Dog Bath Day

Good thing it was a nice warm day yesterday.  For those who know my Jack Russell Jessie ... she is a pistol and unafraid!!  One of her favorite things to do is roll in the horse manure.  Lovely, huh??  Too bad for her, I'm not thrilled with the eau de cologne she chooses.  I smelled her before she even got close.  Those aren't natural spots on her back.  So off to the wash room we went, where as you can imagine, she growled throughout the whole washing process.  Now nice and clean, she smells MUCH better.

A few months ago she got a little too frisky with the horses.  In the mornings, the horses are rather boisterous looking for grain and hay.  Miss Jessie thought they should settle down, and proceeded to get face to face with Showby (1400 pounds of cutting horse) to give him the word.  Unfortunately, she got a little too close and he stepped on her hind foot.  I rush her off to the Vet where many dollars and lots of stitches fixed her up enough to return home.  Here she is, her royal Highness with a lovely green cast put on by me.  The first two the Vet put on fell off.  She wore this for about 4 weeks, then limped for a couple more.  Now back to normal, she isn't so quick to quiet the horses.  This picture resides on my fireplace!!!

American River 50 Mile Race

Yes you read it right ... a 50 mile race from Fair Oaks (Sacramento area) UP to Auburn ... that was UP some very steep mountains.  The first 26 miles is basically an uphill road run on asphalt.  This photo is at the halfway point.  My friend Ofelia is an "ultra" runner (you can imagine where that name came from) who does these runs on a regular basis.  In order to take on these distances you have to have a crew follow you along the route ... and it is also helpful to have pacers who will run a specific distance with you to be sure you remain on schedule.  There are time limits you have to meet at certain stations.  If you miss the cut-off, they will pull you from the race.  These stations also include doctors and nurses who monitor your heart rate and general appearance.  If you are looking bad, they will not let you continue.  This weekend I was Ofie's crew.  Three of our friends also ran this race ... this is Terry's time.  He was going so fast I didn't get him in the picture!!!

Unfortunately, this was not Ofie's day.  She has been struggling with a shoulder injury that became highly irritated by the movement of running while carrying a heavy water bottle.   Runners carry their own food and water, usually one large bottle in each hand.  She did get to this station in time to continue, but the volunteer manning the table did not understand the rules.  She would not let approximately 10 runners continue because of the time ... but this was NOT the cutoff station.  All those runners had plenty of time to continue on to the REAL cutoff station and be allowed to finish the race.  VERY BAD decision for the volunteer.  These people train for years for these runs ... and if you don't let them continue, they get very upset!!  Ofie and I drove to the finish line and met with the race director, and left with the trophy jacket, all the goodies, free lunch for both of us, three coffee mugs and a free entry for Ofie next year ($125).  You don't mess with ultra runners!!!   LOL

Our next race is up by San Francisco ... 100 MILES ... can you imagine?  and yes, Ofie has already completed a 100 mile race.  Very crazy!!!  However, due to the arm problem, this one may get put off for another time.  Even so, she is an inspiration for soooo many people.  And by the way, only 5 years younger than me.

Rock Climbing

Back to the walls!  Ofie Cruz and I have been friends for many years.  Whether running, weight lifting, trail running, hiking or climbing ... we have spent many great hours together.  She has taught me perseverance, tenacity and most importantly, how not to be sore after hours of running and weight lifting!!!  She was with me the entire 26.2 miles of my first marathon.

One of the sports she has introduced me to is rock climbing.  We spent several hours Saturday climbing at Stonehenge in Modesto, resulting in sore shoulders for both of us.  But well worth it!!  I'm ready to climb in this picture and she is set up to belay me.  You actually free climb the wall, with the belayer taking up the slack as you climb.  Should I fall, Ofie can stop my descent with the gear attached to her harness.

Pretty crazy, huh???  Yes, it is straight up and the "rocks" or hand holds are very small.  We wear special shoes made of leather that grip both the wall and the hand-holds.  Chalk on your hands and fingers helps with your grip.  Unfortunately fingernails are not an asset.  On the first climb I got three fingers caught in a hold.  NOT good!!!  We take turns climbing and belaying in order to rest up.

