Surfin' USA

Long but fruitful week.  I should be glad to get out of the office, but inevitably, while I am out, s#%& happens and I wind up with a whole new list of chores when I get back.  Seems that on Tuesday the building alarm system went ga-ga and reset the maglocks (magnetic door locking system).  So, Wednesday, when everybody shows up to work, the building was basically unlocked.  Of course everybody had a hissy fit over it and made it sound like somebody broke in and stole a nuclear weapon or the crown jewels.  Of course, I am reading all this in southern California (translation:  it's my fault) and now I have a new task to audit/write up the building management.  Life's never boring around here.

Trip went well.  Got to briefly visit southern California in the Santa Ana area.  John Wayne Airport is a very nice regional airport - small and easy to get around.  Definitely way better than LAX.  I've been to southern Cal twice before and the freeway system is not for the faint of heart but, surprisingly, the freeways were fairly nice.  Not as much traffic as I had anticipated.  Of course, it may have to do with my planning to stay in a hotel that was close to airport and the company we were auditing.  Regardless, traffic was ok.  Site visit went well and we had time to drive west to the ocean in Huntington Beach (Surf City USA).  8+ miles of beaches on the Pacific Ocean.  Would have been nicer if the temps were warmer (60 degrees).  There were a few die hards out trying to catch a late wave, but most were in in wetsuits and looked cold.  Nice views but woulda preferred it a wee bit warmer.  Kinda interesting to note that the temps were in the low 60s while the east coast was baking. 

Flight home was long and a pain in the ass.  One leg I was seated next to the princess who figured the rules about talking on a cell phone or using an iPod while the plane was backing away from the gate did not apply to her. The second leg had all sorts of chaos (two screaming kids, one arrogant business a/h, a drunk stripper and her seatmates getting into a brawl).  Thanks to my iPod, I was able to tune out most of the flight and not hear the ruckus.  Made it back to Houston without too much fanfare. 

The weekend was fairly unproductive.  Trying to relax/unwind/catch up.  Took the dogs to a new park today just to give them a break.  Nicer park than we have been to in the past.  I like the Millie Bush part west of town due to its size and facilities, but this one (Archer park) was bigger and had more trees.  I think I like this one better.  Typical dog park down here - a lake for the dogs to swim/wade in.  Lots of room to run/poop.  Trails.  Shelters.  There was a obstacle course for the active dogs. 

Grayson/Claire behaved were in heaven.  Grayson ran around like a kid on a playground.  Claire hung close to me except when she was mooching attention off of other people.  She is definitely an attention hound.  What made this one a hit (at least for Grayson) is that the park is in the northwestern part of the city where they have had a lot of rain lately.  So there are parts of the part that are still flooded/holding water.  That translates into several spots of muddy bogs/water.  Given a nice, clean pond to swim/play in, where do you think Grayson likes to hang out?