tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63552986478230575432024-02-07T04:50:37.801-06:00Ferny's blogfernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-15903352425318099912010-08-07T01:32:00.000-05:002010-09-06T22:20:53.229-05:00summer trip 2010 - Del Mar (again)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well, this morning we completely changed our schedule....for a chance to see </span><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/06/sports/la-sp-dwyre-zenyatta-20100807"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Zenyatta</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> run at </span><a href="http://www.dmtc.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Del Mar</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She is my favorite horse currently training and probably my favorite horse of all time. I would rather watch her run live than to see any other sporting event, including the SuperBowl or the BCS title game. Zenyatta has a perfect race record 18 starts, 18 wins - 16 of those were Graded Stakes races. She has a closing running style which means that she races far off the pace, usually last until she starts her move about mid-way through the final turn. Here's a great Youtube clip showing her last 17 stretch runs:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PyD0MPFLy50?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PyD0MPFLy50?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Surprisingly the girls were ok with our change of plans (this was supposed to be day 2 at Disney). I extended at our Homewood Suite stay one more day and moved the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springdale,_Utah"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Springdale, UT</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (Zion NP) reservation forward one day. I was able to get four reserved seats in the second level of the grandstand. Del Mar was also giving away </span><a href="http://www.dmtc.com/season/events/index.php?id=92"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Zenyatta glass tumblers</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. The track was packed, as in about 32,500 people packed; easily double their normal attendance....all because Zenyatta was running. We all had a great time....I got see Zenyatta in the paddock and on the track.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's an HD video I created on my iPhone 4 using iMovie - </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">everything</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> was captured and edited </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">solely</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> on my iPhone.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q98Aueal_Ls?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q98Aueal_Ls?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the race we attempted to eat at </span><a href="http://www.fidelslittlemexico.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fidel's</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> in Solana Beach but the wait was over an hour. We decided to head back toward LA. Pizza at </span><a href="http://www.oggis.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oggi's</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> next to our hotel was where we ate.</span>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-7742629192353743512010-08-06T23:53:00.001-05:002010-09-06T22:20:04.417-05:00summer trip 2010 - Disney day one<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Our first day at </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Disneyland</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">...I look so forward to visiting; and, the main reason is the girls love this place, what kid wouldn't? (I like it, a lot, too)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First ride up was not a ride but a visit to </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/pixie-hollow/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pixie Hollow</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X04zWciSRwc"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">). The girls had their picture taken with Tinker Bell.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5H93BW8HBvfvLGADdk47Ta7Rfq3bg1AU2uFb17KS7xbtBOLCB2sHNvcvwLHGX_MqAH-TiME_TxAVvcM1tkzxPlBe3Xr_JK-m6aAEeQ3vvCNrpATvg8Qg92pMHc6Ogeb8tsMPvlb58XuaO/s1600/IMG_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5H93BW8HBvfvLGADdk47Ta7Rfq3bg1AU2uFb17KS7xbtBOLCB2sHNvcvwLHGX_MqAH-TiME_TxAVvcM1tkzxPlBe3Xr_JK-m6aAEeQ3vvCNrpATvg8Qg92pMHc6Ogeb8tsMPvlb58XuaO/s320/IMG_0607.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Girls with Tinker Bell</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7q7xRFA8LI1nFOkLPiEHM0Cr5DxjEVbKp9ilvd3877K9RAR3kTiTGFdbWpT47yk1GpSQwphLnePVlDNB8lsOZo94OcvtnkwlS45lO3Sh7ioeDOLOgse7XXKoL-lx45U9dhu77UAuo8rD/s1600/IMG_0608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7q7xRFA8LI1nFOkLPiEHM0Cr5DxjEVbKp9ilvd3877K9RAR3kTiTGFdbWpT47yk1GpSQwphLnePVlDNB8lsOZo94OcvtnkwlS45lO3Sh7ioeDOLOgse7XXKoL-lx45U9dhu77UAuo8rD/s320/IMG_0608.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland</span><br />
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</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Alice in Wonderland ride was closed about 3 weeks before our Disney visit. </span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0722-disney-alice-20100722-1,0,5134659.story"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The California division of OSHA said the ride needed handrails for maintenance worker safety.</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> This was very odd considering the ride had been open for 52 years without an incident due to missing rails.</span><br />
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here was the rest of our day with links to ride information and youtube ride thru's:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Matterhorn Bobsleds - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/matterhorn-bobsleds/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matterhorn_Bobsleds"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wiki</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z-u2wijnfs"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finding Nemo - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/finding-nemo-submarine-voyage/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Nemo_Submarine_Voyage"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wiki</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUG6KHbCTmM"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a Small World - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/its-a-small-world/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Small_World"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wiki</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmBgJuS62Fc"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Princess Story time - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/disney-princess-fantasy-faire/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, wiki, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F46vHzk8Uk"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mickey Mouse House - official, wiki, youtube</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Minnie Mouse House - official, wiki, youtube</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXZVUTWh7p9Ab77SfhOT8SVl9PzolyA7ACu3YD5F0svgFXoPj3cO0OBxEgvVqT2OQ8BGwXhAaz3T8tryfhRHYDJd5EfCFQeAvUtk61pWUm6KOj7YEjQsQGdiP5FyTlR0X0Sz4BhHwB8FN/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXZVUTWh7p9Ab77SfhOT8SVl9PzolyA7ACu3YD5F0svgFXoPj3cO0OBxEgvVqT2OQ8BGwXhAaz3T8tryfhRHYDJd5EfCFQeAvUtk61pWUm6KOj7YEjQsQGdiP5FyTlR0X0Sz4BhHwB8FN/s320/IMG_0616.JPG" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Big Thunder Mountain - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/big-thunder-mountain-railroad/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Thunder_Mountain_Railroad"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wiki</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thg4ujc4sxU"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pirates of Caribbean - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/pirates-of-the-caribbean/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean_(Disneyland)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wiki</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xc8J1ZATNM"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Soarin' over California - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneys-california-adventure/soarin/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soarin'_Over_California"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wiki</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, below is my own iPhone 4 ride thru video</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NzGNwugsh5s?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NzGNwugsh5s?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is easily the family favorite-we have to ride it everyday we are at the park. Imagine yourself lifted up into the middle of an </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">IMAX</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> screen with the POV of a hang glider soaring through the Californian skies. Your feet dangle in the air as your seat pitches up/down and left/right. During several scenes the air is scented to match what is on the screen, for example through the orange grove scenes you actually smell oranges....and, the musical score is incredible.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Monsters - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneys-california-adventure/monsters-inc/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsters,_Inc._Mike_%26_Sulley_to_the_Rescue!"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wiki</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCiCoYGL-tY"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">youtube</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Muppet 3DMovie - </span><a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneys-california-adventure/muppet-vision-3d/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">official</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, wiki, youtube</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We used two different iPhone apps while at Disney to help us track ride wait times. The first app was called </span><a href="http://www.mousewait.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mousewait</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and the second was </span><a href="http://tapbanana.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Walkee Wait Time</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. Both of these make great use of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">crowdsourcing</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> on the iPhone 4. These apps show the ride wait times based on other park attendees input. Although not 100% accurate it was reliable enough to use. Since I was using it I also felt obligated to contribute by posting ride wait times as I experienced them. AT&T 3G service was not good in the park. The Mousewait app did not run if 3G service was not available so we mostly used Walkee Wait Time. After about 10.5 hours at the park it was time to head back to the hotel and eat dinner. We stayed at the </span><a href="http://homewoodsuites1.hilton.com/en_US/hw/hotel/LAXHWHW-Homewood-Suites-by-Hilton-Anaheim-Main-Gate-Area-California/index.do"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Homewood Suites in Garden Grove</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. They have a shuttle service (very reasonably priced) to Disneyland and there are 4 restaurants conveniently located next door. This evening's meal was at </span><a href="http://www.outback.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Outback Steakhouse</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. It was a unanimous choice, except the girls refer to it as Backout.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After dinner we started something that would become a habit....we visited a frozen yogurt (aka froyo) store called </span><a href="http://tfyogurt.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tutti Frutti</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. I don't know how we have missed out on the froyo craze but, I think we started something with this visit. There were 16 yogurt flavors so the girls had a tough time making a choice. This was a dual-concept store that was also housed an </span><a href="http://www.omybuns.com/sub01_01.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">O' My Buns!</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> The coffee roti buns were absolutely incredible.....and extremely addicting.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcvzc9sQSmkW52GnIXHTIlbLAtSfDEcQWId-34RLFzcFA_giCeTPSslJCHfw37sUQqsLXEo0uda6eBCbCwO1m1p2oNKz0JDoQRM1puC9K_s1Q5IPi2FS_XpWRWPzBTAmP3YHw-z8oghJu/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcvzc9sQSmkW52GnIXHTIlbLAtSfDEcQWId-34RLFzcFA_giCeTPSslJCHfw37sUQqsLXEo0uda6eBCbCwO1m1p2oNKz0JDoQRM1puC9K_s1Q5IPi2FS_XpWRWPzBTAmP3YHw-z8oghJu/s320/IMG_0692.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is the Almond O' My Bun - Easily my greatest</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">food find of the year. D loved them even more than me.</span></td></tr>
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</div></div></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-33307230649529928212010-08-06T02:16:00.000-05:002010-09-06T22:19:40.718-05:00summer trip 2010 - San Diego Zoo<div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPiT7oyQca_tgv1k99bBRO1bn0vTPACM1lSxsqLCsfeudQlq_MmEJbjIg962WPrUzdO73ZF2wbg3FXxCJnrfYCjyxovD2Kw_QgAMdMkTtwMLxowuEUcD9WSd0Tf62HlgfXJxTrqkgwv6w/s1600/IMG_0600.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMZOVMAnkgIkLUzlva5RMycP_smVZGJ0kRiyiUXPWSNgPZQpeDLynPiQj2QXW5AFT2rOeKi18sCJGvt-mgRfagGWlY2Cs-mpkOVKhRO8y1NnVJYKyqLZHRT5_2KV3_Cfe-zr7sG3zf2bB/s1600/IMG_0604.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507340584911154530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMZOVMAnkgIkLUzlva5RMycP_smVZGJ0kRiyiUXPWSNgPZQpeDLynPiQj2QXW5AFT2rOeKi18sCJGvt-mgRfagGWlY2Cs-mpkOVKhRO8y1NnVJYKyqLZHRT5_2KV3_Cfe-zr7sG3zf2bB/s320/IMG_0604.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzMBptZ5FcMLvAs0pEH30aTOvyYXFtMUBJQPe7esduzlhH73XzM6pZfO4De17yD06_XSOo47X_tWs7PqCZaykmFp5yPbKs7WTBz7Mt1LGFQMOl1ha8Fb9wi2isICsfVafUCIfYVQin2-6m/s1600/IMG_0588.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507335868866378034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzMBptZ5FcMLvAs0pEH30aTOvyYXFtMUBJQPe7esduzlhH73XzM6pZfO4De17yD06_XSOo47X_tWs7PqCZaykmFp5yPbKs7WTBz7Mt1LGFQMOl1ha8Fb9wi2isICsfVafUCIfYVQin2-6m/s320/IMG_0588.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today was our final day in San Diego. D and I always find it sad to leave our SD hotel. The weather and city are just amazing. This day was spent at the </span><a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">San Diego Zoo</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. On the way we stopped at </span><a href="http://www.sportchalet.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sport Chalet</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> to pick up some end-of-season discounted swim gear for the girls. When we arrived at the zoo the parking lot was quite full to our surprise - in fact, the zoo was packed. Once inside we found out the entire week was </span><a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandabirthday/community.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Panda Birthday Week</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. Three pandas celebrating their birthdays in the same week. Great. The panda line was about 30 minutes long. But, this was must do item on our list. We have figured out the 3 things the girls enjoy most here are the </span><a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/plan_your_trip/activities"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Skyfari aerial tram</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, the </span><a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/animal_zones/outback/koala_exhibit/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">koalas</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">pandas</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. After doing this things they are pretty much done with the zoo. This kind of makes the zoo not worthwhile because of the </span><a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/tickets/zootickets.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">steep admission prices</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. The zoo setting is absolutely beautiful and not just because of the animals - </span><a href="http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2104/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the plants and trees are amazing</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's a short video from our koala visit-check out the koala in the background (not foreground) attempting to jump over another koala.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PGnB4LcQ4wM?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PGnB4LcQ4wM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One more weather detail in case you missed this in my previous post:</span></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPiT7oyQca_tgv1k99bBRO1bn0vTPACM1lSxsqLCsfeudQlq_MmEJbjIg962WPrUzdO73ZF2wbg3FXxCJnrfYCjyxovD2Kw_QgAMdMkTtwMLxowuEUcD9WSd0Tf62HlgfXJxTrqkgwv6w/s1600/IMG_0600.PNG"></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHf83wpUPUerbUjnhLZSPnrJObqgyGMo3Aw2_3yvbNlU_rFmXniTt51LzkGSHDtug_lxu8UWwjX6bLdDAB4qQsuKIFAH-ruo5QctSfgrkJ6D7xfBilupM6-EXsBpvlvrVBzWMFd97pFSZF/s1600/IMG_0599.