The latest in the continuing series of our vacaction.........
We spent Thursday in L.A. While there, we went to the world's largest linear freak show as I called it. Everyone else calls it Venice Beach. Actually, it was a little more tame than what I expcected and I thought there would be more people working out at Muscle Beach. We walked along the Oceanfront Walk, checking out the condos, shops, street performers and mostly, the food.
After making our way back through downtown L.A., we drove down Rodeo Drive so my daughter could take pictures of the stores there. Unfortunately, there were no celebrity sightings.
We made our way over toward the "Hollywood" sign and drove up Beachwood Avenue to get a good look at it (and some good pictures, too). This was just a short little trip but every tourist has to see the sign!
We had made plans to meet some friends of ours on Hollywood Boulevard for dinner and arrived there about an hour before our meeting time. We had parked in a mall parking garage and really didn't know where we were headed when we saw some light indicating that we were obviously headed in the right direction - outside! We were on the second floor so I was a bit surprised to find that it opened into an open-air courtyard. Right in the center was a big glass box. As soon as we saw it my daughter, Libby, recognized that it was from the TLC show "Ten Years Younger". While looking at the box a cameraman came by and asked if we wanted to be in the audience. My wife and daughter said yes so we walked the stars for a while and then returned at about 5:00. There were people from TLC there asking people to be in the audience. My wife, Karen, my son, Brad and Libby decided to do so and they were asked to fill out a waiver to be included in the show. My oldest son, Kyle, and I decided to just watch from a convenient bench so we were in charge of holding purses and cameras.
As the taping for the show got closer, the TLC people realized that they didn't have enough people for the audience so a lady walked up to Kyle and I and asked if we would please fill in the back. They pulled up some tables for us to stand on so it looked like everybody was on risers.
Now, if you don't know the premise of the show, here's the quick synopsis: TLC finds a person and puts them in a big glass box while they have passer-bys guess the age of the person. In this case, the person was named George and we weren't around when they did this part of the filming. Anyway, they took George away and gave him a makeover and then revealed the "new and improved" George to his family. It's the big reveal that we were a part of. During the course of the makeover, George never gets to see himself (wink, wink) so when he comes out from behind a curtain, there's a big mirror that he walks up to and looks at himself.
As George looks at himself in the mirror, I realize that the cameraman is behind George and is pointing the camera at the mirror. Kyle and I happened to be in a direct line behind the camera. Karen, Brad and Libby were on the front row behind the family and the "Glam Squad" so I'm pretty sure they'll be seen when the show airs.
As for Kyle and I.........well, I don't know if we'll be seen on the show or not but if you happen to see this show and the makeover is done on a guy named George, look for me in the top row of the audience. I shouldn't be hard to find - I'll be the guy with the purse!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Vacation, Part 2
So here's an update of what we've done in California.
We went to Muir Woods on Sunday to look at the redwoods. It's just a few miles across the Golden Gate Bridge but the roadway had so many curves in it, my arms were about worn out by the time we got there. The parking lot is tiny and there's an overflow lot that has only a few spots as well so we had to park about 3/4 mile away and walk to the park. Once inside, the redwoods were amazing! Many of them were nearly 250 feet tall and were probably ten feet or more in diameter.
After checking out the redwoods along a two mile trail, we headed back across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped on the south end. There we found an old fort, The Presidio, that we explored and got some fantastic pictures of the bridge. Following a dinner at Olive Garden, we pretty much just hung out at the hotel and played some cards.
On Monday, we had purchased tickets for Alcatraz. So far, this has been the highlight of the trip for me and I'd certainly recommend it for anyone visiting San Francisco. When you first get off the ferry, there are park rangers that give short talks about those who tried to escape from The Rock. Then there's a self-guided audio tour of the prison. After the tour, we were mulling around the souvenir shop and Kyle decided to get a book called "Escape from the Rock". Little did we know when he picked up the book that the author was there that day signing them. Her dad had been the warden at Alcatraz at one time and she basically grew up on the island. I was wearing a Purdue jacket and she asked if we were from Indiana. When I said yes, she explained that her dad had been the warden at the Terre Haute federal correctional facility before he had been transferred to Alcatraz.
