Monday, June 28, 2010
What is Wrong With You People?
Look, folks, it's really easy.
The highway / driving surface is for cars.
I am so amazingly sick of driving my vehicle on the street, only to have to slow down or stop for one of you dimwits who is oblivious to the fact that just a few feet to one side or the other is a perfectly good sidewalk!
Really! Get your shuffling ass on the sidewalk! Do I drive on the sidewalk? What makes you think that it is, therefore, perfectly fine for you to waddle your way down the middle of the f'ing street?
And while we're at it--while I'm ranting--let's carry on...
If your ass is 3-axe-handles-wide and you're in the mall or some other public space...either waddle faster or move your cellulite to the side! You have every right to be there, but please have some concern for the rest of us who are trapped behind you, with no way to get around--because you're taking up the space of 4 people! And if you're shuffling along with your entire big-ass family or friends---consider single file rather than taking up all 6 lanes!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
of Lost Cell Phones...
So after losing my cell phone in Vegas, I called Verizon and since the phone was insured, a new one was sent out to me. Hurrah!
While waiting for it to arrive I did some research and found a Droid app called "MobileDefense" which allows you to contact your phone and using the GPS feature, track it down and hopefully recover it. It's in beta at the moment, and free, so I had Garry put it on his phone and I put it on my new one when it showed up.
The next Friday we picked Garry up at work and drove home. He got out to check the mail at the mailbox then got back in the car and we went on up to the house. Once inside he started to stomp around in panic mode. "I've lost my phone," he said, apparently certain that I was going to start screaming at him. He was sure he'd lost it at the loading dock at work where he was waiting on us, so he grabbed his keys and headed out to his car.
"Wait!" I hollered. "Let's use MobileDefense and see if we can locate it first."
"I want to get there before someone picks it up," he insisted and off he went. Russ managed to pass his own phone to Garry so we could contact him if need be.
Meanwhile, I fired up my iPad and logged on to Garry's MobileDefense account and started the tracking process. When the map appeared with the blue dot for the phone's location it was at the end of our driveway. I yelled at Russ, "Stop Garry and go look at the base of the mailbox! It might have fallen off the waist of his sweatpants when he checked the mail."
Russ ran out, but Garry was gone. He looked around the mailbox. Nothing.
I, however, had my eye on the blue dot and it was moving down the street and headed toward the beltway. I picked up my phone and called Russ's cell. Garry answered it.
"Hello?"
"Are you on 140?"
"Yea."
"Are you about to get on the beltway?"
"Yea."
"Dude, MobileDefense says you've got the phone."
"That can't be. It's not on me."
"Maybe this thing is wrong, but it shows the phone as being exactly where you are."
"Oh." Pause...suppressed chuckle. "Oh."
"What?" I asked.
"I found it. It's here. In my bookbag."
Knowing it would likely detach from his sweatpants, he put the phone in his bookbag....then forgot.
He turned around and came home. Phone located. Crisis averted.
So..in it's first shakedown test, MobileDefense worked! It's free now, but when they want to charge for it, we're buying!
While waiting for it to arrive I did some research and found a Droid app called "MobileDefense" which allows you to contact your phone and using the GPS feature, track it down and hopefully recover it. It's in beta at the moment, and free, so I had Garry put it on his phone and I put it on my new one when it showed up.
The next Friday we picked Garry up at work and drove home. He got out to check the mail at the mailbox then got back in the car and we went on up to the house. Once inside he started to stomp around in panic mode. "I've lost my phone," he said, apparently certain that I was going to start screaming at him. He was sure he'd lost it at the loading dock at work where he was waiting on us, so he grabbed his keys and headed out to his car.
"Wait!" I hollered. "Let's use MobileDefense and see if we can locate it first."
"I want to get there before someone picks it up," he insisted and off he went. Russ managed to pass his own phone to Garry so we could contact him if need be.
