¿Que pasa cacho?

Got Some

2010-03-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Must Haves, Spring 2010

2010-03-15T11:59:00.001-07:00

Bye Bye Olympiad

2010-03-01T13:11:00.001-08:00

More Sax

2010-02-27T15:38:00.001-08:00

Saxony

2010-02-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

New York City, photo booth

2010-02-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

Elvis

2010-02-17T08:52:00.001-08:00

Whistler

2010-02-09T12:04:00.000-08:00

Seattle, Feb 6 and 7

2010-02-08T20:09:00.001-08:00

Pia

2010-02-06T16:28:00.001-08:00

Baby Stuff

2010-02-05T15:36:00.001-08:00

Rylee

2010-02-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

More Jellies

2010-02-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

Carmel & Monterey

2010-02-05T11:19:00.000-08:00

Avatar

2010-02-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

Pretty Decent Seats

2010-02-05T10:20:00.001-08:00

Fans

2010-02-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

Frisco

2010-02-04T16:53:00.001-08:00

Jiggle Jiggle

2010-02-04T15:21:00.001-08:00

Last Half of '09

2010-02-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

Big Veggies, Crappy Weather, and Water Skiing at Shawnigan

2009-08-12T19:09:00.001-07:00

Yeah, another Shawnigan post... But that's what we've been up to, weekends at Shawnigan. The weather on this particular weekend wasn't nearly as nice as the others, but that's quite alright considering the amazing weather the other weekends had. Plus, this weekend had a new visitor (Colin) to the lake and a second-timer (Anna).

We grew these luscious zucchinis in our urban garden, not at Shawnigan Lake. They were terrific zucchinis. We are quite proud of how they turned out.

Colin and Anna.

So Sunday morning we decided to get out and do some water skiing. Meg is an old pro...she used to do crazy slalom courses on one ski. Mark (pictured here), on the other hand, had never been on just one ski, and it had probably been 20 years since being on two skis. Excitement levels were running high.

Video time! This video shows some Orcas swimming along. A crappy video, but Orcas swimming along nonetheless. I've been on that ferryboat probably a hundred times, and this was only the second time seeing whales... So you understand the reason for including them in this post.

Meghan and her badboy slalom skills. Stylin!

It had been a long time for Colin as well...

Yeah, I made it across the wake eventually...

Next stop...Whistler for some Cheese Rolling!!

Another Weekend of Awesome-ness at Shawnigan, Part 2

2009-08-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

That just happens to be the largest fish caught with this setup to date. Smallmouth Bassfish, probably 16-18 inches long, and maybe weighing in at 2 pounds, or somewhere around there. Put up a pretty good fight...

Meg was the first to catch a Brown Trout...damn...

This shit was amazing, but boy did it make your entire upper body sore. Booze didn't help cure the soreness either. Meg and Mark, bitchin' tube ride, 2009.

That's Fi on a bitchin' tube ride.

Meg caught another fish. Think this one was a Smallmouth Bassfish, a very small Smallmouth Bassfish.

Booze crooze to the Macfarlane's. That's Liz and Fi.

Meg on booze crooze.

The Macfarlane's dog Mo. He is awesome.

Didn't expect for Brian to be there...what a surprise!

Ken says "Get Pumped".

Meg, just doin' some fishin'.

Mark, just doin' some fishin' as well.

This was hilarious. The footage doesn't do justice for the humor factor. Fi on a tube ride.

Meg on a tube ride. Many scorpions went down this day.

Another Weekend of Awesome-ness at Shawnigan, Part 1

2009-08-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

So in Canada, each province has a holiday smack dab in the middle of summer. Monday, August 3 was BC Day, so we headed over to Shawnigan for the long weekend. This weekend was also smack dab in the middle of one of the hottest streaks the province has ever had...made for a weekend for the ages.

Saw this madness in the ferry terminal en route to the island.

This is basically a guppy, but who cares, first fish of the weekend.

Patio vibes on a warm Shawnigan summer night.

There are two cabins at the lake. Liz rents the bottom one out in the summer. These two critters' parents rent it out for like 3 weeks or so. Brooke and Cole came over to hang with us a bunch. We didn't mind...pure entertainment (and great kids)!

A lovely spread...

This is the largest Walmart in North America apparently. It is in the town of Duncan, which is about a 15 minute drive north of the lake. I've been to some big Walmarts, and really couldn't tell the difference in size. Either way, this one was indeed mahoosive.

Meg + New Hat in Duncan Market.

Summer flotation devices blow up exercises Part II. Part I can be found here.

Ditto above caption.

