Small world

It's been a long week.  I was out out on the road again with a trip to our sister company and just got back in time to head up to College Station for the first football game last  weekend. 

With my job, I have the opportunity to travel a bit.  Not an obscene amount like in sales or service, but more than the average bear.  I get to travel to wild and exotic places like Manila or Hong Kong or Minneapolis or Buffalo or even Denver to meet with suppliers. Whenever I go, I take the opportunity to tour the sites and experience the area.  Hike the local paths, eat the local food, drink the local beer.  Life's a journey and sometimes we need to take time and enjoy the adventure.     

Enjoy the mountain vistas (we don't have hills like these down in Houston). 

Enjoy a quaint local hotel near the academy

And have the opportunity to meet some really interesting people on the trail.

 

Yea, Abby already let that cat out of the bag.  Two weekends back, I flew up to Denver to spend a week at our sister division and I took an earlier flight up to make a side trip down to Colorado Springs for the weekend.  I thought, hey, while I'm cruising the Mile High State, why not pop down and try to see some old friends?  Not only does Abby rule the trails down in CS, but I sorta neglected to tell her that my old crazy roommate happens to live in the same town as she does.  Ya know, the George Clooney guy that dresses in a tux for a class reunion?  Well, like many trips I take, I tend to have an ulterior motive.  So I when I planned a trip down to CS to reminiscence over old war stories with my old roommate and, while in the area, have a chance to meet up with another interesting blog friend I have known/talked with for years. I spend Saturday evening having dinner with my friend and his wife and then planned to meet up with Abby on Sunday before heading back up to Denver.  I had originally proposed meeting her for coffee or lunch, but, after reading all of Shadowrun's adventures, I proposed something more energetic.  Too bad that the Incline had closed after Shadowrun had trekked up the trail, so we had to settle for something more sedate for this old flatlander.  I left the choice up to Abby, being the local guide and she chose the Red Rock Canyon as a good alternative.  I met up with Abby and Wolfgang for some hiking.  Wasn't sure that she would recognize me right away so I figured why not wear something obvious (or obnoxious).  Both Abby and Wolfgang were gracious trail guides hosts and we had a great time hiking all over the trails.  I've had the chance to meet a few of my blog friends over the past few years and I always jump at the chance to meet the brains behind the keyboard.  Abby is as funny and energetic as she sounds.  We had a blast hiking the trails and trying to cover a million different topics.  We were talking so much, that I sort of overlooked the trails and we certainly forgot to take any pictures.  The one at the end was our post hike, let's get lunch shot.  With the gathering storm clouds, I suggested lunch and we picked a local watering hole just a few miles down the road that serves some good local beer.  We had lunch at the Roundhouse and spent another hour talking about different things like the Olympics, Ryan Lochte, Airstreams, Dogs, floods, etc.  It was a great time but I had to head back up to Denver so we said goodbye and they headed back home while I drove around the Springs a bit more before heading north.  I am glad to have had the chance to meet up with them, if only for a short while.   

I got up to Arvada to my hotel with no problems and set up to work at the plant.  The second day, when I got back from an morning run, I noted that there was some severe weather down in Colorado Springs and they were hammered by a ton of hail and flooding.  I texted Abby to check in with her and see if they were ok (thought it was ironic that we were talking about people getting flooded out in Louisiana at lunch on Sunday) and they were ok.  I also added that, out of all of the topics we covered, I forgot to talk about my roommate that I had dinner with on Saturday.  I made mention that he might be closer to her than I had originally imagined.  I even noted that I drove past a certain school crossing zone that looked mighty familiar near roomie's house, so they had to be close.  I noted, offhand, that she might have even seen him once or twice around the neighborhood cause he drove one of those unique 4 wheel drive military vehicles called a Unimog.  One of only a handful in Colorado.  Her response was epic - OMG - Your roommate is Unimog Guy?  I never really picture him as "Unimog Guy", but it fits.  Sorry - no pictures of the Unimog - was too dark when I had dinner with him.  Still, I found it amazing that Abby knew of him and how close they actually were.  Small world.          

