Ferguson gets booted from Bunny party

Thats right, I have turned this ship around and this blog will from now on be a tabloid.

OK, not really. Feb 6th the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, I made a day trip up to Los Angeles. I had gotten a ticket online to see a taping of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. By the time I got up to LA, I had just under an hour to get to CBS studios. I found some parking at The Grove, a Legacy Village type of shopping center but a bit more upscale. The shopping center is adjacent to the studio property, so I felt as though I could get a nice Hollywood lunch... FYI the Chipotle tastes just the same in the City of Angels. I got to the studio and had to wait about 10 minutes outside of the gate until we were lined up and sorted between 6 benches, I got on the second. That would be the order we were paraded into the building. After 20 minutes of waiting on the benches, our warmup act showed up. He is a comedian that helps the near 100 of us get into the mood of clapping and laughing. He even told us that we were not audience members but "Show Enhancers". He also let us know that it is alright and almost required that we laugh at jokes even if they were not funny or even of questionable taste. I had easily been there for over an hour before we went inside. Once inside there was a bit more waiting and then we were finally seated, not that we could just sit anywhere we wanted... there was a lady putting groups of people where she felt they would best fit in the audience. Somehow I got seated directly in the front row! We sat around for a bit longer, maybe close to 2 hours had gone by since first arriving to CBS until Craig first came out. This was their first show back in LA since the Super Bowl. In his monologue, Craig mentioned that he made the headlines by getting in an argument at the Playboy party in Miami. On the cameras were off, he approached the audience and said that the headline was true. He said he had been really busy and people at Playboy kept on calling to try to get him to come to the party, he kept on telling them he was busy and then he finally gave in and made his way over to the party. Once there, Craig was stopped at the door and he was told that his name was not on the guest list. That was when he told them to "Fuck off". Those were the words (or close enough to) that came out of his mouth while I was sitting in the audience no less than 10 feet away from him. The guests on the show were:
Oscar Nominated Peter O'Toole, Mena Suvari, Author Lawrence Block, and The Naked Trucker and T-Bones
Looking at websites to confirm this, it appears as though on air Gloria Estefan replaced Peter O'Toole in the lineup that evening. Peter appears to have aired a week later, that seems interesting. I had a really great time participating in the taping. Once I finally left the studios, I had spent nearly 4 hours there.

I wanted to finish off my evening by going to a concert while up in the LA area. I had found a punk show at the House of Blues in Anaheim that evening. Pennywise being opened by the legendary group the Circle Jerks. The HOB was located on the Disney property and after half an hour of driving around not realizing that fact, I finally parked in the Disney lot and headed to the venue. Once there, the tickets had been sold out and I had not been smart enough to reserve mine online. So I quickly exited the Disney property.

By this time it was around 8pm and I had still not eaten dinner. I pulled out the good ol' $40 a Day book and looked for something nearby. I found a place in Laguna Beach which was not directly on the way home but would make for a lovely drive. I got to the Sundried Tomato Café right before the kitchen closed and had a fabulous dinner. I even got a white russian that was made with whipped cream and shaken instead of half & half. I asked the bartender about this variation on the drink and he said that he will do that if they don't have half & half on hand instead of milk to give the drink it's proper creaminess. I had a coffee before I left while talking to a couple of the staff while they were cleaning up for the evening. I finished my day by driving home along the ocean.

Bad Carl

So, again it has been a while since I have gotten around to updating this blog, I hope that people have been checking out my photographs on flicker... those seem to be keeping a more up to date account of my happenings. I feel lucky to have spent nearly two and a half weeks in the San Diego area, it is a very beautiful section of the country. Bob introduced me to a bunch of great people, and the good times had, were countless.

I arrived in Carlsbad on the Friday before the super bowl. It is a town in the North County section of San Diego, only Oceanside separates it and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to the north. My first thoughts were "why did I have to get stationed at Camp Lejeune in the middle of nowhere North Carolina?". Out here it is absolutely beautiful, with the beaches and the palm trees, the surfers in the bright blue water and the running women wearing hardly anything. In Cleveland these women have gone into hibernation until late May or even August. I met up with Bob at his place which is but a block and a half from the beach and just a bit more from "Downtown Carlsbad". His place was a decent one bedroom with absolutely no furniture except for his bed. That first evening we just walked to the downtown area and grabbed some cheap pizza. That evening we met up with Bob's friend Frank. He is also an officer at Camp Pendleton, they were just a year apart at the Naval Academy and shockingly they both went to the same high school. We went dancing at a place in Carlsbad and met up with two of Frank's roommates, a married couple. The next day (Saturday)... we went to Old Town area and purchased a convertible couch that I could sleep on. I would not arrive until Monday. From there we headed to the Gas Lamp District and just walked around. After a bit of a walk we decided to grab some lunch, but had a terrible time deciding where to eat. While trying to decide I stopped into a Volcom store and found nothing to purchase, but I did ask the people working there what they liked to eat in the area. They suggested a deli that appears to be nothing more than a liquor store. The sign on the out side just states:

