California Vacation Part 2

Californiaaaaaaa Californiaaaaaaaaaaaa!! Here we coooooome!!! We started our vacation in Monterey. Monterey is one of the most beautiful places in the country. I'd say my favorite part was watching the sunset with Chrissy on the beach.

The 17 mile drive is a must see. Beautiful scenery all the way down to Pebble Beach. The waves crashing against the rocks, seals everywhere.

We went on a whale watching trip as well. It sounded very exciting, and based on the web site, we were expecting to see some cool stuff. Really, all we saw was a dark hump rise out of the water. Not very exciting at all. I'd put pictures up, but really all you can see is a lump above the water. It was about as exciting as a watching a log float.

The negatives of Monterey:

Not much to do.

Everything is expensive.

Whale watching was a bummer.

It was really cold (Chrissy)

Positives:

17 mile drive

Lighthouse

Watching the sunset with Chrissy

It was really cold (Chad)

San Francisco tomorrow. On to the pics!!!

Point Pinos Lighthouse

Sea Lions in the Wharf

Chrissy trying hard to stay warm

17 Mile Drive Sunset

The Scenery

Waiting on sunset

We're Back!!! California Vacation Part I

We got back Saturday night.... Actually more like Sunday morning.

Quick overview: We went to Chrissy's parents on Saturday the 6th. We went to Chrissy's Mom's family reunion that day at Noccalula Falls near Gadsden, Alabama.

Monday morning, we flew out for San Francisco and drove to Monterey. Wednesday morning, we drove back to San Francisco and spent the rest of the week there. Not a big fan of Monterey. I really liked San Francisco.

Because I hate long blogs, I'm going to write a little bit each day over the next few until I cover everything we did.

I'll start with the time we spent at Nocallula Falls and Anniston.

I had a nice time meeting more of Chrissy's family. As usual, I ate way too much. The scenery was pretty cool.

2 good lookin fellers

The Falls

Toon in tomorrow for part II of the California vacation.

My Umps

This video was the highlight of Chrissy' trip to the ball game yesterday. They put it up on the big screen.

Little Fenway

Is that the Green Monster? Well, sort of. Its actually the Greenville Drive's little Green Monster at West End Field.

We drove up last night to visit my sister Alisa and her family. Knucklehead Noah threw out the first pitch in front of everyone; of course it was a strike. The Drive is the Single A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Their stadium is modeled after Fenway Park. We even sang Sweet Caroline during the 7th inning stretch, just like the big boys do.

2004 Red Sox World Series Champion outfielder Gabe Kapler is now the Drive's manager.

My one claim to fame, at least knowing someone famous, is that I went to High School with Jonathan Papelbon. Pap is the Sox' lights out closer. We played football together for 3 years (he was a year behind me). His 2 younger brother's are playing minor league ball now. Joshua is playing for the Drive. He wasn't in High School with me, but I do remember watching him pitch in college at University of North Florida. He's got a wicked throwing motion. He doesn't throw sidearm, he actually throws even lower; kind of like former Sox player Chad Bradford.

The Drive got drilled 15 to 6, but it was still lots of fun. On to the picks!

Preview of things to come?

Could be the next great Red Sox pitcher.

Another future player enjoying the game from the stands.

Is that a World Series Champion I see?

Kapler signing autographs for the kiddies.

Papelbon warming up.

Submariner.

There's another Green Monster.

Allstar Caroline Huggins

We got to see the Auburn Allstars play last weekend. You should have seen their left-centerfielder playing hard. Rocket arm. Nice swing. I see a scholarship in her future.

Getting Ready to Knock one up the middle

Don't let that smile fool you. She's a fierce competitor

Chrissy's Flower Bed

Chrissy is soooooo good at picking things out for our house. Remember that nasty flowerbed in front of our house? 1/2 the bushes were dead and it was full of dirt and pine straw. Look at it now.

Operation Huntsville, Mission Accomplished

We spent this last week in Huntsville, Alabama. I was in a boring class all week, and Chrissy was on vacation and spending time with some relatives that live up there. After class Friday, we went to the Space and Rocket Center. Space Camp kids everywhere!!!! Good times. On with the pics!

There were huge rockets everywhere.

This is a model of the first lunar module.

We rode the G-Force ride. At 4 G's, my hair was all disheveled.

Did you know they sent monkeys into space before they sent humans?

Bumper Cars with Lester

One of those moving concrete bollards jumped right out in front of Lester the Highlander at the gas station.

I spent about 3 hours trying to fix him, but had little luck. After about 15 minutes in the hands of professionals (Chrissy's brother Brian and the guy who lives across the street from Chrissy's parents), it was good as new.

We're in Anniston for the weekend visiting Chrissy's parents and brother.

Chrissy's brother Brian came over today.

