Many Firsts

I am back from my Memorial Day road trip and as expected I am at a loss for posts.  I do have a couple in my draft folder, but they are still waiting for pictures that I have yet to upload.  And the rule of when at a loss for posts, go with the meme applies here, except that the memes I have been reading lately are not applicable to me or simply uninteresting I thought.  So, let me make up my own in line with my recently celebrated first wedding anniversary, I thought I would list some of my “firsts”.

FIRST CRUSH:   Atoy Co, I was in grade school and I thought he was cute.

FIRST ENVY:   I experience the green monster at age 5 or 6 when my mother’s friend’s daughter while visiting us for the day brought her toy doctor kit.  I was jealous a lot.  I never experienced that kind of feeling again, at least not that intense.

FIRST PRESENT FROM A BOY:  In grade I, a boy named Danilo (don’t remember his last name, went away after the first grade) presented me his tooth that fell off his mouth that day in school.  I jumped out of my seat and chased him around the classroom.  I guess he liked me 🙂  Anyway, I never seen him again until I was 17 during my father’s funeral.  I was a mess and I knew I didn’t look all that pleasing, but he remembered me and we just exchanged hi.

FIRST BOY I SLAPPED:   Let me first say, I don’t go around slapping boys.  This would be the first and last time I did it.  It was my cousin Arnel who sat behind me during 4th grade.  Our row used to have a lot of fun and we talked a lot during class, but one day I guess he pushed my button and slapped him in front of our classmates.  I was sorry.

FIRST COCKTAIL:   Screwdriver, Tia Maria’s Greenhills, just us girls chilling after the exams and to celebrate Anne’s birthday.  After a couple of sips, I gave my drink to another girl who wanted to drink some more.  It took me a while to develop a taste in alcohol and cocktail, thank heavens!

FIRST CONCERT:  Yanni, Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA.  I am not a concert goer, but hubby (then bf) wanted to see Yanni, plus tickets were free   🙂  I totally enjoyed the concert; Yanni was a seasoned performer.

FIRST ROADTRIP:  Then bf (now hubby) and I took the first of our many road trips taking a day trip to Half Moon Bay, CA.

FIRST BOY-GIRL PARTY:  I threw a boy-girl party at the end of the summer when the entire community of boys and girls in my block had that wonderful summer vacation spent by playing games and boys and girls did not do a lot of fighting, which was really surprising.  That was the one summer, I believe the summer of my 11th year, where I had the most fun playing shatong, tumbang preso at moonlight, and patintero among other things.  There was music and dancing, but no food.  I sprang the idea to my parents a couple of hours before all my playmates showed up at our house.

FIRST TIME I PLAYED MATCHMAKER:  Gilbert and Jojo.  High school.  I wrote love letters to Jojo from Gilbert who paid my services by buying me snacks, particularly cornick with spicy hot vinegar, dirty ice cream, egg pie and coke at Queen’s and by adding to my collection of stationery.  They have been married for years, two boys.   🙂

FIRST DORM:  Thaddeusian Ladies Dorm, Buencamino Alley, CM Recto Ave.  It was the location for Pop’s first movie.  I thought that was the selling factor for that dorm. 

FIRST ASIAN COUNTRY VISITED:  Singapore, four days.  Great food, clean, orderly, but way too hot and humid for my taste.

FIRST MOVIE SEEN IN USA:   Sleepless in Seattle.  Remains one of my fave chick flicks.

FIRST FENDER BENDER:   A big rig hit me during rush hour, luckily we were in a jam and the traffic was moving about 15 mph, very minor damage.  Driver pulled over,  said he was sorry that he fell asleep!

Advertisement

 

One down!

Hubby caught me staring at my wedding band (band, not diamond wedding ring set) one day and asked what I was doing. Without taking my eyes off the my finger, I replied, “Every time I look at it, all I can think of is what a rip off”.  Without missing a beat, hubby replied, “Me too, honey, me too”.

That sums up our first year as a married couple.  Happy one year, honey.