Meanwhile, I fired up my iPad and logged on to Garry's MobileDefense account and started the tracking process. When the map appeared with the blue dot for the phone's location it was at the end of our driveway. I yelled at Russ, "Stop Garry and go look at the base of the mailbox! It might have fallen off the waist of his sweatpants when he checked the mail."
Russ ran out, but Garry was gone. He looked around the mailbox. Nothing.
I, however, had my eye on the blue dot and it was moving down the street and headed toward the beltway. I picked up my phone and called Russ's cell. Garry answered it.
"Hello?"
"Are you on 140?"
"Yea."
"Are you about to get on the beltway?"
"Yea."
"Dude, MobileDefense says you've got the phone."
"That can't be. It's not on me."
"Maybe this thing is wrong, but it shows the phone as being exactly where you are."
"Oh." Pause...suppressed chuckle. "Oh."
"What?" I asked.
"I found it. It's here. In my bookbag."
Knowing it would likely detach from his sweatpants, he put the phone in his bookbag....then forgot.
He turned around and came home. Phone located. Crisis averted.
So..in it's first shakedown test, MobileDefense worked! It's free now, but when they want to charge for it, we're buying!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Party is Over
(Wednesday, June 9th's entry...posted late)
Well, there's not a lot to say or show on this page. The girls' plane left at 8am and ours at 830am, so we got up, cleaned up, loaded up the van, and drove off.
Due to a mix-up in directions to the airport, we ended up passing the Welcome to Las Vegas sign which said, "Thanks for coming!" so we turned around and got a picture of it from the "Welcome" side.
Damian dropped the gals, Russ, and Garry off at the airport. Damian drove the car back to the rental place and due to the amazing efforts of incredibly slow people (other drivers, rental car agents, tourists who have asses 4-feet wide and decide to stroll leisurely down the middle of the hallway thus slowing everyone behind them and leaving no way to get around, and--of course--TSA) I didn't get back to the airport before the girls were gone.
Then it was time for us boys to board up. It was a direct flight, so Russ slept, Garry played Pokemon, I watched a couple of movies on my iPad.
Then we landed, went to the Maritime to get our cars, drove home, lugged in the baggage, dealt with the mail, and called it a day.
It's over. We're back.
Well, there's not a lot to say or show on this page. The girls' plane left at 8am and ours at 830am, so we got up, cleaned up, loaded up the van, and drove off.
Due to a mix-up in directions to the airport, we ended up passing the Welcome to Las Vegas sign which said, "Thanks for coming!" so we turned around and got a picture of it from the "Welcome" side.
Damian dropped the gals, Russ, and Garry off at the airport. Damian drove the car back to the rental place and due to the amazing efforts of incredibly slow people (other drivers, rental car agents, tourists who have asses 4-feet wide and decide to stroll leisurely down the middle of the hallway thus slowing everyone behind them and leaving no way to get around, and--of course--TSA) I didn't get back to the airport before the girls were gone.
Then it was time for us boys to board up. It was a direct flight, so Russ slept, Garry played Pokemon, I watched a couple of movies on my iPad.
Then we landed, went to the Maritime to get our cars, drove home, lugged in the baggage, dealt with the mail, and called it a day.
It's over. We're back.
Final Full Day
(Tuesday, June 8th entry...posted late)
Today we stayed in town and visited some of the casinos that the girls wanted to see. Plus we had two shows to catch. First stop was Ceasar's Palace. We wandered around...
Saw a couple of the animated shows.
Then it was on to walk through the Bellagio where we gawked on the decorations above and around.
On our way across the street to Harrahs' we managed to cath the Bellagio fountain show...
After Mac King we had lunch, then headed up to Treasure Island for the Siren's show, then Cirque du Soliel and Mystere.
We got a great location for the show...
But sadly, the 7pm show was cancelled due to high winds (they must have gotten all the way up to 2mph). So we left the docks and headed to our 730pm show of Mystere.
