacocks were looking for a free handout. This was a new experience for me. After lunch we continued to explore the castle, making our way to an archaeological site where they were excavating ancient ruins. Not much to see, really, so we walked around some more until we got tired of the castle and headed back down the hill. We took a different path down to explore the city, not getting lost, but not really knowing where we would end up.

We soon found ourselves near a church that looked ruined, one we saw from the castle. So our next goal was to get in this church. There was no direct route, so we walked up the street, up some steps and back down the next block before we found the entrance. It was only 3 Euros so we paid and went in. The courtyard was open, with arches above, and various statues along the walls. There was also a museum inside, which had some artifacts from the area, and a model of what the church used to look like. I believe the name of this church is The Carmo Church (or  perhaps Convent).

After leaving the church, we wandered the increasingly crowded streets some more. It also began to rain some, but not too hard. We now were thinking about dinner, and knew there was a Hard Rock Cafe somewhere in Lisbon, but we had no idea where. I asked one man at a magazine booth and he just gave me a blank stare. None of the restaurants looked inviting, plus, we were in the tourist part of the city, and it was also early, way too early for the locals to eat. We decided to head back to the hotel, take a short break and find a place to eat there or nearby. It was getting dark, and we didn't want to get stuck in one of the "bad" parts of the town where there were "troublesome youths".

After a short break at the hotel, we looked for a place to eat there, and there wasn't. So we asked the nice woman at the front desk where eat, and she gave us directions to a Portuguese restaurant. Well, her directions were hard to follow, as are the streets and hard to read street names. It doesn't help that all three of us can't read without glasses, especially in the dark. We finally found our way and entered the restaurant. It was close to 8 PM and we were still the first ones there. We sat at our table and the waiter immediately brought us  appetizers and bread. Well, in Europe they tend to do this and only charge you if you eat the food. So we left it alone.

Before eating, I needed a beer. So I asked about beer and my only choice as big or small. Okay, I'll take a big. I still don't know what the name of the beer was, and it wasn't much better than your typical fuzzy yellow American beer. However, he also brought us a free shot of Port wine, which is the wine Portugal is famous for. The wine was very sweet and had a different taste than most wines. On another day I would have bought a glass, but today it was just beer. We each ordered something different, I forget what I got, chicken I think, which came with vegetables and some kind of potato chips. The food was good, but nothing special. After a full day of walking, any food would have tasted good. After we finished, the waiter gave us a dessert menu and pointed to the specialties. I opted for the fruit and ice cream dessert and wasn't disappointed. It was huge, with lots of fruit and soft ice cream. However, after the ice cream melted, it became a big plate of brown goo. I had my fill and we were ready to leave when another waiter brought us a different Port wine to try - this one was a red wine. I didn't like it as much as the first. We got our bill and made sure we weren't overcharged, which we weren't.

The walk back to the hotel took half the time as we took the direct route, not the roundabout one to get there. Well, this was the end of our Lisbon trip. We had a flight to Madrid the next day, so we went to bed to get as much rest as possible. The one major concern we had was that the general strike that they had been talking about in Portugal was going to happen. The strike was on Thursday, the day we were traveling back from Madrid to Lisbon, and all airports were going to be shut down. We knew we had to find a way back to catch our flights home, but we'd worry about that the next day.