Wait a minute, wrong picture. Sorry Brian.

Looks like love at first lick.

PE Application Blues

Would You Trust This Guy?

I'm trying to complete my application for the Professional Engineer (PE) Exam (they wanted my picture in my application package). I'm just working through the application and I'm already tired of it. I'm worried I won't be able to pass since I've been out of school for 3 years. I don't really use much engineering and I don't remember much either. I have to pass it though because I will not be able to move up anymore in my job until I get the letters P.E. put on the end of my name. We'll see what happens.

The Christening of the Fence

My little friend Andrew christened my fence for me. Thanks buddy.

Braves 1, Cubs 9

Went to the Braves game last night with Chrissy and some friends. We had a great time, even though the Braves got shelled. Alfonso Soriano hit 3 home runs in his first 3 at bats; his first 2 were off the first 2 pitches he saw. What a bummer. It was fun anyways. Great weather, a good hot dog and decent seats. While at the game, a few questions came up, and I didn't know the answers to any of them. I took a few minutes looking them up and found myself immersed in baseball history. Good things to know:

What was the longest home run ever hit:

That is a loaded question. Some say that Ruth, Mays, and Mantle have each hit one over 600 feet. The longest proven home run was Cecil Fielder at 502 feet. I'd stick with that one.

Who did Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell play for?

McDowell played for the Mets, Phillies and Dodgers from 85 through 96. He started 2 games his rookie year and spent the remainder of his career in the bullpen. He played for the 86 Champion Mets. Just for fun, Allen Butts is the Baseball Systems Operator.

What is the longest last name in major league history?

That would be Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "Salty" is the current Braves catcher along with Brian McCann. On May 1, McCann went out with a hurt hand early in the game. Backup catcher Brayan Pena was hit in the back of the head by a batter's backswing in the 9th. Pena stayed in for the rest of the game, but Salty was called up the next day.

Now, don't you feel smarter? I know I sure do.

Retraction

I want to make a retraction of something I wrote in a previous blog. Actually, more of a clarification. A couple days ago, I wrote a blog about Chrissy seeing one of her shirts on the show What Not To Wear. I WAS NOT suggesting that Chrissy has bad taste in clothes. I WAS NOT implying that her shirt was tacky. I was only trying to share something funny.

Chrissy has great taste. If it wasn't for her, I'd never know what to wear and my clothes would never match. I'm always having to ask "T shirt or Collared shirt?", or "Can I wear flip flops, or do I need to be more dressy?".

How could you possibly question the girl's taste who landed me?

Oh, and she DID NOT have anything to do with me writing this.

I Love You Chrissy!!!!

Fish 8, Braves 5

Had a great time this afternoon at the ball park. My nieces came with us to watch the game. You never know what you'll see at a Catfish game. We saw:

1. One player, one coach get thrown out. Pretty good hissy fit by the coach. Not quite Lou Pinella level, but still pretty good.

2. An inside the park homerun. Cesar Suarez hit one over the centerfielder's head just shy of the wall. The ball bounced hard off the centerfield wall, giving Suarez time to round the bases.

3. 6 homers, 5 by the home town team.

I love baseball.

Where should we go?

We're going to San Francisco next month and I don't know much about it. I know we'll go to AT&T Park for a Giants game, but don't know what to do other than that. Anybody got any ideas? I've done a little research and found a few possibilities.

1. The Zoo

2. The Aquarium

3. The Maritime Museum

4. Alcatraz

5. Hearst Castle

6. Fort Point

So many things to do, so little time.

The End of an Era

I'm depressed. My favorite basketball coach just took a job in the pro's with the Orlando Magic. Billy Donovan was an awesome coach. I'll miss seeing him on the sidelines. I'll miss seeing him cut down the nets. I don't know who we'll get next, but I know he'll have some big shoes to fill. One of the most fun parts of college for me was being in the rowdy reptiles section in the O-dome. What a bummer.

Also, looks like the pinheads in pinstripes are going to gain another game on the good guys tonight. Hopefully, they'll be able to take the other 2 games.

At least something humorous happened today. Chrissy was flipping channels just a minute ago and said "Look, that girls wearing my shirt". Turns out it was on the show What Not To Wear. Pretty funny.

Catfish-Sand Gnats

Nothing better than a great baseball game. Chrissy and I went to the Columbus Catfish game Friday night. Despite the Fish taking a loss, we had a great time. The weather was beautiful. The game was interesting. I wish I went to more games.

Last Birthday Hint

Alright,

So Chrissy figured out that one of the cities we'll be staying in is Monterey, California. We'll be staying close to Cannery Row, the setting for one of Steinbeck's books. I told her she might be able to find some of her Dad's cheese (Monterey "Jack" Cheese).

