Vacation #2- in Bishop

Hello from Bishop, CA! The wife and I are enjoying our vacation together, the first part was to see kids and grand-kids in Farmington, NM. This second part is to see kids and grand-kids in Bishop, CA. Notice a pattern here? *GRIN* Yeah, our kids are important, ALMOST as important as the grand-kids *DOUBLE-GRIN*. My daughters are in the San Diego area, close to where we live, so we benefit from their proximity. Not so with Jacqueline's kids.... the nearest is here in Bishop, 360 miles from San Diego. The only "kid" we're gonna miss is Jacque's son Dave up in the Eureka, CA area. We return to San Diego in a few days, then it's back to work for Jacque, me a couple days later. The vacation thing really grows on a person. Hmmm, how many more years till retirement? Well, in February, I'll be 55, so I *could* retire in 7 years. Probably won't, that early, but it's possible. Anyhow, we're enjoying our time now immensely, Jacque and I blend together so well, spending all my time with her is a wonderful diversion from the usual grind of work. I know, in retirement, we'll be just fine together. Not like some couples, who drive each other crazy. But, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself.... it's still a few years off. Dang! Vacation all year long.... now there's an attractive concept!

A Day Off (sort of...)

The day's mine.... mostly. The tough part was getting up at 0345 (OUCH!) to go do a quick shuttle thing we do for the U.S. Navy. That was over pretty quick, so *NOW* the rest of the day is mine! I've already gone hiking, but am thinking about going again, because I was a bad boy and ate a bunch of chocolate at lunchtime. I'm trying really hard to avoid that, but I just *LOVE* chocolate! I guess most women understand that craving.....
I was hoping Jacqueline would get off work early today, but no joy. Oh well, enough of this, guess I'll go hiking (again).

Just like the military.........

My job is pretty unusual; there's lots of "hurry up and wait" involved. The customer just wants to know we're "there", ready and waiting. I'm doing "outbounds" today, picking up people and their luggage, and transporting them to the airport here in San Diego. For this, I will get an enhanced rate of pay and, hopefully, a grat from the customer. I've been on duty over 5 hours, have so far transported 3 people to the airport! Not that I'm complaining, mind you, too often it goes the other way, and you work like a dog. Today, I'm sitting here, posting to my blog while being paid a nice rate of pay. Hmmm, not so bad! However, the tough part was rolling out of bed at 0330. See, there's always a reason why it's called a "job".....

At least I make *someone* happy.........

In my last post, I expressed some frustration at not knowing whether or not any of my posts were ever even viewed (not that it really matters). Daughter #2 got back to me, said that yes, she reads them... when she's bored at work! I feel so much better now *grin*. Actually, I've heard from a few other people saying they've taken a peek now and then. So, the blog continues!
It's gotten to the time of year when we're really busy at work. This will continue up until right before Thanksgiving, then, if it goes like it has in past years, it'll be generally slow until the 2nd or 3rd week of January. As a result, I have put in for my 2nd half of vacation (1st half was my motorcycle trip in Montana with my brothers), and Jacqueline and I are planning a road trip to New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of East-Central California. Should be about 2500 miles, total. I was looking last night, it's only about 6 weeks till we depart. Boy, am I looking forward to that!
Got my motorcycle tire patched AGAIN, yesterday. In nearly 40 years of riding, I've had perhaps 1 or 2 flats caused by nails or screws. I've now had 2 in the last month! This is getting real old....
Know the difference between a wise man and a fool? They both make mistakes, but the wise man only does it once. Well, today, I'm the fool *grin*. I have a moustache/nose hair/eyebrow trimmer, has a guard for things like eyebrows. Occasionally, it falls off. If I don't notice it's missing, and attempt to trim my eyebrows, oh boy, I'll trim them alright.... right down to the nubs! I did so about a year ago, had to put up with some teasing. Would you believe I just did it AGAIN?! So, once again, I'm in the "fool" category. Oh well..............