MARKET
DELI
ATM

The sandwiches were nothing to write home about... Later Bob and I got some pretty good thai food in La Jolla and met up with Frank and two of his female friends at the Comedy Store. The comedians were quite funny & enjoyable. The next day, I got up early and went to get the ingredients to make a whole bunch of guacamole to take over Frank's where there would be ~15 people to watch the Super Bowl at 3:30pm. The guac was a hit and we all had a great time watching the game, to bad the commercials were not up to par this year. Bob got a haircut that evening while I just chilled back at his place. Monday I went running and did some laundry, waited for the couch to show up and went to go see Smokin' Aces while Bob continued to wait for the couch.

(I have slowly been working on this posting since Valentines Day.)

Yucca = Joshua

Happy V-Day.


The 1st of February, I had left Phoenix with a destination of the Joshua Tree National Park. Leaving Arizona, my clock got pushed back once again. But that did not help with getting to the park before the sun set. The moon was near full and quite bright with no clouds in the sky. Driving through the park at night always worries me sometimes with a fear of hitting an animal and doing severe damage to it or my car. The drive from the southern entrance to the campground I had chosen was nearly an hour. Along the way there were groupings of rocks sticking out of the ground right next to the street, with the moonlight they almost had an animal nature to them... they kind of freaked me out a bit. I got to my campground near the trail I was planing on hiking the next day. I set up my tent and didn't bother staking it down because without a mallet the stakes were not going anywhere. After getting the tent set up, it was time for dinner, another Backpackers Pantry meal with the help of my Jetboil. It was a bit chilly that evening so I had some hot coaco before bed. Once in bed it was a rough night I would wake up occasionally with a running nose and a bit colder than tolerable. I remembered that I had a sleeping bag liner in the trunk but there was no way I was going to get there to improve my comfort level without suffering even more so it went unused.

I woke up the next morning with the sun, but it was hidden behind the mountain that I was going to shortly conquer. That meant that it was still chilly and there was even frost on my tent and car. I packed up my stuff and my half frozen tent got thrown in the back seat of my car with plans on washing it out soon, frost + sand = bad news. I made my way over to the Ryan Mountain trail somewhere between 3-4 mile hike with a 1000+ foot elevation change. I had my trail mix with me for breakfast and I think my lack of real nutrition really hurt my climb. Once at the top it was a different story though, I was energized by the stunning views of the park, the deserts, the mountains. I could even hear the rings of artillery coming from the Marine Corps base 29 Palms just to the north. The only creatures I saw while on the trail were a couple of white tailed rabbits. The hike down was much easier. Once at my car I raced to get out of the park so to get some cell service to give my Pops a call for his birthday before he got to work since I had missed giving him a call the day before. There was even a Starbucks calling my name once out of the park. I made it into Carlsbad in time for a late lunch before meeting up with Kevin, who will be referred to as Bob for here on.

5 weeks & 5000 miles

I have been attempting to get this blog up to date. Today marks 5 weeks since I left Cleveland and while driving home last night I put 5000 miles on the Prius in that amount of time. Coming soon are updates on Joshua Tree National Forest and the past week in San Diego.

Phoenix rising

Monday was a slow day in Phoenix for me. I got some lunch at a thai place near Bailey's. I spent most of the day playing with Google Earth trying to figure out my route through California to maximize coverage. That evening Bailey, Erin and I met up with one of their climbing buddies Jason at On the Border for some yummy margaritas.

So, Tuesday I decided I would make my way to Taliesin West, the Arizona home of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. I understand there was a period when he was not doing well getting work designing buildings and such, so by the suggestion of his wife he started a school out of his studio in Wisconsin. He bought some property "out west" and would transport his students to Arizona for the winters. They were the ones that helped design and build Taliesin West. The location became the schools winter studio and continues to serve that function. It is now also the home of the FLW Foundation.

That evening I met up with Bailey at the Phoenix Rock Gym. It had been almost six years since I had done this activity my only time. I was able to complete the training wall rather easily and then completed 90% of the next two more challenging climbs and finished with a completion on my final climb. I got a little exhausted belaying, I have this stupid bone growth on my shoulder bone which can bother my deltoid with extended use. Otherwise I had a really good time out climbing.