We got there just as the 7pm show started! Yup...we had the wrong time in our heads and had missed the first couple of minutes. Thank goodness for those 2mph winds.
Mystere was great and highly recommended.
And that was that. Tomorrow we have to depart, so the remainder of the night was spent packing, drinking up all the remaining alcohol, hanging out in the hottub.
Today we stayed in town and visited some of the casinos that the girls wanted to see. Plus we had two shows to catch. First stop was Ceasar's Palace. We wandered around...
Saw a couple of the animated shows.
Then it was on to walk through the Bellagio where we gawked on the decorations above and around.
On our way across the street to Harrahs' we managed to cath the Bellagio fountain show...
BellagioFountains from Damian Hart on Vimeo.
After Mac King we had lunch, then headed up to Treasure Island for the Siren's show, then Cirque du Soliel and Mystere.
We got a great location for the show...
But sadly, the 7pm show was cancelled due to high winds (they must have gotten all the way up to 2mph). So we left the docks and headed to our 730pm show of Mystere.
We got there just as the 7pm show started! Yup...we had the wrong time in our heads and had missed the first couple of minutes. Thank goodness for those 2mph winds.
Mystere was great and highly recommended.
And that was that. Tomorrow we have to depart, so the remainder of the night was spent packing, drinking up all the remaining alcohol, hanging out in the hottub.
Monday in the Desert
(Monday, June 7th's entry...posted late)
Today was one of the "points" of making this whole trip. Some years ago, Jody had come to...somewhere out here...and had gone into the desert, found a place that sold Indian-made turquoise jewelry, found a few pieces she liked...but didn't buy any. Years later, she regretted her decision. So on this trip, she hoped to make a similar journey, but this time...find something she liked and buy it.
So we packed into the van and headed into the desert on a Russell trip.
We left via the west side of Vegas, drove north, then turned and headed into the Valley of Fire state park.
This is a very nice park filled with, well.....desert. Miles and miles of desert. The girls were OK with it, but a little bored after the first, oh, 750 miles of sand, sand, sand, and more sand. Russ was captivated. Damian less so. Garry, even less so...
Our first stop in the park was the "beehives," clumps of...get ready for it...rock....that looked like beehives. We got out to snap a few pics.
Russ snapped a few hundred pics. Every clump, from every conceivable angle. He stood on tippy-toe, he crouched down, he...
...Hey! Garry! Get off the scenery!
Back in the car, our next stop was the petrified logs.
<snark on> Ooooo...fascinating...<snark off>
Then we found the visitor's center, conveniently located amid a bunch more rocks and...
Hey...Maggie! Get off the scenery!
More driving, more stops. Eventually we arrived at "Elephant Rock." A rock formation that looks exactly like an elephant.
...um yea. I don't see it either.
Ok...so I'm grousing a bit. But the girls liked seeing the desert and Russ adored it, so it wasn't all bad. They enjoyed it and that's what mattered.
We then left the park and headed toward Hoover Dam. It was only 46 miles away...but seemed to be about 746 due to being stuck behind a boat (in the desert?) with no driver....
Eventually we arrived at the dam.
The outside air was a pleasant temperature...
(BTW, yes, the "dam" jokes were prolific at this location...) We had our "dam" lunch at a cute little "dam" cafe. Russ and the girls went on the "dam" tour, while Garry and I took a "dam" nap in the "dam" van in the "dam" parking lot.
Eventually they came back to the van and we left the "dam" dam and headed back to Vegas. We drove through a little town and saw a sign for "Authentic Indian Jewelry" so pulled in. The girls shopped and Jody found a very nice piece that she loved and bought. The smile was worth the trip. Maggie also found a treasure, and Garry picked up a couple of items for his folks.
Finally we returned to Vegas down the east side, which was only 21 miles. We went to Harrah's where we had tickets for a dinner buffet and a show.
We went to the buffet and everyone ate heartily. Then, with a couple of hours before the show we decided to walk across the street to the Venetian.