This lady is amazing.  This weekend we are going to a run in Sacramento ... where Ofie will road run and trail run 50 miles.  Yup that's 50 ... and this is a short one.  Next month we will be north of San Francisco where she will run 100 miles.  Now THAT's CRAZY!!!

Road Trip to Monterey

Time for a road trip photo shoot to Monterey.  Actually, I wanted to find a needlepoint shop in Carmel to look for canvases.  Best laid plans however, don't always have the desired results.  We spent so much time shooting, there were not enough hours in the day.  Next time I'll find the shop.  My friend Chris Cook went with me ... another very talented photographer who always has a "different" point of view.  Never having had the Monterey tour, I took her around the Wharf and Cannery Row.  Again, there were not enough hours to do all we wanted.  We started off at San Carlos Beach.  These beautiful protea are everywhere in Monterey.  Usually found only in Hawaii, they seem to thrive here.

On the walk to the wharf, we passed hundreds of beautiful flowers.  Daisys are my favorite ... course since I'm not a "flower" person, these may have a different name!!  If you ever travel there, be sure and park at San Carlos Beach and walk to the wharf.  After a great crab sandwich at the Fisherman's Grotto and photo opps in the candy shop, we headed back to Cannery Row.  Unfortunately most of the good access points have been fenced off due to safety reasons.  A little rocky road ice cream fortified us for a trip around the point to watch the sunset at Pacific Grove.

The recent storm made for nice waves.  I think Chris and I took 200 photos of the waves crashing on the rocks.  It was soooo gorgeous.  Yup, it looked just like this.

The sun is starting to set making for spectacular photography ... I love this one because you can see how windy it was ... the wind is blowing the water from the top of the waves.

The sun was setting for this photo and the light reflected nicely off the water.  Being 5:00, we needed to leave in order to get back at a reasonable hour.  We decided our next trip would be for at least two days and we would definitely need more photo cards.  We both took almost 300 images, but with results like these, how could we do less?

 

RV Upgrades

While we were in Yuma, Patty and Dan took me to Sams Club.  It was there that I spied a very compact wireless printer/copier/fax machine on sale.  How could I resist?  By the way, it is more expensive at Costco (I checked) ... while I was shopping for a table that would fit in this corner of my RV.  Perfect huh?  I know, I know, it's a shoe rack, but who cares.  It's rather low, very stable (matches the decor), and will hold all my office supplies.  Definitely a must when on the road.  We used their copy machine a couple of times.  Also at Costco I found an external hard drive (recommended at the rally) on sale.  The bank account is at zero now!!!

Next up was the installation of coat hooks in the bedroom/bath area.  A trip to Target yielded this beauty which I installed myself.  Ok ... so I never said I was handy.  It's an over-the-door model that works perfectly!!  I'm on the lookout for two Honda 2000 generators which, when hooked together, will run my A.C. when needed for the dogs.  Yup, that's a pricey one and will have to wait a couple months. 

For those who know I am a photography nut, here is an image I captured in Yosemite ... Merced has an Art Hop every few months, and 3-4 of us gather up all our best stuff and display it for all to see.  Can you tell this photo was taken by one of our group?  She's an artist, and just can't seem to take a normal, boring photo!!!

Lake Havasu Trip

• After about 12-15 years, I located some old friends on Facebook, Patty and Dan Chance.  Seems they moved to Lake Havasu Arizona and were going to the Gypsy Rally in Yuma.  Since I recently purchased the "Kissack Kastle" (a Keystone 5th-wheel R.V.), they invited me along.  My first long trip with Cooper and Jessie in tow.  This is their back yard ... my rig is parked out of site to the left, where they have a full hookup!!  And in case you didn't notice, they have no grass to mow!!!!!!!

• This is their dog, Sami.  What a sweetheart.  I did not get a picture of Gracie their cat.  Both travel  in the RV everywhere they go.  Unfortunately, my dog Cooper escaped through the gate as Dan and I were discussing my RV.  After 3 hours of searching, he was not to be found.  I was heartbroken.  As I was posting his picture on a website for lost animals, the neighbor banged on the door saying Cooper had returned.  We all ran outside .. Patty saw him run behind a house, so I took off with Jessie in tow.  Thankfully he saw Jessie and came to me.  You cannot believe the relief we all felt.  Thank you Patty and Dan for driving around for 3 hours looking for him.  Only "animal people" would go so far out of their way to help me find him. 