Tuesday we tried to finish off all the other things we had wanted to do while in San Francisco. It started with a trip down Lombard Street (also known as the world's crookedest street) and then we proceeded to Coit Tower. The tower sits on top of Telegraph Hill and is about 280 feet tall. Other than the Transamerica Tower, this may be the highest observation area in San Francisco and has some great views of both the bay and the city.
From there, we wandered throught Chinatown for a while. Karen and I had decided that we were going to give the kids a real cultural eating experience so we dropped in a little restaurant. We split some chow mein, pot stickers, fried rice and chow fun and the kids really enjoyed eating something a little different.
After lunch, we decided to take a cable car ride. One word of wisdom for anyone wanting to do this in the future: ride the cable car up the hill and walk down the hill to get back to your starting point! Yes, we made that mistake!
Today we got up and drove from our hotel to Arcadia, just northeast of Los Angeles. The drive down I-5 was boring as there's nothing but rocky mountains and brown vegetation on either side of the roadway. On our return trip to San Francisco, we're going to take the Pacific Coast Highway. Anyway, our hotel here was having a barbecue tonight so we ate some hot dogs and hamburgers and headed over to the Rose Bowl. Purdue had played in the Rose Bowl a few years ago and I wish now that I'd had come out for the game. It was hard to see much of the stadium but there were all kinds of people walking around, jogging, playing soccer, etc. On our way back to the hotel, we drove by the Santa Anita race track. Growing up not far from Louisville, Kentucky, most people are surprised that I've never been to Churchill Downs or the Kentucky Derby but I was surprised by the size of the track and the stands.
After a quick dip in the pool and a few minutes in the hot tub, I was ready to call it a day.
Hard to believe that our vacation is half over already. I'll catch up with all of you in a few days to let you know how the rest of it went.
We went to Muir Woods on Sunday to look at the redwoods. It's just a few miles across the Golden Gate Bridge but the roadway had so many curves in it, my arms were about worn out by the time we got there. The parking lot is tiny and there's an overflow lot that has only a few spots as well so we had to park about 3/4 mile away and walk to the park. Once inside, the redwoods were amazing! Many of them were nearly 250 feet tall and were probably ten feet or more in diameter.
After checking out the redwoods along a two mile trail, we headed back across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped on the south end. There we found an old fort, The Presidio, that we explored and got some fantastic pictures of the bridge. Following a dinner at Olive Garden, we pretty much just hung out at the hotel and played some cards.
On Monday, we had purchased tickets for Alcatraz. So far, this has been the highlight of the trip for me and I'd certainly recommend it for anyone visiting San Francisco. When you first get off the ferry, there are park rangers that give short talks about those who tried to escape from The Rock. Then there's a self-guided audio tour of the prison. After the tour, we were mulling around the souvenir shop and Kyle decided to get a book called "Escape from the Rock". Little did we know when he picked up the book that the author was there that day signing them. Her dad had been the warden at Alcatraz at one time and she basically grew up on the island. I was wearing a Purdue jacket and she asked if we were from Indiana. When I said yes, she explained that her dad had been the warden at the Terre Haute federal correctional facility before he had been transferred to Alcatraz.
Tuesday we tried to finish off all the other things we had wanted to do while in San Francisco. It started with a trip down Lombard Street (also known as the world's crookedest street) and then we proceeded to Coit Tower. The tower sits on top of Telegraph Hill and is about 280 feet tall. Other than the Transamerica Tower, this may be the highest observation area in San Francisco and has some great views of both the bay and the city.
From there, we wandered throught Chinatown for a while. Karen and I had decided that we were going to give the kids a real cultural eating experience so we dropped in a little restaurant. We split some chow mein, pot stickers, fried rice and chow fun and the kids really enjoyed eating something a little different.
After lunch, we decided to take a cable car ride. One word of wisdom for anyone wanting to do this in the future: ride the cable car up the hill and walk down the hill to get back to your starting point! Yes, we made that mistake!
Today we got up and drove from our hotel to Arcadia, just northeast of Los Angeles. The drive down I-5 was boring as there's nothing but rocky mountains and brown vegetation on either side of the roadway. On our return trip to San Francisco, we're going to take the Pacific Coast Highway. Anyway, our hotel here was having a barbecue tonight so we ate some hot dogs and hamburgers and headed over to the Rose Bowl. Purdue had played in the Rose Bowl a few years ago and I wish now that I'd had come out for the game. It was hard to see much of the stadium but there were all kinds of people walking around, jogging, playing soccer, etc. On our way back to the hotel, we drove by the Santa Anita race track. Growing up not far from Louisville, Kentucky, most people are surprised that I've never been to Churchill Downs or the Kentucky Derby but I was surprised by the size of the track and the stands.