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507341927057303586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHf83wpUPUerbUjnhLZSPnrJObqgyGMo3Aw2_3yvbNlU_rFmXniTt51LzkGSHDtug_lxu8UWwjX6bLdDAB4qQsuKIFAH-ruo5QctSfgrkJ6D7xfBilupM6-EXsBpvlvrVBzWMFd97pFSZF/s320/IMG_0599.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 214px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Keller, TX Weather = Bad</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507341931118378898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPiT7oyQca_tgv1k99bBRO1bn0vTPACM1lSxsqLCsfeudQlq_MmEJbjIg962WPrUzdO73ZF2wbg3FXxCJnrfYCjyxovD2Kw_QgAMdMkTtwMLxowuEUcD9WSd0Tf62HlgfXJxTrqkgwv6w/s320/IMG_0600.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: right; width: 214px;" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">San Diego, CA Weather = Perfection</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507341159024227650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeGQaebhrP8BTU7XDeuSyKKMMg_IovUr4BsegU8qovex7CmrslLMILXPV_wsNzDtbqCE5F-nFFsUbrHALWZ-G2q9ybvFvQvpU0H9l-oDBIcedB9C9RQuR64p1bcSENRL-uiHkLLU5Lp4n/s320/IMG_0596.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We found these cute white tigers at the zoo!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After 6.5+ hours at the zoo we were ready to make our way to Anaheim. On the way we stopped in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solana_Beach,_California"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Solana Beach</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (just north of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Mar,_California"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Del Mar</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">) to eat at </span><a href="http://www.tonysjacal.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tony's Jacal</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. We ate on the patio and the food was awesome as usual. D and the girls were shivering and actually asked to have the outdoor overhead heater be turned on.....I relished the coolness of the air knowing that I would be going back to a heat wave in Texas. When we finished eating we hit the I-5 for the hour long trip to Anaheim. Next Day - Disney!</span></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-81249338302555257852010-08-05T00:39:00.020-05:002010-09-06T22:19:10.535-05:00summer trip 2010 - free day<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Iw-orgRRByfvoynPS7Sf7EStQkdKRr-UNU0aVN5PpyS6jowwDAlaTfz3VFudsmfZmg-HALyV8fEgjD4uJOIJX75dahs1_RK-83-RbWZdUpRRKo62sLcRSl06qsjxALw_ohjI_m1TCDes/s1600/IMG_2410.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505869237136338802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Iw-orgRRByfvoynPS7Sf7EStQkdKRr-UNU0aVN5PpyS6jowwDAlaTfz3VFudsmfZmg-HALyV8fEgjD4uJOIJX75dahs1_RK-83-RbWZdUpRRKo62sLcRSl06qsjxALw_ohjI_m1TCDes/s320/IMG_2410.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 214px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">La Jolla Children's Pool</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNMvaUvsjImZwZkAB16UQPnCU6SLtUSJV78BmUFmAqNP0ifUo_6IG48TpdTixeNZWWl4QewZ-n_etDyN9T5bRgPJkaI4zRHnHRrTswABddkk7Yvc7gJ_EYzb57HE3-vtYCbZR_zOBiW26/s1600/IMG_2403.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJa1mpXn5GOsDCmeaTD62PDvj3eL-Y5lzQ_0LsEHIeGkdvJmCOpozN-t80LtGGmRR4dTnCdvI0-UUEHRBAlnMQ50SRlOJspENkXxOict1dBE71nUCX46r6YO0Z3OsXOuWgTMJkcu0mLMF/s1600/IMG_2399.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></span><br />
<div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was originally planned as our third day at the beach but we needed a break from 3-4 hours in the sun and salt water - A, for the third year in a row, got some redness around the bottom of each of eye from the sun and water. So, we decided to head to La Jolla again, but without getting into the water. The first stop was the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Pool_Beach"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">La Jolla Children's Pool Beach</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. This is a great area to just enjoy the sound of the surf while spotting seals or looking for shells. We spent a couple of hours here, including a visit to an ice cream truck.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505866462466708530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9V_OjoOFjRBVqNwsYFWDQyd179ng7RjyVwkYSB8JRyKiGjR_Bqzlb8y1Bvh7KIz1l-xv_wigie1l6Yb9i9ysh32wIGwT7jMVBSH8KkQg4yerShrd4lVCRyXCPlqMJxvlie2v76ddTwZHI/s320/IMG_2394.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 214px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Digging for shells</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNMvaUvsjImZwZkAB16UQPnCU6SLtUSJV78BmUFmAqNP0ifUo_6IG48TpdTixeNZWWl4QewZ-n_etDyN9T5bRgPJkaI4zRHnHRrTswABddkk7Yvc7gJ_EYzb57HE3-vtYCbZR_zOBiW26/s1600/IMG_2403.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505868809661415138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNMvaUvsjImZwZkAB16UQPnCU6SLtUSJV78BmUFmAqNP0ifUo_6IG48TpdTixeNZWWl4QewZ-n_etDyN9T5bRgPJkaI4zRHnHRrTswABddkk7Yvc7gJ_EYzb57HE3-vtYCbZR_zOBiW26/s320/IMG_2403.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 214px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sea Lion coming up for air</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscWsOmn12wvjoreBZG9_66BTR1iTLO_PacODL-tx7TgXv1T_SEjZ45s9KzwCKe33udfOJZEeI4cBK7f3gNhlGe3x_VxAxZkYIDZ8O823olY8cmD7PL9bMR0wqSsfG8kqU9133e-BPuiKR/s1600/IMG_2401.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505868800167047458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscWsOmn12wvjoreBZG9_66BTR1iTLO_PacODL-tx7TgXv1T_SEjZ45s9KzwCKe33udfOJZEeI4cBK7f3gNhlGe3x_VxAxZkYIDZ8O823olY8cmD7PL9bMR0wqSsfG8kqU9133e-BPuiKR/s320/IMG_2401.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 214px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">D could stay here all day</span></span></div></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505868794955248226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJa1mpXn5GOsDCmeaTD62PDvj3eL-Y5lzQ_0LsEHIeGkdvJmCOpozN-t80LtGGmRR4dTnCdvI0-UUEHRBAlnMQ50SRlOJspENkXxOict1dBE71nUCX46r6YO0Z3OsXOuWgTMJkcu0mLMF/s320/IMG_2399.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 214px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJa1mpXn5GOsDCmeaTD62PDvj3eL-Y5lzQ_0LsEHIeGkdvJmCOpozN-t80LtGGmRR4dTnCdvI0-UUEHRBAlnMQ50SRlOJspENkXxOict1dBE71nUCX46r6YO0Z3OsXOuWgTMJkcu0mLMF/s1600/IMG_2399.JPG"></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJa1mpXn5GOsDCmeaTD62PDvj3eL-Y5lzQ_0LsEHIeGkdvJmCOpozN-t80LtGGmRR4dTnCdvI0-UUEHRBAlnMQ50SRlOJspENkXxOict1dBE71nUCX46r6YO0Z3OsXOuWgTMJkcu0mLMF/s1600/IMG_2399.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJa1mpXn5GOsDCmeaTD62PDvj3eL-Y5lzQ_0LsEHIeGkdvJmCOpozN-t80LtGGmRR4dTnCdvI0-UUEHRBAlnMQ50SRlOJspENkXxOict1dBE71nUCX46r6YO0Z3OsXOuWgTMJkcu0mLMF/s1600/IMG_2399.JPG"></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"No more pictures, we're digging for shells"</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cave excursion - at the northern end of the Children's Pool there is a small cave. I decided to go through the cave wearing my "street clothes" and take video with my fairly new iPhone 4. I almost dropped the phone as I misjudged the surf twice.....</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oGcHe2ySqyY?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oGcHe2ySqyY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></span></div><div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's a short video of the La Jolla surf</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WcO6i5-j6uU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WcO6i5-j6uU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From here we headed to downtown La Jolla to for some shopping. We went through several "not high-end" stores. I walked a block over to the </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/smashburger-la-jolla"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">La Jolla Smashburger</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> just to see how busy it was.....it was packed! Every table was taken and the line was way too long. It was about mid-afternoon so we headed over </span><a href="http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In and Out</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> on our way to </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronado,_California"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Coronado</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. On the way we stopped at the San Diego Seaport to look for some San Diego branded souvenirs for the girls. M picked out a San Diego nameplate and A wanted a cool looking shell. We drove over the bay on the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_%E2%80%93_Coronado_Bridge"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Coronado Bridge</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. This was formerly a toll-road but, unlike all the toll-roads currently being built, tolls are no longer necessary since the construction debt has been paid - my guess is that the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_North_Island"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">large Naval base</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> on the Coronado Peninsula has some influence on this as well. Although it is over 200 feet at its peak over the bay, it does not allow for passage for the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimitz_class_aircraft_carrier"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">current Nimitz-class carriers</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjy8pWmbGqHjchm-I8aV7jOleA8xqAudifT-qGY5-LMP085w9sA0gAEBshVMpRkSr5QAyF3486tjDq6AnKNFIncr6cILKTmAtprR_wfQbW6KfWeZzsbsimau1ZVE4iKM6jXIrmEA-zydJ/s1600/IMG_0585.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506241332505670290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjy8pWmbGqHjchm-I8aV7jOleA8xqAudifT-qGY5-LMP085w9sA0gAEBshVMpRkSr5QAyF3486tjDq6AnKNFIncr6cILKTmAtprR_wfQbW6KfWeZzsbsimau1ZVE4iKM6jXIrmEA-zydJ/s320/IMG_0585.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVBmEoT3qiaAOkiFeAHDW-STO95f2hS7IlzZvI-G7DImTuS1orkNmioRgwysiFwhIqHkjGjTebDadmBFckSg57JMhQ1BIbQ8BcnNbWJzRL6iWITS9qfC6FmshNezN-SBDLfB_9bgtnnHz/s1600/IMG_0584.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506241327945380018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVBmEoT3qiaAOkiFeAHDW-STO95f2hS7IlzZvI-G7DImTuS1orkNmioRgwysiFwhIqHkjGjTebDadmBFckSg57JMhQ1BIbQ8BcnNbWJzRL6iWITS9qfC6FmshNezN-SBDLfB_9bgtnnHz/s320/IMG_0584.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506241717957959378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3viP4rM2SZMyKT28hQBk46Ig9KOxUN-lplrDzFERJehP8mmoAm7A6jo7gfZfrwUvta5N2DiWLPl3TGgeHbQYWbJlrbYiXbwrRYDe1iE3aaXWPMDG3Qt5H_UTsbKtfeSqcCOIxmfOA3W6/s320/IMG_0585.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unbelievably, there was no one by us at </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the park to take a family picture</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We finished the day back at the hotel. Our hotel is in the revitalized </span><a href="http://www.libertystation.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Liberty Station</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> area. This evening Liberty Station sponsored an outdoor movie night, Movie Mania. There were booths sponsored by local businesses giving away freebies before the movie started. At dusk they showed "The Blind Side" on a 12 foot outdoor screen. Right before it started I got carryout from </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-nova-san-diego"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pizza Nova</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> for the family. Our hotel even loaned out outdoor picnic blankets to lay on. There were about 200 people on the lawn between the hotel and the bay trail.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-40878404806156672812010-08-04T09:59:00.000-05:002010-09-06T22:17:33.560-05:00summer trip 2010 - beach fun<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEuE5azNIgu1ThMYbeXH3ZspS5AbGG7BrDIRsU-acQuZrUYLcq6zIEFXuXk5WHJr4A9YKDHF2leaxoGmiyrSCPnt2cB9ZajtjpHmcr4n1M91GKH7TGfshsw2Qf0Kx2gSpTTQwgck1piLg/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a>The next couple of days were spent at La Jolla Shores Beach. We had a blast at the beach...D got some serious sunburn on her shoulders, as usual. <br />
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</div><div><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AMngXQjvNAU&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AMngXQjvNAU&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></div><div><br />
</div><div>Both of the girls really got the hang of the Boogie Board on the first day. Here's M on the board with her sister cheering her on....</div><div><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L6WqOY5pOIo&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L6WqOY5pOIo&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's A on the board....</div><div><object height="280" width="462"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tErNYAUs69Q&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tErNYAUs69Q&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></div><div><br />
</div><div>Both of them were having blast in the sand and the water. M decided she had enough when I spotted a jellyfish floating about 10 feet from us; and, then an unidentified fish that was about 20-24 inches scared the crap out of me (which scared M). A went back out into the water with me later and a seal swam right by us.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>Here they are taking a break from the sun....</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEuE5azNIgu1ThMYbeXH3ZspS5AbGG7BrDIRsU-acQuZrUYLcq6zIEFXuXk5WHJr4A9YKDHF2leaxoGmiyrSCPnt2cB9ZajtjpHmcr4n1M91GKH7TGfshsw2Qf0Kx2gSpTTQwgck1piLg/s1600/photo+(1).JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501893571070796642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEuE5azNIgu1ThMYbeXH3ZspS5AbGG7BrDIRsU-acQuZrUYLcq6zIEFXuXk5WHJr4A9YKDHF2leaxoGmiyrSCPnt2cB9ZajtjpHmcr4n1M91GKH7TGfshsw2Qf0Kx2gSpTTQwgck1piLg/s320/photo+(1).JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div>We packed lunches both days. After leaving the beach we made stops at the hotel pool both days....the girls have lots of energy and wanted to keep going. Our hotel, <a href="http://homewoodsuites1.hilton.com/en_US/hw/hotel/SANLSHW-Homewood-Suites-by-Hilton-San-Diego-Airport-Liberty-Station-California/videoTour.do?id=1">Homewood Suites-Liberty Station is awesome.</a> Monday thru Thursday they have an evening reception which includes dinner and beer/wine. On Monday night I took advantage of the draught beer before walking across the parking lot to <a href="http://www.oggis.com/">Oggis Pizza and Brewing Company</a>. For some unexplainable reason I ordered a pitcher of their <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3073/6962">Torrey Pines IPA</a>....bad move as I left half of the pitcher - it was very hoppy. Maybe I just had too many beers from the hotel. Anyways we had a couple of appetizers and walked back to the hotel. </div><div><br />