Unimog guy

Walkabout

I normally don't do movie or book recommendations.  I feel that my tastes in books & movie differ from other (normal) people.  My picks can be somewhat twisted (or warped as the wife tells me) and what I find funny/interesting doesn't always follow the norm.  I'll leave the movie reviews to Abby.  She is way better at finding good movies and is pretty much spot on when it comes to her reviews.  That said, I did want to share one of my recent screenings.  I have a number of different movies queued up in my Netflix account.  They are all over the road from new releases to comedies to classics.  One that I bumped to the top of the list recently was the movie Wild with Reese Witherspoon.  Based upon Cheryl Strayed's tale of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone. 

 

Basically a story of a woman of finding redemption by hiking over 1000 miles on the PCT one summer.  The PCT is over 2600 miles long and runs from the Mexico border all the way up to Canada crossing a wide variety of terrains/mountains.  Not your typical Sunday stroll in the park.  Definitely not for the novice or faint of heart.  Cheryl hiked it solo back in 1995 after some personal tragedy as a means of finding her self.  An interesting saga of how an ill prepared person with grit & determination can overcome some daunting challenges.  Cheryl was definitely not prepared at the outset of her hike but she managed to conquer the trail despite all of the obstacles she encountered along the path.  And, while I am not an overly huge Reese fan (was a pretty good June Carter), I really liked her portrayal.  Very compelling.  Something that I is on my bucket list that I will probably never cross off.  And I found the story so interesting that I went out and bought the book.  I've only done that 2-3 times when I found a movie interesting enough to dig into the back story.  Again, I normally don't recommend books but this one was a great read.   

I've hiked small portions of the Appalachian Trail (AT), but nothing more that a couple of weekend treks.  Backpacking has always been a passion for me.  Hiking & camping along the mountain trails was something that I would prefer to do in lieu of a vacation at a spa resort.  That's why I was really into our treks at Philmont in New Mexico with the scouts a few years back.  Unfortunately, we don't have too many mountains down here on the on the coast.  I guess it started out when my family spent a few summers camping out in Colorado when I was a young pup.  Long road trip from New Jersey in the old Pontiac station wagon.  Later, when both brothers were off at college, my parents & I spend a few weeks in Red River, New Mexico.  My dad & I hiked up to Middle Fork Lake and spent a few nights camping out.  That sort of sparked my passion for backpacking/camping and led to my walkabout in 1977.  The summer prior to my junior year I was taking some summer classes and working a minimum wage job down at the Chrysler dealership.  Things were at a lull at the time and I was taking one of those motivational speaking courses for.  One of the exercises was to express your passion and what you would do given the time and availability and I expressed my desire to go backpacking in the mountains.  The instructor encouraged me to follow through on that desire and I jumped on the idea.  Mom wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea but supported me nonetheless.  I loaded up the Plymouth and headed west to West Texas and New Mexico.  I spent 2.5 weeks roaming through west Texas and hiking the mountains of New Mexico.  From the Guadalupe Mountains to Cloudcroft to White Sands to the Gila National Forest to Red River to Palo Duro Canyon.  Nothing like the trek that Cheryl made, but it was a cathartic road trip for me.  Something to recharge the batteries.  Deep down, I'd love to make a long hike like she did but, at this stage, I have too many obligations and conflicts.  

Road trip

In my younger days (looong time ago), I loved to take road trips.  Gas up the car, toss in the gear, load up some munchies/drinks in the ice chest. crank up the tunes and head out.  

• 3 hours to the beach?  No sweat.  
• 5 hours to Dallas for a weekend football game?  Let's go! 
• 10 hours to ski in Red River, NM?  Let me get my gear.
• 14 hours from Fort Knox, KY to College Station, TX to see my fiance?  No problemo.    
• 20+ hours to Orlando to visit Mickey's house?  Sign me up.  
• 3 hours to San Antonio to meet up with a famous blogger/chef/runner?  Piece 'o cake.    