Wednesday was an overcast day in Phoenix. My plan was to go for a hike in the Superstition Mountains. I chose the Peralta Trail supposedly around a 7 mile trail if my memory serves correctly. The trail was well defined, being one of the most trekked in the state according to some random website. I assembled my pack by bringing my rain jacket and pants, I also brought the Jetboil and a pouch of Backpackers Pantry pad thai to prepare along the trail. I also brought some of my new favorite trail mix, stuff I had picked up at target. I forget the name of it but it has craisins, sunflower seeds, pepitas, and other yummy goodness, it was quite enjoyable. Along the trail I took the photo that is at the top of this post, it is now my desktop... feel free to do the same. Along the way it started to drizzle and I put on the jacket. About an hour and a half in it started to rain a bit heavier. I found some cover under a rather huge rock and pulled out my rain pants (one of my more expensive purchases at REI) I was glad to have them. I then cooked up my pad thai although it would have been returned if it was given to me at a thai restaurant. After eating I returned to the trail and went back the way I had come so to not get stuck in any worse weather. I returned to Bailey's and we hung out at home that evening.

Thursday I got lunch at Pita Jungle, I felt granola, it made me feel good. I then made my way to the University of Phoenix stadium where the NFL Arizona Cardinals play. It is a state of art stadium with a field that moves in and out of the stadium. When football is not being played the floor can be used for concerts, conventions and swap meets (if needed, I guess). My plan was to get a ticket to tour the stadium, well I got there too late for a ticket so I was able to take photos of the outside of the stadium and one of the inside from the store.

After being let down at the stadium I headed to California. My night would be spent at the Joshua Tree National Park.

The Festival of the New Year

The drive to Phoenix was pleasantly uneventful. I finished listening to "The Life and Times of the Thunderblot Kid" by Bill Bryson, my third of his books since leaving Cleveland including "A Walk in the Woods" and "I'm a Stranger Here Myself". I must say I left Texas after two weeks in the state and I could not have been happier to finally be rid of it. The temperature stared getting better as well as my mpg. I had been getting ~42.6 and around the time I entered New Mexico I was getting no less that 50mpg on the freeway.

I stayed at Bailey's that night. She is staying with two other teachers, Erin and Tami who are in the same district as her. They also do a bunch of climbing together, from what I understand. Friday morning I was able to get some laundry done and Bailey called off work due to not felling too well. I boosted her up by getting some Bruegger's and we eventually made our way to my new favorite store REI, I picked up some Clif Shot drink mix for the tournament that coming weekend. I convinced her to throw the disc around with me a bit before she headed off for a doctors appointment. I went back to her place to pack. I stayed the weekend with Wernet's buddy Al who lives much closer to the fields. Bailey and Erin picked me up that evening for dinner and drinks at Casey Moore's We meet up with a few of their climbing buddies there, it seemed like quite a pleasant group, not too different from a bunch of ultimate players. They eventually dropped me off back at Al's so I could get some sleep for a big weekend of ultimate.

The tournament, New Year Fest was at a new location that I was unfamiliar with. The old location, Diablo fields has been turned into luscious green baseball diamonds. I guess MLB will be using them for spring training. Well our fileds were a pleasant brown dry grass, it was surprisingly full and handled cleats much better than turfs which just slid on the grass. I meet up with my team which consisted of a couple of guys from Philly, half a dozen from the Bay area and a few other stragglers such as myself from elsewhere across the country. A total of 13, we seemed to cover the mid to late 20 to early 30 age group. We also had some decent talent with a few players who had been to either college or mixed club nationals (that I knew of). We had been seeded 4th or 5th out of the seven top open teams at the tournament. Over the next two days we would play six games against those other teams, with the top two playing in a finals afterwards. We had four games on Saturday and only scored around 6 in each of our first three of the day, those would have been against Sprawl from Phoenix, UCSD and Arson from Tucson. Our fourth game we started gelling a bit more it was against a very lubricated One Degrees a team comprised of BAT, Machine & Ring players. They were drinking quite a bit more than we were and still scoring on ridiculous hammer and behind the back throws. We clamped down, stopped making stupid turnovers and got ahead to make it 12 vs. 10 in a game to 13. They found a few of their players who were less drunk and managed to pull out the victory.

I left the fields and got some Filiberto's before getting a shower at Al's. I took a short nap and then headed over to the tournament party. I hung out with Peine for a while before starting a marathon of shuffle board games with a few of my teammates. At one point I was playing against Will D and Jason from ZippO, I so rarely play the game but I have got to say the only reason I left the table was due to my teammates incompetence.