Note:  Early post, exact date of anniversary is May 25.  Will take a short break for Memorial Day weekend.  If you live in the USA, have a pleasant, peaceful, relaxing, stress free, and safe holiday.

 

Cruise Chronicles Part 3

May 29, 2007

 

     Third day and Ketchikan Day.  We were awakened by the ringing of the telephone quite early.  When I answered the phone, the voice on the other end was apologetic for serving our room-service breakfast earlier than requested.  I was not aware how early it was until I checked my watch and saw it was a quarter to six.  A quarter to six!!!! Who wakes up at quarter to six on their holiday?  Well, apparently, the boat is docked in Ketchikan already and the crew is ready to see us off.  We did manage to take our time with breakfast and left for shore at about 7 am.  We were quite surprised to find out it was drizzling outside, which made us to return to our cabin for the umbrella we purposely brought for just this purpose.  My first impression of Ketchikan is quite good.  I mean I am fond of these preserved little towns.  This one however is so picturesque.  It sits by the coast and has a snow-peaked mountain range as a background.  Everywhere you look is green, must be from all the “liquid sunshine” they are getting.  Apparently, they own the title of the rainiest town in US.

 

     Ketchikan is known for two things: the very first town in Alaska and SALMON CAPITAL.           

 

     After disembarking, we found the visitors center a few feet from the plank, so we had to sign up for the tour we most wanted for the price we were willing to pay.  We found the NORTHERN TOURS, which included some nature walks (albeit very short), eagle sightings and possible bear sightings as well, but most importantly it included the Totem Pole Park.

 

     We were first driven around the small town with the van driver doubling as the tour guide and narrator.  He pointed out the schools, the salmon hatcheries and packing place, the creek where they spawn (we were a couple of weeks early to experience any salmon-related activities).  He proceeded to drive away from the town proper and stopped by the road and pointed at a tree where a large bald eagle was sitting atop a tree across from the branch where his nest sits.  We were all thrilled to spot an eagle, except for this middle aged guy who says he is from Oregon and claimed to see a lot of bald eagle where he came from.  The rest of the group went down and clicked to our hearts content.  The group consisted of an Asian couple with their two young children, one is about 2 or 3 years old and the younger is about 6 or 7 months old, the Oregon man, a nice kissing couple, who keeps sucking face every chance they get, and an elderly couple from New Zealand and who belongs to the Ryndam Holland ship that is docked next to ours on the shore and of course my husband and I.  We later found out that bald eagles really thrive here, probably from all the salmon available to them, as we spotted quite a few of them in a very short time.

 

     We drove along the coast and the driver Josh pointed out points of interests and other sidelights.  His laugh was infectious and the wonderful lady from NZ said so too.  We were then shown RAINBOW FALLS, which is located along the road.  It was a nice little stop by the road.  We took photos and it was raining nonstop now.  Not too heavy but not light to be considered a drizzle, although Josh did point out that to Ketchikan residents this is a drizzle. After all the photos were taken and obviously Josh was following his schedules to the letter, we were ushered in the van for our next stop, which was a place where the possibility of bear sighting is at its highest.  No luck today, although we did sighted another eagle, which was still a baby under 5 years, per Josh, because only eagles over five years develop the white feathers in their head, ergo bald.  The nature part of this tour continues with a stop alongside the coast where a small patch of a rainforest sampling was found.  Here Josh pointed out the five different types of trees found in Ketchikan; I managed to remember one – red alder.  He continued his lecture on the leaves found here that the Native Americans who inhabit this island used for native remedy.  Here also we were shown the two eagles nests high atop two trees across the road where we were all gawking at trees and posing by them.  Apparently, bald eagles live about 50 years and they mate with one mate for life and nest at the same nest forever. We were told one of those nests was roughly 100 years old.  The eagles pass the nest to the next generation, because apparently eagles are lazy nest builders. 

 

     The totem pole park was the next stop.  Here we lingered a bit longer.  Will research more on this park and will probably add it to my blog.  The park boasts of totem poles signifying different occasions.  It was a good photo op.  Here also, we were shown carvers at work on another totem pole.  