When ShadowRun300 let slip she might be headed my way, I was all sorts of excited.  Another chance to meet one of my favorite bloggers in person!  I've already had the privilege to break bread with Terri and Rock Chef and was hoping that I could meet ShadowRun while she was in my neck of the woods.  The problem was, I had already committed to the wedding on Saturday with my bride.  As much as I would have liked to bail on the wedding, that would not have been a good career move.  On top of those plans, we wanted to have dinner with my folks one last time Sunday night before they hit the road again for their rally up north.  Given my work schedule and the wedding on Saturday and dinner Sunday, I figured there was no way I could make it over to San Antonio for the weekend.  Was really bummed out until about Wednesday when it finally dawned on me that I was looking at this all wrong:  Why not a day trip?  I mean, if I can pull off a 5 hour drive to north Texas, buy a trailer, and then return on the same day like I did last year, a short hop to San Antonio is a walk in the park.  I had a window of opportunity to meet with her for lunch and to catch up before heading back to Houston for dinner.   

So, after the nuptials, I got up early Sunday morning, walked the dogs, loaded up Elvis and headed west.  First long road trip in Elvis and it was smooth sailing.  Hit San Antonio around 1000 and parked downtown right next to their hotel.  I texted ShadowRun I was in town and they came down to meet me.  Started to store my gear when I spied ShadowRun and her entire crew heading my way.  It was easy to recognize that smile.  She mentioned something about recognizing Elvis.  I find it awesome to meet the real person behind the keyboard along with her wonderful family.  I got to meet her husband, Amp and Mario.  I'm always curious/anxious how the rest of the family feels about meeting one of my blog buddies (Great.  Mom's dragging us out to meet some wacko she met on the Internet).  After the initial introductions, we decided to hike over to check out the Alamo.  I've been to SA a few times, so I was more than happy to give them my two cents on the various sites to see, places to visit, things to do.  I have my opinions on many of the places, but since this was their first time in SA, I'll let ShadowRun provide the play-by-play.  

Since I was the one on a tight schedule, we did a quick tour of the Alamo, exploring the mission grounds, checking out some of the exhibits.  After wandering with the mission with the mob, we headed west to El Mercado for lunch.  We hiked along the River Walk part of the way, enjoying the the sights.  The River Walk is a neat place but many spots along the river are narrow and can get crowded.  Lots of great restaurants, bars, and interesting people/animals to see.  A good place for people watching.      

Remember the Alamo!

Duck Dynasty San Antonio style?

River taxi

Stylish head ware

We eventually moseyed over to El Mercado (The Market).  It is a local market with shops/stores/booths with all sorts of Mexican wares.  Sombreros, ukuleles, shirts, purses, paintings, religious emblems.

For some real authentic Mexican food, I recommended a local institution:  Mi Tierra.  A San Antonio tradition that has been in business since 1941.  Open 24 hours, great bakery, usually packed at lunch and dinner, Christmas lights up all year long.  I was worried that the wait would be obscene during lunch, but we were able to score a table within 45 minutes.  

I got a chance to break bread, or chips, with ShadowRun and her family.  It was great to share stories and fill in the gaps on everything we've seen and done.  Comparing notes on family, dogs, kids, traveling, and, of course, other bloggers.  We've talked so much through our blogs and shared many stories, this was like catching up with an old friend I haven't seen in years.  My only regret was I couldn't stay any longer and had to leave early to head back to Houston.  Still, it was uber cool to spend time with ShadowRun300, even if only for a short while.  Well worth the drive and I would do it again without hesitation.  

I consider myself one lucky SOB.  I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting three of my favorite blog celebrities.  One more off my bucket list.  Thanks ShadowRun!  And sorry about the Austin traffic.  I am definitely going to have to work on getting a supplier set up in the St Louis area.        

One more off the bucket list

Was a good an excellent trip to Minnesota.  Audit went well, we got to spent a little time in the Mankato area, Ate way too much, explored the local campus/nightlife, and even toured a local brewery (Mankato Brewery).  Very nice small college town.  