She still isn't sure about the other one, so I'll give her a couple of pictures that are sure to give it away:

We'll definitely have to ride on one of these through China Town:

I love bridges, kind of an engineering dork thing. I'll definitely want a few pictures of this famous bridge:

Happy Birthday Chrissy. I love you!

Hints part 4

I told you Friday that you'll have no problems finding good chinese at the second place we'll be staying. You might be able to find some of your Dad's cheese at the first place.

We'll probably go looking for a few of these at the first place as well:

Our vacation just wouldn't be a vacation if we didn't spend some time here:

hints part 3

You better pack a jacket because the average lows for the month of July are in the low 50's. The average highs are in the mid 70's.

Yesterday's hints were for the second place we'll be staying. Today's hints are for the first place. It would be a good time to pick up a Steinbeck novel since one of our destinations was the setting for one of his lesser known books.

Here is one of the hotels we'll be staying at (The other one isn't quite this nice).

We'll probably go visit this place, but I don't think we'll do any swimming.

Birthday Hints Part 2

In one of the two places, you will probably see a record set or broken!!!

Good chinese will not be hard to find.

Happy Birthday Chrissy

Its birthday time again for Chrissy! I went ahead and gave her part of her birthday present, but she has only received a little piece of the puzzle that is her birthday. I gave her the confirmation ticket for the trip we're going to take in July, yet misteriously, some of the important detailed were missing. She knows she's leaving Atlanta on July 9, 2007, and she'll be arriving back on July 14, 2007. Somehow, the destination was left off.

I like watching her squirm, and I like keeping secrets from her (good ones, not bad ones). So this is how I've decided to tell her about her birthday present. Over the next few days, she'll be receiving hints on the blog to help her figure out where she is going. I already gave her one hint, that a passport will not be necessary (sorry, no Scotland or France). Now its time for a couple more.

We'll be staying in two different cities!!!!

Here is a place you might see

More to come later. Stay tuned sports fans

Chrissy's New Friends

We found a nest on our back porch a few weeks ago. Chrissy wouldn't let me get rid of it, and now she has some new friends.

The Momma

The Babies

Feelin' a Bit Drafty

I don't understand what is so great about the NFL draft. I love football. I love the Pro's, college, high school, and even arena league; but I don't understand the hoopla surrounding Selection Saturday. My friend Jim said he would be in front of the TV all day watching it. I on the other hand, had better things to do. We even had a list of things we were going to get done. Nothing better than a productive Saturday right?

Well, then the draft started. We figured we'd wait around to see who the first pick would be, then take off to do our errands. LSU's Russell got picked first. Then I thought I'd like to see what happens when Calvin gets picked. He seems like such a good guy. Then, I wanted to know where Brady Quinn would end up. 4-1/2 hours later, we quit watching; not because we wanted to, but because we had promised another couple we'd babysit for them. Do I understand why I enjoyed it? No. Was I completely entertained the entire afternoon? Yes. Will I watch it again next year? Nah, I'll probably just see who gets picked first then go run some errands.

In other news:

A-rod just grounded into a double play with the tying run on first in the bottom of the eighth. Hee Hee Hee

The entire defensive line of Florida got drafted. Even the guy that got kicked off the team half way through the season for drugs.

The Patriots just picked up Randy Moss for a 4th round pick. I'm worried. I think it was a great deal, but I'm still worried. I'm afraid Moss is a time bomb, but I'm continually amazed by Belichick's ability to take trouble makers and make them model citizens.

My 2 favorite teams (Sox and Braves) are in first place in their respective divisions.

Papelbon just got another save. The empire has lost 7 of their last 8. I'm giggling inside.

Sick of Being Sick

I'm tired of being sick. I woke up yesterday puking and doing other things. After not being able to keep any food or drink down for over 24 hours, I went to the emergency room. The doc gave me an IV and did some blood work. Turns out, I've got a virus called gastro-something-or-other (thats the medical terminology). I'm not allowed to eat until Thursday. I'm drinking liquids now. I feel much better, but I sure would like to eat something.

Say it aint so Papi

Funny sportscenter commercial, but makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnShow?showID=SRDA

A Tree and an Awkward Date

Last night, Chrissy went to a scrap booking party with her friends. Me and one of the other husbands (Mike) decided to go to a movie to kill time while they were doing their thing. We went to see the movie Number 23 (great movie, highly recommend it, but not good for kids). The theatre has a combo called the couples combo which consists of 2 tickets, 2 cokes, and a large popcorn. I felt a little funny asking for the couples combo standing there with a guy, but being masculine, hetero looking guys, I figured nobody would say anything. I figured wrong. The girl at the food counter sure didn't mind giving us a hard time. When I handed her our receipt, she said "awe, what a cute couple". I got a diet coke and Mike got a regular. When she handed us our drinks she said "here's a diet for the one watching his figure, and here's a regular for the one who appreciates it". I don't think my face has ever been more red. That is the last couples combos for me and Mike. I think we might even walk in at different times. We can still talk from a couple aisles away right?


