It is hot and humid today. The temp is going to be in the 90's but the "feel like" temp is going to be in the 100's. It is a good day to stay inside and enjoy the air conditioning.
Drew had his last baseball game last night and it ended as we anticipated. I think they lost 18-0. Urbandale was the best team in the tournament and had no trouble at all beating the hell out of our team.
Drew went to a friends house prior to the game and hurt his foot jumping on a tramoline He was limping during the game and when he had to pitch he only lasted about a inning and 2 batters before he just couldn't hit the target anymore.
The seasons are finally over and I get my evenings back. It is going to be a bit odd to not have to go to a game or anything. It seems like the only days we have had off were Tuesday and those were sometimes taken as well. It will be good to not have to rush to games for awhile. It is also good that I will be able to save a bunch of money of fuel costs. Driving to games everday is a bit expensive.
There are no plans for the weekend. I cut the grass the other night so I don't have to worry about that. Jess cleaned the house so it is in pretty good shape. Heck, I might be able to spend the weekend on the couch watching reality television.
I think Jess is planning on taking Drew to the pool today. It is going to be very hot so it should be a nice day to be out there. I need to make sure they have plenty of sun screen and drink plenty of fluids.
It is Friday and I really don't have much to talk about today. I am looking forward to the weekend but will be working half days at least, Saturday and Sunday.
Have a good weekend.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Flight 4041
It is really muggy outside today. I think it is going to be hot and humid today and very hot and humid tomorrow.
Last night was a night at home. The downside was, I had to mow the lawn and cook dinner. The kids hung outside with me while I did the lawn and they helped pickup stuff in the yard. When I got done, I made hamburger gravy on mashers. It turned out really good.
Tonight Drew has his last game of the year. They play Urbandale here at home tonight. I am guessing it will be ugly. The kids are so disgusted with the coach that it wouldn't suprise me if some of the kids just don't show up. Drew will be there to finish it out.
The school has a free breaksfast and lunch program during the summer. Anyone 18 years of age and below can get a free breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday. It is a really good thing. The kids eat if unless it is a day that they have stuff they don't like. The good thing is that even if the main course is bad, they can have as mush fruit and vegetables as they want. I wish they had this program all year round. It only benefits the kids and it can't be taken advantage of. It is a good thing. They even put it on paper plates so you can take it to go.
Ok we are getting to the end of the California trip journal. Here is the last day.....or is it?
Day 7
So we get up early and get packed up to head to the airport. I was a little nervous about turning in the rental car. I didn't know if it would be a hassle or where it was even located. Turns out, it was a piece of cake. We left the hotel, found the rental car return spot, returned the car and were on our way to the terminal.
Our flight was on a small, small, small plane. It was one of those planes they don't even have a ramp for. You actually go outside, walk out on the tarmac and climb a latter to the plane. Ahhh, the smell of jet fuel. By the way, jet fuel fumes leaves a metalic taste in my mouth. I was chewing gum like there was no tomorrow.
We take the sardine express to to Salt Lake City, Utah. From there we were headed to Minneapolis and then to Des Moines.
We had an hour and a half layover in Salt Lake and a two hour layover in Minneapolis.
So we are waiting for our flight to board and we see the sign turn to RED with the word "DELAYED", under our flight number. What the hell? I check with the counter lady and she says the plane coming in is delayed and it should be about an hour but they couldn't be sure. Ok, so we eat lunch and watch the sign. Finally, the plan arrives and they take our boarding passes and send us to the plane.
Half way to the plane, one again we are walking on the tarmac, they stop us and send us back to the terminal. What the hell?
When we get back, they tell us the stewardess on the plane that came in is sick and they need to wait until her replacement comes before we can board. For christ's sake.
We wait and wait and finally they start to board us again. On the plane we sit and they back the plane out of the gate. We suddenly stop and sit for 10 or so minutes and then back into the gate we go. Over the speaker, we hear the pilot say, "Your not going to believe this but we have a mechanical problem". You have got to be kidding me.
So they fix the plane and we get on our way. At this point I am a bit nervous about what else could go wrong on this doomed flight. I could just see the Lifetime movie about us. Did I mention that the gate we left from was 13!
So we are 3 HOURS LATE when we get to Minneapolis. We have missed our connecting flight but there is another flight to Des Moines at 10:30 pm. When the doors open from our flight, people are running, I mean RUNNING out to try to make arrangements for their connections. Everyone had missed their connections and we all felt like we were screwed. The mad dash to the counters began.