</div><div>We hit the beach the next day - about 100 meters south of the spot from the previous day. By the end of the day D and I were both exhausted....but, the girls still wanted play at the pool when we arrived back at the hotel. About 45 minutes of pool time it was time to get ready for dinner. D stayed in the lounger by the pool and looked up Mexican restaurants on her phone. It really is hard to find non-taqueria mexican food restaurants in San Diego and, after our recent taqueria experience with the kids I really wanted something not like that. D decided that <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-de-loma-san-diego-2">Casa de Loma</a> looked promising after reading about it on yelp.com. It was very close the hotel and sounded good. The entrance was on a main road with parking behind the building. When walked up the door was open and there was not one single person eating here....hmmm, not a good sign so we left. This threw everyone for a loop - what to eat now? After our second beach/pool day we were tired and hungry. Everyone but M agreed to grab a quick bite at the world's greatest hamburger spot - <a href="http://www.in-n-out.com/default.asp">In-and-Out</a>. M just about threw a fit to get some pizza. We caved and got her mini pizza to go from Chuck E. Cheese which was in the same parking lot as In-and-Out. She ate her pizza at In-and-Out while the rest had burgers. Looking back on this I think M had the right idea....not that In-and-Out was a bad idea....we should have made one more trip to <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-nova-san-diego">Pizza Nova</a> because there would be other In-and-Out opportunities in LA and Las Vegas.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Later that evening I walked over from our hotel to <a href="http://www.losprimosmexicanfood.com/primopages/index.htm">Los Primos Mexican Restaurant</a> (a taqueria style place) to get an <a href="http://www.orange-bang.com/index.html">Orange Bang</a>. What is an Orange Bang you ask? Well, if you've ever had an Orange Julius that's pretty much the same thing. This place also Horchata, Jamica, Tamarindo and Pina drinks. For $2 I got a 32oz drink....couldn't finish it, though.</div><div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEcEE9xkRxwbwb-DfG3axWAq0HP1oMI-xVFwDcFiOZa6TTqkPmPwx8FgudN6F6Tg7JSlfeHs1pJBjpfGXnm27jKh8saxLGXZbSThJmZJ4B-0JJIk-u25StTiAaFP8dNmAo6DeHFbNG2AV/s1600/photo.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501893568603506562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEcEE9xkRxwbwb-DfG3axWAq0HP1oMI-xVFwDcFiOZa6TTqkPmPwx8FgudN6F6Tg7JSlfeHs1pJBjpfGXnm27jKh8saxLGXZbSThJmZJ4B-0JJIk-u25StTiAaFP8dNmAo6DeHFbNG2AV/s320/photo.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 239px;" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-66562759420221055992010-08-02T10:42:00.024-05:002010-08-07T02:12:44.743-05:00summer trip 2010 - Del Mar<div style="text-align: left;">After waking up and eating breakfast at the hotel we headed up the bayside trail for about a 1/2 mile. We encountered a playground that the girls really enjoyed. In the video clip D is having a good time with backhoe while the girls are swinging.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="462" height="280"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ey-hZ4lv-6E&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ey-hZ4lv-6E&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>On the walk back we spent time on the shore of the San Diego bay. Here's what happens to a jellyfish near the shoreline when the tide drops....</div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiolhW4qy4cVhr_LZR43tA61_cBXnHv0NYs81EIs3im1VL6FQMK1GxMbznHilb5dO_NcgzhPO5BCqek_WyipXTAV4K7uvb4RtkeBWUTm8kxOZjxUZ_PcPN-ndXiilEjG-a8-2gxUh6WnJVp/s320/jellyfish.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501226378328713202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>On the way out to the <a href="http://www.dmtc.com/">Del Mar race track</a> I wanted try California's version of a taqueria. My choice was <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/adalbertos-mexican-food-san-diego-2#query:aldabertos">Adelberto's Mexican Food</a> since it was actually near our hotel and on the way to the track. The girls decided to try the chicken quesadilla. It looked promising when we saw it...check out the size of this monster.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxmBQFvmTRNHc3HargepLnD5bEn-GIOoozABi4AheD-B91gy5QtV0RIqhOuX6W4epGPlwv-h6E-DkGXyiWPhJvjcnyg9R70m6J3HGZyJE5ptbhaHsaKdid6Sn3n_5RPfE22mC0EHZR2bR/s320/huge+dilla.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501228717086558530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div>The only problem was that the chicken was not grilled...it was sautéed in tomato sauce - dark and white meat. The girls didn't eat much after tasting/seeing the chicken. D and I split a California burrito and carne asada fries-both of these items are very popular in southern California.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDtn0fB2wRP1VxdMU1nlr4M5Q-Hx8sYSuB4-FsCPEunjgzk4ES0uYomZIawMmlPU7mOLlH2lMQRJEL9-5wJ9vZabng2EIa79sIQYggbX7gfUV5I_laEKJzaHEdJkdUleo9DDc3s76R4EO/s320/carne+asada+fries.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501233715049699938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></span></div><div>This was too much food...probably a pound+ of french fries, cheddar cheese, guacamole, carne asada and a crumbled mexican white cheese. It was surprisingly good-we just couldn't finish it, especially considering we were also splitting the California burrito. The burrito was the size of a Chipotle burrito (no rice in this burrito, yay!). This burrito was loaded with carne asada, cheddar cheese, french fries and salsa. It was good, too. I did feel bad about the girls, though...they just didn't like the place. </div><div><br /></div><div>As always the weather here is just amazing. You feel the heat of the sun but the continuous light breeze is like an air conditioner steadily blowing on you.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgismBnIPz2FTxA0EHo6mZq5ifiz0ghQaNOqOrjn5frfuNcUtHzuQJtexvv09_owGFYJ_CK0wTy_0GwZQMvv07f9pqNChaq6xhjHIg35B6ITpLgAGOHBgRETz8VwnFv6EGJuEgnKGyBRnhu/s320/sdca+temp.PNG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501199142530191554" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwbgp3n1ooM6g6zk2_qHlD5tDPUsZrW3114E6LMsbP71Oa4Wwtc8u2_wBZKfMVL5ZFZ2FpB1aOEfMv0SZKjI9qXYq3b5uvNbADLDdJ_90O-vMPx_fkbnhWTe4mvX4cCrDnkUmt4EYT9uOc/s320/k+tx+temp.PNG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501199648068546530" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">This is the reason why we love San Diego....and this is what we dislike about Keller (Texas). You can see that today was not the exception in either location if you look at the forecast. The low in Keller is significantly higher than the high in San Diego, ugh. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div>We arrived at the track in time for the first race. Everyone made betting selections through the 5th race....we made winning selections but were slowly losing money since favorites that came in were not returning the money we were betting.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj73BKJYRDRv8HyRvGJRQw4YjvLb1nXbGWoZtbi9yv0n1PtosNYYLM4j_l7HCTt8MS67pmopiu4Z5QTUKyD7U1l48WPs6Cc0pfwciaH_ksR52n_4UgiqMugfO5ovThNITtltTsKY8xntjs/s1600/del+mar+paddock.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj73BKJYRDRv8HyRvGJRQw4YjvLb1nXbGWoZtbi9yv0n1PtosNYYLM4j_l7HCTt8MS67pmopiu4Z5QTUKyD7U1l48WPs6Cc0pfwciaH_ksR52n_4UgiqMugfO5ovThNITtltTsKY8xntjs/s320/del+mar+paddock.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501876661414528962" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In the paddock prior to the first race</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3haXTQN8nCOy5BZAuLMeUpBMF7HP48wJkz2eEws8SXluyJYs4k8AGoFO9PWz4e7ZwV5-Eret6Hmc83aml4MdqsSwiJ9eXxYOGNuPlcWv3epCpvgOfv7cYZtXe7iEGLBe2zRJQFhnHNlv3/s1600/del+mar+fun.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3haXTQN8nCOy5BZAuLMeUpBMF7HP48wJkz2eEws8SXluyJYs4k8AGoFO9PWz4e7ZwV5-Eret6Hmc83aml4MdqsSwiJ9eXxYOGNuPlcWv3epCpvgOfv7cYZtXe7iEGLBe2zRJQFhnHNlv3/s320/del+mar+fun.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501876656971681042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The girls sporting their HM hats at Del Mar</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83waYZjQZHxdUkIuUVs_p6T4Ve9Ge-pwwrB_aRUA0R4NFqwP1h7RTHvZ7Jt1KyUkSe6ftOcdh-TpJU63TJ7xI59qBFHjDAF8Fh4EjxqHNrMSG6ngq9OD4p932gHyB56xyw5d4F_52wQ56/s1600/del+mar+away+they+go.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83waYZjQZHxdUkIuUVs_p6T4Ve9Ge-pwwrB_aRUA0R4NFqwP1h7RTHvZ7Jt1KyUkSe6ftOcdh-TpJU63TJ7xI59qBFHjDAF8Fh4EjxqHNrMSG6ngq9OD4p932gHyB56xyw5d4F_52wQ56/s320/del+mar+away+they+go.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501876654440724402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As Trevor Denman the track announcer says...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And away they go.....</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.horseracingnation.com/horse/Zenyatta">Zenyatta</a>, one of my favorite race horses of all-time, is scheduled to run Saturday at Del Mar. I mentioned her on b<a href="http://www.ferny.net/2008/08/day-2-drive-to-san-diego.html">log two years ago</a>; predicting she would become a superstar.....that was an understatement. She is currently undefeated with a 17 win streak against graded company. She is a very exciting horse to watch run-she's closer which means she runs at the back and charges at the end. Here's her Breeders Cup 2009 race were she took on the boys....</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><object width="462" height="280"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ud_XPH6Eix4&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ud_XPH6Eix4&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="462" height="280"></embed></object></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">We are considering completely rearranging our schedule to watch her run....this will be probably be her next to last race before retiring.</span></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-52427875251844833252010-08-01T09:28:00.018-05:002010-09-06T22:16:54.877-05:00summer trip 2010 - the drive to...<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another summer trip has arrived, yay! The two day drive went by quick with the exception of the last hour which dragged on and on. First night we stayed in a Deming NM La Quinta. First time I have stayed in that chain. It was clean but I was not impressed. On the second day I started making some interesting road observations: first - their are lots of prisons. I think we passed a total 6 in TX, NM and AZ. This shouldn't surprise me...a podcast I was listening to a few weeks ago mentioned that about 1 out of every 30 U.S. adults is either incarcerated, on probation or on parole. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. </span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Makes you wonder, are US citizens more "bad" than citizens of other countries or, is the US system broken?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And, what's up with these "Safety Corridors" on the freeway...."speeding fines doubled." Are these just dangerous sections to travel on or, is it an easy way to enforce (concentrate) speed trapping efforts in rural areas. I do have to mention that we saw no mobile speed trap cameras in Arizona this time-I guess they were ramping up their anti-immigration efforts. And, fortunately we didn't have a run in with these </span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/18/2010-07-18_neo_nazi_groups_take_up_arms_in_arizona_to_fight_illegal_immigration.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">fools</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. I wonder if they would the have cojones to stop these </span><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hB0B5qIFEqMDeeaj_JGZgZMr6klQD9HAHC5G0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">prison breakers</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> whom authorities believe are making a run to the border? Hmmmm, my guess is absolutely not. </span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ok...enough political banter.....the driving weather was great and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">surprisingly mild (low 70's because of some light rain) until Yuma, AZ - 100+. While driving I realized how much of a tech gadget dependency the entire family has....for example, at one point the girls had the DVD going while playing on our old iPhone's, D was streaming General Hospital on her MacBook while I was streaming a podcast I forgot to download before leaving. We also streamed </span><a href="http://www.pandora.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pandora</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> to the iPad for hours on end. Pandora rocks.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While driving on IH10 in far west Texas I guess my cell phone automatically switched to a tower from Mexico because of this text message....</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; line-height: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501345218176595826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XHkLd-H7Vruc9BqUWcyVi2wrHrOEEtLALFIn9j8kGJ3BcVW3CTuH5UM80s9fu3eY3790OWfif7m63VMWx6OsV1z4ICPomKElAc8RfG8S1WQdTq1gn8JO9BuHw-TE9asKGulBIbyi5JvC/s320/intl+sms.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 214px;" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Almost $20 per MB, unbelievable</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">unless that's in pesos.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just south of Las Cruces NM I took this shot of the sun & clouds with my iPhone...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; line-height: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501345406041468610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8avU4CjX3RKiPyO1BM-1Xd1F1HTAtuoQUVmKUW4WfMicOdWfiBEp93GUkF8DDzb9-AoueaCT55GR1DbrIVa70U2Dg3QGNzSKLJvdsn66K10sEkMKbQrS4PkhTD-saLXSGfRiYusb7OL2/s320/sun+and+clouds.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We made really good time the second day and arrived in our </span><a href="http://homewoodsuites1.hilton.com/en_US/hw/hotel/SANLSHW-Homewood-Suites-by-Hilton-San-Diego-Airport-Liberty-Station-California/index.do"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">San Diego hotel</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> at 4:30pm local time. Here's the awesome view from our room....</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; line-height: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501347063151281218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhTQu_73yJGdB-hXDLpLTMX82K79Evpv1oPfZlVkRE_V_XKFUoxmwJFcysMcL5gtCht059HwSteFnl4eNb43xSm733UA9YemnUGV0KAf72tYwOJOp84x9p4ILb9DbpP7oFTiSEStQPPXx/s320/hw+suite+balcony+view.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That bridge on the right is actually not a road,</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">just for pedestrians and bikes.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After resting for a little bit we made our way to </span><a href="http://www.pizzanova.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pizza Nova</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. This is a must stop for us every time we are in San Diego - the best salad ever and some awesome pizza. </span></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiTS4LjWBLBiATSyOkbqrVSY-ZNsyg7u4Mlt7kD820Hkpok2bVWDNtonOggaE8yxZFZUfiZVedJOjCWvREmDzcD86HlY65oiGgYMgK57xhmEMc_m4xNtAHpn0UE-kPToC-m-2bHySXtZf/s1600/pizzanova.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500497832529288562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiTS4LjWBLBiATSyOkbqrVSY-ZNsyg7u4Mlt7kD820Hkpok2bVWDNtonOggaE8yxZFZUfiZVedJOjCWvREmDzcD86HlY65oiGgYMgK57xhmEMc_m4xNtAHpn0UE-kPToC-m-2bHySXtZf/s320/pizzanova.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just outside our Pizza Nova table</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The girls had enough energy hit Sea World after dinner. We arrived around 7pm and it was packed to my surprise. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; line-height: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501347728675331330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfhyphenhyphenphe_OH_ekmZGLzObQiKTBxam6FQ2POFmHV9LFPHZSfDa9EOSACCwhaC9ZK8VAjm3KO1_llj1wKuX87VDj0GUbDXyBnaMvFGQCQ4I3itdZcFMloFjs3dF0oynEXLijt9xZUlXD_ACR/s320/shamu+vw+bug.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Apparently this is supposed to motivate </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sea World </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">visitors to buy VW, I think Shamu would be offended</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were able to watch the Shamu Rocks and Sea Lion show - these were both night time versions. The Sea Lion show was very good - funny thing, though, it was great because one of the actors stole the show (actual person, not sea lion). After those two shows, a couple of rides and the fireworks finale we were spent.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
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</span></span></span></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-83070714074064540812009-12-28T21:49:00.003-06:002009-12-28T22:21:08.374-06:00Winter Vacation 2009 - Day TwoThe first night's temperature went all the way to -2 (yes, that's 2 below zero). Our hotel room was actually too warm so we opened the window a little to cool it off. Amazingly, the heater did not come the rest of the night. After a quick Hampton breakfast we were off to ski at Pajarito Mountain. We got great parking and actually thought we would all make the lesson for the 10am start time. The rental line was huge....we missed the 10am lesson and had go for the 11am. Everyone had some difficulties with the first part of the lessons which covered some of the basics. Right before the lunch break we got to practice going up the tow rope and come back down the kid slope. We are all getting the hang of it but, then M started having trouble with the tow rope. We just figured she was getting tired. After lunch we all went back to the kid slope and D and I were supposed to slow slalom around some cones but, only one of us got the hang of it. They split the kids from the adults and D and I went up on the lift to one the green slopes. Both of us busted coming off of the lift...oh well. I managed to go back on the lift a second time while D went to check on the girls. D was about spent for the day anyways. The girls did great with the exception of M on the tow rope.<br /><br />(YouTube1 placeholder)<br />(YouTube2 placeholder)<br /><br />I highly recommend <a href="http://www.skipajarito.com/">Pajarito Mountain</a>....practically no lift lines whatsoever!<br /><br />Oh, almost forgot....the White Rock Hampton did not charge us for the canceled room.<br /><br />Tomorrow is either the <a href="http://www.angelfireresort.com/winter/mountain-tubing.php">Polar Coaster</a> at <a href="http://www.angelfireresort.com/winter/">Angel Fire</a> or cross country skiing/snowshoeing at <a href="http://www.enchantedforestxc.com/">Enchanted Forest XC</a>. It all depends on the overnight snow forecast for the area.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-68729697305809087162009-12-27T21:27:00.003-06:002009-12-28T21:48:56.885-06:00Winter Vacation 2009 - Day One<span style="text-decoration: underline;">(photo1 placeholder)</span><br />After a one day delay we finally arrived at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rock,_New_Mexico">White Rock, NM</a>. The delay was due to road conditions near the Wichita Falls area. We are so glad we delayed our trip by a day because there was still a lot of ice on on US287 in Wichita Falls area 3 days after a rare Texas blizzard. Now all I have to do is talk our way out of getting charged for the Hampton Inn cancellation. We weren't happy to find out that every Hilton hotel has its own cancellation policy. This one requires 24 hours notice.