After a quick dip in the pool and a few minutes in the hot tub, I was ready to call it a day.
Hard to believe that our vacation is half over already. I'll catch up with all of you in a few days to let you know how the rest of it went.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Vacation!
I'm writing this blog from beautiful San Francisco, California. With our oldest son going into his senior year in high school, my wife and I decided that we'd take a big trip this summer since the number of "family" vacations available left to take is approaching 0.
We flew out of Indy at about 9:30 Friday night and arrived in S.F. about 11:00. It's about a four and a half hour flight but with the time change, we only lost an hour and a half! Getting a rental car and luggage was easy and we were soon on our way to the hotel, which is only about four miles from the airport.
Needless to say, we were all completely worn out so the excitement of the trip did not outweigh the need for sleep so getting everyone in bed was pretty easy.
Yesterday we decided to head downtown S.F. to check things out. We were headed to Fisherman's Wharf and passed by the baseball stadium. There was an afternoon game yesterday and we considered stopping but since none of us are really big baseball fans anyway, decided to move on.
Fisherman's Wharf was a great place to walk around and get some lunch. The view of Alcatraz Island was fantastic but there was just a bit too much fog to see the Golden Gate Bridge. We toured a bakery, Boudin Bakery, to see how they made bread. I wasn't too excited about the tour when we bought the tickets but for $3 a person, how bad could it have been? I was pleasantly surprised to have a self-guided overhead tour of the bakery. We could see every step in the bread-making process and there were displays showing exactly what was going on. At the end of the day, we all decided this was one of the highlights of the day.
We also visited the world's crookedest street (Lombard Street) and walked up and down the steps next to it. My daughter wanted to drive down the street but the line of cars stretched as far as we could see so we decided to try this another day.
Today we'll be off to see the redwoods in Muir Woods if I can get everyone else out of bed.
Stay tuned and I'll keep you informed where we are and what we're doing. Unfortunately, I don't have the camera software installed on my laptop so I won't be able to post pictures until we're back home.
We flew out of Indy at about 9:30 Friday night and arrived in S.F. about 11:00. It's about a four and a half hour flight but with the time change, we only lost an hour and a half! Getting a rental car and luggage was easy and we were soon on our way to the hotel, which is only about four miles from the airport.
Needless to say, we were all completely worn out so the excitement of the trip did not outweigh the need for sleep so getting everyone in bed was pretty easy.
Yesterday we decided to head downtown S.F. to check things out. We were headed to Fisherman's Wharf and passed by the baseball stadium. There was an afternoon game yesterday and we considered stopping but since none of us are really big baseball fans anyway, decided to move on.
Fisherman's Wharf was a great place to walk around and get some lunch. The view of Alcatraz Island was fantastic but there was just a bit too much fog to see the Golden Gate Bridge. We toured a bakery, Boudin Bakery, to see how they made bread. I wasn't too excited about the tour when we bought the tickets but for $3 a person, how bad could it have been? I was pleasantly surprised to have a self-guided overhead tour of the bakery. We could see every step in the bread-making process and there were displays showing exactly what was going on. At the end of the day, we all decided this was one of the highlights of the day.
We also visited the world's crookedest street (Lombard Street) and walked up and down the steps next to it. My daughter wanted to drive down the street but the line of cars stretched as far as we could see so we decided to try this another day.
Today we'll be off to see the redwoods in Muir Woods if I can get everyone else out of bed.
Stay tuned and I'll keep you informed where we are and what we're doing. Unfortunately, I don't have the camera software installed on my laptop so I won't be able to post pictures until we're back home.
Monday, July 14, 2008
A Fresh Start to the Morning
I'm normally the first one in the office in the morning and, as such, am the one who makes the coffee. It was no different this morning as I rolled in, got my computer fired up and went to the kitchen to start the coffee. Twelve cups of water, filter, seven scoops of coffee, push the button, etc. I can do it in my sleep now.