 

     The tour winded down to another tour of the downtown area passing by Creek Street (in the old days was red light district) where Dolly’s House, a famous bordello is lovingly preserved for tourism.  Creek Street is named because it is alongside the creek and the houses are on stilts.  This area is very charming. When turning your back on Creek Street, you will be face to face with the coast and all the cruise ships docked there, there were four including ours today.  Either way, it is a very pretty.

 

     When the tour concluded (it was the $40 dollar tour), we still had two hours to browse and shop.  We entered a few shops, checked the Creek Street on foot and browsed some more, got a triple Americano to go, sampled reindeer meat and smoked salmon, and bought some too, managed to shop pasalubongs to family and bosses, and even snagged a deal of 19.99 jacket (reversible, water resistant) with Ketchikan embroidered on its chest portion. 

 

     With 30 minutes to spare, we decided to embark, much to hubby’s dismay.  He wanted to get as much as Ketchikan as allowed.  We did stay aboard and went up to the deck to get some more shooting and footage.  I can only imagine how glorious it would be to spend a couple of days here in the summer time, when there is less rain.  We did not even have time to see the glacier.  Not enough time for any one to do that.

 

     It was lunchtime and we thought SEVEN SEAS sounded a good idea.  Apparently, a lot of our shipmates thought the same thing.  There was a line outside the restaurant when we got to level 5.  The line went fast and we got seated a seat away from the window.  We could never get a window seat, sigh.  Like yesterday, the service was excellent and the food terrific.  I had fried calamari for appetizers, blueberry soup for the second course, and skewered mahi-mahi for my main course with yummy basic chocolate ice cream for desserts.  Hubby had some sort of fruit for appetizers, a corn chowder sort of soup, the Indian dish for entrée and warm apple cobbler for desserts.  I enjoyed the lazy eating at this restaurant.  The couple in the next table, a mother and daughter, were very friendly.  The daughter was taking her mother to this cruise for her 91^st b/day, which was last February.  The woman was very friendly and chatted with us all through lunch.  They are from Vancouver and we hit her up for some tips on what to do in Vancouver in such a short time.  She did give us some helpful hints.  She also shared with us her fondness for San Francisco, which she has visited many times.  Lunch was over and we both decided that a nap was in order.  Hubby did get his nap.  I was there in bed feeling a bit under the weather with my stomach upset probably from all the pills I took after lunch.  I stayed in bed watching TV part of the time and the other half just trying to get some sleep. 

 

     Not too long after, naptime was over and we decided to eat.  What else is there to do?  The weather has not cleared and it still rains constantly.  We had some teacakes and sandwiches that accompanied our tea.  This is the second day we did the teatime.  It is not bad really. 

 

     By 5:30, it was tapas time again. While their selection varies very little from day to day, we enjoy not only the food, but also the atmosphere.  There are two Filipinas working here, one is taking care of the food from that side of the bar, and the other one is the server; her name is Lovely.  It is a quiet place and we simply love the ambience and the down time it gives us.

 

     At 7:30, we caught the comedy show at the Stardust Lounge by a comedian from San Francisco.  It was a lot of laughs.  We made reservation at Pacific Heights for dinner at 8:30, but there were no tables available at that time.  We were asked to return in 10 minutes; we came back after 20 and still no tables by the windows were available.  At 9:00, we were seated by the window.  I had some fruit medley with a little bit of ricotta cheese for appetizer; hubby had the mussels.  I had pizza, hubby had the perch for main course and I had the poached pear for desserts and hubbyhad the coconut pavlova, which is simply a scoop of vanilla ice cream sitting atop a meringue with sauce of something with grand marnier.  It was a good dinner.

 

     The day as a whole was a good one.  Tomorrow we dock in Juneau.  We were told not to shop in Juneau, as there are better selections and lower prices in Skagway, not to mention, our time in the latter is far longer than the former.  It is 12:00 in a couple of minutes and again hubby is snoring to his nose’s content for over an hour.  I will probably find a difficult time catching some sleep; the boat is constantly rocking.  Not really strong, but it does give me a headache.  Well, hoping that the day is better weather-wise tomorrow.  That’s all for now.

