Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Weekend, 11-13 July 2008
The plan for the weekend was to survive without spending money. No restaurants, no HEB, nothing. Ok, it was a good plan, blame it on the hounds. They needed to eat and we were out of hound grub. Might was well get beer and salad.
Saturday was a good day accomplishing cleaning out the garage and washing the car and truck. After lunch and a quick nap loaded up the bike and went to Government Canyon alone. The plan was to ride up Joe Johnston do Caroline’s Loop back to Joe around to Sendero Balconies then Little Windmill again back to Joe and then back to the parking lot. This was the first time on Caroline and I quickly realized that it wasn’t going to be easy. The first half mile is all up hill and a lot of pushing instead of riding. But after that it’s all down hill and nothing but smiles. Just one more hill on Sendero and it was all down hill from there. A great ride followed up with a couple of Tecate Lights.
Sunday the plan was about the same but this time with Marlene and with the idea of coming back down Joe after doing Caroline. Good plan gone bad very hot day and to hot for Marlene. Poor thing we finally got to the top of Caroline and that’s all she had. I wasn’t sure she was going to make it back and I must admit I was very alarmed that she was close to overheating and blowing a gasket. So quickly the decision was made to get her off the trail and back to the safety of AC. The good thing is she appeared to turn for the better and we were able to enjoy the ride back down the hill which is over lots of rock and is pretty challenging. Once we got back to the truck and headed out of the park, we decided to go to Hills and Dales and have a beer or two. Mary, Marlene’s sister, met us there and we had Dos Eques and I tried an Abita Torbodog.
A great weekend.
Saturday was a good day accomplishing cleaning out the garage and washing the car and truck. After lunch and a quick nap loaded up the bike and went to Government Canyon alone. The plan was to ride up Joe Johnston do Caroline’s Loop back to Joe around to Sendero Balconies then Little Windmill again back to Joe and then back to the parking lot. This was the first time on Caroline and I quickly realized that it wasn’t going to be easy. The first half mile is all up hill and a lot of pushing instead of riding. But after that it’s all down hill and nothing but smiles. Just one more hill on Sendero and it was all down hill from there. A great ride followed up with a couple of Tecate Lights.
Sunday the plan was about the same but this time with Marlene and with the idea of coming back down Joe after doing Caroline. Good plan gone bad very hot day and to hot for Marlene. Poor thing we finally got to the top of Caroline and that’s all she had. I wasn’t sure she was going to make it back and I must admit I was very alarmed that she was close to overheating and blowing a gasket. So quickly the decision was made to get her off the trail and back to the safety of AC. The good thing is she appeared to turn for the better and we were able to enjoy the ride back down the hill which is over lots of rock and is pretty challenging. Once we got back to the truck and headed out of the park, we decided to go to Hills and Dales and have a beer or two. Mary, Marlene’s sister, met us there and we had Dos Eques and I tried an Abita Torbodog.
A great weekend.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
4ourth of July 2Thousand8 Weekend
I turned 46 on 4/7/08. It was a 5-day weekend thanks to my lower back not being in on the game and putting a damper on the b'day plans. Oh well. Marlene took me to Jim's Restaurant for breakfast...chicken fried steak and eggs. Had homecooked burgers for lunch.
Went to see the movie Hancock with Will Smith. Good movie. Got a new camera; Olympus Stylus 790 SW waterproof and shockproof. Get'cha next time, Shamu!
Sunday, my back finally cooperated. Thanks Aleve! Went MBing twice in Government Canyon. See previous post.
Monday was a nice quiet day. Went to see the movie Iron Man. Lots of action. Liked it alot.
Mountain Biking, Government Canyon, 6 Jul 08
Finally got out to do some MBing in Government Canyon. In the AM, Marlene and I rode the Recharge and Far Reaches trails.
After lunch and a nap I went back out and did the Recharge, Far Reaches, and Sendero Balcones loop which was about 6.8 miles and took me about 1 hour 35 minutes.