We got up early to head back into Minneapolis to drop off my buddy off at the airport for an early flight.  I pushed back my return flight until the evening so that I could have the opportunity to drive across town to visit with a good friend.  The return flights were slightly delayed and I didn’t touch down in Houston until almost midnight at the end of a long, long day. 

But enough drivel about me.  What about my visit?   Whom did I go see?  Got any pictures?  Well, if my earlier subtle clues didn’t give it away, you ain’t been paying attention. 

I finally got the opportunity to meet Terri, Terri in the flesh.  I was just hoping to be able to meet up with her for a short lunch while I was in town, but she invited me over to her house to meet the entire Terri tribe.  I got to meet Brad, Heather, Jake, Mark, and, of course Lucy and Dakotah.  We spend time talking about dogs, family, school, home renovations, more dogs, hunting, wedding stuff.  A lot of the stories felt familiar because Terri has blogged about them.  We then hopped in the car and headed over into St Paul for a burger at the Nook (“a small place with big burgers”.  Great little hole in the wall place that has been featured on Dinners, Drive-Ins & Dives for one of the best burgers in Minnesota.  After sampling the food, I think it should be in the national top 10.  Terri, Brad and Heather and I had a great lunch downstairs in the basement (20 minute wait upstairs) that has a unique bar/diner/bowling alley motif.  We were trying to figure out what was the story behind the dollar bills stuck to the ceiling (according to the waitress it was supposedly to leave your mark/signature or they were going to use the money to pay for a new ceiling).  Great burgers, lot more chatting, a few pictures. 

Dining with the famous Terri, Terri

Heather & Brad

The Juicy Nook

Ceiling decorations

Some old lanes

The original Nook

Dakotah

Lucy & Mark

After lunch, we headed back home to meet with Mark and Jake and play with Lucy and Dakotah.  Both dogs were great, but Lucy is definitely the star of the show.  Even though Terri warned us about her penchant for stuffed toys with noisemakers, I brought Lucy a small toy duck with a squeaker inside.  Just like Terri said, Lucy took it as her mission to search out and destroy that squeaker and in only took about 15 minutes to decimate that duck.  I hope the rope toy lasts a wee bit longer.          

Well, kids, if you ever have the chance to visit with one of your blogging friends, I highly recommend it.  This was the second chance I have had to meet up with someone in person that I have been chatting/blogging with for years and it was great.  Thank you, Terri for inviting me over to meet the entire crew.     

Road Trip

It's only halfway through July and with three road trips, several projects due, and the wedding only 28 days away, I find my month is already blown.  Last week, I was baking out in the Grand Canyon State.  This weekend I am NOT working on the trailer but playing catch up on all of my chores.  This week I have another road trip up north to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, L'Etoile du Nord.  Spending a few days in Mankato, Minnesota (home of MSU, the Viking Training Camp).  I am planning a short side trip that I will expound upon later.  Without giving too much away, I have worked out a few logistics and was hoping to be able to have lunch with a good friend and famous author/blogger.  If you want more details about my trip, you'll just have to keep an eye out for an update next weekend.  The trip takes me out of the office for 3 days and, combined with an all day department event/team building exercise, leaves me with exactly one day actually in the office.  And that day I already have a 6 hour planning meeting for our new facility.  Sounds like I am whining a wee bit?  Yea, I know, life's rough and I keep reminding myself that I asked for this.  Still, I'd rather be busy than be bored.  After next week, I have a week in town before I head west to the Golden State.  I may get a few more pictures of Bubble Gum alley in San Luis Obispo.  That puts me back in town about a week before the wedding.  


When I typically travel, I will map out my trip/agenda (that's the A/R part of my personality) of where we are going, hotels, routes to take.  If it is a new destination for me, I will try to look up some details of the area to give me a better idea where to go, what to see/do.  You are never too old to learn something new.