 

 

 

 

Smorgasblogging

WATER RATIONING:  This week the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) board unanimously voted for mandatory water rationing to the East Bay counties of Alameda and Contra Costa, which affected me.  I have seen this coming after I hiked up to the upper reservoir three weeks ago and have seen how low the water level is.  It’s not only that one reservoir that has seen a decrease in water level, other reservoirs also saw decrease this spring instead of an increase with melting of snow from the Sierras.  So here we are, households are asked to use 100 gallons per day and a 10% increase in bill if you go over that and some surcharge for over 800 gallons, I believe.    I don’t know how much 100 gallons is but I think just one time in the shower uses that much.  Hubby said, just wash the important parts, anyway we both work in airconditioned places.

SOARING TEMPS:  After a below normal spring temperature most of the season, we are in the middle of a mini heatwave.  Yesterday, we had a high of 86.  Today at 8 am on the way to work, it was already 80.  It’s expected to get up to the high nineties today, and the same is true for tomorrow.  No water, hot weather, danger of brushfire, this is the Bay Area today.

THE DAVIDS ARE GOLIATHS:  It seems that the Davids proved to be the Goliaths in this year’s AI finals. My take and my money if I am a bettting woman goes to the bigger David.  Sure little David can sing, but I thought he’s not all that. Who gets the prize next week?

FILIPINO NIGHT AT THE PARK:  Filipino night is added to the Giants’ cultural heritage promotion and I am so glad to see that.  In the past years, the Giants hosted Irish, Italian nights.  With the number of Filipinos living in the Bay Area it’s high time to have one night at the ball park to highlight the Filipino community and culture.  Was watching a portion of the game last night and I saw fellow Pinoys wave our flag with pride.  How I wish I was at the park last night. 

I have been neglecting my Giants this season.  I guess my co-worker Rebecca was right. She would find out whether I am a true-blue Giants fan or just a Barry Bonds fan.  She said it would be like when Michael Jordan retired.  So did most of the Chicago Bulls fans.  My mother is a huge Bonds fan and would not even be persuaded to check out an inning on tv.  I guess it would be too painful.  I heard Kruk last night say, we miss the big guy and I totally agree. 

I am still waiting for my stimulus package from Bush.  I may be able to persuade my husband to use a little portion of it to see the Giants this season.  That stimulus package has been earmarked to stay in the bank account and no shopping.  Sorry Bush, life is hard to just go and shop and waste money.

 

 

Cruise Chronicles Part 2

May 28, 2007

 

     The second day and first day at sea.  We took this opportunity to sleep in.  Hubby had a sound sleep; I had a relatively good one, getting up two or three times to use the potty.  I woke up the last time and decided to check the time, I was not used to waking up late and with the room in total darkness, I was getting antsy.  How could I not stay in bed later than usual when I am on vacation?  Anyway, not much later, the phone rang incessantly and at first we did not know where the noise was coming from.  Anyways, they rang to tell us our breakfast is on the way.

   

     Breakfast consisted of dry toast, two kinds of coffee, and fruit plates.  It was fine.  We were rushing to catch the drawing at the jewelry raffle.  I came down too late the drawing was over and had I won I would not be qualified to receive the prize because presence at time of drawing is one of the major requirements in getting the prize.  Tsk, tsk.

 

     Since this is a sea day, and this is a freestyle cruising, it’s a do-it-yourself-whenever day.  We ate and ate some more.  In between, we played basketball, ping-pong and some more basketball.  We also napped after a wonderful lunch at the Seven Seas.  Hubby snapped some shots of some of our dishes.  They were really flavorful.  The photos however to my mind did not turn out the way they tasted.