Sunday at the tournament we played Mamabird first, they were all college kids from U of Colorado. This is a very competitive college team full of players with a lot of athleticism most with varying levels of ultimate awareness. They were able to beat us deep pretty a couple of times, our zone confused them a bit and playing man I was able to grab a callahan off a dump/swing throw. We still lost only scoring 8. Our final game was against the number one seeded team at the tournament ZippO a bunch of guys from the UPA Club Championships semi-finalists Johnny Bravo along with a few older guys from Colorado and Phoenix. I have no idea what the final score was but I think we managed to score a few against them, I probably threw and caught at least one each (it would help if I weren't doing this write up two weeks later). Well, those two teams we played that day were the two that played in the finals against each other. I was able to get a few photos and finally figured out the setting on my camera that was making my photos blue.

After the tournament I showered at Al's again and packed up my stuff. I went back to Bailey's to spend a few more days in the valley.

Big Cold Bend

I got into Big Bend National Park late Tuesday afternoon and made my way to to the center of the park where I thought I would be camping... unfortunately, that turned out to be in the frozen mountains. So I took a few photos and made my way to a lower elevation at the far eastern side of the park. I figured I could camp here my fist night do some hiking and then set up camp on the western side (the direction I am heading) the next night. I set up camp and then cooked myself a bag of dehydrated dinner. It is amazing how being alone makes camping a lot less exciting, it got dark early and I eventually hit the hay around 9pm. It was a chilly night but I was able to sleep pretty well.

I woke up the next morning just after the sun and went for a hike near the campgrounds a trail called Rio Grande Village Nature Trail. It was a short .75 mile hike to get the blood flowing. I got back, packed up the car and made my way over to the Boquillas Canyon Trail a 1.4 mile hike to check out the Rio Grande. I then drove back into the frozen mountains for the hike of the day, a 4.8 mile roundtrip hike they call the The Lost Mine Trail. I have got to say that while the park is not empty it was rather quiet. The campgrounds that I stayed at were getting a bit of use, maybe 40% capacity. I got to The Lost Mine Trail around 11:30 and ran into a couple on their way out of the trail and then I only saw one other person on the entire trail also on his way down just after I started. The clouds were hanging heavily o the mountains only briefly at some point would I be able to see any views of the other nearby peaks. I climaxed at 12:30 and lit up my Jetboil to prepare my lunch and a cup of hot cocoa. As I made my descent, I was able to take a few more photos and I decided that instead of camping on the west end of the park I would just drive over there, check it out and make my way westward. It was probably a desire to sleep in a nice warm bed after spending the day freezing my tail off. I eventually got off the trail at 2pm.

I drove through the park along a lovely long and winding road and around 3:30 got to the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. This was another location where I was able to check out the Rio Grand where it had carved a canyon in the cliffs along the US/Mexican border. I got out to check it out and noticed a trail that went across a stream and into the canyon. It was the 1.7 mile Santa Elena Canyon Trail. I decided to hop on it to get a few photos. Although I was not particularly interested in hiking much more I wound up doing around 75% of the trail. Walking along the Rio Grand was fairly intriguing to me because although I was in the US at the time I was just the rivers width away from a foreign country.

I eventually exited the park around 5pm and headed towards El Paso. It was quite a bit of driving after my already full day. Most of it was along straight two lane roads with a speed limit of 70mph. Except for the rare city the drive was rather dark, I was only able to see what my headlights were illuminating. There were a few altitude changes and a bit of snow on the fields lining the road. At one point I came upon a field on my left with an illuminated bright white aircraft of some sort. My imagination was racing and I started thinking that it could be an alien ship. It was in a fenced in military area and I was afraid for my life to stop and take a photo. I later found it on Google Earth, it appears to be a weather blimp, it's coordinates are:
30°26'4.15"N & 104°19'14.56"W
I got into El Paso around 10pm after crossing into the Mountain time zone. I had decided to pass up both Carlsbad Caverns & Guadalupe Mountains National Park due to the sever chill that was passing through that part of the country. I would instead be heading to Phoenix and get in a day earlier than I had planned. But that would have to wait until I got some sleep in El Paso.

On the Texas road

Man am I getting behind... I guess I have been real busy. I have actually made my way to San Diego and will be here at least through Presidents Day. I hope to get to that soon enough though.

That brings me back to Monday the 22nd. I left Austin for San Antonio. My first stop was the Alamo, it is a piece of Tex-Mex history surrounded by the city. I then made my way along the river-walk an almost Venice aspect of the city, with boat rides down a bar and shop laden river. I finished my day with a trip up the Tower of the Americas which resembles the Space Needle in Seattle. It was quite a windy day and the observation deck at the top is somewhat open to the elements. I had to stick my hat under my jacket to ensure it not blowing away.

That night I drove to Del Rio to shorten my drive to Big Bend the next day.

Tuesday I headed out of Del Rio ready to spend a few days in our nations parks. The drive along the southern border of Texas was quite pleasant, parts even reminded me of driving through the mountains of Pennsylvania just with different flora & fauna. Also the occasional border patrol stop is something one would not come across up north.