The smell of the coffee seemed to be especially strong this morning and now I know why. When I went back to get my first cup of the morning, the coffee was running all over the counter. Apparently, I had not quite gotten the pot on the warmer so good old Mr. Coffee was holding the coffee in the filter holder until it was placed properly. Of course, at some point, there was more coffee being made than what the filter could hold so it started pouring out over the top, along with the grounds that had been in the filter.
About 15 minutes later, I've got a new pot of coffee going. And yes, I did stand next to the pot to make sure I had replaced it correctly.
The smell of the coffee seemed to be especially strong this morning and now I know why. When I went back to get my first cup of the morning, the coffee was running all over the counter. Apparently, I had not quite gotten the pot on the warmer so good old Mr. Coffee was holding the coffee in the filter holder until it was placed properly. Of course, at some point, there was more coffee being made than what the filter could hold so it started pouring out over the top, along with the grounds that had been in the filter.
About 15 minutes later, I've got a new pot of coffee going. And yes, I did stand next to the pot to make sure I had replaced it correctly.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
More summer fun
I was out working in the yard a couple of weekends ago. After mowing, trimming and edging, picking up fallen branches and putting them in the fire pit, I decided to wash and seal the deck behind the house. Since it was hot, I had started my day of outdoor work at 9 a.m. I wasn't really paying much attention to the time when my neighbor hollered over and asked if I was about done for the day because he was getting tired watching me work. It was closing in at about 4 p.m. by that time. When the deck was finished a few minutes later, my neighbor, Jim, said he really only yelled over at me because he had something he wanted to share with me.
Having only lived in this house for a year, I'd have to say that Jim may be the friendliest neighbor I've ever had. He regularly mows all the way over to my driveway and from time to time will edge my driveway and sidewalks. In return, I've shoveled the snow off the sidewalk all the way to his driveway.
Anyway, Jim really enjoys kicking back with an adult alcoholic beverage and shooting the breeze. That Saturday, Jim said, "I've found my summer beer" and handed me a bottle. Having never seen the beer and being really hot, I took a quick look at the label and unscrewed the cap. Maybe it was the fact that the beer was incredibly cold or that I was really hot but I'd have to say that this may have been the best tasting "summer beer" I've ever had.
Now let me stop and say that I'm definitely no beer connoisseur as I'd bet I only drink about one beer a month so I should not be considered an expert by any stretch of the imagination.
Oh......the beer...........it's Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. The bottle says "Weiss beer with lemonade". It definitely has a lemonade flavor to it.
I found it at Marsh so you can probably find it in about any local grocery store. Give it a try on a hot summer day after working out in the yard. It won't disappoint you.
Having only lived in this house for a year, I'd have to say that Jim may be the friendliest neighbor I've ever had. He regularly mows all the way over to my driveway and from time to time will edge my driveway and sidewalks. In return, I've shoveled the snow off the sidewalk all the way to his driveway.
Anyway, Jim really enjoys kicking back with an adult alcoholic beverage and shooting the breeze. That Saturday, Jim said, "I've found my summer beer" and handed me a bottle. Having never seen the beer and being really hot, I took a quick look at the label and unscrewed the cap. Maybe it was the fact that the beer was incredibly cold or that I was really hot but I'd have to say that this may have been the best tasting "summer beer" I've ever had.
Now let me stop and say that I'm definitely no beer connoisseur as I'd bet I only drink about one beer a month so I should not be considered an expert by any stretch of the imagination.
Oh......the beer...........it's Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. The bottle says "Weiss beer with lemonade". It definitely has a lemonade flavor to it.
I found it at Marsh so you can probably find it in about any local grocery store. Give it a try on a hot summer day after working out in the yard. It won't disappoint you.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Summer Camp
My wife and I dropped off our 12-year old daughter, Libby, at summer camp this past Sunday. She's going to Flat Rock YMCA camp between Shelbyville and Greensburg, Indiana. For those interested, information can be found at http://www.flatrockymca.org/. My two older boys both went to the same camp for two years each and loved it. My youngest son, Brad, wanted to go back again this year but just couldn't fit it in his schedule.
Libby didn't really want to go to camp but Karen and I figured that a week at summer camp is good for any 12-year old girl and maybe even better for the parents of a 12-year old girl. She didn't fight us too much but was a little nervous since she was not going with a friend so she'd be there all by her lonesome. Since Brad was not doing anything that afternoon anyway, he decided to go along to drop her off. Karen and I "coached" him about how he had to talk up the camp on the ride down there. Thankfully, he followed the script and by the time we got there, Libby was feeling pretty comfortable about being there for the week.