I ran to the other end of the airport, where the other flight was schedule to leave from, and it was a long, long, long way. When I arrive, out of breath and covered with sweat. They tell me the flight is overbooked and all but one person has already checked it. They said I needed to go back to the place I started and see if that airline, Delta, would put us up for the night. OMG.
So back we go. When we get back to the Delta gates, it is all dark and everything is closed up for the night. At this point we are screwed. The possiblity of sleeping in the damn terminal was freaking me out. We finally see a woman appear. She came out of a door and was on her walkie talkie. I asked her if she was from Delta, she said yes and we told her our saga. She arranged for us to be put up in a Days Inn.
We had to find a shuttle to take us there, which was an adventure in itself. We finally get to the hotel around 11:00 pm. I have no, contact solution, no deoderant, no change of clothes, no toothbrush but at least I had a bed to sleep in.
We took the shuttle back to the airport in the morning and got on our flight. We got back home around 1:00 that afternoon. Our luggage made it the day before and they had it behind the counter for us.
It was indeed an adventure.
More tomorrow.
Last night was a night at home. The downside was, I had to mow the lawn and cook dinner. The kids hung outside with me while I did the lawn and they helped pickup stuff in the yard. When I got done, I made hamburger gravy on mashers. It turned out really good.
Tonight Drew has his last game of the year. They play Urbandale here at home tonight. I am guessing it will be ugly. The kids are so disgusted with the coach that it wouldn't suprise me if some of the kids just don't show up. Drew will be there to finish it out.
The school has a free breaksfast and lunch program during the summer. Anyone 18 years of age and below can get a free breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday. It is a really good thing. The kids eat if unless it is a day that they have stuff they don't like. The good thing is that even if the main course is bad, they can have as mush fruit and vegetables as they want. I wish they had this program all year round. It only benefits the kids and it can't be taken advantage of. It is a good thing. They even put it on paper plates so you can take it to go.
Ok we are getting to the end of the California trip journal. Here is the last day.....or is it?
Day 7
So we get up early and get packed up to head to the airport. I was a little nervous about turning in the rental car. I didn't know if it would be a hassle or where it was even located. Turns out, it was a piece of cake. We left the hotel, found the rental car return spot, returned the car and were on our way to the terminal.
Our flight was on a small, small, small plane. It was one of those planes they don't even have a ramp for. You actually go outside, walk out on the tarmac and climb a latter to the plane. Ahhh, the smell of jet fuel. By the way, jet fuel fumes leaves a metalic taste in my mouth. I was chewing gum like there was no tomorrow.
We take the sardine express to to Salt Lake City, Utah. From there we were headed to Minneapolis and then to Des Moines.
We had an hour and a half layover in Salt Lake and a two hour layover in Minneapolis.
So we are waiting for our flight to board and we see the sign turn to RED with the word "DELAYED", under our flight number. What the hell? I check with the counter lady and she says the plane coming in is delayed and it should be about an hour but they couldn't be sure. Ok, so we eat lunch and watch the sign. Finally, the plan arrives and they take our boarding passes and send us to the plane.
Half way to the plane, one again we are walking on the tarmac, they stop us and send us back to the terminal. What the hell?
When we get back, they tell us the stewardess on the plane that came in is sick and they need to wait until her replacement comes before we can board. For christ's sake.
We wait and wait and finally they start to board us again. On the plane we sit and they back the plane out of the gate. We suddenly stop and sit for 10 or so minutes and then back into the gate we go. Over the speaker, we hear the pilot say, "Your not going to believe this but we have a mechanical problem". You have got to be kidding me.
So they fix the plane and we get on our way. At this point I am a bit nervous about what else could go wrong on this doomed flight. I could just see the Lifetime movie about us. Did I mention that the gate we left from was 13!
So we are 3 HOURS LATE when we get to Minneapolis. We have missed our connecting flight but there is another flight to Des Moines at 10:30 pm. When the doors open from our flight, people are running, I mean RUNNING out to try to make arrangements for their connections. Everyone had missed their connections and we all felt like we were screwed. The mad dash to the counters began.
I ran to the other end of the airport, where the other flight was schedule to leave from, and it was a long, long, long way. When I arrive, out of breath and covered with sweat. They tell me the flight is overbooked and all but one person has already checked it. They said I needed to go back to the place I started and see if that airline, Delta, would put us up for the night. OMG.
