To California – Accomodations (or “California Sleepin'”… thanks George)

This is a continuation of my “To California” series… click here to read ‘Dining’.

Months ago when we were planning this little adventure, Jess scoured the web looking for good vacation rentals. We saw places in Monterey, in Carmel, in Santa Cruz, and all places in between. She wanted to be right on the ocean… that was her main goal. Eventually we found the place we did. We were a bit worried because on the website where she booked it, there were no pictures of the interior of the place. They were all exterior shots. The description said it had been remodeled recently, but who knows what that means. But the pictures of the outside looked good, so, what the hell. We gave it a shot.

Here we were

California Trip 147 Now… this is RIGHT on the ocean. We pulled up in the rental car and were amazed at it’s location. It sits on a cliff about 50 feet above the beach and about 100 total feet from high tide. When I say we were close to the ocean, it’s not an exaggeration. More on that in a moment.

Continue reading “To California – Accomodations (or “California Sleepin’”… thanks George)”

To California – Dining

Instead of doing the usual old simple chronological “this is what we did then” method of telling the story, I’m gonna go a different route. I’m going to do different categories instead. So, first up, is our dining adventures, although this will in fact be chronological… go figure.

California Trip 112 Pleasure Pizza – Santa Cruz
Jess was all geeked up to hit this place. It is her favorite pizza joint in the world, so it was our first stop. After getting to SantaCalifornia Trip 111 Cruz, we discovered that the place was just right up the street from us. So, we popped in for a slice. Lemme tell ya… it is good pizza. Highly recommended. But then again, I think I am addicted to pizza, so it has to be pretty bad for me to not like it (Papa John’s, I’m looking at you). This was right at pleasure point, and has a serious surfing motif. Boards and pictures everywhere. Nice old school feel.

California Trip 129 Margaritaville – Capitola
We popped into what one might think as one of Jimmy Buffet’s signature chain bars. Where it has the same name, this one is not actually part of that chain. Apparently they were grandfathered in. Anyway, this was right on the beach, and in fact had water right out the back of the bar. It was a nice little joint, and we ordered a couple mojitos and had some chips and salsa. It was the nice start to the vacation.

California Trip 128 California Trip 118 California Trip 127

Continue reading “To California – Dining”

New Site Feature

Hi gang. As I’m working on my posts of our little California adventure I’ve added a little feature to the site.

If you’ve been here before, you may notice a new header image at the top of the page. In fact, now, you will get a different image every day. I currently have 4 images from our recent trip, but I’m planning on adding more. Current goal is at least 7, but I will probably end up with more than that. I do have some great pictures from my many travels, and that sort of fits with the “In the world” theme.  By the way, just so you know, every one of these images will be one that I myself took.

Hope you enjoy!

So… I didn’t post

California Trip 130 As you might have noticed, I didn’t end up posting anything from lovely California while I was here. Sorry to keep any of you on the string thinking there might be daily updates and pictures.

Basically, it boils down like this. a.) we had very limited web access here at the house. The signal was spotty at best. The last thing I wanted was to have a whole post done that I couldn’t save because the network was down again. 2.) we’ve been busy. We have gone somewhere and done something every single day. We simply didn’t spend a lot of time just relaxing at the house. And, IV.) I just didn’t feel the urge to make the time. Easy as that.

Now, I think I have a good enough memory to recall everything we did… which will probably end up in a gigantic post of about 8000 words. With all the accompanying pictures, of course.

Coming soon to a blog near you.

We head home tomorrow. Leaving the splendor of the beach and 70 degree days for the hell that is the 90+ oven of Boise. Ugh. Why can’t vacation last forever?

We made it

Hello all. Coming to you from our little house overlooking the pacific. Surfers below us and blue skies above. It is beautiful.

Just wanted to let everyone know we made it save and sound, and we’re now a mojito and 2 beers in. All is right with the world.

I’m on a hijacked open network with a horribly weak signal here, so who knows how long this connection will last. But, while it’s up, I’m here. I’ve already got some good stories.

Back to relaxing!

Here is where we are… click on Satellite to get the full view.

I’m Goin Back To Cali

Santa Cruz SunsetQueue up the LL Cool J, because I am, indeed, goin back to Cali.

Specifically, Santa Cruz California. Jess is turning the big 3-0 next week and she wanted to spend a week down in her favorite place to celebrate. So, thats what we’re doing. She rented a beach house on a cliff overlooking the big blue Pacific for the whole week. Gonna be VERY nice.

I have been to the bay area a few times in the past few years, but we only went to Oakland. (That’s where the ex-laws were from) We never actually made it over to the nice part of the bay. I haven’t been to the San Fran/Carmel/Monterey area for 18 years. Not since the infamous spring break family trip all those years ago. I’ll have to write about that soon.

Anyway, we’ve got some plans. Monterey aquarium. Spend a day in the city and hit Alcatraz (I’ve never been) and various other sights. We’re gonna do a little sea kayaking off of Pebble Beach. And we’re gonna do a lot of relaxing. I haven’t been on a proper, relaxation-inducing vacation in a long time. Most of the time I travel, it’s to do things (go to Boise State games, for example). This time, the main goal is to just chill out mostly. Vodka-tonic-as-the-sun-goes-down kind of chillin. And let me tell you, I cannot wait.