You know, I really have become sloppy about posting.... really gotta try to be more consistent. Of course, I have no clue whether any of these postings gets read anyhow. I'm currently in Mission Viejo, up the road from San Diego about 60 miles or so. Have a group of cheerleaders from a local high school aboard for (obviously) a football game. Pretty cut-and-dried run, pretty easy. The only tough part was dealing with the San Diego Friday afternoon traffic, what a hassle. Anyhow, more later....

Whoa, it's been a loooooong time since I posted. Sorry about that *grin*. I caught some flak from my younger daughter about my last post (she was just kidding me), so I thought I'd better update. I'm on vacation (yaaaaaa!!!) and am about to head out on a motorcycle adventure with my brothers. Our destination this time is the state of Montana, and its miles and miles of "big sky". The motorcycle is going into the back of the pickup truck tomorrow, and, early Sunday morning, I head out. REAL early. No A/C in the truck, so getting across the desert in relative comfort means going at night. Hopefully, I'll be able to post from along the road. I'm just glad the worst of the heat wave has passed, we were baking here in CA for about 2 weeks. Over 140 people died, that's how bad it was! I seriously watched utility breakdowns and power outages happening around us with great alarm, and made sure the generator was gassed up and had the oil changed. Never needed it, this time, but how long till we do??? Anyhow, temps have returned to more seasonal normals, and there's a cool Pacific breeze blowing here at my house right now. If I could just figure out how to take that with me to Montana......

Hot day here!

Dang! It's HOT here today! We *were* going to go for a MC ride, and probably still will, but not for long. The A/C will keep running, that's for sure. Since the A/C is only in our bedroom, I guess we'll be spending lots of time in our bedroom *grin*. OK with me..................

Father's Day

Well, Father's Day has come and gone, I was blessed with visits from both of my daughters' families, and Jacque's son Dave showed up as well! He was "in the neighborhood" (as in, Southern California) for a friend's wedding, so stopped on in to visit. We had a great day, but that evening, Jacque didn't feel well, at all. After a session "praying to the porcelain god", she went to bed, I cleaned up the house, and then I went to bed. About 0100, I awoke with nausea. Oh-oh, there's been a "bug" going around at her work, and I was starting to wonder. I ignored the nausea, and went back to sleep, had a long day (including Mexico) on-the-job coming up. That happened yesterday. I thought I wasn't going to make it thru the day a few times, due to "intestinal instability". Accordingly, I asked for today off. Of course, now I feel much better! Figures.... Oh well, it was a relatively slow day at work anyhow.

SPAB Days

So, what does SPAB mean? "School Pupil Activity Bus". In California, tour buses double (as in most other states) as school activity buses... meaning, extracurricular activity buses, field trips, band trips, and, this time of year, grad night buses. There's LOTS of that right now, and, since the bus company I drive for lacks enough SPAB drivers (it requires special certification from the CHP), I do *LOTS* of SPAB runs. Not that I really mind, dealing with kids is usually pretty easy and straightforward. When I call in to see what my assignment is for the next day, I merely ask "What SPAB run am I doing tomorrow?" (grin). It all comes to a screeching halt around mid- to late June, then it's back to the more traditional "mix" of work.

Me and Tom Bodett in Ventura

Hi again.... it's Memorial Day weekend, and you know what that means... I'm out-of-town with my backpacking group. However, in an unusual twist, they're not headed 300 or 400 miles up into the Sierras; just 200 miles up the coast to Ventura, CA. From there, it's onto the boat going to the Channel Islands National Park. A couple days camping on Santa Rosa Island, and then back to Ventura, where I've been waiting for them. Me and Tom Bodett, that is (grin). My "digs" on this trip is the Motel 6 here in Ventura. I can't really go anywhere, the cost of diesel fuel dictates that the bus be run as little as possible, so here I sit, except for long walks. Fortunately, I have this laptop to help pass the hours. I did go to Blockbuster yesterday and rented a couple movies. Another great use for the laptop! I spot today at 1400 to pick up my tired passengers, and then join the insanity on the freeways. Wish me luck!