After lunch and a nap I went back out and did the Recharge, Far Reaches, and Sendero Balcones loop which was about 6.8 miles and took me about 1 hour 35 minutes.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Mountain Biking; 1 Jun 08; McAllister Park
Woke up Sunday morning with plans to ride in McAllister Park with Marlene. This will be the second time riding in that park and we were both looking forward to it. Loaded up the bikes and equipment in the truck and headed out arriving in the park around 8:30 am.
The last time we rode here it was right after a big rain and it was very wet. This time was alot dryer and the trails were in good shape. Not as challenging as OP Schnabel, but a nice change of pace. We rode for about an hour and twenty minutes and covered about 8 miles.
One of the highlights of the ride was the appearance of alot of deer. At one point we stopped and about 15 deer were within 20 feet of us. It was clear that they had been fed by humans before, specially when low and behold a man walks up and starts feeding them.
Lesson learned: carry sunscreen and make sure there is beer in the refridgerator.
Post ride: rum and cokes and tuna melts.
The last time we rode here it was right after a big rain and it was very wet. This time was alot dryer and the trails were in good shape. Not as challenging as OP Schnabel, but a nice change of pace. We rode for about an hour and twenty minutes and covered about 8 miles.
One of the highlights of the ride was the appearance of alot of deer. At one point we stopped and about 15 deer were within 20 feet of us. It was clear that they had been fed by humans before, specially when low and behold a man walks up and starts feeding them.
Lesson learned: carry sunscreen and make sure there is beer in the refridgerator.
Post ride: rum and cokes and tuna melts.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Seaworld, Memorial Day Weekend; 23 May 08
Last year we went to Seaworld and not thinking went on a Saturday during the hot summer months and ended up leaving after about 2 hours because it was so hot and so crowded. Since then we had planned on going back on a weekday when we knew it wasn't going to be as crowded. Knowing that the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend was a day that kids were still in school, we figured this would be a good day to go. So we both took the day off making the 3-day weekend into a 4-day weekend.
Good decision. We arrived at the park around 10 AM and just as we had hoped it wasn't that crowded, even though it was a little hot. A little bit of bad news was that during this time of the year the waterpark is only open on Saturday and Sunday. Bummer!
Upon entering the park, the first thing we did was go see the dolphins. We spent a few minutes here and was told that the next feeding wasn't until 11 AM. With this news we went over to the Sharks/Coral Reef Area and got to see alot of beautiful fish, poison dart frogs, and of course sharks and lots of coral reef.
From here we went to the hospitality area and sat down to our first beer of the day. Ok, make that two. While here we learned about the Brewmaster Club and signed up for the first session scheduled for 1 PM.
As it was about 11:30 AM and we had already decided to miss the dolphin feeding we made our way to see the Shamu show which was to start at 12 PM. Once we got there of course we decided to sit in the Wet Zone. Let me tell you, if you go to this show you must definitely sit in the Wet Zone. Be warned, if your camera isn't waterproof don't take it in this area. We did, bad decision...new camera needed. I'm still hoping that I'll be able to get the pictures off the camera some way. Did I say we got soaked? "We got soaked!"
The Brewmaster Club was definitely the highlight of our Seaworld adventure. We got to choose 4 different beers to try and we were shown how to match them to cheese, chocolate, and fruit. I never realized how good chocolate was with beer. We also learned the proper way to pour a beer in a glass. Instead of tipping the glass to the side and pouring it down the side the correct procedure is to pour the beer straight into the bottom of the glass.
We also met this couple who turned out to both be military -- Air Force. The guy (ok, don't recall their names) was on terminal leave separating after 12 years and had a current security clearance.
After the Brewmaster Club, we made our way around to see the sea lions, the penguins, and the alligators.
A great trip had -- glad that we had decided to go back and give it another chance.
Good decision. We arrived at the park around 10 AM and just as we had hoped it wasn't that crowded, even though it was a little hot. A little bit of bad news was that during this time of the year the waterpark is only open on Saturday and Sunday. Bummer!
Upon entering the park, the first thing we did was go see the dolphins. We spent a few minutes here and was told that the next feeding wasn't until 11 AM. With this news we went over to the Sharks/Coral Reef Area and got to see alot of beautiful fish, poison dart frogs, and of course sharks and lots of coral reef.