<br /><br />On the way in we stopped at our favorite NewMex restaurant, <a href="http://www.marias-santafe.com/">Maria's New Mexican Kitchen</a>. As we have previously mention their margaritas rock! As good as the food is next trip we will hit up <a href="http://www.tortillaflats.net/">Tortilla Flats</a> since several friends and relatives have mentioned it.<br /><br />Tomorrow we will be skiing at <a href="http://www.skipajarito.com/">Pajarito Mountain</a>.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-28241585611757860182009-08-03T08:40:00.018-05:002009-08-05T11:38:21.488-05:00Summer Vacation 2009 - Day Three<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnwKiTInUPPxdOEJw4EgRxqPTJ_mtba2U9txKo24ClhmN7R93Rz52g-4a1RZXQ9Y7vO44zgdSUcBUBe-xmitT3HSrgo3m_eA91qoaZ93NVRtaB7RsyqdtnwvlnfWCEOuS_cOHYpUtvCGn/s1600-h/IMG_1751.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnwKiTInUPPxdOEJw4EgRxqPTJ_mtba2U9txKo24ClhmN7R93Rz52g-4a1RZXQ9Y7vO44zgdSUcBUBe-xmitT3HSrgo3m_eA91qoaZ93NVRtaB7RsyqdtnwvlnfWCEOuS_cOHYpUtvCGn/s320/IMG_1751.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366515427128391666" border="0" /></a><br />Wow, that was a busy, busy day.<br /><br />First up was the San Diego Zoo. We purchased the <a href="http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?prodid=11325776&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=4835&hierPath=111*4835*&lang=en-US">Southern California CityPass</a> again. This gets us into the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Universal Studios, and 2 days at Disneyland. Also included are small perks such as the SD Zoo bus tour. This was about 35 minute tour that went through 80% of the zoo on a double-decker open bus. The tour gives you a good idea of what animals are actually out and about. Last year we went to see the polar bears but, they were not out...disappointing not just because we all wanted to see them but, we made the long trek to their corner of the park. Taking the tour we knew not visit the polar bears because there were not out and about, again.<br /><br />After the tour we headed toward the koalas. The girls thought they were very, very cute. I thought it was possible someone put stuffed koalas from the gift shop into some Eucalyptus trees because these guys didn't move, at all.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgitVtQIUYP4_jSYf49JRvcVggEficDmBtuUSqKMsULiHv8vpNP6U_ssRi6qv0Hi7i5H1VbCXJ_miOfbU9U-B2vxEOI-Lc15wc5VjU2UfAiOB0Y7_AzwNZGmLyLh_o1eOvbGLDpv-HOhn/s1600-h/IMG_1764.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgitVtQIUYP4_jSYf49JRvcVggEficDmBtuUSqKMsULiHv8vpNP6U_ssRi6qv0Hi7i5H1VbCXJ_miOfbU9U-B2vxEOI-Lc15wc5VjU2UfAiOB0Y7_AzwNZGmLyLh_o1eOvbGLDpv-HOhn/s320/IMG_1764.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366515432242819458" border="0" /></a>Lazy Koala<br /></div><br />Now we were off to see the panda exhibit. On the way we stopped to see the giraffes and bears.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv25xilp3alDEYdv4ibnt9DzqGP7p5dliizhmyjec2FwjKT95PmI0gzL2Gl3XEVGVWC5Qrr7BZp9bDmBYH2mcyvEoMqwWH190IiWoM0fAVp3V9WUIcYn4yoAfbLS5UTzbBhylqw2ZWhPv/s1600-h/IMG_0243.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv25xilp3alDEYdv4ibnt9DzqGP7p5dliizhmyjec2FwjKT95PmI0gzL2Gl3XEVGVWC5Qrr7BZp9bDmBYH2mcyvEoMqwWH190IiWoM0fAVp3V9WUIcYn4yoAfbLS5UTzbBhylqw2ZWhPv/s320/IMG_0243.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366478742602562450" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzbVx_OV8xOUqZZnbuy4UTb1mfn-I13fGMomOCUpZhXM3Je5TexIanCcwDn4pAtTo5G2yUxG3DabALAbkAQZXGlQjXicXfygCd3zAab-xCMoinTATkKv8pS7Tzd1zKqjv_WTHMZa_KByv/s1600-h/IMG_1769.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzbVx_OV8xOUqZZnbuy4UTb1mfn-I13fGMomOCUpZhXM3Je5TexIanCcwDn4pAtTo5G2yUxG3DabALAbkAQZXGlQjXicXfygCd3zAab-xCMoinTATkKv8pS7Tzd1zKqjv_WTHMZa_KByv/s320/IMG_1769.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366515446805729922" border="0" /></a>Mystery giraffe #1<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmWZkXUL6ITEyNdEDjBJEQezBw0a0k_VDN5gVjOKaSOhMPEb1h9GiQtpFQVvWtOIKBqgxH_4_bkTWN_udukMqgs62RVQk0-ax7Z1zL9DeHvneMawD5HbZ9QUOU4FGQq60SVAbRIAjUvUf/s1600-h/IMG_1766.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmWZkXUL6ITEyNdEDjBJEQezBw0a0k_VDN5gVjOKaSOhMPEb1h9GiQtpFQVvWtOIKBqgxH_4_bkTWN_udukMqgs62RVQk0-ax7Z1zL9DeHvneMawD5HbZ9QUOU4FGQq60SVAbRIAjUvUf/s320/IMG_1766.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366519428368424386" border="0" /></a>Mystery giraffe #2<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dZJsYvoqsX-X76fkS5gZztFYpjGJejEry04sqNdVaxHTf0gK7d5T3Cp6Mv_Yp1ihczGB_4Q5cAh-tBDhpcxQAWqEXxtJljGynHBw1HZffR7QLhJzOzcf_U4buv7oR_op6WsB1EaaMujC/s1600-h/IMG_1770.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dZJsYvoqsX-X76fkS5gZztFYpjGJejEry04sqNdVaxHTf0gK7d5T3Cp6Mv_Yp1ihczGB_4Q5cAh-tBDhpcxQAWqEXxtJljGynHBw1HZffR7QLhJzOzcf_U4buv7oR_op6WsB1EaaMujC/s320/IMG_1770.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366515451327177890" border="0" /></a>OK, not so mystery giraffe #3<br /></div><br />The pandas are the highlight of the zoo....there is usually a long line/wait to get into the exhibit. In fact, once you get in the exhibit the zoo workers keep the line moving by only giving you a couple of minutes of panda watching bliss. The pandas were in sleep mode for this visit, just like the koalas. One of the pandas is expecting this month; she was not in the public exhibit, though.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLpRlxWupfFjhC9ATdZWE6tulMTrIC5IDgVxSbAeEBZhoVdDPdrmUs2lh52tmGqcoeiMJHVi6mWgga4tTMywkE9ac9poCUEhSdluxrnUsf9pcnY4ZPinwON3TDewgmkt9uzU9JFB7hapZ/s1600-h/IMG_1776.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLpRlxWupfFjhC9ATdZWE6tulMTrIC5IDgVxSbAeEBZhoVdDPdrmUs2lh52tmGqcoeiMJHVi6mWgga4tTMywkE9ac9poCUEhSdluxrnUsf9pcnY4ZPinwON3TDewgmkt9uzU9JFB7hapZ/s320/IMG_1776.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366516263437731074" border="0" /></a>Lazy panda<br /></div><br />The girls were starting to act up a bit by now and they were not listening to us for the most part so, I came up with a reward system called Disney points. When they start acting up I just say "Don't lose Disney points." This will work great, of course, until we are through with Disney anyways.<br /><br />By now it was time to make our way back to the front of the park, we skipped all of the smaller hooved type animals like the gazelle and antelope, etc. Dianna calls them "junk" animals; as in filler for the zoo. She came up with this term after visiting Fossil Rim in Glen Rose....it is full of filler animals.<br /><br />We took the 'big cat trail' on the way back. We saw a snow leopard, they were at the very back of the exhibit but, still very cool nonetheless. We also saw a black jaguar that paced three feet in front of us. We have a small black cat so, it was an interesting contrast.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4YCvCzcXys3ovOvznTT9CAp1hIYU3olJi5MpHfQYRSMgWsQAvMbhwLxr6Oa8bXX0xiLPSRVSYFnO9xRKrbVaTmBVdSaKY8wOEyzFGiVkX4Ic4iFbFghVEjJVY6gcICzIcxLFWF4tVp91/s1600-h/IMG_1779.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4YCvCzcXys3ovOvznTT9CAp1hIYU3olJi5MpHfQYRSMgWsQAvMbhwLxr6Oa8bXX0xiLPSRVSYFnO9xRKrbVaTmBVdSaKY8wOEyzFGiVkX4Ic4iFbFghVEjJVY6gcICzIcxLFWF4tVp91/s320/IMG_1779.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366516270764806578" border="0" /></a>This black jaguar was a monster, much<br />bigger than our little "Mocha"<br /></div><br />At the front of the park the girls went through a reptile house, "M" is really into turtles right now. From there we rode the Skyfari, which is a tram that takes you from one side of the park to the other. "A" calls this 'skyride' and it's one of her favorites.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qYs75YRbvKo&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qYs75YRbvKo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />My iPhone videography skills are definitely not good and, this vid turned out to be somewhat boring compared to the actual experience.<br /><br />I lost my favorite hat at the zoo....was probably more disappointed that I lost something than actually losing the hat.<br /><br />Next on the agenda was the <a href="http://www.dmtc.com/">Del Mar Racetrack</a>. To save time on the way there we decided to get some fast food. Not knowing the area very well the only place convenient we found was McDonald's. Those of you who know us well know that we hate McDonald's. In fact, the only fast food we will eat is Whataburger or Chick-Fil-A. Of course, the girls kept asking why are we stopping at McDonald's....girls got Happy Meals and Dianna and I got Big Macs. Wow, how does that place stay in business? Not good food. Probably would have been better off eating at the track but, we were only getting general admission tickets (no seats) and, the food had the possibility not being any better the McD's and costing 2-3 times more.<br /><br />Finally arrived at the track and had to park in the auxiliary lot. This is not bad on the way in since they provide a shuttle but, they stop running it after the 8th race. We were leaving after the 8th race (it was the feature $250,000 San Diego Handicap).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivme31QOsNLxQUiLKGXyRvx4W9ZepKga2aAVfjgOGtFV407vQsKqIuwVzh1gGlx6IJnTvPNV9V4XEV_ZzrDcZsdA2ETGLnRK0j7fm_hi2dZAZYEEaNitThR72e1VYv2tm73S6mjMXuWfxh/s1600-h/IMG_1788.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivme31QOsNLxQUiLKGXyRvx4W9ZepKga2aAVfjgOGtFV407vQsKqIuwVzh1gGlx6IJnTvPNV9V4XEV_ZzrDcZsdA2ETGLnRK0j7fm_hi2dZAZYEEaNitThR72e1VYv2tm73S6mjMXuWfxh/s320/IMG_1788.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366516276466582066" border="0" /></a>Here's a shot I took of horses come out of the gate<br />at the backside of the track....this was a 5 1/2 furlong sprint.<br /></div><br />Sundays at Del Mar the infield is setup with all sorts of kids activities. The girls, including Dianna, love to see horse racing but, are very bored during the 30 minutes between races. The infield activities provided good entertainment for them. The rode ponies and played on bounce house stuff. My wagering was successful at first, but slowly I started to lose more than I was betting each race and the days tally was minus $65. Good fun. It was good to see quality horses again vs. some of the dogs they are starting to run out at Lone Star Park. Quality horse racing in Texas is in deep trouble. After the 8th race we made the long walk back to our car and headed over to Tony Jacal's in Solana Beach for some fine Californian Mexican food.<br /><br />The food and margarita's were great.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLcmdksTSC4C0DBF6mV67ZG7fdXV5UBCt07cdbVt50cD9acgAum1XKw7a-lRZ7NsSwqqKrLeIiuKp7Plas46qCLpwVLeYBamUHm9R2sOqqTSiOH-xk2g11WZQDRIa93rTFxPy2yokEJDi/s1600-h/IMG_0255.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLcmdksTSC4C0DBF6mV67ZG7fdXV5UBCt07cdbVt50cD9acgAum1XKw7a-lRZ7NsSwqqKrLeIiuKp7Plas46qCLpwVLeYBamUHm9R2sOqqTSiOH-xk2g11WZQDRIa93rTFxPy2yokEJDi/s320/IMG_0255.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366503630359581490" border="0" /></a>My plate consisted of a turkey flautas and a<br />beef enchilada. Outstanding.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBiMhDL0M2hNayGRHt14VD7rFbcQk9n3dhnSV975sd5dlDLWKyT66j5MmOSistpATqcaT9fi9729Xsy4crHhsHwPTYar_9UBUMSbBHeXYKhro8EAbu1mulScp4JTp950tfjb6FrZJ_4Xn/s1600-h/IMG_0256.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBiMhDL0M2hNayGRHt14VD7rFbcQk9n3dhnSV975sd5dlDLWKyT66j5MmOSistpATqcaT9fi9729Xsy4crHhsHwPTYar_9UBUMSbBHeXYKhro8EAbu1mulScp4JTp950tfjb6FrZJ_4Xn/s320/IMG_0256.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366503635030496450" border="0" /></a>Dianna's plate of Beef Sopas, the Sopas were buried<br />under the avocado, cojita cheese and lettuce.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMPYkAG49K-Xg6bs9M4nkp4cqvqSgKrRqqw-0jhazMZRI3_NnsjrpM1_uuYbDjuYVIDTPkRd8XKiODfyGqqcb45lrZ-8MUaz6ENl_utWoSbGGhM1VXPX0d9mr45VjBxw1B7NXIN3jXpbK/s1600-h/IMG_0257.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMPYkAG49K-Xg6bs9M4nkp4cqvqSgKrRqqw-0jhazMZRI3_NnsjrpM1_uuYbDjuYVIDTPkRd8XKiODfyGqqcb45lrZ-8MUaz6ENl_utWoSbGGhM1VXPX0d9mr45VjBxw1B7NXIN3jXpbK/s320/IMG_0257.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366478769822522690" border="0" /></a>The girls @ Tony Jacal's in Solana Beach<br /><br /></div>When we arrived back at the hotel we walked up the shoreline trail next to our hotel. A great first full day in San Diego.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-25535055647449335682009-08-02T09:13:00.010-05:002009-08-02T09:55:46.109-05:00Summer Vacation 2009 - Day TwoDriving from Las Cruces to San Diego today...it was a <span style="font-weight: bold;">very</span> long drive. Not much happening along the way.<br /><br />In AZ we saw 4 speeding camera setups. I knew this was coming after the infiltration of red-light cameras. Here's how it works - the AZ DPS uses small SUV's that have a camera array/light setup on top that is parked on the side of the freeway....keep in mind these were parked in the middle of nowhere, a couple were even in construction zones (speeding fines doubled). I am guessing these will generate ten times more revenue than what a red-light camera would and, these things are mobile so, you don't ever know where they will be. I am happy to report that I don't expect to receive a picture of the Odyssey from the AZ DPS.<br /><br />In tuscon we stopped my favorite hamburger joint of all-time - <a href="http://www.in-n-out.com/">In and Out</a>. This is just straight up burger greatness.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XqACOkOgDUyPSH-nDmY51TeC81ZmwB84i0PmP46VKe20DhIsbNuHx9vDO_tzBeZ4GR2IA9h5XoYZnBuBpLFd5GGXIRP6zDQj8Ty_gYorgXjX9V-5D9dQXDNEQrqaRHlfL-Yx16oHAIHh/s1600-h/IMG_0237.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XqACOkOgDUyPSH-nDmY51TeC81ZmwB84i0PmP46VKe20DhIsbNuHx9vDO_tzBeZ4GR2IA9h5XoYZnBuBpLFd5GGXIRP6zDQj8Ty_gYorgXjX9V-5D9dQXDNEQrqaRHlfL-Yx16oHAIHh/s320/IMG_0237.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365370655107433666" border="0" /></a>In and Out - World's Greatest Hamburger<br />Tuscon, AZ<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvz9fo_HfRvCVVEFbK_lrb-zelyYWICJ_DREbsZt6qVI3PV6NEfDhUluvbBjUOUjte6QhqkLAceoBqyxwhDztFhQsTkP4CqvndC9VSOMYGXDfTVMtJV824VTD1TaSJtNj7N-gU-7ltTt8j/s1600-h/IMG_0236.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvz9fo_HfRvCVVEFbK_lrb-zelyYWICJ_DREbsZt6qVI3PV6NEfDhUluvbBjUOUjte6QhqkLAceoBqyxwhDztFhQsTkP4CqvndC9VSOMYGXDfTVMtJV824VTD1TaSJtNj7N-gU-7ltTt8j/s320/IMG_0236.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365370664014281138" border="0" /></a>As always, this place is jam packed with a<br />continuous line to the door. It was about<br />99 degrees in Tuscon and there were<br />people eating on outside tables because<br />there were none inside. Dianna and the girls<br />snagged an indoor table while I ordered.<br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOwqcbTWEFFEKQxninUddElIDLE7-LmJo7dj3f9VtAnQyqByBfzgGaSkm0MX3kEbqePUs4-jM7Wi26fXRnpQNN8xGv_kI0UbGaDqfavW63q4YiVojbHa7n3Qn8-_OfPNuXRa201zqgRY9/s1600-h/IMG_0235.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOwqcbTWEFFEKQxninUddElIDLE7-LmJo7dj3f9VtAnQyqByBfzgGaSkm0MX3kEbqePUs4-jM7Wi26fXRnpQNN8xGv_kI0UbGaDqfavW63q4YiVojbHa7n3Qn8-_OfPNuXRa201zqgRY9/s320/IMG_0235.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365370668807559346" border="0" /></a>There are only 3 burgers here because my 4-year old<br />hates hamburgers. We stopped at the Chick-fil-a next<br />door for her meal.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br />As we crossed over into California I saw a lot of my government money at waste (think I blogged about this last year). A large part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_%E2%80%93_United_States_barrier">border fence</a> is up in California. If you want stop the main flow of illegal aliens from entering the US all the government has to do is heavily fine the companies that hire them. That project could even pay for itself, at first anyways. Back to vacation....<br /><br />Finally arrived in SD at 630 pacific time. The Hilton property we are at is on the harbor....we have a one bedroom suite with a balcony that faces the water....this lodging is free using Hilton Honors points.<br /><br />The girls wanted a simple meal so we opted for some pizza we have had before - <a href="http://www.pizzanova.net/">Pizza Nova</a>. Not only does this place great pizza but they also have the best salad, ever.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6EIMX05QyMiJDsxFwq22vpLAX6FhsAhkEQemlyD4rLAcJ75-Bh6ieGPxXwFMe7O5szHVBGVuHbCDtAULKDl81CJQAHS4JsrqzRy0mQhUazaGTAEY6NIdJ3nij_dImjmye5dNFg6HM_cZ/s1600-h/IMG_0241.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6EIMX05QyMiJDsxFwq22vpLAX6FhsAhkEQemlyD4rLAcJ75-Bh6ieGPxXwFMe7O5szHVBGVuHbCDtAULKDl81CJQAHS4JsrqzRy0mQhUazaGTAEY6NIdJ3nij_dImjmye5dNFg6HM_cZ/s320/IMG_0241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365375629012889826" border="0" /></a>Here's the view from our table @ Pizza Nova<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">After eating we just went back to the hotel and crashed. Tomorrow it's the <a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/index.php">SD Zoo</a> and then to <a href="http://www.dmtc.com/">Del Mar</a> to see California's best thoroughbreds race.<br /></div></div></div></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-64933004226044438072009-07-31T23:40:00.016-05:002009-08-01T08:18:25.529-05:00Summer Vacation 2009 - Day One<span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:verdana;" >First blog update in ages.....I really should make some time for writing here more often.</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:verdana;" >OK....so, we decided to do Southern California for our family summer vacation, again. Why? Because we loved last year's trip. The itinerary is mostly the same but, with some different stops on the road to and from Tx to Ca.