As we crossed the outside canals, we passed the entrance to Madam's Trousseau's (spelling?) Wax Museum. Outside, they had statues of Whoopie Goldberg and Harrison Ford and....
Hey! Jody! Get off the scenery!
We walked through the Venetian and the girls were entranced with the idea of canals--complete with gondola ride--on the third floor oof a building!
Then on the way back to Harrah's for show, a giggle-fest occurred...
Jody had gone to the bathroom and on the way out saw a bunch of cutsey-girls all checking out their heinies in the mirrors. One after the other, they all checked. So Jody did too...
...then she asked what they were looking for...
She found out they were checking for panty-lines. She came out and told us. "I've never checked out my behind before, but everyone else was looking at their's so I figured, I'd better do it too!" Hilarity ensued.
We looked at our clocks and found it time for the Mirage volcano to erupt, so we camped out at the balcony and watched.
Even though it's a fountain it does a pretty good job of simulating a volcano and lava...
It was a good show. The girls had a good time. Afterward, they posed with Elvis. He asked where they were from and they told him "West Plains, MO". They were rather startled when he said, "Oh yea, I know that place. I'm from Lee's Summit, MO!
We retreated to the room. The girls hit the hottub to soak their legs.
The night was done.
Today was one of the "points" of making this whole trip. Some years ago, Jody had come to...somewhere out here...and had gone into the desert, found a place that sold Indian-made turquoise jewelry, found a few pieces she liked...but didn't buy any. Years later, she regretted her decision. So on this trip, she hoped to make a similar journey, but this time...find something she liked and buy it.
So we packed into the van and headed into the desert on a Russell trip.
We left via the west side of Vegas, drove north, then turned and headed into the Valley of Fire state park.
This is a very nice park filled with, well.....desert. Miles and miles of desert. The girls were OK with it, but a little bored after the first, oh, 750 miles of sand, sand, sand, and more sand. Russ was captivated. Damian less so. Garry, even less so...
Our first stop in the park was the "beehives," clumps of...get ready for it...rock....that looked like beehives. We got out to snap a few pics.
Russ snapped a few hundred pics. Every clump, from every conceivable angle. He stood on tippy-toe, he crouched down, he...
...Hey! Garry! Get off the scenery!
Back in the car, our next stop was the petrified logs.
<snark on> Ooooo...fascinating...<snark off>
Then we found the visitor's center, conveniently located amid a bunch more rocks and...
Hey...Maggie! Get off the scenery!
More driving, more stops. Eventually we arrived at "Elephant Rock." A rock formation that looks exactly like an elephant.
...um yea. I don't see it either.
Ok...so I'm grousing a bit. But the girls liked seeing the desert and Russ adored it, so it wasn't all bad. They enjoyed it and that's what mattered.
We then left the park and headed toward Hoover Dam. It was only 46 miles away...but seemed to be about 746 due to being stuck behind a boat (in the desert?) with no driver....
Eventually we arrived at the dam.
The outside air was a pleasant temperature...
(BTW, yes, the "dam" jokes were prolific at this location...) We had our "dam" lunch at a cute little "dam" cafe. Russ and the girls went on the "dam" tour, while Garry and I took a "dam" nap in the "dam" van in the "dam" parking lot.
Eventually they came back to the van and we left the "dam" dam and headed back to Vegas. We drove through a little town and saw a sign for "Authentic Indian Jewelry" so pulled in. The girls shopped and Jody found a very nice piece that she loved and bought. The smile was worth the trip. Maggie also found a treasure, and Garry picked up a couple of items for his folks.
Finally we returned to Vegas down the east side, which was only 21 miles. We went to Harrah's where we had tickets for a dinner buffet and a show.
We went to the buffet and everyone ate heartily. Then, with a couple of hours before the show we decided to walk across the street to the Venetian.