From here we went to the hospitality area and sat down to our first beer of the day. Ok, make that two. While here we learned about the Brewmaster Club and signed up for the first session scheduled for 1 PM.
As it was about 11:30 AM and we had already decided to miss the dolphin feeding we made our way to see the Shamu show which was to start at 12 PM. Once we got there of course we decided to sit in the Wet Zone. Let me tell you, if you go to this show you must definitely sit in the Wet Zone. Be warned, if your camera isn't waterproof don't take it in this area. We did, bad decision...new camera needed. I'm still hoping that I'll be able to get the pictures off the camera some way. Did I say we got soaked? "We got soaked!"
The Brewmaster Club was definitely the highlight of our Seaworld adventure. We got to choose 4 different beers to try and we were shown how to match them to cheese, chocolate, and fruit. I never realized how good chocolate was with beer. We also learned the proper way to pour a beer in a glass. Instead of tipping the glass to the side and pouring it down the side the correct procedure is to pour the beer straight into the bottom of the glass.
We also met this couple who turned out to both be military -- Air Force. The guy (ok, don't recall their names) was on terminal leave separating after 12 years and had a current security clearance.
After the Brewmaster Club, we made our way around to see the sea lions, the penguins, and the alligators.
A great trip had -- glad that we had decided to go back and give it another chance.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Origin of 3-Piece Sectional
When I was stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea as an active duty airman in the Air Force, I had the pleasure of meeting two of the best friends anyone could ever meet; Bob Orsi Jr. and Scott Russell. Also, part of our posse was a great guy that after our one year tour at Osan, we all lost track of; Alex Torrez. Anyway, while there we had rented this apartment which was located in the town outside the base, which was a really cool pad. The place was located above our landlord and we had a great view of the town, errrr benjo ditches. The thing about living off base was that the furniture that you got was odds and ends from the base that you checked out and once your assignment was over you had to return. This furniture was the most basic of furniture and our living room consisted of two wooden chairs, a coffee table, and a TV with a VCR (this was in 1992-1993; pre-DVD). Of course the TV/VCR was brought from home and we owned that. Ok, so get the picture, two wooden chairs being that the armrests were made of wood and the only non-wood part was the cushions which were made of a hard plastic. Not too comfortable.
Ok, Ok, ok...getting to the origin. One night, not too sure why, this was 16 years ago, but I found myself home early and Bob, Scott, and Alex were still out on the town living it up. Actually, I don't think Scott was there. He might have been on his mid-tour back to the states. So, I go to bed and when I wake up the next morning and walk out into the living room...there's a couch. Everyone is in bed, but being the way we were, I shouted out, "Hey, where did we get the couch?" And from another room I hear Bob shout back, "It's a 3-Piece Sectional!"
Ok, Ok, ok...getting to the origin. One night, not too sure why, this was 16 years ago, but I found myself home early and Bob, Scott, and Alex were still out on the town living it up. Actually, I don't think Scott was there. He might have been on his mid-tour back to the states. So, I go to bed and when I wake up the next morning and walk out into the living room...there's a couch. Everyone is in bed, but being the way we were, I shouted out, "Hey, where did we get the couch?" And from another room I hear Bob shout back, "It's a 3-Piece Sectional!"
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Madrone Trail, Canyon Lake Park
It's been a long time since my last post. We've been riding on and off throughout the end of 2007. Mostly on the Greenbelt near OP Schnabel Park. Alot of good rides.
Today, we drove up to Canyon Lake Park to ride Madrone Trail. This trail was alot of fun and probably the most technical ride we've been on. Plenty of rock drop offs which is pretty new to us. Made history today, suffered my first flat tire since starting to ride. No problem. Had a spare tube and quickly changed it out and finished the ride.
For our post ride, we enjoyed ham and salami sandwiches and wine.
Today, we drove up to Canyon Lake Park to ride Madrone Trail. This trail was alot of fun and probably the most technical ride we've been on. Plenty of rock drop offs which is pretty new to us. Made history today, suffered my first flat tire since starting to ride. No problem. Had a spare tube and quickly changed it out and finished the ride.
For our post ride, we enjoyed ham and salami sandwiches and wine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