Kool Lounge loungin'.

Booze crooze!

Fi and Nat, booze crooze.

Vegetable BBQ mayhem.

Lots to manage. The salmon was yummy.

The end to another splendid day at Shawnigan Lake.

Ditto above caption.

Purty Skies...or the End is Near

2009-07-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

The sky was radical last Saturday night. A nice sized thunderstorm preceded the lovely colors in the sky.

This blog.

2009-07-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Is all out of order. Friggin' posts are not going to the top when I publish them. Frustrating.

Argentina Day 19 - The End.

2009-07-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Our last day of vacation, our last day in Argentina (for now anyway!). I think the first 3 photos are actually from the previous night, but who cares. I think the first 2 sum up our vibe perfectly...a bit tired and wore out and sad to leave this wonderful place and end our wonderful vacation. This was definitely the vacation of a lifetime and I can't wait for our next vacation! Japan, Europe, back to South America?? Who knows? Looking forward to it though!!!

Bitter sweet.

Bitter sweet x 2.

Meg got pretty wild on the last night.

We started our final day at this restaurant called Olsen. We read/heard all about it and was a fitting start to our final day.

That's the menu. We really liked how they organized the choices. Keep in mind the amounts are in pesos...

Breakfast spread! Notice the champagne...think we had a couple each!

Big balls.

Mercado de Pulgas. This market was full of antiques and random oddities. We bought a few things, but wanted more. Would be real tough/expensive to get furniture back, but so much of it was so nice and dirt cheap! Maybe we'll start a shipping fund for when we visit again.

One hallway from the market. There were a ton of these hallways, all filled with tons of different stuff. Basically, this is a flea market/garage sale on steroids.

The main entrance to the market.

This booth sold lanterns.

This one sold weird shit.

The last photo of the trip, taken from a cab on our way to the airport.

We'll be back!

Argentina Day 15 - A Long Drive around the lake (kinda)

2009-07-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Ah, a wonderful morning at Los Juncos in Bariloche. Woke up on this morning to another lovely day, and a wonderful breakfast to get the day started. We weren't quite sure what we were going to do, but during breakfast we decided to drive to the other side of the lake to check out this small town called Villa la Angostura, and to take in the amazing views. You cannot drive completely around the lake, so we were in for a long drive (2 hours each way). But this is vacation, time doesn't exist...

Another view of the B&B, from the road. Very lush.

This is the inside of the B&B. We spent our last night chillin' on these chesterfields with Gabriel. A wonderful place to spend a couple days.

Another view of the insides. That's Mark eating breakfast in the left side of the photo.

A large cup of coffee and a wonderful breakfast spread. We were the only ones eating breakfast at this particular time, on this particular morning.

A very beautiful scenic view, from our drive around the lake.

This is the small harbour of Villa la Angostura. That peninsula you see has a 12km hike, from the tip back to town. More on that in a later post (we didn't hike it this day, but came back the following day).

Lunchtime! Mark found a neat hat.

More beautiful views of the lago.

Mark and Meg. Self-portrait. Should it be selfs-portrait, or selves-portrait??

The bar at the B&B.

Night vibes at the B&B.

Another shot of the bar.

Argentina Day 16

2009-07-20T16:36:00.001-07:00

Day 16 involved another drive around the lake, to go back and do the hike we didn't do the previous day. This day wasn't as hot and beautiful as the previous day, which was probably a good thing as the cooler the better when hoofin' it for 12km.

We took a boat out to the peninsula point, where we were dropped off to begin our hike.

Came across some old school something going on. Not sure what the dude was up to, but he had some beasts to assist him.

Meg about to walk through mini tree tunnel.

The ultimate tourist shot, taken by a tourist. Hike almost done.

This was probably the highlight of the hike as we actually had an elevation change.

Hike complete. That sign says the name of the park, which is a National Park.

We ate lunch right near the entrance to the park. While we were eating, this St. Bernard wanted to join us. They have these St. Bernards for the tourists. One can take a photo with one of these badboys, for like 10 bucks or something. Rip off. Strange.

Flavia and Gabby from the Los Juncos B&B, with Meg and Mark. Flavia ran the joint and Gabby cooked (and poured wine). They were amazing hosts! We will see them again one day, "I guarantee it".

Argentina Day 18

2009-07-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

Back in Buenos Aires after a long bus ride! Boy was it nice to not have to ride buses anymore. This day was filled with relaxing and shopping in our favorite BA neighborhood, Palermo Viejo. I think the weather was 40 degrees celsius, which translates to like 104 fahrenheit. Real hot, so relaxation was definitely on the menu.