As we crossed the outside canals, we passed the entrance to Madam's Trousseau's (spelling?) Wax Museum. Outside, they had statues of Whoopie Goldberg and Harrison Ford and....
Hey! Jody! Get off the scenery!
We walked through the Venetian and the girls were entranced with the idea of canals--complete with gondola ride--on the third floor oof a building!
Then on the way back to Harrah's for show, a giggle-fest occurred...
Jody had gone to the bathroom and on the way out saw a bunch of cutsey-girls all checking out their heinies in the mirrors. One after the other, they all checked. So Jody did too...
...then she asked what they were looking for...
She found out they were checking for panty-lines. She came out and told us. "I've never checked out my behind before, but everyone else was looking at their's so I figured, I'd better do it too!" Hilarity ensued.
We looked at our clocks and found it time for the Mirage volcano to erupt, so we camped out at the balcony and watched.
Even though it's a fountain it does a pretty good job of simulating a volcano and lava...
Mirage Volcano from Damian Hart on Vimeo.
It was a good show. The girls had a good time. Afterward, they posed with Elvis. He asked where they were from and they told him "West Plains, MO". They were rather startled when he said, "Oh yea, I know that place. I'm from Lee's Summit, MO!
We retreated to the room. The girls hit the hottub to soak their legs.
The night was done.
California to Vegas
(Sunday, June 6th's entry...posted late)
Today is our last day in California. We woke up and let the girls have their coffee and smoke time. Meanwhile, we boys sequestered ourselves in a corner and hashed out our complaints with yesterday's contest-of-wills. In the end all was settled and we made up. (Awww!)
Then it we carted out all our luggage and started our last few adventures.
The girls had mentioned that they wanted to ride a cable-car as part of the SF experience, so we drove down to Market Street to put them on a car. Since Gay Pride is about to take off, there were rainbow flags everywhere. Garry, also known as "Mr. Advertise Much?", had to pose beneath one.
Russ and I jumped in the van, drove to Fisherman's Wharf to pick them up. We parked and passed a camera shop. I wanted to buy more batteries for my new camera (which had a different size battery than the old one) so dashed in to get them. And there I found....the waterproof version of the camera I wanted! So I bought it, then ran to another nearby 'Shack and returned the previously purchased one. (Whew!)
We gathered up Garry and the girls and headed out. Russ's plan was to cross the Golden Gate bridge at noon and get pictures after the fog burned off.
Wouldn't you know it....the fog stayed around today...
We drove up north anyway, rounded the northern end of the bay and headed back down the east side (?) of the bay back toward SF. We stopped at a park for a view of the SF skyline and lunch.
Leftover sushi! Chips, muffins, and other bits we had to either eat or chuck. We ate.
Then off to Vegas! We left the 72-degree SF fog and landed in 109-degree Vegas heat! Arg! (Garry loved it.)
The girls immediately tried their luck in the Vegas airport baggage-claim area.
We then headed out to dinner. We stopped at Cadillac Ranch for a "you mean we get real food?" dinner.
Notice that on the table, propping up Damian's iPad is his Droid cell-phone...
...that's the last time we'll see that!
We drove into the city, and up the strip so the girls could see all the lights. Next we stopped at CVS for some basic supplies (Cosmo fixin's, cheap souvenirs, etc).
Finally we pulled into the resort, claimed our room, and unpacked.
That's when Damian discovered a lack of cell phone. I checked the bags...then the hallway and elevator...the lobby...the bellmen...the parking lot...the van... Nope.
We dashed back to CVS...Nope.
Back to Cadillac Ranch...Nope.
So we gave up, returned to the room, and collapsed. Tomorrow we begin our Vegas adventure!
----
(For the remainder of the trip we checked each possible phone-loss location when we passed it. We called the phone hoping someone would answer. Nope...no phone.