Some interesting (but useless) facts about the places I have been/am going:


California, "The Golden State", has some other slogans/mottoes that I uncovered (not sure which ones are legit):   
- The Land of Milk and Honey
- The Grape State
- The Eldorado State
- California - Find Yourself Here
- California:  As Seen on TV
- By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda
- California: It's Long and Hangs to the Left
- California: Our Governor Can Inappropriately Fondle Your Governor
- I'm a Big Deal in California


For Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes, some of the slogans I uncovered are:
- The North Star State
- The Bread and Butter State
- The Wheat State
- The Gopher State
- New England of the West


For Arizona, The Grand Canyon State, some of the slogans I found are:
- The Copper State
- The Apache State
- The Aztec State
- The Baby State
- The Valentine State
- The Sand Hill State
- Italy of America

Life's a journey.  Remember to take plenty pictures along the way.

4 years later

Wow.  Who’d a thunk this would have lasted this long?  I guess if they keep putting up such stellar programming like Jersey Shore, Survivor, Big Brother, and DWTS year after year, this meager blog can share some of that longevity.  

Occasionally, I look back to see where I've been (or, if you're paranoid, to see if anyone is following you).  It is about this time of year that I mark a milestone of sorts.  Actually, it is two milestones.  The first being this meager excuse of a blog.  This is the place I go to ramble on about this and that, share stupid/funny stories, show endless pictures of my dogs, and complain about life in general.  I actually created this site back in spring of 2007 with a short coming outpost but I did not follow up with anything until almost a year later (found it hard to write something meaningful or intelligent).  I started posting in earnest in January after my surgery in 2008, so I tend to mark the beginnings of this site around that time.  4 years and thousands of words later, this thing has gotten legs, albeit wobbly ones.  I started out following dozens of other blog sites, each with a different theme/flavor.  Some have survived, some have closed up shop, some have disappeared into the winds.  I found a few favorites that I continue to follow religiously.  They serve as my muse/inspiration to continue to read and post new things.  I like to thank (or blame) Terri for starting this site.  I've followed her saga for years from kids to work to bowling to dogs, she's had an interesting journey that keeps drawing people back for more.  It was her stories and the way she spun them that inspired me to try my hand in this "blog stuff" although, I'll have to admit, I'm not as interesting or funny.  I have followed other sites (Abby, Meleah, RC) as well for their stories and insights and I thank each of you for your inspiration to keep this up.  Four years is not a long time, but I look back and find I have accomplished a lot. I’ve been on a cruise, I have been I've see my son graduate from college, start work and get engaged, I've traveled the world, got to meet one of my blog friends (thanks, RC), I have lost a dog but gained two more.  I've survived 4 half marathons, I’ve dislocated a shoulder, I’m still driving the same old truck, bought an iPod, bought a new computer.  I’ve done a lot in the last four turns around the sun.  Looking back, I consider myself one lucky SOB for the opportunities I’ve had and glad to have been able to share/bore them with everyone.   

My second milestone is actually the impetus for some of the stuff I accomplished above.  I have made it a point to mark down on my calendar the anniversary of my surgery.  For those new to this game or with short term memory, 4 years ago yesterday I purged my system, donned some fashionable hospital scrubs, and went under the knife for Prostate cancer.  Was still a bit of a shock to me to be diagnosed with PC at only 50 years old.  I chose the surgery path and came out the other side “prostate free”.  If you are interested in some of the story, you can look back at my earlier postings.  I thought, in all my postings, I had described the saga in vivid detail, but was disappointed that I hadn't shared that with the rest of the world.  I actually started posting seriously while recovering from surgery and that’s where this little blog started out.  Blogging was something I didn't think I had in me, but I've managed to keep at it for a good while.  After the surgery, I changed my outlook on a few things.  After getting diagnosed in 2007, I decided to knock off one of my bucket list items - to run a marathon.  I couldn’t get in in 2008 (did not realize how far in advance you had to sign up) so I did the corresponding 5k that year.  But afterwards I signed up for the ½ Marathon (because I am only ½ crazy).  Been doing that shtick for 4 years now.  As I mentioned earlier on my marathon posts, I run as a reminder that I am still alive.  I am still pondering a full marathon at some point, but, for now, will stick with the ½ until my legs tell me different.  I started traveling more for the company and it has taken me places I haven't been to before.  I love to travel and have taken advantage of the trips I am assigned.  Oh, sure, I may grumble and gripe about plane travel and the TSA and hotel living, but, truthfully, I love it.        