So back we go. When we get back to the Delta gates, it is all dark and everything is closed up for the night. At this point we are screwed. The possiblity of sleeping in the damn terminal was freaking me out. We finally see a woman appear. She came out of a door and was on her walkie talkie. I asked her if she was from Delta, she said yes and we told her our saga. She arranged for us to be put up in a Days Inn.
We had to find a shuttle to take us there, which was an adventure in itself. We finally get to the hotel around 11:00 pm. I have no, contact solution, no deoderant, no change of clothes, no toothbrush but at least I had a bed to sleep in.
We took the shuttle back to the airport in the morning and got on our flight. We got back home around 1:00 that afternoon. Our luggage made it the day before and they had it behind the counter for us.
It was indeed an adventure.
More tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Pizza by the slice and a fish taco
The weather is going to be very nice today. Tomorrow back to the misery of the humidity.
Last night Drew had a game. They lost BIG. Not even sure what the score was but it was ugly. Drew did alright. He played third and didn't have any errors but there wasn't much activity his direction. He struck out when he was up to bat but fouled off a bunch of balls so he at least battled.
There is nothing on the agenda for tonight and that is a good thing. I need to mow the lawn and fix our basketball hoop but we really don't have plans.
Jess went to the game with me last night and we sat along the third base line, where Drew was playing and watched the game. It was nice. It had been awhile since we were just out somewhere talking. I enjoyed hanging out with Jess more than the game itself.
Drew has to mow Nancy's lawn this morning and then I think Jess plans on taking him out to the pool this afternoon.
Continuing on with the California trip day 6.
The Emerald or Crystal Cove spot we stopped at was very cool. the beach was small but it was a rocky cove so there were big rocks out in the water and when the waves came in, they splashed up over them. The water wasn't very deep so we could walk down the coast a bit. The scenery was amazing. The only problem was there was this HUGE hill we had to walk down and back up to get to the beach. When I say a big hill, I mean a BIG hill. I have some video of this that I hope I can post so you can see it.
From there we went to Laguna beach. That is kind of a ritzy town with a bunch of art stores and antique shops. The beach was small but setup with a playground and walkways. I thought it was kind of cool but it wouldn't have been the beach that I would have chosen to spend the day at.
While at Laguna Beach we stopped and bought some souveniers and ate at a pizza place that made pizza by the slice. I mean, they didn't make a whole pizza and give you a slice, they actually baked the pizza by the slice. It was decent but not great.
It was getting late and we were wearing down so we headed back to the hotel. The trip back was an adventure of course because we could not find out turnoff. I think they must have changed the name of the road somewhere along the line because we took a road called "Dover" to the PCH and there was absolutely no "Dover" to get off of it.
We tried an alternate route and got lost. I of course ended up on the 5 again. We eventually found our way back to a road we were familiar with and were ok.
We had a bit of drama about dinner. Nancy wanted Taco Bell but I didn't know where one was. She swears there was one just about a half mile from the hotel but I don't think so and had been lost so many times, I didn't want to venture out again. There was a Del Taco across the street but she wasn't having that. Whatever. I had Del Taco. My first experience of a fish taco.
(Nancy - If you are reading this, I hope they open a Del Taco in Des Moines, becuase we are eating there!)
So we get back to our hotel, watch a bit of tv and head off to bed for the night. We have a big travel day ahead, which I never look forward to.
As I layed in bed that night, I thought that in about a day, I would be back home and it would seem like I had never been away. I really had enjoyed my time in California and was kind of sad to know it was coming to an end.
Day 7's adventure tomorrow (You aren't going to want to miss this one....it was quite a day)
Last night Drew had a game. They lost BIG. Not even sure what the score was but it was ugly. Drew did alright. He played third and didn't have any errors but there wasn't much activity his direction. He struck out when he was up to bat but fouled off a bunch of balls so he at least battled.
There is nothing on the agenda for tonight and that is a good thing. I need to mow the lawn and fix our basketball hoop but we really don't have plans.
Jess went to the game with me last night and we sat along the third base line, where Drew was playing and watched the game. It was nice. It had been awhile since we were just out somewhere talking. I enjoyed hanging out with Jess more than the game itself.
Drew has to mow Nancy's lawn this morning and then I think Jess plans on taking him out to the pool this afternoon.
Continuing on with the California trip day 6.