 

     We did a lot of sightseeing today.  We were amazed at how fast we were going.  Before we retired for an after-lunch nap, we were cruising in the middle of nowhere.  When we woke up less than an hour later, we saw snow-peaked mountain ranges, dense pine forests, a lonesome fishing vessel, and some smokes coming from what is apparently a logging operation.  It was disappointing to see that a large part of a side of a mountain has been balded when they cut off the trees, apparently for logging.  We took a lot of photos and hubby took some footage.

 

     We returned to LAS TRAMBLAS for afternoon appetizers. They have new items so we sampled them.  We ordered a Canadian beer, in addition to the free champagne at the art auction; we have been pretty good with our alcohol consumption–not drinking too much, actually, we under drank the whole time we were there.

 

     Our day was highlighted with a dinner at LE BISTRO, that swanky, dress-up French restaurant with a cover charge, which we were getting at 50% off by virtue of eating after 8:30.  We had a five-course meal- a cold appetizer, a warm appetizer, a soup, entrée, and dessert.  It did not live up to my expectation.  The food is either salty or too buttery.  It was good anyways, for half of what it was used to.  I am probably not just a French dish type of diner, although the other diners amused me.  On one table, there were two couples, an Asian couple and a Caucasian couple.  They look like they are either meeting on this cruise for the first time; or they were all just on the getting to know each other stage.  One can tell when the women and men are both in their best behaviors and seem to be minding their every p’s and q’s.  On the table next to us, was a couple that from the looks of it have been married awhile.  The woman made a special mention that the dishes that were on our table were original by so and so designer, one whose name escaped me, but he was a fashion designer.  What the heck was he doing designing dishes?  She kept mentioning that her eye could detect quality, something to that effect anyway.  My husband and I mumbled politely to every thing she was blubbering about.  Then there was this other table which is occupied by this elderly couple, I am guessing has been married 40 or so years.  All through the different courses, five in all, they did not speak.  They gobbled their meal in silence and would only speak with the waiter separately.  What was that about?  They did not seem like they were fighting or something.  At least they were not bickering like the Barones, is this how you spell it, Marie and Frank, Raymond’s parents.

 

     By the way, in this cruise, there are 700 Canadians, 600 Brits, 300 Americans, 160 Germans, and 150 Aussies, and some minor groups.  I told hubby being with all these Brits and Aussies make even my thoughts come to me in British accent.  He laughed.

 

     We were reminded more than once to set our clocks one hour back, must be because we’re in Alaskan time zone.  More later.

 

Cruise Chronicles Part I

 

 

May 27, 2007

 

   

  The first day of our vacation . We started the day quite early by waking up at 4:30 am.  An hour later, brother R and SIL A were on our doorstep to drive us to the airport.  Brother offered to drive us because they were getting up early that day anyway to visit and sympathize with a friend who just returned from his mother’s funeral in the Philippines. They were going to the opposite direction, but insisted that it would not be any trouble at all to take us to the airport.  We were grateful. We had plenty of time to catch our flight.  A slight delay was experienced when my stash of toiletries were meticulously checked.  Apparently, I am clueless with regards to the current dos and don’ts of carry-on toiletries.  I was quite pissed because some rules make no sense really.  These rules should be available to all airline websites (I found out later on that they did post these requirements) so it could easily be accessible to online reservationists.  Anyway, alls well that ends well.  I, however, lost my brand new St. Ives facial scrub.  No big deal, you say, hey, I love that product, $3.50 or not.

 

     The saving grace for the day was the smooth and relatively pain free flight to Vancouver.  I have never been on a “domestic” flight before and have no clue whatsoever what to expect and while at first I was dismayed upon seeing how small the plane really was on the inside – it looked humongous on the outside – the ride was quite fun.  The clouds were aplenty and were cotton like.  The little girl on the seat behind us even said GOOD MORNING GOD quite loudly when she saw the clouds.  And that put my mind at ease and my heart stopped pounding and returned to its normal rhythm (I am one of those who could not remain calm before a flight).