Even better, we’ll have the laptop with us, so providing I can find internet access, I’ll be able to blog and post pictures from down there. Check back for updates.

See you upon my return, all relaxed and loose, one week from tomorrow!

Goodbye Mr. Wizard

wizard_2.jpgDon Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard lost his battle with cancer yesterday at 89.  View the intro to his show here.  That will really take some of you back!

I LOVED Mr. Wizard. When he came on Nickelodeon in the 80’s, I was hooked. Watched every day. To my young fertile mind, he really was a wizard. To this day, I can remember being truly amazed by what I saw him do with simple household items. He turned me on to science. Maybe that was why I scored in the 98th percentile in science on the Iowa test of basic skills. (and in the 67th for math).

I can vividly remember him teaching us about all kinds of things. Including sight: look through a paper towel tube with one eye, keep your other eye open and hold your other hand up next to the tube… it looks like there’s a hole in your hand!

Or, how to make a volcano (which I did once) with vinegar and baking soda.

Or, how centrifugal force will keep water in the bucket, even over your head, if you spin it fast enough.

Or, how to make a secret message by writing on a a spiral of paper wrapped around a certain sized tube, and in order to read it, you had to have the same sized tube.

Or, how straws actually work not by sucking the liquid out of the glass, but instead by air pressure. And he set up an experiment to see how high they could suck liquid up a straw like tube (using a vacuum pump)

I could go on and on. His show had different ‘topics’ and I loved them all, supermarket science, challenge, how it works, safari. I really think this is why I watch so much History, Discovery, National Geographic, Science Channel shows now. I love them all… all thanks to Mr. Wizard.

So, I just wanted to say Goodbye and Thank You to Don Herbert. You were a serious influence in my young life that echoes even today. Of course, did I find it a little strange, even as a kid, that you always had a gaggle of young kids in your house? Perhaps… If you were anyone else, we might be thinking a Michael Jackson thing. But, at least you never gave any of them wine and porn.

Apparently, his show is available on DVD. I’ll tell you this… if I ever have a kid, he or she WILL be watching Mr. Wizard.

Sopranos Finale

the_sopranos_iso.jpgWell, it happened last night. The Sopranos ended it’s epic HBO run to the delight and derision of its many fans. Of course, today the internet is alive with thousands of opinions, so I figured I might as well add my voice to the cacophony.

We were invited to a friends house to have a little Italian grub and watch the big show. I whipped up the now semi-famous ziti to take over there (it was a hit). I was a bit nervous to watch the show in a crowd, since usually when those sorts of things happen there are some in attendance who would rather talk through the whole show, and you become the asshole for trying to hear the show. Luckily, everyone just watched and was quiet, so that was great.

On to the show.

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Kristen and Adrian

wedding-sign_lg.jpgKris, today is your day.

I know you have been stressing about this for quite a while. Planning a wedding is a huge undertaking and I know you have been working on it non-stop for a long time. Well, at this point, whats done is done. I really hope that you can relax today and just enjoy the ride. It’s a special day and you really should try to go with the flow. Just know, that if things aren’t “perfect” you’re going to be the only one who notices or even remembers. So, if you can be happy with it, then the rest is gravy.

Part of me still thinks of you as that goofy little hanger-on, playing “superman” or “batmobile” in the living room. Or wrestling those times when you would cry just loud enough for mom and dad to hear. The Strawberry Shortcake look-a-like who would drink syrup out of the bottle and rip the pages out of the photo albums.

kris and adrian 028 Today, you hitch your wagon to the big A. Honestly, I don’t think you could have found a better guy than him. Adrian, I don’t know you too well, but I can say this… You’re about a thousand times better than some of the other schmucks Kris has dated (no offense, K!). I’m really really glad you’re in the family.

I’m certainly not one to dispense marriage advice other than to say this. Work at it. Don’t assume it will be all easy like dating was. You might think it won’t be much different, but trust me, it is. Funny what a little piece of paper can do.

I can’t wait to see you tonight. It will most definitely be seeing you in a way I never have before. You will shed your single identity and become K-Mo. I couldn’t be happier.

Love you, K-Mo!

Now lets get some booze into mom before she crumbles…

Harry Connick Jr. In Concert

Harry Connick JrTuesday evening Harry Connick Jr. performed here at the Idaho Center.  All in all, he put on a great show.  My review…

The show started right on time at 7:30.  We had settled into our seats with a couple beers for only a few minutes before the house lights went out.  I always chuckle at the concert ritual of the “wooooooo!” from the crowd when the lights go down.  I don’t know why that amuses me.

Anyway, the curtains pulled back on the stage, the band on the right and the left side had Harry’s grand piano, an upright model and an organ.  The backdrop was an image of a bourbon street balcony and there were a couple of street lights on stage.

Continue reading “Harry Connick Jr. In Concert”