</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:verdana;" >We left the house a little before 9am and were making good time until I had an unplanned conversation with the Tx DPS. My speed was not too bad but it did get me pulled over. I got really lucky to get off with a warning. The officer was actually very polite, considering it was the last day of the month and, you know, the whole quota deal.</span> <span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:verdana;" >Our first tourist stop was Roswell, NM. Several years ago I got very interested in the Roswell story. Even with a completely open mind I quickly came to the obvious conclusion that nothing from outer space landed there. We killed about 45 minutes going through the UFO Museum and a couple of UFO gift shops. Dianna and I had some good laughs and the girls were completely bored.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxl07DsN0eUWTIDiSW-HWU9kqgm53ZW-IUbQWYapafJvcB4uTnoU3rHWFtX9R4VM6SMJ3yfy8nDNQxY0ZkPYokAOfH78NUIBEDO-lkH02XtLKRInuM5xXo4cmZKmma7FXGwHFOm6SOKig/s1600-h/IMG_0223.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxl07DsN0eUWTIDiSW-HWU9kqgm53ZW-IUbQWYapafJvcB4uTnoU3rHWFtX9R4VM6SMJ3yfy8nDNQxY0ZkPYokAOfH78NUIBEDO-lkH02XtLKRInuM5xXo4cmZKmma7FXGwHFOm6SOKig/s320/IMG_0223.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364976895334546386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">An obvious Roswell photo opp.</span><br /><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjmxNHVj5iC7CtEp8FAsFm_j_Nxt8EhvUbBhY8MjpEr4c3xR3PNzZvoTNm-E8pLtPNC2nrB-Pqo2-NMfamazz4Pv2MsIkFxcDYCt1bMdHv2dVj6TPU5Kau3tfJK2X0FS5IxSyxnQLeSm2/s1600-h/IMG_0225.JPG"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjmxNHVj5iC7CtEp8FAsFm_j_Nxt8EhvUbBhY8MjpEr4c3xR3PNzZvoTNm-E8pLtPNC2nrB-Pqo2-NMfamazz4Pv2MsIkFxcDYCt1bMdHv2dVj6TPU5Kau3tfJK2X0FS5IxSyxnQLeSm2/s1600-h/IMG_0225.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjmxNHVj5iC7CtEp8FAsFm_j_Nxt8EhvUbBhY8MjpEr4c3xR3PNzZvoTNm-E8pLtPNC2nrB-Pqo2-NMfamazz4Pv2MsIkFxcDYCt1bMdHv2dVj6TPU5Kau3tfJK2X0FS5IxSyxnQLeSm2/s320/IMG_0225.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364973917283692338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Even Coca-Cola is pushing the alien.<br />Looks like Coke wants to let you know<br />that aliens get buff drinking some Coke.</span><br /><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:verdana;" >Next stop was Ruidoso. This is the only mountain area I had not visited in New Mexico. It probably ranks after the Taos area but, definitely before Cloudcroft. I had previously read about Monjeau Lookout Tower and the views from atop of the mountain. I also read some disclaimers about the 5 mile steep, dirt road to get to the top. Well, with some anxiety from the girls we made it to the top pushing the limits of a Honda Odyssey. I don't think this qualifies as a hike since we only traveled about 200 yards on foot with an elevation change of about 50 feet. This dirt road excursion was well worth it but, unfortunately we cut the visit at the top short since a thunderstorm was moving in on us.<br /><br />Here's a link using my iPhone 3GS video the first time.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LBcvaLoyTjg&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LBcvaLoyTjg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />Next time I will definitely take video in landscape mode.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt78AwdpQltWx24qk9wKPQSNLKPja-X6SWuf8-tKnKjIttLcXY-ynA4TeIhcP7mKaWcT9FZhpXyLGdmyWX5cMscRw3K__S_6_qFRiB7GY_zzus1Bi1zZglrsPzgrLcJxzYvQYjD83XilfI/s1600-h/IMG_1729.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt78AwdpQltWx24qk9wKPQSNLKPja-X6SWuf8-tKnKjIttLcXY-ynA4TeIhcP7mKaWcT9FZhpXyLGdmyWX5cMscRw3K__S_6_qFRiB7GY_zzus1Bi1zZglrsPzgrLcJxzYvQYjD83XilfI/s320/IMG_1729.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364980762878312210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">View from Monjeau toward Ski Apache</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwve7h9QEGqk-dzMNTFT_bbSZm_lZqnAJ1PumvLUZRgm4GkSp4OE3B6izmP1deLQ4NYKnu-6hsodnen4MaxJh5Ydv7aNia9gO7Pgqnl0wIpbHche7L4EtcFCIO7MV-a65bSUiskAiGhAfx/s1600-h/IMG_1730.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwve7h9QEGqk-dzMNTFT_bbSZm_lZqnAJ1PumvLUZRgm4GkSp4OE3B6izmP1deLQ4NYKnu-6hsodnen4MaxJh5Ydv7aNia9gO7Pgqnl0wIpbHche7L4EtcFCIO7MV-a65bSUiskAiGhAfx/s320/IMG_1730.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364980766712643874" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">View from Monjeau toward the looming storm</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke8WRs_ciQW3N8C0V2oCc-phBIE8yfbVeltZtmeUCymsSQ8pT_5zAVEYX55HEbtYu4_CbkwzoI3dA0wNP8hr9RDkKJxwulU6aG6bERJfyhyXywKzCA2S3loy7brLTR9HhATruHu8SfUqN/s1600-h/IMG_1742.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke8WRs_ciQW3N8C0V2oCc-phBIE8yfbVeltZtmeUCymsSQ8pT_5zAVEYX55HEbtYu4_CbkwzoI3dA0wNP8hr9RDkKJxwulU6aG6bERJfyhyXywKzCA2S3loy7brLTR9HhATruHu8SfUqN/s320/IMG_1742.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364980777491327010" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Local Ruidoso flora</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWcnzh4vjGDkkO8H_iNKGg6CmOEWcxKFFChmVqymFSsoGw-2Ve95wuTyRk4aq1iUvxp742YKHOZKCxkRUv977VOTb6hhrPqV6HEhTMhat8mh7huzRk2q-7QjX2w6_pOP5uA-DDw1aO74y/s1600-h/IMG_1744.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWcnzh4vjGDkkO8H_iNKGg6CmOEWcxKFFChmVqymFSsoGw-2Ve95wuTyRk4aq1iUvxp742YKHOZKCxkRUv977VOTb6hhrPqV6HEhTMhat8mh7huzRk2q-7QjX2w6_pOP5uA-DDw1aO74y/s320/IMG_1744.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364980781124630690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">If you look closely you can actually see<br />the rain dropping from the sky.<br />White Sands Missile Range</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9j7tiqnPQR0TR3GXyrJTtS9DXziVsvzmVd3_ULpsQuG7OSnJX9r0lv0us8wdnpXVU0ICvMBLskeGO39YLct7-OL11xN6HtWL5raDXWNhv3BTAtTf-T6LWNMaY1fGnDbf2iIofShjo9ee/s1600-h/IMG_1747.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9j7tiqnPQR0TR3GXyrJTtS9DXziVsvzmVd3_ULpsQuG7OSnJX9r0lv0us8wdnpXVU0ICvMBLskeGO39YLct7-OL11xN6HtWL5raDXWNhv3BTAtTf-T6LWNMaY1fGnDbf2iIofShjo9ee/s320/IMG_1747.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364980787193812290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Taken "free-handed," through the driver's side<br />window, traveling 75 mph near White Sands, NM</span><br /><br />We ended the day with a stay in Las Cruces, NM. Next stop is photo shoot of some very cool boulder formations in Texas Canyon, AZ<br /></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-65298914411872039452009-02-17T20:36:00.004-06:002009-02-18T10:54:25.530-06:00Who should bailout the US automakers?I'll answer that question later...but, first, you can't have it both ways. America is in dire financial straits, something has to be done. One side of the fence wants corporate welfare, the other wants wants everyday worker, consumer welfare. I personally believe we need a little bit of one and a lot of the other. How does a country with a "free market" business environment justify bailing out large, failing corporations? Maybe the failing corporation had a bad business model, or poor executive management. So, does it really make sense to take money from well run, tax paying companies and give it companies on the verge of bankruptcy? Most proponents of this are against social welfare.<br />Back to the GM/Chrysler financial fiasco....here is what's wrong, keep in mind their bad business model has been bad for long time, it's just been extremely "intensified" with the current state of the economy. I will focus on GM here but most of these facts apply to Chrysler and Ford....<br /><br />1) GM has way too many dealerships - over 6,300; Toyota, for example, only has about 1,400. In most metropolitan areas dealers are competing against each other. The number of American auto dealers must reduced. GM has their hands tied here as every dealership is protected by every state's franchise law. Basically, unless GM declares bankruptcy (Chapter 11) they cannot terminate a dealership. Some states have recently passed legislation to provide franchisees even more protection. Their other salvation could be that GM's finance division, GMAC, which provides the floor plan for many dealerships, could take over a dealership if they don't pay their bills. You ask, what is a floor plan? It is simply a short term loan for a dealership's inventory. Most dealers don't outright own the vehicles on their lots.....just like most Americans don't outright own their car.<br /><br />2) Too many product lines - GM has 8 while Toyota has 3....think about the overlap in their corporate structure, ie marketing, R&D, manufacturing.....etc.<br /><br />3) Bad products - Many Americans have turned to foreign brands that are made better with higher safety ratings and better gas mileage. Toyota and Honda have multiple plants on US soil. Some reports even indicate the source material/parts for these foreign lines sometimes exceed those of the US automakers, in other words, that Chevrolet truck may have more foreign parts than that Toyota Camry you see. For many years consumers tolerated poor quality control on the US branded fleet. This is just an example of setting the "bar" too low. You have to wonder if unions have caused some of this. Although, the premise (and origins) of a labor union was a great idea, they are now part of the problem. Unions must share some of the blame in driving US manufacturing overseas (that's another topic unto itself). It is sad we have gone from being a country heavily involved in manufacturing to one of the world's largest importers of manufactured goods. It feels like our primary product manufactured now is the financial transaction; and, thanks partially to the unregulated collateralized debt obligation (CDO) product our (and the world) economy is in the crapper. Back on topic....<br /><br />So, who do I think should bailout the US automakers? How about someone with a vested interested; someone who needs/wants to keep large, gas guzzling vehicles on the road...Exxon. These guys made about $40 billion 2006, about $40 billion in 2007 and $45 billion in 2008. Doesn't it just make so much more sense? If the Big 3 are going to given money for their failed business model shouldn't it come from Exxon (or Chevron & Conoco) instead of me and you ? Well, if that doesn't happen the Chapter 11 deal will have to do...fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-24569347016189030962009-02-15T21:23:00.005-06:002009-02-16T00:49:08.832-06:00A family Valentine's outingDianna and I decided to just get each other cards for Valentine's day and, to visit our favorite Tex-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">mex</span> restaurant...<a href="http://www.miastexmex.com/">Mia's Tex-Mex</a>. I blogged about this place before - click here for the <a href="http://mexquest.blogspot.com/2008/04/acenar.html">review</a>. We got there right at 5pm and beat the holiday dinner rush. The girls sampled the awesome tortilla soup; they ate half of it before the meal arrived and, neither of them particularly enjoy soup, at least "regular" soup. Our brisket taco dinner was outstanding, as usual, the margaritas were fantastic. These frozen <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">concoctions</span> are still the best ever....they were a little light on the tequila.<br /><br />On the way home I hit the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">trifecta</span>....let me explain. Earlier on Saturday I mentioned to Dianna that I wanted to stop by <a href="http://www.rei.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">REI</span></a> while we were in Dallas. As we pull into the parking lot I noticed a <a href="http://www.guitarcenter.com/">Guitar Center</a> right next door, how convenient. They had an incredible selection of <a href="http://www.guitarcenter.com/Keyboards---MIDI.gc">keyboards</a>. After about 15 minutes of playing around on the keyboards I remembered to get some better drumsticks for our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band_%28video_game%29">Rock Band game</a> which did absolutely nothing for my drumming skills. Now, on to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">REI</span>....this store was somewhat of a disappointment. Their website has every outdoor accessory imaginable. At the top of my list was to checkout their winter <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">apparel</span> clearance. They had terrible selection...Dick's Sporting Goods had better and, REI didn't have any skis or snowboards. The girls were very, very bored here...in fact, toward the end of the visit they decided to try some of their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts">MMA moves</a>.....on each other. So, traveling back to the house I knew <a href="http://shop2.frys.com/template/index/">Fry's</a> was just a quick exit off the freeway on the way back. I mentioned this to Dianna and, in the same sentence gave her the option to wait about 10 minutes in the car while I looked around. Jokingly, I asked the girls if they wanted to go into the store with me. A., who must have felt somewhat guilty about her kickboxing moves on M. earlier, said "I'll go with you, Daddy." I let her off the hook...no need for her to have to punish herself from that guilt. Ten minutes later I arrived back to car empty handy. Anyways....till next time.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-83156399720303096352009-02-08T13:10:00.002-06:002009-02-08T13:18:19.156-06:00UPDATE - Home InvasionWell, we left the live trap, baited and ready to go, in our garage for 5 days. The little guy was definitely not in the garage. We even baited the trap with canned cat food the last 3 days; according to this <a href="http://www.pestproducts.com/possum-control.htm">website</a> that is a opossum favorite.<br />Our garage still doesn't smell so good. I guess it's time to do some spring cleaning and scrub the floor. First, I need to get a storage shed built in our backyard, if I can get our homeowner's association to approve. I think I might try to run for a board position....that way I can try to dissolve to whole thing.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-42517795239248020772009-02-02T00:28:00.008-06:002009-02-08T13:21:06.593-06:00Our "Home Invasion"Saturday night I was putting trash into the garbage bins in the garage. I actually took the long way around by going out the front door...as I finished entering the code into the key pad to open the garage door I saw a opossum scurry into the garage. For about the last 5 weeks we have noticed the cat food bowls in the garage were just about empty every morning. Everyone originally thought there was a stray cat eating the food. Dianna's brother said he saw what looked like a cat when he was house sitting for us on our trip to New Mexico. Here's a picture of the real culprit:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wEFVGb9w843kFRthAlFveCBBaUuO-16EHPpGAeZz18KHsR6x0CtpC1oHO3bSj7_X_XuXHloo5oLBHfu_zDLmBDaYUoAHtQ9Qyrq71iVStTwlc17LrNzYGLYyKAI-KA3R5aiS2KmK-y_1/s1600-h/IMG_4270.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wEFVGb9w843kFRthAlFveCBBaUuO-16EHPpGAeZz18KHsR6x0CtpC1oHO3bSj7_X_XuXHloo5oLBHfu_zDLmBDaYUoAHtQ9Qyrq71iVStTwlc17LrNzYGLYyKAI-KA3R5aiS2KmK-y_1/s320/IMG_4270.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298084809064867314" border="0" /></a>This is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum">opossum</a>, not to be confused with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possum">possum</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So, Sunday morning I went to a friends house to get a live trap and some opossum catching advice (stangely, he just had a opossum problem, too). I waited until the SuperBowl was over (Arizona should have won!) because we had friends over for the game and I didn't want to deal with the marsupial during the game. After the game ended I went out into the garage only to find this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7c9cfPVvkzeukdMfFcRv_YksWsqZArPAzDB4JI0bykXLiCB0PC-KwaZIDkOU1bFvivR0o58d7aBvld2_RyI_DaJLJ9TGy1ZPKBDoPCltTFNzIkmB24b5tAEqaj2yIYhZIpEY15_TAb_sa/s1600-h/IMG_4278.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7c9cfPVvkzeukdMfFcRv_YksWsqZArPAzDB4JI0bykXLiCB0PC-KwaZIDkOU1bFvivR0o58d7aBvld2_RyI_DaJLJ9TGy1ZPKBDoPCltTFNzIkmB24b5tAEqaj2yIYhZIpEY15_TAb_sa/s320/IMG_4278.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298092731955476514" border="0" /></a>The "home invader" stealing my beer<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Beer is expensive these days and I really enjoy my Bud Light so, I attempted to take back my beer. Here's what happened as I approached the furry creature:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8U3smlt0TnwEtpIVUfrPmB4mWqLthbM8f6j8Ey4qroQfHNFipd9c-NjL95OyXrvXjIFkBwHAWmFgMYHCD3fWys_IAkVLYs5geJekFDH19fx-hnXa_R4aerMY9IluUiPINOnNEQpmgIxP/s1600-h/IMG_4276.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8U3smlt0TnwEtpIVUfrPmB4mWqLthbM8f6j8Ey4qroQfHNFipd9c-NjL95OyXrvXjIFkBwHAWmFgMYHCD3fWys_IAkVLYs5geJekFDH19fx-hnXa_R4aerMY9IluUiPINOnNEQpmgIxP/s320/IMG_4276.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298092725029899442" border="0" /></a>The "home invader" growling and showing me his incisors<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So, I just decided to share my wonderful bottled brew with the nasty furball. When I finished I picked up the basket he was lounging in and tried to "stuff" him into the live trap. Dumb move....he quickly darted back into our garage. I gave it a tap on the head with a paint roller extension handle. I guess he didn't like that because left walking toward the street. He went straight to a curb gutter where he peered over the edge and decided not to go in. I approached him with the live trap which I had quickly baited with some apples slices topped with caramel sauce. It suddenly decided to jump into the gutter.....I don't really know if this was smart or dumb. There is no way for him to climb back up to street level.