 

     Vancouver greeted us with the most pleasant weather.  While the forecast called for drizzle, it was all sunshine as we landed.  We had – we believed – enough time to kill to see the famed Stanley Park before boarding the ship (that is until we saw how big the park really is).  We had a choice to take a taxi, which would cost us about 40 bucks or just take the airport shuttle that would take us to the Bayshore area; this information was from the airport info center. So, we tried to save a few Canadian dollars and take the $15.00 airporter shuttle ride to Stanley Park.  The fine print of this deal was that a transfer was required since there was no straight trip to the Bayshore area, where Stanley Park is.

 

     Stanley Park is Vancouver’s answer to our Golden Gate Park.  However, with our carry-ons with us, we had very limited mobility.  We did, however, found time to snap some shots.  On this day, there was a huge walk benefiting the Rape Relief Program and a huge number of people were in attendance.  We saw the mass throng at a section of the park close to the water where the eats were being served.  We saw this on our taxi ride to the ship terminal.

 

     Vancouver has a feel that is so San Francisco like.  Stanley Park is so much like Golden Gate Park, at first glance.  The city is so green, which I truly liked. And I have not seen a freeway.  Is there no freeway in Canada? 

 

     Our cruise ship was docked at a pier in a place called Canada Place, which again has a vibe that is reminiscent of Pier 39 of San Francisco.  We vowed to check it out on our way back.

 

     There was very little hassle on boarding the ship, except for a short moment when we could not find our tickets.  And when my passport won’t scan necessitating a manual input of information at two different checkpoints.  Again, all’s well that ends well and we were on the way to climbing on board, and we did with no delay whatsoever.

 

     For the next seven days, home is stateroom 9305, which seems to be always on the wrong corridor or at the end of a very long corridor. I don’t mind really, the extra step I take will be more beneficial after all the caloric intake I will surely impose on my body.

 

     Upon arrival inside the boat, I noticed that it is better than the first cruise ship I had, Carnival.  For one, this is a freestyle cruising, no schedules to follow with regards to eating or other activities.

 

     When the mandatory safety boat drills were over, we hightailed it to the deck 12, where it was announced that a welcome bbq and some entertainment await us.  It was still early; we did not see the bbq set up so we thought we’d try GARDEN CAFÉ, where they have a buffet style dining, with different stations for rotisserie, desserts, breads, salads and greens, and voila, an Indian food section.  We could not pass up a free Indian food.  We had two slices (these were the size of a ¼ of a whole size Nan) with some curry and another veggie dish.  Raitha is something I wont pass up either.  This we enjoyed on deck 12 just outside the tapas place LAS RAMBLAS, which we checked if we could get something to eat.  But alas, they were closed still.  We made a mental note to come and eat there when they open at 5:30.

 

     The ship finally sailed out of Vancouver port around 5:30 and we found ourselves still on deck watching it sail away along with a lot of our other shipmates.  Like me, they were keen on snapping shots of the Lion’s Gate Bridge, which outside of the color, reminds me of Golden Gate Bridge.

 

     More eating followed.  Well, actually we tried to really just snack our way around the restaurants by trying a little of this and a little of that.  We went to get a cocktail, whose name has escaped me for a moment, because it came with a souvenir cocktail glass.  We sampled the bbq offering with three different kinds of sausages, some coleslaw, a roll, a serving of American potato salad (yes they called it that).  We caught their show at 9 pm where they featured all their entertainment from every restaurants, bars, etc.  Two of those were Filipino groups, the guitar-playing BROTHERS AND FRIENDS and the band called KENOSIS.  The cruise director was very funny and nicknamed one man, SEXY. 

 

     When the show was over, we again made a beeline to the GARDEN CAFE for some fruits and a raspberry mousse, which if I know my desserts is of mediocre quality.  Well, can’t win them all.  One of my pet peeve is that all the drinks are for sale.  The food is free but the drinks will cause you an arm and a leg.