Because there's no electronic communication available to the campers, Libby and I sat down before she left and tried to come up with a way that we'd know she was okay. From experience with the boys, I knew that on the second day, the camp took pictures of each of the cabin occupants for that week and posted them on their website. Libby and I decided that if she was having fun, she'd give us the "peace" sign in the picture.
My wife and I waited nervously for the picture to be posted. For some reason, it was much harder for us to leave her at camp by herself than it had been with the boys. I think it was because she wasn't really sure she was going to have a good time.
Finally, I saw that the pictures had been posted. Here it is: http://www.flatrockymca.org/blogimages/bigWyandot2.jpg
Look for the hidden peace sign!
Peace out.
Libby didn't really want to go to camp but Karen and I figured that a week at summer camp is good for any 12-year old girl and maybe even better for the parents of a 12-year old girl. She didn't fight us too much but was a little nervous since she was not going with a friend so she'd be there all by her lonesome. Since Brad was not doing anything that afternoon anyway, he decided to go along to drop her off. Karen and I "coached" him about how he had to talk up the camp on the ride down there. Thankfully, he followed the script and by the time we got there, Libby was feeling pretty comfortable about being there for the week.
Because there's no electronic communication available to the campers, Libby and I sat down before she left and tried to come up with a way that we'd know she was okay. From experience with the boys, I knew that on the second day, the camp took pictures of each of the cabin occupants for that week and posted them on their website. Libby and I decided that if she was having fun, she'd give us the "peace" sign in the picture.
My wife and I waited nervously for the picture to be posted. For some reason, it was much harder for us to leave her at camp by herself than it had been with the boys. I think it was because she wasn't really sure she was going to have a good time.
Finally, I saw that the pictures had been posted. Here it is: http://www.flatrockymca.org/blogimages/bigWyandot2.jpg
Look for the hidden peace sign!
Peace out.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Financial sense (or is it cents?)
As most of you have figured out by now, I'm what you probably call "old fashioned." Other words to describe me would probably be frugal or thrifty.
Sometimes I listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio. For those of you unfamiliar with Dave, he gives financial advice to people who need some major help. I think part of the reason I listen to it is to make myself feel better about my own personal financial situation.
A typical caller would be something like this: "Hi Dave. I've got a situation I'd like to have some advice on. I've currently got an older car that is worth about $3,000. I owe about $10,000 on it. I drive a lot and need a reliable car so I'm looking at a $50,000 BMW. I don't think I can qualify for a loan for the car because I've got about $25,000 that I owe on four different credit cards and haven't made a payment on them in several months because I only bring home about $1,000 per month. I've been at my job for 30 years and have built up my 401(k) to almost $70,000. I was thinking about cashing in most of my 401(k), paying off my old car and paying cash for the BMW. With what's left over, I can start to pay down the credit cards. What do you think, Dave?"
Dave, to his credit, normally very calmly explains the stupidity of the plan.
I guess I don't get what some people are thinking regarding their finances. When I was growing up, I was taught that if you didn't have the money to buy something, you didn't buy it. It's really not a very hard concept. Why is this so difficult for so many people?
Sometimes I listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio. For those of you unfamiliar with Dave, he gives financial advice to people who need some major help. I think part of the reason I listen to it is to make myself feel better about my own personal financial situation.
A typical caller would be something like this: "Hi Dave. I've got a situation I'd like to have some advice on. I've currently got an older car that is worth about $3,000. I owe about $10,000 on it. I drive a lot and need a reliable car so I'm looking at a $50,000 BMW. I don't think I can qualify for a loan for the car because I've got about $25,000 that I owe on four different credit cards and haven't made a payment on them in several months because I only bring home about $1,000 per month. I've been at my job for 30 years and have built up my 401(k) to almost $70,000. I was thinking about cashing in most of my 401(k), paying off my old car and paying cash for the BMW. With what's left over, I can start to pay down the credit cards. What do you think, Dave?"
Dave, to his credit, normally very calmly explains the stupidity of the plan.
I guess I don't get what some people are thinking regarding their finances. When I was growing up, I was taught that if you didn't have the money to buy something, you didn't buy it. It's really not a very hard concept. Why is this so difficult for so many people?
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