<br /><br />One more thing.......the "home invader" had a small offspring tagging along. So, here is the little one's destiny:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0b-KKFsPE8_OUR4tmETLYwYz4CzxB_NkxI4yDh0kMFf_QpT-P7b_9MSCL2dR9Bxwd6wcmjoDmpIPgoJvUT3tdzaov7IpFIobTZzYhu2P1t7DILW4uXvAYMm99zuuuVevecA4Nr_h-4Fm0/s1600-h/IMG_4279.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0b-KKFsPE8_OUR4tmETLYwYz4CzxB_NkxI4yDh0kMFf_QpT-P7b_9MSCL2dR9Bxwd6wcmjoDmpIPgoJvUT3tdzaov7IpFIobTZzYhu2P1t7DILW4uXvAYMm99zuuuVevecA4Nr_h-4Fm0/s320/IMG_4279.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298092732908686770" border="0" /></a>The live trap is baited and set....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">More story and pictures to follow......<br /></div></div></div></div><br /></div></div><br /><br /></div></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-22129074296354692009-01-01T15:55:00.007-06:002009-01-05T00:22:01.325-06:00Winter Vacation - New Mexico Snow - Day 5 - Random ThoughtsDay 5 was a safe, uneventful drive home. Of course, we made the mandatory stop at <a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/">Trader Joe's</a> in Santa Fe. This store rocks!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Random winter vacation thougths</span><br />1) New Mexico ski resorts would go bankrupt w/out Texans. Easily 3/4's of all vehicles we saw had Texas plates.<br />2) Taos Ski Valley was run much better than Angel Fire.<br />3) Next, for tubing we will try TSV...it's only $7 per person instead of Angel Fire's $20 per. TSV tubing is only from 5pm-7pm, though.<br />4) Visit Big Al's in the spring/summer for some horseback riding and camping at the same place we went snowmobiling<br />5) If I had to stereotype some of the staff while dining I would say there is snobby attitude by many Taos restaurant staffers<br />6) Next time try more New Mex food while in Taos...there are so many places. The problem is that everyone finishes skiing at about the same time and the restaurants get extremely busy<br />7) One day, I want to raft a Class IV rapid on the Rio Grande outside of Taos<br />8) Spend more snow play time at that playground in Angel Fire....the girls could have spent the entire day there.<br />9) It gets dark very early here in December/January - 5pm<br />10) One day we will move to Northern New Mexico....at the latest it will be where I retire but, hopefully we can get there sooner than that.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-83283336735611339772008-12-31T01:31:00.018-06:002009-01-01T22:26:00.630-06:00Winter Vacation - New Mexico Snow - Day 4<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSXmKZk9BpKVre_TswfWAOBBwvBuPQi42EusetqkbtCUmqU9BPN74UUdo495LOJWdVTmJ83lX9xLlzrIyF1vYKdtBgvor_2E-7bgGkjO-RYAYRYeKPxkWSHBoFx_IY6fFj0nAibX6AvRy/s1600-h/pan+taos2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 88px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSXmKZk9BpKVre_TswfWAOBBwvBuPQi42EusetqkbtCUmqU9BPN74UUdo495LOJWdVTmJ83lX9xLlzrIyF1vYKdtBgvor_2E-7bgGkjO-RYAYRYeKPxkWSHBoFx_IY6fFj0nAibX6AvRy/s320/pan+taos2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286427441319072434" border="0" /></a><br />Today was the last day of our winter vacation. After breakfast at the hotel we packed up the minivan and headed up toward Taos Ski Valley for our snowmobile excursion. On the way we stopped at a Mexican import store. Dianna decided she wanted a decorative turtle for one of our flower beds. I picked up some chile seasoning for ground beef. From there we hit detour number two....the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande_Gorge_Bridge">Rio Grande Gorge Bridge</a> was only 8 miles so I thought it would be worthwhile drive. Traffic was minimal so I stopped on the middle of the bridge and took these shots:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwuGkeCTg_rWyt4wQiSOj-8yeNHM-L9TrEnHDaZQccraeObVWQsv6Et5i8OP6E8NLoUt4r5hKg16K90U388a-pzwIqITfFEQPOQALoqbHrJZcE1QnZuHoV0rO5rXMCKaAyelIoPmWkDXG/s1600-h/tsv+rg+gorge+north.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwuGkeCTg_rWyt4wQiSOj-8yeNHM-L9TrEnHDaZQccraeObVWQsv6Et5i8OP6E8NLoUt4r5hKg16K90U388a-pzwIqITfFEQPOQALoqbHrJZcE1QnZuHoV0rO5rXMCKaAyelIoPmWkDXG/s320/tsv+rg+gorge+north.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286427430838640546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Looking north from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.<br />The Rio Grande is 650 feet below the bridge.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_u4bujZrSv400QrTWasrDXGoUdaMRlll_SOkL0iIPiDOjB72GyJljDvmEOSc4w56MlJDSGTXXXE2FsXwQ77c3jX0d3hmKlepueYJ8uxcKN4G1sQILlO8ZRigTF0DHF9vDshM7rbUaf9PQ/s1600-h/tsv+rg+gorge+south.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_u4bujZrSv400QrTWasrDXGoUdaMRlll_SOkL0iIPiDOjB72GyJljDvmEOSc4w56MlJDSGTXXXE2FsXwQ77c3jX0d3hmKlepueYJ8uxcKN4G1sQILlO8ZRigTF0DHF9vDshM7rbUaf9PQ/s320/tsv+rg+gorge+south.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286427408744002514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The view south from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">Next stop was Taos Ski Valley. TSV is actually about 24 miles from Taos. The drive there was the most scenic compared to the drives toward Red River and Angel Fire.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylXbWJqeUFVDUSgMKhUBj_cpjGE2Pe0QYtMX30AXYg4Q-xT4ro0Vkc_2_irOcZavjsooBxH0Xlr-AJOV05ED8-s5RjVwYA1TNIp8KwZX1RL8zxmSK3hVlxuIqOYRdbQrf9QgpD4xFrkGt/s1600-h/tsv+drive+to.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylXbWJqeUFVDUSgMKhUBj_cpjGE2Pe0QYtMX30AXYg4Q-xT4ro0Vkc_2_irOcZavjsooBxH0Xlr-AJOV05ED8-s5RjVwYA1TNIp8KwZX1RL8zxmSK3hVlxuIqOYRdbQrf9QgpD4xFrkGt/s320/tsv+drive+to.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286430005383829714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The road from Taos to Taos Ski Valley<br /></span></div><br /><br />TSV was packed...we had to park at the back of the lot furthest from the lift we needed to meet for our snowmobile ride. TSV had an efficient shuttle service but, we kind of felt like cattle...the shuttle consisted of a covered trailer and it was standing room only. We met up at ski lift #1 to sign our release form paperwork from <a href="http://bigaltsv.com/snowmobile.php">Big Al's TSV Wilderness Adventures</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilA6qWg8sCaU_z2yC6dqjZMZTSV1E46lF4BnGd5ttfWpRxuXGmPA2XDRkaZxN6IgYCCvPNT3idSdXZkAyuaC0Yg1KXOnUXxeSkfcD9IELxgSSmVV_7hO3ftTEt6ZCssN4JRao1t9SB69aW/s1600-h/tsv+showdown+bd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilA6qWg8sCaU_z2yC6dqjZMZTSV1E46lF4BnGd5ttfWpRxuXGmPA2XDRkaZxN6IgYCCvPNT3idSdXZkAyuaC0Yg1KXOnUXxeSkfcD9IELxgSSmVV_7hO3ftTEt6ZCssN4JRao1t9SB69aW/s320/tsv+showdown+bd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286430016137715778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Next to ski lift #1 looking up at the Black Diamond Showdown run</span><br /></div><br /><br />Then we headed back down to parking area to ride Big Al's Popemobile to the trailhead with the snowmobiles...this was a slightly modified Ford 4-wheel drive truck with a large wooden enclosure in the bed that could seat about 10 people. Dianna and all of us actually rode in the cab with Big Al. He was a very interesting character. Even though he has lived in TSV for 25 years he still had a deep Texas drawl. We drove up near the trailhead past many condo's and a few homes....there was actually a sign posted on the way that said "4 wheel drive vehicles only." Big Al had chains on his tires as well. We actually had to walk the last 50 yards to the trailhead since it was inaccessible by vehicle.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tpHdrKSfUasbkigRRU6f1jPnLzPsxWjC6inp3U9UP_bXmNEwNzDtIioy2QfijwQ1MXsCKaQHmacu-BTLozVDwvjiiWk5ZVqzprhs8aEgY605puV0wfvA-5ZRfqyNcfAYgfefOLg5-22W/s1600-h/tsv+sm+walk+to+th.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tpHdrKSfUasbkigRRU6f1jPnLzPsxWjC6inp3U9UP_bXmNEwNzDtIioy2QfijwQ1MXsCKaQHmacu-BTLozVDwvjiiWk5ZVqzprhs8aEgY605puV0wfvA-5ZRfqyNcfAYgfefOLg5-22W/s320/tsv+sm+walk+to+th.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286431268563149234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Path to the trailhead where the snowmobiles were waiting<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">Dianna had never snowmobiled before...I had been on two previous occasions in Park City, Utah. This experience was completely different. The machines we rode looked and drove like they were brand new...they have obviously been very well maintained by Big Al.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YAKG_rD-TU7fWac-1_Z7p4DOxUxM_AIWl8kXvNqe6kxOt1wsfGZiaD9YS8mlF61x9IgPeQgyd0JCyrVB-UNQwa5T2z35CF9HObBEH36BDPYrgH1RpEvv0XyjwDpupfRjuJZ9hOPgi0wS/s1600-h/tsv+sm+big+al.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YAKG_rD-TU7fWac-1_Z7p4DOxUxM_AIWl8kXvNqe6kxOt1wsfGZiaD9YS8mlF61x9IgPeQgyd0JCyrVB-UNQwa5T2z35CF9HObBEH36BDPYrgH1RpEvv0XyjwDpupfRjuJZ9hOPgi0wS/s320/tsv+sm+big+al.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286430026100990194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Here is Big Al firing up our sleds...<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">Big Al spent about 20 minutes on giving basic "how to" instructions....he even quizzed all of us individually. Here we are starting out on the trail:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHRvshd-7rZNtx5UmxmIi3xwv7VrAaCj499P6vek0iSlIi_P-B7jlDobUazW3dQn8N8UAjzpeKLStBIPnI0F3DfnL3-yV8PWZellz2O0Rarm6fL_zAFNLmoFVMFRu8O2PdWNEOVuplvLP/s1600-h/tsv+sm+dianna+w+A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHRvshd-7rZNtx5UmxmIi3xwv7VrAaCj499P6vek0iSlIi_P-B7jlDobUazW3dQn8N8UAjzpeKLStBIPnI0F3DfnL3-yV8PWZellz2O0Rarm6fL_zAFNLmoFVMFRu8O2PdWNEOVuplvLP/s320/tsv+sm+dianna+w+A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286431223890731650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">That's Dianna with A wearing the purple toboggan</span>.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">M. rode with me.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The scenery was amazing on the way up.....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryKUrGtLaaCMfLPZKNHpU_Hac2oH_AFck8hmPTxG47x2NdMNVXMVmxRTcu6s1xw45pLd6Awm_6f0hZU7spkYiYyWyUrQKirmT646-Nk3jfCyH5bZdOkUlfVAreKw1uVRsw4qiVgjaIAhA/s1600-h/tsv+sm+winter+wonderland.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryKUrGtLaaCMfLPZKNHpU_Hac2oH_AFck8hmPTxG47x2NdMNVXMVmxRTcu6s1xw45pLd6Awm_6f0hZU7spkYiYyWyUrQKirmT646-Nk3jfCyH5bZdOkUlfVAreKw1uVRsw4qiVgjaIAhA/s320/tsv+sm+winter+wonderland.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286432460301265090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">A winter "wonderland"</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS5wNLQLzd_m1j3TX2j-hqdBzBoXSxyDdAg7-3yDTSXtbpI7mwNGB5hNaSkA46BAQcSNItvlJ6ZrlLaTRwQ77t8H6km4YTgKdbJVJuuXG-gtE7dOdeRVOIB-N5RGDU5kPoYyMZhlV5r3T/s1600-h/tsv+sm+winter+wonderland2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS5wNLQLzd_m1j3TX2j-hqdBzBoXSxyDdAg7-3yDTSXtbpI7mwNGB5hNaSkA46BAQcSNItvlJ6ZrlLaTRwQ77t8H6km4YTgKdbJVJuuXG-gtE7dOdeRVOIB-N5RGDU5kPoYyMZhlV5r3T/s320/tsv+sm+winter+wonderland2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286432454002111090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">More....</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Most of the ride consisted of 8-10 foot path with steep dropoffs. From the picture below I tried to show how steep the dropoff was....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSDX8qzfpkFDySqkE_wCwhqxFA37_BWlD90dH4yq36FBEG_6frCyTFd2-mRJUHpllBhv422NGnuZBeXshn4SNJWwU5gBGftqFHph4-8JCYnQhoyY04kN2MoUHWhxOI8M56pCzNQcGnxbV/s1600-h/tsv+sm+steep.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSDX8qzfpkFDySqkE_wCwhqxFA37_BWlD90dH4yq36FBEG_6frCyTFd2-mRJUHpllBhv422NGnuZBeXshn4SNJWwU5gBGftqFHph4-8JCYnQhoyY04kN2MoUHWhxOI8M56pCzNQcGnxbV/s320/tsv+sm+steep.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286431257050774210" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I took a cool self picture of M and me while driving the snowmobile.....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4L-jd4LOj2I5vBVd0hi_gk2ji_LzbJDWlBJ_U7P3zHKS1xfNj8qz-N3tbtY4gAbVK-XeOoeLXn0Llqk0oyIM396CilZ5KID0uv39dT7NmpqKKYi0vmNaeVIwH4I3xtIO0h20yMtuLBjX/s1600-h/tsv+sm+self+w+M.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4L-jd4LOj2I5vBVd0hi_gk2ji_LzbJDWlBJ_U7P3zHKS1xfNj8qz-N3tbtY4gAbVK-XeOoeLXn0Llqk0oyIM396CilZ5KID0uv39dT7NmpqKKYi0vmNaeVIwH4I3xtIO0h20yMtuLBjX/s320/tsv+sm+self+w+M.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286431249263648674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">M. loved this ride...she asked me to go faster several times<br /><br /></span></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">After about 45 minutes we finally peaked out at about 11,400 feet. The view was incredible...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBevHjuY6VUaXeB2hcOWPEsYTplhjn3jUd6hnn6wqwpe8Bz8Sxgq15ftx1X5ruba2-BHaOWRTFJdsxXH5fIzXXlRr8DX1UGIDRj8rT6a0l3HZbf8pklPrcxyS8cO3BvQhueYihO5u4MxN/s1600-h/tsv+sm+family.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBevHjuY6VUaXeB2hcOWPEsYTplhjn3jUd6hnn6wqwpe8Bz8Sxgq15ftx1X5ruba2-BHaOWRTFJdsxXH5fIzXXlRr8DX1UGIDRj8rT6a0l3HZbf8pklPrcxyS8cO3BvQhueYihO5u4MxN/s320/tsv+sm+family.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286431233134283554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Big Al offered to take this family shot with<br />Kachina Peak (elev. 12,400) as the backdrop.<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSb5MqfWtApS6pp32J8RGsj0RxvVkaQv64ZEmPREb9omGN8kvQ7DU-6175v4LhkpfklhxN3Ai6badtwRJ3oyOBLRFo1eCugREe9d8RSDkqU3ctOFGfDs6MxJ-v_hF-VMnI3wqKLJ-LgEW/s1600-h/tsv+kachina+peak.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSb5MqfWtApS6pp32J8RGsj0RxvVkaQv64ZEmPREb9omGN8kvQ7DU-6175v4LhkpfklhxN3Ai6badtwRJ3oyOBLRFo1eCugREe9d8RSDkqU3ctOFGfDs6MxJ-v_hF-VMnI3wqKLJ-LgEW/s320/tsv+kachina+peak.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286430012277830850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">A shot of Kachine Peak...you can see<br />the ski runs on the back of TSV</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfmwvZm6PdoQiC-cHvBvGdo1Eip7jtgvak3NSAhwvwCGnAxQTqjQkrBIPuI19UxA7FDV-JKH4ZH1GDvne0rLpnKdrEViGpr8BGU5nLNNEYy7eXPkAGbGo89z0FQ4BsF2OqX9RKL9r4m_a/s1600-h/tsv+taos+snow+girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfmwvZm6PdoQiC-cHvBvGdo1Eip7jtgvak3NSAhwvwCGnAxQTqjQkrBIPuI19UxA7FDV-JKH4ZH1GDvne0rLpnKdrEViGpr8BGU5nLNNEYy7eXPkAGbGo89z0FQ4BsF2OqX9RKL9r4m_a/s320/tsv+taos+snow+girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286432465027432018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Nice pic of the snow girls</span>...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybr0iIAObx5XkVMDHXSxqCFtpJzLpFhZ4cWsXB9Z-GipcMrrw3mYxd5_8GyQfEsDnUv3rcmMqRyVFKLpzLnhDna-mULXWUzD81p9SxeLKc9dvVSceuV8Ant9WyDKb9MOyQzq2nu2-urLk/s1600-h/tsv+contrails.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybr0iIAObx5XkVMDHXSxqCFtpJzLpFhZ4cWsXB9Z-GipcMrrw3mYxd5_8GyQfEsDnUv3rcmMqRyVFKLpzLnhDna-mULXWUzD81p9SxeLKc9dvVSceuV8Ant9WyDKb9MOyQzq2nu2-urLk/s320/tsv+contrails.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286429994008126114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">There were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrail">contrails</a> (vapour trails) everywhere...</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This was our last day in Taos...we stayed in White Rock the last night (same place we stayed on the first night). Before leaving Taos we ate at <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=taos+pizza+outback&fb=1&view=text&latlng=7908631934736981102&dtab=2&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=result">Pizza Outback</a>. Dianna and I split a large house salad which consisted of greens, sprouts, onions, carrots and purple cabbage. It came with an awesome pesto basil vinaigrette. We also split a monstrous slice of their Bottom Line pizza and a calzone. We both agreed the pizza was better than calzone....in fact, the pizza was very good, but, not as good as Upper Crust in Santa Fe. From there we headed back to White Rock and visited some old family friends until about 10pm.<br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><br /></div></div>fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-11434252318592665392008-12-29T21:54:00.016-06:002009-01-01T22:30:43.061-06:00Winter Vacation - New Mexico Snow - Day 3 UPDATED w/ MORE PICSAfter getting a late start compared to everyone else in our hotel we headed out to Angel Fire. Our hotel is about 24 miles from AF. The road was quite winding and provided for some white knuckle driving, especially with the snow/ice patches.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyOM1JJnLKlpaNWJqfwOommFBLD8m9jp8f0ELAZ52uTIaoEUNh0kqSl83QgOK7pyOHQyNmACOHYgILLaJgak2MDdMpA3_2eKBPPoTJtO2aP8AOHTqE1luP-_uAFTfONbw_7I8kdqZjacg/s1600-h/af+drive2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyOM1JJnLKlpaNWJqfwOommFBLD8m9jp8f0ELAZ52uTIaoEUNh0kqSl83QgOK7pyOHQyNmACOHYgILLaJgak2MDdMpA3_2eKBPPoTJtO2aP8AOHTqE1luP-_uAFTfONbw_7I8kdqZjacg/s320/af+drive2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285594108266134146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Here we are stuck behind a construction grader<br />and sanding truck w/ a plow. Yes, that is a<br />4-wheel drive FedEx truck in front of us<br /></span></div><br />When we arrived in AF we drove straight to the AF Resort to pick up our Polar Coaster tubing passes. The way AF advertises the Polar Coaster is that there are 3 tubing lanes that run about 1000 feet with a surface lift that moves you back to the top. AF sells 50 tickets for each 1.5 hour time slot...more on this later. Parking was tough since this place was packed! We ended parking in the lot furthest from the ski base. Luckily they had shuttles available. Once we got off of the shuttle both girls had to make a bathroom stop. This was a 15 minute deal for Dianna because of all of the outerwear the girls had on. I should emphasize this outerwear was put on right after parking. We still made it to the lift on time. Everyone there soon discovered AF sold about 80 tickets. Why is this a big deal? They only had about 60 tubes which meant there was delay at the top to get someone to give you a tube. There was also a line to get on the surface lift and another line at the top to go down. All of us each took about 8 trips down, so it was a good time.