Forgot about posting :-(

Geez, it's really been a long time, like, a month! It's been busy at work, but that doesn't really explain why I haven't posted. I basically *forgot* about it for a while! In the meantime, since that Yosemite trip I last blogged about, I did a 5-day Palm Springs trip, and am currently doing a 2-day military trip to Fort Irwin, the huge Army reservation where desert tactics are practiced and perfected, with hummvees, M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. They say that the decisive desert battles of the first Iraq war were the direct result of both superior equipment and superior training. The training part was largely due to Fort irwin's facilities and similar terrain to a lot of Arab lands.
I'll try not to forget about my blog again *grin*

A Great Trip

Lenny (fellow driver) & I did a major hike today... Yosemite Falls. What a butt-kicker! Goes from 4000' to 6750 or so in 3.4 miles. either of us made it to the top, me because I ran out of water (DUMB), Lenny because he's not (yet) in physical condition to do so. Nonetheless, I made it about 80% of the way to the top, Lenny made it to a point where he had a great view of the Falls. A perfect Grand Finale to a great trip. Not a "big money" trip, it has nevertheless been rewarding because of the hiking. We leave tomorrow , back to San Diego and "the world". It's been refreshing!

April in Yosemite

Wow, it's been a while.... been busy with work and a new laptop. I'm using it right now, on batteries, while sitting at a picnic table in Yosemite. Why? because it puts me within reach of the only unsecured wifi hotspot in the valley (grin). One of the employee trailers has wifi, it's part of their overall system here in the valley, but inexplicably, they didn't secure it. Lucky me! Anyhow, I'm here in Yosemite on a 6-day trip, a 2-bus move with Lenny. Got an 8th grade group, Lenny's younger daughter is in the class, and on the bus. Lenny and I are sharing a cabin... a little too "cozy" for my preferences, but it's going well. We've gotten in a hike every day, and plan another one tomorrow. We leave Friday to return to San Diego, and I'm hoping to have the weekend off. Guess I'll find out soon enough.....

In between trips

Hi all-
OK, the winter snow trips are over, and I've done one 5-day trip up US 101 since then. Would have blogged, but it was a VERY busy trip. Also very lucrative ($). I would do more, and have a sneaking suspicion that I will be. The customer was very pleased with the level of service (pat, pat). Anyhow, I'm sort of "between trips" right now, altho not for long. A 7-day Yosemite spring trip is just around the corner. Kinda different, I'm doing this with our #1 driver, Lenny (I'm #3, in case you're interested). It's apparently not a "big money" trip, basically take them to Yosemite, and wait 5 days to take them back. Or, at least, so I've been told. Kinda looking forward to doing Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall again, it's been a long time. I plan on bringing hiking gear, and using it. Probably won't have Internet access, like the last time, bt will shoot lots of pix with the digital camera and upload them later.

On the road again....

Hey, it's that time of year.... I'm on day one of a 5-day trip up the California coastal valleys, with stays in Ventura (where I'm at right now), Pismo Beach, Monterey, and Burlingame. It's a 2-bus trip, Theresa's my co-driver. We get along well, so no problem there. The group is seed distributors, or so I guess. We visit nurseries where the growers can showcase their efforts. Anyhow, it's a short night tonight, so I guess I'd better bail outa here and get my butt to bed! Good-night!

