Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Back from CA

Well, WE are back and what a great trip. I would have liked one or two more days, but thats ok :D
Flight out was good - went thru Dallas/Fortworth and it was a nice airport.

* On Saturday, we (Gunner and Jen, Eric and Susan, Scott S, and us) went to the Comiccon in San Diego. Shot some pics and had a great time. Scott got some snazy Master Replica Lightsabers at $120 a pop, and I got the Limited Edition Yoda mini lightsaber. WE returned and got ready to move Susan and Eric the next day.
* Sunday: 6am comes quick as Eric and I went to Home depot, got some rental carts and started the moving process. With the small army of Tom, us, Mark and Catherine, Joe and Tony, and a few others that I dont know as well, we were moved by noon and in the pool for 3 flies up at 2pm. Afterwards, TGIF for a dinner and we were done.
* Monday: Disneyland - All day was excellent. Good weather, not alot of lines thanks to the Fast Pass system, and alot of walking. Nicole and I went on almost everything except Small world and ThunderMtn. Key things to remember there
1- By your stuff first thing on Main Street and hold them at the Newsstand by the Exit - its free.
2- Use the Fast Pass system on Space Mtn and Indy jones - saved a ton of time doing it this way.
* Tuesday - Day off; we went food shopping, did some laundry and helped unpack stuff. Lunch at In-n-Out!! Pool was nice in the afternoon and had a good dinner at Wahoos.
* Wednesday - Short day at Laguna Beach. WE got there about 10:30 and parked for 3 hrs for a beach and lunch trip. Saw some dolphins and got some good waves, but the water was a tad on the cold side. Afterwards, we left to visit CArlos and Nicki Molina and stayed with them for the next 2 days.



* Thursday - KNOTTS Berry Farm: Carlos and Nicki and us went for Free (Thanks again, bobby :D) for a day at Knotts. Xcellerator Rocks! This is the one that launches you from 0-80 in like 2 seconds. You fly out of the gate and head 200+ Feet in the air and come back to earth just as fast. Least to say we had alot of fun there.
* Friday - After leaving Carlos's house, we headed back to Lake Forest and after a visit with my dad, the gang went to the OC Fair, including Tom, Susan and Eric, Bobby and Dena (?) and us. Everyone but us won a prize at the Carny games, but did get Nicole something :). At the end of the night we all had fun.
* Saturday - Took it easy in the afternoon; Susan and Nicole went to get thier nails done while Eric and I worked on the Garage. Later we left and hit Walmart for the small gifts for some friends and then took my Father out for a nice dinner at Outback, Including Mark and Catherine, Eric and Susan, Eric's parents, us , Kevin and Tammy, and of course my dad. After Dinner, we all headed to Carlos Youngs place for an excellent game night :D
CIV ! ! !! People who showed up included Carlos M, Eric and Susan, Bobby, Stu B and his new wife, Mark and Catherine, Ryan Upton, and Kevin and Tammy. I heard that Dave O got lost and I knew Toms Girlfriend was sick. Oh well - another time.. Overall, we left at 2am and had a great time.
* Sunday - 5am comes quicker and when we left SNA we were tired and slept most of the trip back to OHare. Let me tell you OHare SUCKS!! I hate that airport and will avoid it at all costs if possible. WE landed early but being its PHL which is usually slow, we didnt pull up to the gate till 20 monutes later. Then we had a 'incident' with Nicoles parent there and things were rapidly coming downhill. Tigger was his usual when we got home, and we unpacked frustraited and tired, but went to bed shortly there after.

Being Tuesday means back to work for me and Nicole, so here we are :) I will have some pics and what not on the next update later this week...

S

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Vacation time

Hey gang...

Well, its off to my homeland, smoggy SoCal. The OC crew is still around and we are makin plans like old times.. OC Fair, Comic-con, Game night (Hark, by thy words... Game night??), Crappy JRs, In-n-out Urge, and yes Waves BIGGER than 1.5 feet at Newport. Nicole still isnt convinced about the last part, so I'm hoping for a Tsunami to blow thru and give some good 3-6 footers next week.... ok maybe not a Tsunami...but I WANT WAVES DAMM IT....

WOW UPDATE: Made my 300 make in Tribal leatherworking, got the 'never found' HIDE OF THE WILD pattern thanks to the Dire Maul N run we did 3 days ago. Nicole hit lvl 27 and I hit 25 with my Warrior last night. Funny how she tells me not to play and then logs in... oh well, women are NEVER wrong.. right?? wrong..no wait... :P

BF2 UPDATE: Got the game, played on some ranked servers, but its a pick-up game for me. There are those 'l22t' clans online, but no thanks.. Just give me a AH-2 and let me blow shit up from above... Got a few badges and a bronze star, but thats about it for now. Eventually I will get other things, but im not worried about it.
Here is my stats:
http://bf2stats.ausgamers.com/
search: Striker511 (Note - its down now, so I will have a link later.

4th weekend was good - The NJ Shore hasnt changed since 1842 - same carny games, same boardwalk fries and same overpriced parking ($15 for 9-4pm, $20 for after 5pm). My mom is gonna hit Ocean city (?) this September, so we are gonna make a trip to see what its like, but my guess is - the same. Had some good fireworks at Dave Brussens place and the BBQ was excellent. Its good to have $$ in your pocket..but I wouldnt know what that is like. :P His 2 story mansion is coming along nicely - siding is up, there is actual grass in the acre of land around the house (so it seems..) and the interior is almost done. It will be a very nice home for him and Ally...

Lastely, My Joe counterpart #2 made a blog site:
http://www.nstiw.blogspot.com/

Check it out

Well I'm out for a week, but should have some good pics and stories when we return from SoCal.
Striker