Some ass-wipe picked it up and kept it. Well...if they manage to get in to it (it's got a nifty lock sequence) I hope their eyes burned out from all the gay porn images I had on it. Then I called Verizon, reported the phone as lost. They deactivated it, then reached through the ether and "broke" it so the ass-wipe can't use it ever even if they do manage to unlock it. The insurance company was called and a new one sent to the house in Pikesville.
Meanwhile, it should be mentioned that Russ had lost his cellphone a few weeks earlier and I had given him a thorough berating for not taking better care of things. So of course I'd lose mine. Although the circumstances are a bit different, it still doesn't help much. And it should be noted that after finding all the things in the earlier parts of the trip---and returning them safely---that I'd be due for similar treatment. Nope. Karma means "dump on Damian".)
Today is our last day in California. We woke up and let the girls have their coffee and smoke time. Meanwhile, we boys sequestered ourselves in a corner and hashed out our complaints with yesterday's contest-of-wills. In the end all was settled and we made up. (Awww!)
Then it we carted out all our luggage and started our last few adventures.
The girls had mentioned that they wanted to ride a cable-car as part of the SF experience, so we drove down to Market Street to put them on a car. Since Gay Pride is about to take off, there were rainbow flags everywhere. Garry, also known as "Mr. Advertise Much?", had to pose beneath one.
While they waited in line for the car, Damian dived into RadioShack. My favorite camera, the waterproof one that took all those great underwater shots and movies (not just on this trip, but on the ones for the last 5 years or so) started going insane. The preview window defaulted to upside-down making it near impossible to frame a shot. The camera still works, but it's wacky to work with. But that particular brand is--for some reason--carried in RadioShack and no where else. And there was a 'Shack one block from the cable car. I ran in, they didn't have a waterproof one, but an updated version of the camera in non-waterproof. I bought it, ran back, and the girls (and Garry as escort) were gone on their adventure.
We gathered up Garry and the girls and headed out. Russ's plan was to cross the Golden Gate bridge at noon and get pictures after the fog burned off.
Wouldn't you know it....the fog stayed around today...
We drove up north anyway, rounded the northern end of the bay and headed back down the east side (?) of the bay back toward SF. We stopped at a park for a view of the SF skyline and lunch.
Leftover sushi! Chips, muffins, and other bits we had to either eat or chuck. We ate.
Then off to Vegas! We left the 72-degree SF fog and landed in 109-degree Vegas heat! Arg! (Garry loved it.)
The girls immediately tried their luck in the Vegas airport baggage-claim area.
We then headed out to dinner. We stopped at Cadillac Ranch for a "you mean we get real food?" dinner.
Notice that on the table, propping up Damian's iPad is his Droid cell-phone...
...that's the last time we'll see that!
We drove into the city, and up the strip so the girls could see all the lights. Next we stopped at CVS for some basic supplies (Cosmo fixin's, cheap souvenirs, etc).
Finally we pulled into the resort, claimed our room, and unpacked.
That's when Damian discovered a lack of cell phone. I checked the bags...then the hallway and elevator...the lobby...the bellmen...the parking lot...the van... Nope.
We dashed back to CVS...Nope.
Back to Cadillac Ranch...Nope.
So we gave up, returned to the room, and collapsed. Tomorrow we begin our Vegas adventure!
----
(For the remainder of the trip we checked each possible phone-loss location when we passed it. We called the phone hoping someone would answer. Nope...no phone.
Some ass-wipe picked it up and kept it. Well...if they manage to get in to it (it's got a nifty lock sequence) I hope their eyes burned out from all the gay porn images I had on it. Then I called Verizon, reported the phone as lost. They deactivated it, then reached through the ether and "broke" it so the ass-wipe can't use it ever even if they do manage to unlock it. The insurance company was called and a new one sent to the house in Pikesville.
Meanwhile, it should be mentioned that Russ had lost his cellphone a few weeks earlier and I had given him a thorough berating for not taking better care of things. So of course I'd lose mine. Although the circumstances are a bit different, it still doesn't help much. And it should be noted that after finding all the things in the earlier parts of the trip---and returning them safely---that I'd be due for similar treatment. Nope. Karma means "dump on Damian".)