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOx3UxQT1vTCi5ITWBKkWoSFo80cR8kDiam8DbTw396MuJq3ZhyphenhyphenxxDZ73S_YtYVdwrs4VQdsrX_bD1qc32RsG45fouuIhBHcwPqGBGhe873L15lQkl_AFp4_Ly22aL5uA57maPhckN98e/s1600-h/af+tube+run.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOx3UxQT1vTCi5ITWBKkWoSFo80cR8kDiam8DbTw396MuJq3ZhyphenhyphenxxDZ73S_YtYVdwrs4VQdsrX_bD1qc32RsG45fouuIhBHcwPqGBGhe873L15lQkl_AFp4_Ly22aL5uA57maPhckN98e/s320/af+tube+run.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285591958169711442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">This is the view from the top of Polar Coaster</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8Qj0AL44jN3f2xQ64xTGqbT31tVNy2suDGyBn1posZ-Rf7Jx0t9QJ6Gv94dkNESkyijcfYUZ_O-AaVRPv87_aI_-YvzAMZkgVD-r3ZpA0kcJv7__0o2iuEqgsUHWgtm6KhcJtWwMv6j6/s1600-h/af+am+tube+wait.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8Qj0AL44jN3f2xQ64xTGqbT31tVNy2suDGyBn1posZ-Rf7Jx0t9QJ6Gv94dkNESkyijcfYUZ_O-AaVRPv87_aI_-YvzAMZkgVD-r3ZpA0kcJv7__0o2iuEqgsUHWgtm6KhcJtWwMv6j6/s320/af+am+tube+wait.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285594099041209298" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The girls are patiently awaiting the trip down on the tube</span><br /></div><br /><br />M. had a blast and A. was doing great until she decided to go down laying down. There are rubber mats at the bottom of the hill to slow you down...if you happen to put downward pressure on the front edge of the tube as you hit the mats your body continues to move forward while the tube abruptly stops. I know this because I experienced it first-hand on my first trip down. I would pay to have a photo/video of me flipping over about 4 times in a couple of seconds. Anyways, back to A., she did the same thing. Here first comment after her spill was that she was done tubing. I convinced her to try again sitting not laying on the tube. She was spill-free after that.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_AEA9j9l66BF0Ku1FczOdzaKVRiiaJ4pYwcs02aB3sef9XosggOUwwRZD-TX9lAdZtqai0TRGngbVCb6dJpNomoMoNX7TO7rgKtxQJLY9yE0f8-tm1CNIWMGP2j_Ao8X3AexnUTMDfer/s1600-h/af+tube+m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_AEA9j9l66BF0Ku1FczOdzaKVRiiaJ4pYwcs02aB3sef9XosggOUwwRZD-TX9lAdZtqai0TRGngbVCb6dJpNomoMoNX7TO7rgKtxQJLY9yE0f8-tm1CNIWMGP2j_Ao8X3AexnUTMDfer/s320/af+tube+m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285591960278417970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">This is M. tubing; she is so adventurous for a 4 yr old<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFJGE4U5QdTiwMFaD46jFnlOL7btmXy9rNTJKB63ec58woQZwiyqAiKSEik6AeosaAAP9a0vsMIxpMgaWyUWbYoegVj7y8grgWIJj9MyWB5prkgtAsglB7Gn794vkXFWgbXAqnfRO9j-L/s1600-h/af+tube+a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFJGE4U5QdTiwMFaD46jFnlOL7btmXy9rNTJKB63ec58woQZwiyqAiKSEik6AeosaAAP9a0vsMIxpMgaWyUWbYoegVj7y8grgWIJj9MyWB5prkgtAsglB7Gn794vkXFWgbXAqnfRO9j-L/s320/af+tube+a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285594114363866546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">This is A. right before her wipe out</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZT873FTrenpyNfpti2aJerbYYgkhBmimU1ZCPtfsc9B4LjACC__8CqHXfTvIivApZg0DqIWzpJ_Ll8mK_vy-Bb7R6ZU-ZklqwRDAAeGAupvg8tjPZZYbj8e2HhsqLeUclowHnF0d3ASq/s1600-h/af+tube+dianna.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZT873FTrenpyNfpti2aJerbYYgkhBmimU1ZCPtfsc9B4LjACC__8CqHXfTvIivApZg0DqIWzpJ_Ll8mK_vy-Bb7R6ZU-ZklqwRDAAeGAupvg8tjPZZYbj8e2HhsqLeUclowHnF0d3ASq/s320/af+tube+dianna.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285591965531296226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Dianna flying down the hill</span><br /></div><br />Click the youtube link below for the video I took of the ride:<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J4UoOe5M6ZM&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J4UoOe5M6ZM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Angel Fire was a different scene compared to Enchanted Forest XC. There were very long lift lines at Angel Fire and it was difficult to walk around, especially among people who don't know how to carry their skis/poles.<br /><br />After we finished tubing it was time get some snacks so we took the shuttle back to the mini-van. Now it was time to look for a sledding location I read on someone's blog. The blog was not very specific other than sledding hill was next to a condo with tennis courts. We actually found the sledding hill in less than 10 minutes. There were quite a few people sledding and the hill was pretty steep with lots of frozen snow. All of us went down a couple of times before Dianna and I decided this may be too dangerous. On one side of the hill bottom was a frozen pond. We just didn't want to find out how frozen it wasn't. Right next to the sledding hill was a playground. I would say this was the highlight of the trip for the girls, so far. Not that they really played on the playground equipment....they just played in the snow making snow angels, throwing snowballs and just frolicking in the snow. The snow was about 24 inches here. Soon, the sun was going to set so we headed back to Taos to get some food and avoid a night drive on the winding road back.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibuYoWYA_A4Kn4krR8EDqRZ6a09VCY5m4gjM6A6CcmoBqadZXOT8A8JVAD-2bvlkWDXFPihJMjmhLzH2C4v29t8n3oatEDc0LXgzqjZLU1zzvqyYifklxE657bI3RcxlR1SoVIuzF8Ghxp/s1600-h/af+sled+walk+up.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibuYoWYA_A4Kn4krR8EDqRZ6a09VCY5m4gjM6A6CcmoBqadZXOT8A8JVAD-2bvlkWDXFPihJMjmhLzH2C4v29t8n3oatEDc0LXgzqjZLU1zzvqyYifklxE657bI3RcxlR1SoVIuzF8Ghxp/s320/af+sled+walk+up.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285848561995876018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Walking up to the top of hill. This was much cheaper than the<br />tube ride at Angel Fire (read free) but, there was no surface lift<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70YRIcEWjhVxPPcQ08tZJhgyryzmHCA8aGMVz5CwxfFod4aNhPqNL7y9uSdg52-Sd-JFR-uH710F8iVo7WPXaYjqzFetyB8ozKpXmo7N5_VwGSwjdRlnTbp2rkI-XCRuSjuxd8sHhi4NP/s1600-h/af+sled+m+speedster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70YRIcEWjhVxPPcQ08tZJhgyryzmHCA8aGMVz5CwxfFod4aNhPqNL7y9uSdg52-Sd-JFR-uH710F8iVo7WPXaYjqzFetyB8ozKpXmo7N5_VwGSwjdRlnTbp2rkI-XCRuSjuxd8sHhi4NP/s320/af+sled+m+speedster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285846367259848450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Probably the coolest picture of the trip;<br />M. is flying down the sled hill. Click to enlarge</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwp4yJVZuXN7yuHSDkOo2NH8JurAzDYML3NrQG7RVJW1qk2VdD1IHN3csZcA0zWXTK2uP6U9BdnIh7V7D5lomQAzJdp0COIMUgpmmbvfLA5-sBaYB5W093U2gg0NO0oIH_M198wTs27A5I/s1600-h/af+sled+dianna+brake2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwp4yJVZuXN7yuHSDkOo2NH8JurAzDYML3NrQG7RVJW1qk2VdD1IHN3csZcA0zWXTK2uP6U9BdnIh7V7D5lomQAzJdp0COIMUgpmmbvfLA5-sBaYB5W093U2gg0NO0oIH_M198wTs27A5I/s320/af+sled+dianna+brake2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285840831943699298" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Dianna has her brakes ON (her feet are down and out)</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT0iZr3dAosV-beoxxxzjAHlcP2bbr7lS7qHD8c3fCELt5YUXYOEgLTBzfQusypYv8Vv59_3D_EhsxQj29qyeYW2sxOX3I0A8v-CCL8WqKXgPDmfP4Vo92YRuJPmr6K1H9jzAy1XWZRAU/s1600-h/af+sled+dianna+fake+smile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT0iZr3dAosV-beoxxxzjAHlcP2bbr7lS7qHD8c3fCELt5YUXYOEgLTBzfQusypYv8Vv59_3D_EhsxQj29qyeYW2sxOX3I0A8v-CCL8WqKXgPDmfP4Vo92YRuJPmr6K1H9jzAy1XWZRAU/s320/af+sled+dianna+fake+smile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285848552976453922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Dianna with her fake, poser smile after a scary sled trip</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAa2_tHnI5H6QxlU5XTudow6ALRo2rfs7DxwxG8OUdeUGpN5ZT6UPcpHue9NVyzNJGV892NCnTiUvCfpP81QbW4wkMfaiffqRm0FiJGWX_jCi7U1otjRxl7zXSNkwM3UIwKCPgsJVhkr2/s1600-h/af+sled+dianna+real+smile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAa2_tHnI5H6QxlU5XTudow6ALRo2rfs7DxwxG8OUdeUGpN5ZT6UPcpHue9NVyzNJGV892NCnTiUvCfpP81QbW4wkMfaiffqRm0FiJGWX_jCi7U1otjRxl7zXSNkwM3UIwKCPgsJVhkr2/s320/af+sled+dianna+real+smile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285846351039139586" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Check out Dianna's expression; this is how she really felt</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gf8qDmmQ3NlnWJ2nvbJ_c4zZFUzYuWck01_DH1h1Bwn2KDe6Gczrh8R5EoccKDeRnkeqAUzSj3GAF3kKQpebDJdW7iYy-3Ki-nCzr2BTokBkXI6I0Mg5xX_zxqiv0CxXR6w5sV5nxaWn/s1600-h/af+sled+ferny+no+control.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gf8qDmmQ3NlnWJ2nvbJ_c4zZFUzYuWck01_DH1h1Bwn2KDe6Gczrh8R5EoccKDeRnkeqAUzSj3GAF3kKQpebDJdW7iYy-3Ki-nCzr2BTokBkXI6I0Mg5xX_zxqiv0CxXR6w5sV5nxaWn/s320/af+sled+ferny+no+control.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285846354626306146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Me and A. speeding down the frozen snow with absolutely no control</span><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWwmFoBTjIYN6uk86OkA_wRyaZIlijXokyPZShWcWgxydJOL6uraVSHsxAVbS8U-DYpj3V-36PYrfmhnd7Y5i0oL5IVAiF2saShyphenhyphenuZv-Uqzgr521WtfGbttBdwVd1xpbaZztJD2vwYZ_v/s1600-h/af+play+dianna+angel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWwmFoBTjIYN6uk86OkA_wRyaZIlijXokyPZShWcWgxydJOL6uraVSHsxAVbS8U-DYpj3V-36PYrfmhnd7Y5i0oL5IVAiF2saShyphenhyphenuZv-Uqzgr521WtfGbttBdwVd1xpbaZztJD2vwYZ_v/s320/af+play+dianna+angel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285837651696082786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Vacation Trivia Time, choose the correct answer:<br />1) Did Dianna have too much to drink and pass out?<br />2) Dianna is trying to imitate M. and A's angel making ?<br />3) Dianna is preparing for the latest Clapper commercial<br />(I have fallen and get up, out of the snow)<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLhNop2jtPM7HZ-eWn-QSW9UqhqHGenRXvqbK2pw29VDqNtQVQpKp4_Z62zQgte0GIu0rAwmJjHexayvWm3Uv1jfKkf_OGlDuKa5Wy2Iz0WwMD0NxtGABub6ryPYkCxuiS70oPOOppPvd/s1600-h/af+snow+m+angel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLhNop2jtPM7HZ-eWn-QSW9UqhqHGenRXvqbK2pw29VDqNtQVQpKp4_Z62zQgte0GIu0rAwmJjHexayvWm3Uv1jfKkf_OGlDuKa5Wy2Iz0WwMD0NxtGABub6ryPYkCxuiS70oPOOppPvd/s320/af+snow+m+angel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285847181166357810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">M. snow angel</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvlz1OthGJURb3wAonkpKrtFUz5G1t4J6PO-uLFK78E0ZwHwSSBBXEHcFOgHr0SVM2aoaLmybPyfp8I-bRh7pxc3v8KJM4Mn4CQT-DGfGYSB6T80oYopkaCOaSIuEr0L-Iznhwi_irhA6/s1600-h/af+snow+a+angel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvlz1OthGJURb3wAonkpKrtFUz5G1t4J6PO-uLFK78E0ZwHwSSBBXEHcFOgHr0SVM2aoaLmybPyfp8I-bRh7pxc3v8KJM4Mn4CQT-DGfGYSB6T80oYopkaCOaSIuEr0L-Iznhwi_irhA6/s320/af+snow+a+angel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285846370255032626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">A. snow angel</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wqYgf9_-tBQ1RE-VQMyESBfUoOkeQ2fBI1EqbewsrIgilIDhrJbciMU8cCv_8F1QWNFJTmjBXbakfh8iWN_RvRDEa2nboMj4Yq5rkmvOdehwCkZIPFTbVfRxzqi15GkJnlJuBBpNPfmW/s1600-h/af+play+giant+sball.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wqYgf9_-tBQ1RE-VQMyESBfUoOkeQ2fBI1EqbewsrIgilIDhrJbciMU8cCv_8F1QWNFJTmjBXbakfh8iWN_RvRDEa2nboMj4Yq5rkmvOdehwCkZIPFTbVfRxzqi15GkJnlJuBBpNPfmW/s320/af+play+giant+sball.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285840814740982210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Check out what looks like a big white spot on my jacket...<br />it's actually a softball-sized snowball M. made and then<br />threw at me. With aim like that she should pitch<br />for the Texas Rangers</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2tURW10Y7dWbpct5QDUgfW9Dfaugylc4L4BFcmca5Ki8ivSqHVRDqdUVi6hJ-Rl2mjzywDgiLOot312gAe_XfHZfOpThb0FuqgazeYvmn4ikTKClhm3sRATOi0awO0kM_B_bcwxC0cWx/s1600-h/af+snow+a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2tURW10Y7dWbpct5QDUgfW9Dfaugylc4L4BFcmca5Ki8ivSqHVRDqdUVi6hJ-Rl2mjzywDgiLOot312gAe_XfHZfOpThb0FuqgazeYvmn4ikTKClhm3sRATOi0awO0kM_B_bcwxC0cWx/s320/af+snow+a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285847174922197554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Another snowballer in action</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_jCSuqkeqUSqkIouGFUvF19DHDAi4QZ03sxKlVmLshesI8Bw_oBDOnFPAMsVy-lW7oDleX5386ho-FGl1bNP4o3Y_Wa1aPOy314UkwIOdjvAi8xwcGbwO-HSjqe5dMUw8n5lKMO6_Sak/s1600-h/af+play+snow+girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_jCSuqkeqUSqkIouGFUvF19DHDAi4QZ03sxKlVmLshesI8Bw_oBDOnFPAMsVy-lW7oDleX5386ho-FGl1bNP4o3Y_Wa1aPOy314UkwIOdjvAi8xwcGbwO-HSjqe5dMUw8n5lKMO6_Sak/s320/af+play+snow+girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285840818864752834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">"The Snow Girls"</span><br /><br /><br /></div>Dianna chose Five Star Burgers for tonight's meal...it was a very good choice. They still had happy hour specials when we arrived which meant half-price draft beer ($1.75 for Bud light) and $1 dollar fries. The girls had the kid's cheeseburger/fries deal. And, for $2.75 it was a good deal. Dianna had an applewood smoked bacon cheddar burger and I tried the Taos burger which was a cheddar burger with a batter fried green chile. The bread was great...it was a butter toasted french roll. The meat was all natural 100% Angus from the Harris Ranch. All around good stuff. The only negative here was the slow service. This was a busy restaurant that was short 1-2 waitstaff but, I would stop by for a burger on my next visit to Taos.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjc4YU3s5Ka3rmwJdI1eJN1XDc4J8TKOcxAo50lJ71a376CzwYoJ6LqcNNJcUtlj5ke7EsrA7AZ_raw6UuEL2Fa3CHdpAnKFaJ2C78eRJeEKDdrjrH9mHCeEu6_-AXphJB35W19PSzC-k/s1600-h/taos+burger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjc4YU3s5Ka3rmwJdI1eJN1XDc4J8TKOcxAo50lJ71a376CzwYoJ6LqcNNJcUtlj5ke7EsrA7AZ_raw6UuEL2Fa3CHdpAnKFaJ2C78eRJeEKDdrjrH9mHCeEu6_-AXphJB35W19PSzC-k/s320/taos+burger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285591942398777474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The Five Star Taos burger...I recommend it.<br /></span></div><br />Tomorrow is our last full day before heading back. Vacations just happen way too fast.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-11418031386549386772008-12-28T21:26:00.008-06:002008-12-29T11:40:33.943-06:00Winter Vacation - New Mexico Snow - Day 2We left White Rock after our mandatory stop at the Overlook. The view was incredible, as always, maybe even more so this time because of the snow. I don't remember going to the Overlook as kid with snow on the ground.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78ufsKjTkaR7N0zRDifbQRmcXDcQMjgGHk3M_i3AFpZ5pNCiY0IwtmNH1LqoTfrTh98XMWhZaL5xzOuj3cp3F-bXxiERPegRup68tWZF-qpZ4rEUFDxwGISY0nmX5kLtVnsfrPkJxPVk_/s1600-h/overlook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78ufsKjTkaR7N0zRDifbQRmcXDcQMjgGHk3M_i3AFpZ5pNCiY0IwtmNH1LqoTfrTh98XMWhZaL5xzOuj3cp3F-bXxiERPegRup68tWZF-qpZ4rEUFDxwGISY0nmX5kLtVnsfrPkJxPVk_/s320/overlook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285260138376535346" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">White Rock Overlook<br />View of the Sangre de Cristo mountains with<br />the Rio Grande (w/ frozen ice chunks) below<br /></span></div><br /><br /><br />The drive to <a href="http://www.enchantedforestxc.com/Welcome.html">Enchanted Forest XC Ski Area</a> was quite long. It took about an hour to get from Los Alamos to Taos where we made a pit stop and about another hour from there to Enchanted, which is 3 miles east of <a href="http://redriverskiarea.com/page.php">Red River</a>.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAz7GrgNhsU0G6iUFwcP9_HrJefJieW-wU7v1tSwU9np3hmH6G9Apb9ulGGt1tLNXxdH6NhEGIWPRljcPfQEw_oAM5i-OWrk5brbMDART7BuJ9keDGRS9WMU0WZ-fJwzJf8NOHjIzHJ-qa/s1600-h/road+snow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAz7GrgNhsU0G6iUFwcP9_HrJefJieW-wU7v1tSwU9np3hmH6G9Apb9ulGGt1tLNXxdH6NhEGIWPRljcPfQEw_oAM5i-OWrk5brbMDART7BuJ9keDGRS9WMU0WZ-fJwzJf8NOHjIzHJ-qa/s320/road+snow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285260153142244690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The road between Questa, NM and Red River, NM<br />It looked worse than it was.<br /><br /></span></div>The ski base is actually about 200 yards from the highway and at about 9000 feet in altitude. Since we don't have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to traverse this snow-filled road we planned to walk down a short hill and back up a steep hill to the ski base. Luckily, the actual owner of Enchanted was driving in as we started to walk and he gave us a lift, this was not the case as we left. When we arrived at the rental office we were told there was no charge for the kids...a very pleasant surprise. While getting our gear the employee helping us mentioned that most people dress too warm for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-country_skiing">XC skiing</a>. Even though the temperature was only 20 degrees we decided to heed his advice. All of us had on awesome synthetic long underwear, jeans, long sleeve tops, ski bibs, neck warmers, tobaggans, gloves and jackets. We left the jackets in a locker at the rental office.