• Our plan was to go out on Lake Havasu in Dan and Patty's new boat.  A little late because of Cooper, we took off in the afternoon for a tour.  Around the lake are these Lighthouses, copies of those found all around the United States, built by the locals.  

• Here is part of the lake.  It is huge ... from river to lake, back to river.  The water is crystal clear and just as blue as the sky.  Amazing that out in the middle of all that sand and cactus, there is this gorgeous lake. 

• And crazy as it sounds, Mr McCullough bought the London Bridge and moved it to Lake Havasu.  Here is one side.  It is absolutely beautiful ... and crazy that it stands in the middle of the desert! 
• After spending a couple of days at their house, we headed off to Yuma.  The rally had seminars that provided me with a wealth of information on RV'ing.  Dan SAID he would be really good at spending my money ... and so he was right!!  But only for necessities.  I had a satellite Traveler TV dish installed so I can watch TV anywhere .. even in my back yard.  After Jessie broke through my screen door trying to eat Dan the burglar ... he was kind enough to install a pet screen, with much modification.  He did such a great job, it looks like it came that way.  Another worry I can forget about. 
•  

The Rally closer was the Cactus Queen Contest.  These "ladies" provided great entertainment and kept us all laughing.  The "winner" (front center) wore his, uh I mean HER crown proudly.  The next morning, we packed up and headed back to Lake Havasu, where I said my goodbyes and headed home.  Unfortunately, I decided to spend the night in Mojave, having driven over 8 hours that day.  DO NOT spend the night in Mojave.  Between the wind rocking and rolling the RV and the trains banging around changing engines, needless to say it was a sleepless night. 
All in all, it was a GREAT trip that I will never forget.  Getting in touch with old friends and laughing about our previous escapades was priceless.  I'm planning on heading back that direction towards the end of the year ... and who knows ... I may run into Patty and Dan at the Grand Canyon this summer.

Zip Lines, Puerto Vallarta



Rapelling 130'



Zip lines were soooo much fun!  Just don't look down.

Zip Lines, Puerto Vallarta

This was a 60 foot ladder we had to climb about half way through the course.  Yup, I was tired.

Puerto Vallarta

Just spent a week in Puerto Vallarta.  Wonderful place ... 75-80 degrees, lots of sun and sand to play in.

We took a trip to San Sebastian, an amazing little town about 90 minutes up in the high mountains.  The people were so nice I couldn't believe it.  I learned so much more about Mexico's history ... not what they teach you in school.  We had traditional Mexican food in a little restaurant that barely fit 20 people.  Being from central California (where 9 out of 10 restaurants have Mexican food), it was just like being at home.  The food was exactly the same ... it was the atmosphere that made the day.

RETIREMENT!!! YAY!!!!

FINALLY!!  1/28/2011 is my official retirement date.  Hopefully from then on I will be able to post more often with pictures of all my trips and adventures.

GIANTS PLAYOFF BASEBALL

Giants playoff baseball ... it couldn't get any better.  As a season ticket holder for 10 years, I'm thrilled to say we are in the playoffs for the World Series!!  Against Philadelphia ... and so far we are 2 and 1!!!  Waahoo ..   So as an owner, I got picked to help carry the American flag on the field ... and then selected to shoot off the cannons (too fun) right in front of the Giants dugout where all the players were sitting.  A once in a lifetime experience .. up close and personal with the players.  To my left is Shelbi Silva, daughter of my best friend ... also a huge Giants fan!!  Having just returned from Atlanta to watch the Giants kick butt there ... we have two more games in San Francisco!   Really hoping we win so we will be off to the World Series!  Can you believe it????

First Day of Blogging

So I've decided to post of few of the images of my travels.  The next couple weeks will be crazy however ...  I am a Giants Baseball Season Ticket Holder and they are in the playoffs!!  Tomorrow my friend's daughter Shelbi and I will be on the AT&T park baseball field, helping unfurl the American Flag for the opening ceremonies.  Should be very exciting ... and then there will be games for the next three days.  Here's to the Giants team ... we can do this!!!!