Saturday in California
(June 5th's entry, posted late!)
They were hestitant...but they tried bits of everything. Overall, I think that--although it didn't become a new must-have favorite--it wasn't "as bad" as they imagined.
The boys sulked (battle of wills still in force...) Maggie slept.
Mom had computer lessons.
And that was the end of that day.
Today the girls wanted to go to the Winchester Mystery House. We boys weren't too keen on the idea, plus we wanted to give the girls their "girls" time to proceed at their own pace (rather than our rather hurried one) and to hunt for ghosts in the mansion. So we drove to San Jose, dropped them off at the house, and we went back to the spa to lay out in the sun at the pool. (Where a great clash-of-wills took place...)
After the girls were done we drove back to the resort, rested a bit, then headed out to the girls' next great adventure: Sushi Dinner! Yup, they're hillbilly meat-and-potatoes gals, so this was going to be almost completely new. We let them order "safe" food, then we ordered the "Love Boat" which has some 30 pieces of various sushi and sashimi. Plum wine...Saki.
They were hestitant...but they tried bits of everything. Overall, I think that--although it didn't become a new must-have favorite--it wasn't "as bad" as they imagined.
We had walked to the restaurant, so we walked back to the resort. Then, knowing the next day was moving day, we packed our bags, then relaxed.
The boys sulked (battle of wills still in force...) Maggie slept.
Mom had computer lessons.
Jody read.
And that was the end of that day.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tuesday in Vegas
I know...I know. So many days without updates. Sorry.
First, we have been busy. We get up early and we go, go, go. Russell is a harsh tour guide.
Secondly, our resort..nice as it may be..has decided they want to charge for in-room Internet access. I will not pay for something that should be free, especially considering what we are already paying to stay here. So except for the laboriously slow AT&T 3G connection (on my iPad), we are unable to connect and certainly unable to upload dozens of pictures.
But we return to Bal'mer on Wed afternoon and I'm taking Thursday and Friday off as well, so will use those days to reach into the past and do retroactive posts.
First, we have been busy. We get up early and we go, go, go. Russell is a harsh tour guide.
Secondly, our resort..nice as it may be..has decided they want to charge for in-room Internet access. I will not pay for something that should be free, especially considering what we are already paying to stay here. So except for the laboriously slow AT&T 3G connection (on my iPad), we are unable to connect and certainly unable to upload dozens of pictures.
But we return to Bal'mer on Wed afternoon and I'm taking Thursday and Friday off as well, so will use those days to reach into the past and do retroactive posts.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday in San Fran
Today was one of the craziest, busiest days imaginable. Knowing how busy San Francisco traffic can be on a workday (today was Friday), he decided to break the San Francisco tour up into a 3 day event. We'd spend a couple of hours fighting traffic to get to our destination, spend a couple of hours there, then another couple fighting traffic to the next locale. Lather, rinse, repeat.
So imagine our collective suprise when instead of two hours in traffic we got to each location in only 20-30 minutes! So after using up the first day's events before noon, he started in on the second day!
Essentially...we did it all in one day! Here's a hint: Russ took 366 pictures with his camera! I'm not even going to attempt a full description of what went on...just the highlights!
We got up early and hit the road just "in front of" morning rush hour. The goal was to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and get pictures...
That picture is sort of a fake as it was really taken on the way back in the afternoon. On the way across in the morning, the fog was so thick that you could barely see the railings to the side of the bridge! I'm not sure the girls believed we were actually on the bridge. When we pointed out "There's Alcatraz!" they merely laughed at us.
Next destination, Muir Woods to see the Redwood forest. Not surprisingly, it rained while we were there.
Then back to town and we stopped to tour the Exploratorium. That's good for a couple of hours... Oh except it's closed at the moment for repairs. So we snapped some shots and moved on...