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzf_WX20KD-G53eZUinbAjNJ_uQEDP5DOARtbcw1pFmVfoUtQGH01xROCtGmFBiLoExZA3IyUCZL3PhPjaddvqT_I0YaESrE-JxYD0hAIn7cDodsaxetOPEetKpnC_TJAkjeJhgOUrK2q_/s1600-h/Enchan+A+geared+up.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzf_WX20KD-G53eZUinbAjNJ_uQEDP5DOARtbcw1pFmVfoUtQGH01xROCtGmFBiLoExZA3IyUCZL3PhPjaddvqT_I0YaESrE-JxYD0hAIn7cDodsaxetOPEetKpnC_TJAkjeJhgOUrK2q_/s320/Enchan+A+geared+up.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285261820723284706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Here's A. about to gear up</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMeCf2S0jP8H9qtpRMyy963QtsrrHfDo3wzP23nAIQOXEXGnfbiKWkVarvFx-n9ee_4hZ1E-PZ9pmUb0AMKNWNArvrlRPcOG-ZfiTH2OBoDP-wp33iIisZc4N6-kCswKqbnCRfxENd9qT/s1600-h/enchanted+base.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMeCf2S0jP8H9qtpRMyy963QtsrrHfDo3wzP23nAIQOXEXGnfbiKWkVarvFx-n9ee_4hZ1E-PZ9pmUb0AMKNWNArvrlRPcOG-ZfiTH2OBoDP-wp33iIisZc4N6-kCswKqbnCRfxENd9qT/s320/enchanted+base.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285260186679292610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Enchanted Forest base<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKI6RM6Xd9Ehcqx2_u5o7Y65eS-bbb_hD5n44Q1dXSEdLsow1QvW2LEOk0o0KXzEiKu-J1ntFkrg9vP85qKZo7PiiSWzwKLHi87cegq2HpyvwxY_hSSGk011BiH0XCnOcgiZgydcIZxnU/s1600-h/Ench+M+starts.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKI6RM6Xd9Ehcqx2_u5o7Y65eS-bbb_hD5n44Q1dXSEdLsow1QvW2LEOk0o0KXzEiKu-J1ntFkrg9vP85qKZo7PiiSWzwKLHi87cegq2HpyvwxY_hSSGk011BiH0XCnOcgiZgydcIZxnU/s320/Ench+M+starts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285261850985570146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Here is M. on her first ski attempt...well done M. !</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_oherW2WVGVZ5D1oGMRy3NUHN-CxVD9kbN-8EphmauvOYpMN51pM5LPq6zhHVAMUbI-yLdc6VsRyQcRGGXeN57X-WVJLENt7XsHQFMIjfSvGJYtwmPX2MVDo39aTvU7jyKDtpxBO8dK-A/s1600-h/Ench+A+ready.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_oherW2WVGVZ5D1oGMRy3NUHN-CxVD9kbN-8EphmauvOYpMN51pM5LPq6zhHVAMUbI-yLdc6VsRyQcRGGXeN57X-WVJLENt7XsHQFMIjfSvGJYtwmPX2MVDo39aTvU7jyKDtpxBO8dK-A/s320/Ench+A+ready.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285263460707892306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Here's A. about to ski...she had a blast !</span><br /><br /></div>This was the first time girls and I have ever skied. The girls did great....the biggest problem they had was going up inclines and getting up after falling. I actually, mysteriously, did not fall...so, getting up may have been more difficult than it seems. The trails here were very well groomed and they all had XC pistes (parallel grooves cut into the snow) which really helped the girls out.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHNCFru_Q9K2Ou_9BBPngL2Y3D5mW3tpwv8bnB8O1qEWOgShZaST_zv4TW-YFk0nGC4R03u_qZK9wC88qABD_80kIYJY1nH_Hn7uVUFpx8F5Nhm_ARtmlp7sL0dFm__TC3hQYmhlxineY/s1600-h/Ench+A+cruising.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHNCFru_Q9K2Ou_9BBPngL2Y3D5mW3tpwv8bnB8O1qEWOgShZaST_zv4TW-YFk0nGC4R03u_qZK9wC88qABD_80kIYJY1nH_Hn7uVUFpx8F5Nhm_ARtmlp7sL0dFm__TC3hQYmhlxineY/s320/Ench+A+cruising.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285263483689881826" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">A. is cruising here...</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIzZZhEnyr4PYDULSux4Wr5rUPFPj5_uDWClI3ZjsBM9hW7RAG9aKCkDPzeEhn7sQXtuZAVvrp32IMSqQSzfh4vpe81fYr0SgpcUJR_rS_Y2z9M-VDGkpy3QaALKGbUGf5H88LzRUIiFp/s1600-h/Ench+A+oops.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIzZZhEnyr4PYDULSux4Wr5rUPFPj5_uDWClI3ZjsBM9hW7RAG9aKCkDPzeEhn7sQXtuZAVvrp32IMSqQSzfh4vpe81fYr0SgpcUJR_rS_Y2z9M-VDGkpy3QaALKGbUGf5H88LzRUIiFp/s320/Ench+A+oops.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285263470983826050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Oooops !!!!</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMkupVzfq3Ybbo-8H1-bBXr5S3Ul7X8geDpZaQ0SE0Ul29M2HTmXbcS7cUndZWuiilobkHEsl6GpnTn4wQLS_1HnPu7ofdoSlccDGZwxYh9sHWnf8gxjdEZet5hUILNs2S_RN4L_dPxhk/s1600-h/Ench+traffic+jam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMkupVzfq3Ybbo-8H1-bBXr5S3Ul7X8geDpZaQ0SE0Ul29M2HTmXbcS7cUndZWuiilobkHEsl6GpnTn4wQLS_1HnPu7ofdoSlccDGZwxYh9sHWnf8gxjdEZet5hUILNs2S_RN4L_dPxhk/s320/Ench+traffic+jam.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285261835298003058" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Traffic jam @ elevation 9000 ft</span><br /></div><br />After skiing about 2 kilometers we decided to go back to the office and trade our skis in for snowshoes. They don't charge for this. We 'shoed the shortest loop they had since it was getting late (getting late in a ski area is 4pm). M started to complain...in fact, she really didn't want to snowshoe at all.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulhlcjj-4iwLLpsaarx5e9-3lPCFGled2w6dFjEYh9f7kRnBQZQbDpKAK5miWUBIzWmHOZ4wjSRJfMTj7oK76tLrCUJLzHV3EDGcmdaa29MbMNy70wB2G8B1Rp-7A7l5DeV9Tw3kTg_0u/s1600-h/Ench+M+not+happy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulhlcjj-4iwLLpsaarx5e9-3lPCFGled2w6dFjEYh9f7kRnBQZQbDpKAK5miWUBIzWmHOZ4wjSRJfMTj7oK76tLrCUJLzHV3EDGcmdaa29MbMNy70wB2G8B1Rp-7A7l5DeV9Tw3kTg_0u/s320/Ench+M+not+happy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285261882039456370" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Snowshoeing??? Not so much.<br /><br /></span></div>I think she equated it with hiking in the snow.....which is exactly what it is. M has somewhat of an aversion to hiking since our <a href="http://fernster.blogspot.com/2008/08/day-11-hike-sedona-arizona-drive-to-los.html">Sedona hike earlier this summer</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_86CuxFyDbKWE4hZxD56GQ8h6HDAb0VDmBcuFmoGcsYkOTJoKH7WXyhthHufeEu1ZYFKEL5TQkm4aPmwRYm45v-pKCd8ZamhAK-EmCo1SByvEgBWUw4xtVUx_1_XmCt2Ds8IJl7vvbp-/s1600-h/Ench+A+snowball.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_86CuxFyDbKWE4hZxD56GQ8h6HDAb0VDmBcuFmoGcsYkOTJoKH7WXyhthHufeEu1ZYFKEL5TQkm4aPmwRYm45v-pKCd8ZamhAK-EmCo1SByvEgBWUw4xtVUx_1_XmCt2Ds8IJl7vvbp-/s320/Ench+A+snowball.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285263451873705570" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Here's A. snowshoeing and going on a<br />surprise snowball attack.<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9HHcJFaTBRfYatL7reWDBCg-ozXEPZI5X-_pkQ9Bnh1dYfoJHCO43s1St15YnouKPmH_L5HOBa2OQNHz6wxnpgilRBMnOBdNlXr_DJUFqyZhzOIaP_xj-LXpo8EpjFjq3VTgqzbMQh2_/s1600-h/Ench+M+shoe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9HHcJFaTBRfYatL7reWDBCg-ozXEPZI5X-_pkQ9Bnh1dYfoJHCO43s1St15YnouKPmH_L5HOBa2OQNHz6wxnpgilRBMnOBdNlXr_DJUFqyZhzOIaP_xj-LXpo8EpjFjq3VTgqzbMQh2_/s320/Ench+M+shoe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285261862875318114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">M. needed constant "motivation" to keep shoeing</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzhnW8A21dLR7V74PpZ2VtZ2LaEAM8NPGbul2lULmjYyCGIc1pPi0w3RuDzEBHLwpsFnZ26BP_8hIhxjF3HLrFw_oA0-qA7bM_2GD_Ui7RyTODHKmICrxTksEagPAzGKsyyp68bAHGMqX/s1600-h/Ench+deep+snow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzhnW8A21dLR7V74PpZ2VtZ2LaEAM8NPGbul2lULmjYyCGIc1pPi0w3RuDzEBHLwpsFnZ26BP_8hIhxjF3HLrFw_oA0-qA7bM_2GD_Ui7RyTODHKmICrxTksEagPAzGKsyyp68bAHGMqX/s320/Ench+deep+snow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285263446407947634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Off the 'beaten path' here and up to my<br />knee even with snowshoes on.<br /><br /></span></div>Overall, everyone had a great time. And, I have to say the service here is great! I think this would be an incredible way to workout.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicduIcu1LW6n_9d1uKiP_0L8KKEoZG_Z-Xmfc6ydBCW6CR_Z7W7mZ4u_FfZ8mXDsRZ8XJd_C5Zw5mLNK1LDU_XZaUzeBJGt0zx4qQ8b6B9LKLqOZ9p1EK-hN0ESWYUMq0T-x-8bDbNnpmJ/s1600-h/enchanted+fam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicduIcu1LW6n_9d1uKiP_0L8KKEoZG_Z-Xmfc6ydBCW6CR_Z7W7mZ4u_FfZ8mXDsRZ8XJd_C5Zw5mLNK1LDU_XZaUzeBJGt0zx4qQ8b6B9LKLqOZ9p1EK-hN0ESWYUMq0T-x-8bDbNnpmJ/s320/enchanted+fam.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285260164792684978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The end of our first snow excursion</span><br /></div><br /><br />Tonight we are staying in Taos. On the way back we stopped at Orlando's New Mexican Cafe for some chow. This place was very cramped and overly crowded. The host staff made things worse with their attitude. As I mentioned the place is very small but, I was bumped into no less than five times by the staff and not once did they say "sorry" or "excuse me." The food was very, very average. This place just didn't live up to the hype. Dianna had the blue corn cheese enchiladas. She says they were kind of bland. I had the Los Colores which consists of a cheese, a chicken and a beef enchilada. The only item worth mentioning is the beef enchilada...it had very good flavor. They did skimp on the enchilada sauces, though. I also tried the chips and salsa. I say I tried it...I really should say is I purchased them. For some reason almost all Mexican (tex-mex) restaurants in Texas serve unlimited, complimentary chips and salsa while all Mexican (new-mex) restaurants in New Mexico charge for chips and salsa w/out refills. Anyways, the salsa was very good but the chips were store bought. The girls shared the kids quesadilla. This was a terrible attempt at a quesadilla. I could make a better quesadilla blindfolded, seriously. It almost had no flavor...it was like they oven baked a tortilla with some no-flavor cheese. Anyways, I recommend eating somewhere else while in Taos.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZada-GN_U0rvpJ8E8k94lCq68605S7EhWGF9O2KBAbcAuDrHuMhQot_DmYPvS6LfxKgytW79dswK8mf58lfvMpNJqYvPvYaYCttoYeayCdsMZSDTdZvFFOPH4wEUWO1aHFSAW2sxaD6Dn/s1600-h/los+colores.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZada-GN_U0rvpJ8E8k94lCq68605S7EhWGF9O2KBAbcAuDrHuMhQot_DmYPvS6LfxKgytW79dswK8mf58lfvMpNJqYvPvYaYCttoYeayCdsMZSDTdZvFFOPH4wEUWO1aHFSAW2sxaD6Dn/s320/los+colores.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285260158857259698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">My very average 'Los Colores' plate<br />at the over-hyped Orlando's New Mexican Cafe<br /></span></div><br /><br />Oh, almost forgot to mention. I made somewhat of a big mistake while booking the room in Taos. We are stuck in a smoking room; no, none of us smoke, in fact, we detest the smell of cigarette smoke. And, there has obviously been some heavy-duty smokers in this room before us. Not good.....but, they have nothing else available....it is a holiday week in Taos. I have my Hilton profile setup for non-smoking so I never realized I could end up with a smoking reservation. I will definitely check every future reservation.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-53570509998341647312008-12-27T22:46:00.007-06:002009-01-06T15:08:49.607-06:00Winter Vacation - New Mexico Snow - Day 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzQkiNVStPAGG0JW83C3xpv_ZmRrsfD8pG5OjGBxAq603buaOPowqaCnBSPmPsJ_PDLsvgngAWtdDRkvKjJOkbWK_g-LeOwExH5bZ4SLfea4y9pp5D0tEPWLZsZoFJIFNoeaHqAEiVBD8/s1600-h/am1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzQkiNVStPAGG0JW83C3xpv_ZmRrsfD8pG5OjGBxAq603buaOPowqaCnBSPmPsJ_PDLsvgngAWtdDRkvKjJOkbWK_g-LeOwExH5bZ4SLfea4y9pp5D0tEPWLZsZoFJIFNoeaHqAEiVBD8/s200/am1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284705649587740786" border="0" /></a>Dianna and I decided to take the girls for some winter fun in New Mexico. Originally we thought skiing would be good but soon realized that they are probably too young for even minor downhill activities. So, the agenda was changed to include the following, the links take you to what the actual activity is:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.enchantedforestxc.com/Brochure.html">cross country skiing</a> (maybe some snowshoeing) @ Enchanted Forest, just past Red River, NM<br /><a href="http://www.angelfireresort.com/winter/mountain-tubing.php">tubing</a> @ Angel Fire, NM<br /><a href="http://www.angelfirenm.com/winter/sledding.cfm">sledding</a> @ Angel Fire, NM<br /><a href="http://bigaltsv.com/snowmobile.php">snowmobiling</a> @ Taos Ski Valley<br /><br /><br />Today was just driving...we got a late start but had a very safe trip. When we arrived in Santa Fe we called <a href="http://www.restauranteur.com/gabriels/">Gabriel's Restaurant</a> to check on the wait time and it was 1 1/2 hours, ouch. So, we thought we could grab a quick pizza at <a href="http://www.uppercrustpizza.com/Menu.html">Upper Crust</a>. It was packed there, too....our pizza took 45 minutes to arrive.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr82hO27y2TyH1xZNvWwCzSFRyWeFe_zhmLTeHJCb-ZpxCdYSv76JOihWSM60d3240s-twe8ztYTTHZHiO5xqX-M-PDXS42q3kv3I6C_jB9JUw-_azTBhkQ22m9JWAwHA_hV6Z1I0DlDD/s1600-h/uppercrust.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr82hO27y2TyH1xZNvWwCzSFRyWeFe_zhmLTeHJCb-ZpxCdYSv76JOihWSM60d3240s-twe8ztYTTHZHiO5xqX-M-PDXS42q3kv3I6C_jB9JUw-_azTBhkQ22m9JWAwHA_hV6Z1I0DlDD/s200/uppercrust.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284706754452147666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The first night we are staying in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Alamos,_New_Mexico">Los Alamos</a> (well, technically <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rock,_New_Mexico">White Rock</a>). I lived in White Rock for 6 years while my dad worked at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Alamos_National_Laboratory">Los Alamos National Lab</a>, I know, I know, this fact has been mentioned on numerous occasions on this blog.<br /><br />As usual, the lodging on this trip will be free courtesy of our American Express points. The stay in Los Alamos saves me some points. Tomorrow we go to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos,_New_Mexico">Taos</a> area for several nights (and double the points), then back to Los Alamos before heading home.<br /><br />The girls must have been in competition with each other today, they were either sleeping, eating or stopping for bathrooms breaks the entire road trip (they set a record of 5 bathroom stops today). Here's what the girls ate today (this does not include Dianna)....<br /><br />4 Go Gurts<br />3 bananas<br />2 pb&j sandwiches<br />2 personal potato chip bags<br />1 personal box of animal cookies<br />1 apple<br />3 juice boxes<br />And, this does not include anything from our Upper Crust pizza dinner.....of course, when we arrived at the hotel they got their second wind and were literally bouncing off of the walls !<br /><br />The girls are very excited about the snow. Dianna and I are excited, too.<br /><br />Be sure to check all of my links out in each post.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-58921102670688144382008-12-27T22:34:00.003-06:002008-12-27T22:46:28.968-06:00Rowing Challenge - Week 8 - DONE!Well, it's over, challenge met. I have to admit that this was not the best workout routine but, I am definitely in great cardio shape. This was difficult to keep up every week considering Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. There were too many times I rowed a 10K or 15K at 10pm in the evening only to turn around early the next morning to row another 10K. Here are my times for the final week, check out my final 5K time....this is after rowing 10K with a 5 minute rest:<br /><br />12/22 10K meters - 41:23<br />12/23 10K meters - 41:49<br />12/23 5K meters - 21:28<br />12/24 10K meters - 42:08<br />12/26 10K meters - 41:55<br />12/26 5K meters - 20:44<br /><br />50,000 meters for the week<br /><br />(all times in minutes:seconds)<br /><br />Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I rowed over 200,000 meters.<br /><br /><br />Click <a href="http://fernster.blogspot.com/2008/11/personal-challenge-to-myself.html">here</a> for the original post about this challenge.fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-25436827805311648532008-12-22T23:50:00.002-06:002008-12-22T23:56:21.109-06:00Rowing Challenge - Week 7OK...it's officially a habit now... rowing 25K+ within 12 hours....this is not a good habit.<br /><br />12/17 10K meters - 41:53<br />12/18 10K meters - 42:13<br />12/18 2.633K meters - 11:30<br />12/19 10K meters - 42:13<br />12/19 2.5K meters - 10:36<br />12/20 10K meters - 41:52<br />12/20 5K meters - 21:29<br /><br />50,133 meters for the week<br /><br />(all times in minutes:seconds)fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-54032392392956378282008-12-13T10:32:00.003-06:002008-12-13T10:40:00.023-06:00Rowing Challenge - Week 6Another week I ended up rowing 25K within 12 hours....this is not a good habit.<br /><br />12/09 10K meters - 42:09<br />12/09 5K meters - 21:14<br />12/10 10K meters - 41:22<br />12/12 10K meters - 41:43<br />12/13 10K meters - 42:05<br />12/13 5K meters - 21:20<br /><br />50,000 meters for the week<br /><br />(all times in minutes:seconds)fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6355298647823057543.post-78827489944521001542008-12-06T11:36:00.002-06:002008-12-06T11:40:04.562-06:00Rowing Challenge - Week 5I am getting somewhat tired of the distance rowing...next month I plan on switching to interval training.<br /><br />12/02 10K meters - 41:47<br />12/02 5K meters - 21:29<br />12/04 10K meters - 42:05<br />12/05 10K meters - 42:14<br />12/06 10K meters - 42:24<br />12/06 5K meters - 21:36<br /><br />50,000 meters for the week<br /><br />(all times in minutes:seconds)fernyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08027148470684232762noreply@blogger.com0