 

     Tomorrow is sea day, which means we will be sailing all day and with our room service order already filled out and the form hanging outside our door, we will have plenty of time to catch up with some needed zzzz.  Hubby is presently snoring in bed while I am typing away a couple of feet from him.  It is 12:05 and I am still up, has taken that much needed shower – I could smell all of San Francisco and Vancouver on me- and the boat starts to roll.  I just wish that I would not get sick just like I did the first time I went cruising.  Hoping for a great day tomorrow with just lazing around and hopefully win one of those darn raffle.  I never win any of those; I wonder why I even stay when I know that the odds will never be in my favor each time. 

 

     I guess it’s time to catch up on my beauty rest too.  I had a very long day, literally.  It was a very good day, though.  Can’t wait to see how my photos turned out.  Unfortunately, we brought this laptop where I am typing away now, but forgot to load the new soft ware or bring the cable.  Well, you can’t win them all.

 

Is This A Joke?

“hi to all *****! this is the wife of mr.*****, the sister in law of the 2nd runner up of ms.****2006, i would like to announce that i am free to accept sidelines durings the working hours of my husband! i decided to post this message because he is so arrogant in taking care of his family, he cant send his son in a private school, he can not afford to feed his family, i am the one whose making decisions everytime we’re in trouble. i am willing to sell my body for the sake of my family and my husband is so busy thats why he cant do his obligation to me as his wife thats y i am looking for. anyway, before i post it i informed him and he let me to do this. thank you and you can see me anywhere else.”

The above text was copied verbatim from my hometown’s website’s guest book.  Is this flagrant solicitation or just the product of a ruthless mind who has plenty of time on her hands?  I have heard of solicitations, although I have not seen them by my own eyes, on Craigs list, but on a small Philippine town that is too small to have its own movie theatre?  Time sure has changed.

PS.  I hope this was all a joke, for everyone’s sake.

o0o  o0o  o0o  o0o

I will intermittently start posting entries from my journal.  This will probably save this blog from taking a break when I have nothing better to blog.  Well, I don’t have anything better to blog but I do it anyway.

 

Manic Monday

…. and this is why.

 

 

Itinerary Found!

I have always found myself jotting down a line, a sentence or even paragraphs in many notebooks, appointment books, journals, legal pads, etc all gathering dust in the house somewhere.  Before the advent of technology, I found it therapeutic to write out the stresses of the day in journals.   Now of course, I blog, just like the rest of the world who had abandoned the use of journals and pen.  But I have not abandoned writing my thoughts or worries or story lines I may have at that moment.  And the joys I get from reading my journals are priceless. 

Over the past weekend, I decided it was time to clean out the room and shred all those old credit card statements, bills, etc.  As I was cleaning out a space in the room [have I not mentioned that neatness and orderliness are not my strong suit], I found some papers where I have written down some notes in the past.  I shouted with glee when I read what was written.  It was our itinerary on our road trip to Grand Canyon a few years ago.  When we go on road trips, I bring along a clipboard with me and I write down everything, from the towns we passed by to a funny sounding street name.  So here’s what I have written:

June 2—left home @3:54 am

4:36 — Altamont Pass

6:30 —Gas @ Kettleman City, Hwy 41

7:22 —Wasco rose fields, smells delicious, nice sight

7:39 —Reached Bakersfield

8:35 —Reached Mojave

9:25 —Reached Barstow

9:35 —Gas at Yermo, 8 miles from Barstow; food at Peggy Sue’s 1950’s diner, gift shop full of nostalgia

10:03 —Hit the road to Vegas, baby

11:45 —Arrive at Vegas, buffet lunch at Palms Market Place.

1:10 —Gas at Flamingo St., about 5 mins from Palms

4:30 —Check in, Williams, Az

6:00 —Drove to Flagstaff

7:15 —Gas at Flagstaff

So there you go, 7 hours drive from the Bay Area to Vegas.  There were long stretches of nothing, but the change in topography and scenery was exciting, something that I totally dig anyway.  Plus, I saw my first tumbleweed, it crossed the road and I was so stoked. 

[Note:  I am quite puzzled why I had “reached mojave” at 8:35 am.  It should not be the desert, but who knows.  For those who drive this route fairly regularly, please illuminate me.]