We went to Fisherman's Wharf, stopped in an Ghirardelli Square for some chocolate. We puttered around and looked at shoppes, etc., then stopped for lunch. Various soups, salads, pizzas, hamburgers. Was good. Then on to...
Coit Tower (which was really on Saturday's schedule, we were now about 12 hours ahead of schedule..)
Some went to the top to look at the city, some stayed below. Some wondered around the tower, some went to the gift shop. Eventually we all reconvened and some had cigarette breaks.
We headed for our next stop, then passed Lombard Street, the "curviest" road. Technically on tomorrow's list, but since we were in the neighborhood, I did a U'y and took 'em down it. They were impressed. Then I stopped and they hopped out to get pictures...
Next...Chinatown!
The girls wanted to shop and since we were about 18 hours ahead of schedule we filled the meter to the max with coins and told them to go wild. They did. Ultimately they each brought back a bit of jewelery, proud that they had haggled the shop-keepers down from price "X" to price "Z"....realizing that even so, the shop owner had still made the best of the deal. =*)
Still, they had fun and that's what matters.
Afterwards we headed back down to the wharf in preparation for the Alcatraz tour. We got on the boat at 630pm. This is what how foggy SF was when we left the dock...
And how foggy Alcatraz was when we arrived there...
Russell took lots of pictures. Rather than try to describe each one, I'll just show some of the highlights.
Here's the girls on the tram up and back down the hillside..
After that..and it was late...we worked our way back to the resort and collapsed into bed. It was a full, full day!
So imagine our collective suprise when instead of two hours in traffic we got to each location in only 20-30 minutes! So after using up the first day's events before noon, he started in on the second day!
Essentially...we did it all in one day! Here's a hint: Russ took 366 pictures with his camera! I'm not even going to attempt a full description of what went on...just the highlights!
We got up early and hit the road just "in front of" morning rush hour. The goal was to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and get pictures...
That picture is sort of a fake as it was really taken on the way back in the afternoon. On the way across in the morning, the fog was so thick that you could barely see the railings to the side of the bridge! I'm not sure the girls believed we were actually on the bridge. When we pointed out "There's Alcatraz!" they merely laughed at us.
Next destination, Muir Woods to see the Redwood forest. Not surprisingly, it rained while we were there.
Then back to town and we stopped to tour the Exploratorium. That's good for a couple of hours... Oh except it's closed at the moment for repairs. So we snapped some shots and moved on...
We went to Fisherman's Wharf, stopped in an Ghirardelli Square for some chocolate. We puttered around and looked at shoppes, etc., then stopped for lunch. Various soups, salads, pizzas, hamburgers. Was good. Then on to...
Coit Tower (which was really on Saturday's schedule, we were now about 12 hours ahead of schedule..)
Some went to the top to look at the city, some stayed below. Some wondered around the tower, some went to the gift shop. Eventually we all reconvened and some had cigarette breaks.
We headed for our next stop, then passed Lombard Street, the "curviest" road. Technically on tomorrow's list, but since we were in the neighborhood, I did a U'y and took 'em down it. They were impressed. Then I stopped and they hopped out to get pictures...
Next...Chinatown!
The girls wanted to shop and since we were about 18 hours ahead of schedule we filled the meter to the max with coins and told them to go wild. They did. Ultimately they each brought back a bit of jewelery, proud that they had haggled the shop-keepers down from price "X" to price "Z"....realizing that even so, the shop owner had still made the best of the deal. =*)
Still, they had fun and that's what matters.
Afterwards we headed back down to the wharf in preparation for the Alcatraz tour. We got on the boat at 630pm. This is what how foggy SF was when we left the dock...
And how foggy Alcatraz was when we arrived there...
Russell took lots of pictures. Rather than try to describe each one, I'll just show some of the highlights.
Here's the girls on the tram up and back down the hillside..
After that..and it was late...we worked our way back to the resort and collapsed into bed. It was a full, full day!
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