Off to NYC for five days, via Long Island.
Got my Red Sox shirts and caps packed, of course.
The Big Apple
Travel
Hollywood
When I was in LA last week, we had some down time due to working nights – so we trekked off one morning to see the Chinese Theater and walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A few shots:
Enjoy 🙂
Back to the Twin Cities
After a week in LA and another week at home split between working and pleasure I’m back on a plane to Minneapolis for a two week stint.
Much to come in the weeks ahead – projects to advance, strategies to scheme, and fun to be had. It will be fun to be back.
Pleasure this week consisted of paying a landscape company to clean out the entire property – cart away the compost pile, four years worth of underbrush in the woods behind the house, and the fall remnants as well. Some tough negotiating in the front yard, but I’m quite pleased with the results. Now to plant new grass, fertilize, water, flowers, and wildflowers for the wooded spots. More to come on my next trip back home.
The other side of pleasure was biking over an hour a day. I’ve some strength to regain from last fall – some of the hills and climbs left me winded, but thus is the pitfall of living in the great white north. And it’ll be the same in Minneapolis. I’m gonna need a winter activity. Recommendations?
Tomorrow night in Minneapolis, I’m going to buy a new bike. A road bike this time to complement the Trek 4500 that serves as my mountain bike. What will it be? Another Trek, of course. Probably the 1200 or the 1500, but depends on the deal that they make me. Penn Cycles is the chosen shop – and then it’ll be a 2.6 mile ride back to my hotel. New bike, new helmet (a Giro, I think), new gloves, a cage, a water bottle, spare tube (of course), and some other minor goodies to complete the package. That’ll be my one gift from my annual bonus. The rest goes into the bank and towards paying off student loans and the like.
There’s a guy from New York sitting in front of me wearing a Yankees visor, and to think, I packed away by Red Sox cap into my luggage, so that’s not gonna work well for me to point out who won the World Series last year now is it?
Family Portrait
Here’s a picture from my recently completed vacation to Florida. This is at Ormond Beach, just north of Daytona Beach. And yes, I’m really that burned. The airshow really whooped my tail.
Me on the left in the Boston cap, my mother Nancy in the middle, my father Butch on the right.
Yes, that’s really his name 😉
Family Pets
My parents have two cats – Sadie and Katie – who are around a year old. The dog in the house is Bishop, whom my mother and I picked up at the Vermillion County Humane Society in the fall of 1992. She’s now twelve years old and has two rebuilt knees that she managed to snap in the backyard across the years. She doesn’t get around as well as she used to, but she’s still Bishop 😉
Here’s Katie hanging out in the kitchen:
Bishop spending some time with me down on the floor. A bit grayer than I remember, but still the same old dog:
Despite my best efforts, Sadie refused to pose for any noteworthy photographs.
St. Augustine Florida
My last full day in Florida took us south of Jacksonville down to St. Augustine, where I have spent many days over the years. My parents and I toured the recently renovated Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and some of the surrounding areas. A few pictures:
There will be more posted shortly in the online pictures section – check the menu up above for the link.
Florida Vacation
Left early this morning (3:30am) and climbed aboard two US Airways flights from Boston through Charlotte and on to Jacksonville, Florida to visit my parents. Typing this blog entry from 35,000 feet somewhere over South Carolina.
I’m wearing my Red Sox World Champions T-Shirt and have two others in my bag for my parents. The sidekick got hers last night…
Watched the West Wing on the way down, recorded via EyeTV, it was a good episode, but I’m scared as to what has happened to Leo. He’s one of my favorite characters. I know change is good, but this is a bit ridiculous.
Big party in Boston right now – it will be interesting to see how that turned out for everyone.