The Emerald or Crystal Cove spot we stopped at was very cool. the beach was small but it was a rocky cove so there were big rocks out in the water and when the waves came in, they splashed up over them. The water wasn't very deep so we could walk down the coast a bit. The scenery was amazing. The only problem was there was this HUGE hill we had to walk down and back up to get to the beach. When I say a big hill, I mean a BIG hill. I have some video of this that I hope I can post so you can see it.
From there we went to Laguna beach. That is kind of a ritzy town with a bunch of art stores and antique shops. The beach was small but setup with a playground and walkways. I thought it was kind of cool but it wouldn't have been the beach that I would have chosen to spend the day at.
While at Laguna Beach we stopped and bought some souveniers and ate at a pizza place that made pizza by the slice. I mean, they didn't make a whole pizza and give you a slice, they actually baked the pizza by the slice. It was decent but not great.
It was getting late and we were wearing down so we headed back to the hotel. The trip back was an adventure of course because we could not find out turnoff. I think they must have changed the name of the road somewhere along the line because we took a road called "Dover" to the PCH and there was absolutely no "Dover" to get off of it.
We tried an alternate route and got lost. I of course ended up on the 5 again. We eventually found our way back to a road we were familiar with and were ok.
We had a bit of drama about dinner. Nancy wanted Taco Bell but I didn't know where one was. She swears there was one just about a half mile from the hotel but I don't think so and had been lost so many times, I didn't want to venture out again. There was a Del Taco across the street but she wasn't having that. Whatever. I had Del Taco. My first experience of a fish taco.
(Nancy - If you are reading this, I hope they open a Del Taco in Des Moines, becuase we are eating there!)
So we get back to our hotel, watch a bit of tv and head off to bed for the night. We have a big travel day ahead, which I never look forward to.
As I layed in bed that night, I thought that in about a day, I would be back home and it would seem like I had never been away. I really had enjoyed my time in California and was kind of sad to know it was coming to an end.
Day 7's adventure tomorrow (You aren't going to want to miss this one....it was quite a day)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
It is the little victories that need to be appreciated
Humidity is still high but I think it is supposed to go away tonight. WHOOO-HOOOO!
We got a bunch of rain last night so Drew's game was postponed. He is ready for the season to be done so it would have been better if they would have had the game. They play again tonight and they would be done but with the postponement, they play Thursday.
I finally got the state report mess off my desk. I have done all I can do and it is no longer my problem. That is a great relief.
Today, I have a bit on manual labor to do. Not a big fan of the manual labor. We have a computer lab to move and a equipment rack to move from a remote location. I think this week will move along pretty fast.
California trip continued:
Day 6
We get up and pack all of our stuff up and say goodbye to Disneyland. It is actually kind of sad. Spending a week at the "happiest place on earth" is nice but having to leave is a bit depressing. So we walk through the landscaped area outside the hotel one last time and head to the car. I had checked out Google maps and plotted a map to our new hotel. This hotel was only a few minutes from the airport so we wouldn't have that worry in front of us on Saturday.
We head out and want to find a place for breakfast so we figure we could just find something along the way to the new hotel. Well we didn't see anything for a long time. Nancy wanted IHOP but it just wasn't in the cards. We ended up eating at a Denny's. It was good. Luck have it, the hotel was right across the street.
We get checked in, they were putting new carpets in the hallways. The hotel was very nice but we had to have rooms pretty far apart.
We put our stuff away and head out to the beaches.
We started at Huntington beach and spent a few hours there. We swam around in the warm Pacific ocean until the waves beat the hell out of us. The sun was warm and the beach was awesome. As we were heading out in search of our next destination, I get a call on my cell phone from the school. They were having trouble with this state report and needed my help ASAP. The superintendent was not happy about the report being late and he wanted it fixed.
Well, it was 4:30 their time so there was very little I could do, besides, I was on the beach, taking a day off so I wasn't really in a position to help even if I wanted to.
Next we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, south. We took a wrong turn (go figure) and ended up in a parking lot. It cost us $10 to get through the gate and we had no idea where we were headed. It ended up being awesome. I think it was called Emerald or Crystal cove. We spent a bit of time there.
I have some picutures and video of some of this I will post later. I will stop here for now. It is a lot to read and a lot to type so I will break this episode up over two days.
Part II of the beach tour tomorrow.
We got a bunch of rain last night so Drew's game was postponed. He is ready for the season to be done so it would have been better if they would have had the game. They play again tonight and they would be done but with the postponement, they play Thursday.
I finally got the state report mess off my desk. I have done all I can do and it is no longer my problem. That is a great relief.