Here's a picture of the Japanes Maple in our back yard. I can't wait for it to get a little bigger. It makes me feel old though, caring about things like yard maintenance and trees.

Easter 07

Had a great Easter today. Went to church, went to lunch with friends, Columbus Catfish game, and played games with our homegroup tonight. Something happened at the Catfish game that struck me funny. When the organ played the little tune that makes everybody says CHAAAARGE!!!, nobody said charge. Its sad that in Columbus, Georgia the hockey game draws more of a crowd than a baseball game.

A few things have happened since the last update. When we were leaving Wilmington, we stopped by the U. S. North Carolina on the way out of town. I found out it would cost $15 a piece. We decided we'd get a nice enough view from the shore. My niece Knucklehead a.k.a. Olivia came to visit us and joined us at the Easter Egg hunt. Chrissy kicked butt on the egg-in-a-spoon race. Knucklehead found the golden egg. By the way.... does anybody know the story behind the Easter Bunny or the eggs?

On to the picks:

Be VEWY Quiet. I'm hunting wabbit eggs.

The battleship North Carolina

One of Chrissy's many Teacher Appreciation Week presents. When's Project Engineer Appreciation Week?

Maggie enjoying her new fence

Andrew

The hotel we are staying is an old train station so there are a few trains around and a railroad museum to visit. We saw this train and it made us think of Andrew since he loves trains so much.

Thoughts about the Cape (Chad)

1. There are no hush puppies in Wilmington. NO HUSHPUPPIES!!!!!

2. Irish pubs are everywhere. Lots of fun.

3. Restaurants I'd recommend: Fat Tony's, New York (I wish I were Boston) Pizza, the Trolley Stop, and Elijah's.

4. I've always wanted to live in a downtown area like this. I don't see ever getting to do it though because of my job. Where we're staying is similar to 5 points in Birmingham, or 5 points in Jacksonville. Everyone wears black and looks like their struggling art students that don't eat meat and hate W. I like being able to walk to restaurants. I like sitting outside at cafe's watching the sunset. I'm sure I'd be bored after a few months and want to move back to the sticks; but I'd like to try it for a little while.

Good times.

Wilmington

So far our trip to Wilmington has been nice but not as nice as Savannah. It was very cold Sunday and Monday so I didn't do a lot of sight seeing those days. Yesterday I had to go get my oil changed, it was supposed to be done a few weeks ago so this was the perfect time for me to get it done. Thankfully I did because 2 of my tires were about to die, Wal-Mart was not legally allowed to rotate the tires because they were so bad. Wal-Mart did not have my tire size in stock so off we went to Sam's. ( Thankfully Christina bought me a Sam's membership just last week for teacher appreciation week. It saved us $70 on the tires. ) Once the new tires were on the car Chad and I came back to the hotel to walk to the Little Dipper. The Little Dipper is a fondue restaurant, I had never been to one before. It was a neat experience, but it took forever to eat. You only get 2 skewers and each piece of meat takes about 2 minutes to cook, we didn't finish supper until 9:15 and we started at 8. We were too full to get dessert. It sounded delicious cheesecake, berries, and chocolate--yummo! Maybe we can stop by before we leave and have dessert then. Tonight we will be either trying a seafood restaurant or a place called Circa 1922.

Cape Fear?

As some of you know Chad and I are in Wilmington, North Carolina. Our hotel is right on the lake/river (or whatever it is) which is Cape Fear, we are even next to Cape Fear Community College. I am curious though as to who would name this place Cape Fear. It doesn't sound very inviting to me, I would even think that people would be deterred to move here because of it's name. It's pretty here and doesn't invoke fear at all, unless of course you are walking the streets late at night and pass a dark stinky alley but that would be scary anywhere. I need to research this but it's about time to go meet Chad for lunch. I'll write more about our trip a little later.

Columbus Cottonmouths

Friday night Chad and I went with Mitch and Jawan to watch the Columbus Cottonmouths take on the Jacksonville Baracudas. I have never been to a hockey game so it was a new experience for me and thankfully not as cold as I thought it would be. I really enjoyed it even though I didn't really understand what was going on, it was nothing like those Mighty Ducks movies. There were a few fights but most of them seemed to happen for no reason. Also, I didn't understand why they would pass the puck against the wall where the opposing team would get it instead of passing it to their own teammate. ( That part was explained to me last night so now I get it.) The coolest part about the game was that they had a special guest, John Snyder, and he drove out in the General Lee. Actually, the best part was watching Luke dance every time the music played and just hanging out with our friends.