Da wife comes along

Hi, I'm back in Mammoth Lakes, doing my last snow run of the season. It's a whirlwind event, we left Friday night, return Sunday evening. As luck would have it, that coincided nicely with Jacque's weekend, and she was able to join me! Also along for the trip is my new notebook computer, an HP zv6130us. It's an AMD64 3200+ system, 80 GB hard drive, CD/DVD burner, on-board 802.11G Wi-fi, UltraBright 15.8" widescreen display, 128 Megs dedicated graphics memory on an ATI Mobile Radeon chipset. Not too shabby, got it for $699 from Fry's. Anyhow, Jacque and I are having a good time, it snowed last night and most of today, but not a huge amount. Our passengers are campers, they're out camping in this!!! Sorry, doesn't fit my description of a "good time". We leave later today, Sunday, should be home by maybe 2100 or so. Hopefully I will have Monday off, I'm gonna go get a Corsair 1 Gig memory DIMM that Fry's has on sale, for this laptop, to boost the total memory from 1/2 GB to 1.25 GB. Also high on the wish list is a Hitachi (IBM) TravelStar 7200 RPM drive that NewEgg has for $145, to replace the 4200 RPM drive that's currently in there. Spending my cash before I earn it, oh-oh (grin).

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

"In like a lion, out like a lamb".... no, this is not an xxx-rated post (grin). It's the way March is looking here in California, and especially in the Sierras, which is exactly where I am right now. Mammoth Lakes, around 7800', and it's been snowing and snowing. Not huge quantities, but steady and consistent. The weather people were starting to worry about our upcoming summer, due to way-below-average precipitation. I don't know where the numbers are now, but it's a certainty that they've improved considerably over the last couple weeks. Even San Diego, which was WAY below normal, has picked up some rain lately. Nothing like the record-setter last winter, but respectable. In the meantime, my chains sure are happy! Here's a picture from out my window, yesterday morning (it looks about the same right now).

Back in the snow

Hello from Mammoth Lakes, CA, where it's supposed to dump, big-time over the next 36 to 48 hours! I arrived in town a few hours ago, finally got everyone dropped and got my room, put the bus to bed (after I chained up...) and now, finally, am relaxing in my room. Got wi-fi here, so that's kewl, although I noticed it seems to be running a bit slow tonight. Maybe there's lots of other people online. I'm showing an "excellent" signal strength.
Anyhow, this is a 6-day trip, so the chains should have plenty of exercise. Unfortunately, if it's as crappy as the weatherman says it's supposed to be, looks like I won't be getting so much exercise. The hotel I'm at has a workout room, and a pool, so maybe I'll avail myself of them. Anyhow, it's gonna feel strange to be away from home for 6 days, although I gotta admit, I'm "missing out" on a whole lot of shuttle and airport transfer runs by being out-of-town. Geez, I'll miss that so much....

Kewl! Unexpected day off...

I'm keenly aware the forecast at work is very busy for at least the next two weeks, with a lot of questionmarks after that. Typically, the first 6 months of the year are quite busy. In fact, typically, the only slow times are *perhaps* some spots in July and August, and usually early December. So, I was happy to discover, much to my surprise, that I had today off! I'm sitting in bed with a newspaper, the laptop connected via wi-fi, and a cup of coffee. Oh, and 9 hours of sleep under my belt (grin). Guess I'll refill the coffee cup, finish up this stuff, and get my ass in gear! Supposed to drop some stuff off at Melissa's, I guess our newest grand-daughter has been giving them fits. She thought it was colic, but the pediatricion says otherwise. He says it's Arabella (at 4 days old) has already learned a "cause-affect" relationship. She wants to suck (like all babies), and, even though she's just been fed, she howls until Melissa picks her up and offers her what she wants. The she latches on, and falls asleep. Doctor says that's gotta end, right now. I had no idea a 4-day-old could actually figure out something like that! Anyhow, in an attempt to help out, Jacque has put together a couple meals, which I'm supposed to deliver today. Guess I'll include that in with my hike, which is near her house....

New Grand-daughter

Little miss Arabella Elizabeth Sullivan came into the world on Feb. 24th, at 10:36PM. Weighing in at 7 lbs, 1 oz, and 18 1/2" length, she let everyone know right away that she wasn't happy with having to leave the warm surroundings she'd just vacated (grin). Her color was good, and she had lots of hair. Mom and dad are both doing well. I have pictures posted here
I'll be updating that page and adding more pictures within the next few days! We now have *8* grandchildren! Here they are:
Tenaya
Breckin
Becca
Aiden
Chloe
Gracie
Jade
Arabella