I usually mark this time here by getting on my soapbox and reminding everyone to get checked out.  Prostate cancer is one the leading causes of death for men just Breast cancer is with women.  Last time I ran the numbers, over 280,000 men are diagnosed with Prostate cancer each year.  A simple, precautionary PSA test can save you a world of grief.  As I have been told and told others, this stuff is preventable, if you catch it early enough.  The interesting fact I uncovered in all my research on pc was that, at some point in their lives, most men will either get prostate cancer or have it.  It strikes late in life (post 50) and is usually not detected until later when something else goes wrong.  Because it hits late in life and is not spotted through normal exams, men will typically die of other causes before prostate cancer will take its toll.  The takeaway here is to get checked out.  It is easy, relatively painless, and simple (blood test).  Some guys avoid it because of the stigma/embarrassment of getting a package check.  Embarrassing?  Perhaps, but I am too old to GAS and besides, the risk is too big to bet farm upon.  So, if you are a guy skirting 50, if you know of a guy over 50, if your brother/dad/son are getting on in years, please insist that they get checked out.  Life’s too short to spent it wondering “what if”.  I am a walking testament to the fact it does not have to be a fatal diagnosis.  I got checked out, dealt with it and I am still here after 4 years enjoying good beer and fine scotch and life in general and I am not making plans to go anywhere just yet.  End of my soapbox speech. 

And I never imagined that I would have enough interesting stuff to say to fill up 4 years. 

California Dreaming

Whoops.  Where did the time go?  Last time we chatted, I was camped out in Austin for some training.  I sorta got busy/sidetracked there for a bit and neglected my duties.  I am making the rounds to everyone's blogs trying to catch up.   

Made it back from Austin with no problems.  Got a chance to visit with junior one night before my training started.  He is doing very well with the new job, new apartment, paycheck.  Training was good, but, to me, it was more of a distraction from work.  I've done a number of training sessions on negotiations and communications, so this was a good refresher for me.  Besides, it got me out of the office for three days on a paid trip.  Can't complain about that. 

Drove back to Houston late in the week.  The fires south of Austin had closed the route I normally take, but that was a minor inconvenience for me.  Nothing compared to the people who lost everything in those fires.  A large portion of the Bastrop area has been burned out including the state park with several old CCC stone cabins that we have stayed in years ago.  
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Someone (who shall not be named) has been after me to get off my butt and get back into the game, so I let her pick today's thread - California roadtrip.

Last month, I was back out on the road to California for another supplier audit.  This is my 4th year of doing these audits and my second time out to this area.  They are located in Paso Robles about halfway between LA and San Francisco.  Smack dab in the middle of wine country.  There are dozens of wineries dotted around the hillsides.  If it wasn't a business trip, I would have been tempted to try a few of the local vintages.

Long driveway to shovel

Casa Grande (aka Hearst Castle)

Care for a dip?

The greeting room

Lots of statuary

Neptune Pool



Front door



What a view!

Indoor diving pool

Last time we came here was 4 years ago and we tried to get out to the coast to San Simeon to see the Hearst Castle, but arrived too late to make the last bus ride up.  This time, I knew the deal so I planned our arrival early enough to make the side trip.  A few weeks back, I talked about German Castles.  America doesn't have many castles or fortresses like the old world, but this one is definitely one to add to your bucket list.  Started in 1919, finished in 1947, this was built by William Randolph Hearst (Hearst Publications).  Perched on top of the hills on the California coastline, it overlooks the Pacific Ocean.  It is an incredible place with spectacular views, amazing architecture, innovative designs (for the time), and stunning opulence.  This is one of those places you build when you have more money than god.  If you are ever out west and in the area, you must take the time to tour the place.   

Side note:  if it looks like gold, it is.