Today, I have a bit on manual labor to do. Not a big fan of the manual labor. We have a computer lab to move and a equipment rack to move from a remote location. I think this week will move along pretty fast.
California trip continued:
Day 6
We get up and pack all of our stuff up and say goodbye to Disneyland. It is actually kind of sad. Spending a week at the "happiest place on earth" is nice but having to leave is a bit depressing. So we walk through the landscaped area outside the hotel one last time and head to the car. I had checked out Google maps and plotted a map to our new hotel. This hotel was only a few minutes from the airport so we wouldn't have that worry in front of us on Saturday.
We head out and want to find a place for breakfast so we figure we could just find something along the way to the new hotel. Well we didn't see anything for a long time. Nancy wanted IHOP but it just wasn't in the cards. We ended up eating at a Denny's. It was good. Luck have it, the hotel was right across the street.
We get checked in, they were putting new carpets in the hallways. The hotel was very nice but we had to have rooms pretty far apart.
We put our stuff away and head out to the beaches.
We started at Huntington beach and spent a few hours there. We swam around in the warm Pacific ocean until the waves beat the hell out of us. The sun was warm and the beach was awesome. As we were heading out in search of our next destination, I get a call on my cell phone from the school. They were having trouble with this state report and needed my help ASAP. The superintendent was not happy about the report being late and he wanted it fixed.
Well, it was 4:30 their time so there was very little I could do, besides, I was on the beach, taking a day off so I wasn't really in a position to help even if I wanted to.
Next we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, south. We took a wrong turn (go figure) and ended up in a parking lot. It cost us $10 to get through the gate and we had no idea where we were headed. It ended up being awesome. I think it was called Emerald or Crystal cove. We spent a bit of time there.
I have some picutures and video of some of this I will post later. I will stop here for now. It is a lot to read and a lot to type so I will break this episode up over two days.
Part II of the beach tour tomorrow.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Humidity is natures way of flipping us the bird!
Well the humidity is back and kickin my ass! More of the same today and most of tomorrow. I think we are supposed to get a break from it by mid-week. I am sitting here sweating just thinking about it.
Update on the weekend activities. Saturday Drew had a all-star game in Grimes. The lost by the ten run rule after 6 innings. It wasn't a good game for anyone but Drew hit the ball well. He got on once and was fielded out twice.
Jess had her regional game Saturday evening. They lost but she had a very good game. She hit and got on base all three times up to bat. The team had only 6 hits on the night and she had three of them.
Sunday we went to Marshalltown for another of Drew's games and they lost 9-4. It was close most of the way through but the had a bad inning and it cost them the game. It was tied 1-1 after 4 innings. It was very hot and humid and sitting out there was not comfortable at all.
Here is a pic of him pitching in the game. I took it with my phone so it isn't the best.
Work is a nightmare right now but I won't go into all of that. Instead, I will continue with the saga of the California trip.
Day 5:
We had class like usual but we were planning on going to the beach and eating dinner there as well so we all hurried back after class to get ready to go.
We hop in the car and head to the beach. We go to Huntinington Beach and find a parking spot. Ok so this spot was just one of the first lots we saw and I just decided to use it.
Out to the beach we go and we walk along the shorline for awhile. We decide to go to a place called Ruby's diner. It is kind of a 50's style place. They have burgers and shakes, etc. It is at the end of this long pier so when you sit and eat you see the ocean around you. It is kind of cool but we didn't get a window seat. Oh well.
It was kind of breezy at the beach and I think Nancy had to wear a sweat shirt. It was a little chilly. So we walk back down the pier and see the sun starting to set. I suggested that we just walk down the beach back toward the car and watch the sunset. Well, I parked the car to the east and the sun was setting in the west so when we walked back, our backs were to the sun. Let the complaining begin.
We did get to see the sunset but it was very hazy on the horizon. They were having big fires up north and I think it caused the sunset to be hard to see as it decended. It was still very nice to watch.
We head back to the hotel and I was mentioning how we made the trip without getting lost or taking a wrong turn. I spoke to soon, I missed the turn to Disney and ended up on the 5. Since I have become familiar with the 5 by this time it only took us about 10 minutes to get back to where we should have gone.
We went to Downtown Disney for awhile and watch the fireworks. It was a pretty nice night. It was also the end of the conference and our last night at Disneyland. In the morning we have to go to a different hotel and we plan on going on a drive down the coast. We have a glass of wine before bed and get ready to start our sea side adventure.
More tomorrow.
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