Meg relaxing at our final hotel, Hotel Costa Rica.

Trip is almost over...safe to say we did some drinking!

Been a long trip... Or, that wine is really getting to my head...

We started the night with some cocktails. That same band we randomly came across way back was playing in the park across the street.

Argentina Day 17

2009-07-20T16:06:00.001-07:00

Well, trip was coming to a close. Posting all this stuff 6 months after the fact has been fun as it has given me the opportunity to reminisce about the trip. I miss it tons...

The start of our last bus ride. This one was 17 hours in duration. This ride was strange cuz we started it in the morning. No vino straight away on this ride.

Somewhere in the middle of Argentina.

Very loopy.

Nightime...break out the vino!!

Argentina Day 14 - Mas Bariloche

2009-07-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Day 14, Bariloche and surrounding area, Argentina. We were real excited about this day as we were headed about 12 miles along the lake to a small B&B, which ended up being probably THE highlight of the trip. It was a vacation within a vacation, so to speak. Two nights of wonderful food, company, wine, and relaxation.

We stumbled across this little tienda, in the middle of nowhere, that had wonderful baked goods and empanadas. We bought some stuff to take back to the B&B.

Ahhh...Los Juncos... This was the name of the B&B.

They had a nice little area to relax. The B&B was real small, maybe 6 rooms, but we were the only ones to hang in this area. We spent many hours here, soaking it all in.

View from the common area shown above. This is the entire structure.

B&B, R&R, wine.

A bare tree.

This one is for Mr. Benjamin Tarr.

There was a croquet set, which we were more than happy to use.

This was a local dog that would hang out on the property. His name is Cacho, which apparently translates to idiot, or something along those lines. I use the word all the time now. Que pasa Cacho? That is what the chef at the B&B would say to Cacho. If Cacho could answer he would have said "Tengo hambre".

Weekend at Shawnigan

2009-07-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

We spent this past weekend at the always wonderful Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. Amazing, amazing, amazing! The weather was wonderful (except for the wind). We caught fish, ate good food, did a bit of moseying [sic], and of course had some beers and wine. Here are some of the general vibes from the trip.

Liz (Meg's Mum) gave me a fishing rod/reel set for my graduation. This is the first fish caught with the setup. This was caught off the dock, which is the reason for it being quite small. Need to venture out on the lake to catch some big ones. This is a smallmouth bass. It put up a decent fight.

Went to Bucky's in Duncan, which is a general outdoors/fishing/hunting store. They sell 'Butt Juice'...I didn't buy any.

Meg chillin' at the cabin.

Liz chillin' at the cabin.

Mark chillin' at the cabin.

Meg and Mark chillin' at the cabin.

BBQing is mandatory at Shawnigan. On this particular evening, we had Maui Short Ribs. They were very yummy.

The BBQ got real hot.

Meg about to enjoy some vino.

Meg enjoying some vino.

Meg caught a fish as well! Pretty sure this is a Lake Trout...little guy.

We went to a Lavender farm on Sunday morning. There is a labyrinth there, which I was excited about.

There is the labyrinth...not what I was expecting...

Lavender for days at the Lavender farm.

The crew on the ferryboat, returning to Vancouver. Mark, Meg, Jen, and Chris walking in the background. They stayed at the cabin Friday night, then went to visit family on Saturday and Sunday.

Can't wait for the next Shawnigan adventure! More fishing!!!

Film Vibrations, Seattle and Birkenhead Lake

2009-07-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

Got some film back from the trips to Seattle and Birkenhead Lake. Here are some that we like.

Argentina Day 10 - First mission to the Andes.

2009-07-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

Somehow Day 10 got skipped. That's unfortunate 'cuz it was an amazing day! This was our first trip into the Andes, and involved lots of driving. We rented a car and went on a crazy mission that involved beautiful scenery, random perros, a long drive on a sketchy dirt road, and wild times in the main plaza in Mendoza. This is a long one. Hope you enjoy it.

This is where the Andes begin.

Starting our ascent into the Andes, we stopped off at this spot to snap a couple flicks. The lake behind Mark there was a real nice aqua blue color. Tough to tell in the photos...

Us.

The license plate on our rental car. Nice and simple.

We put this badboy to the test.

Random perro marking his territory. We ate lunch in this town, called Uspallata. This is the area where Seven Years in Tibet was filmed. Weird...

The start to the off-road adventure.

That sign loosely translates to animals on the loose.

Andes vibes.

Meg in the middle of the road to nowhere.

Time to ponder.

Uspallata is where we were. 28km down, a shit load more to go.

So Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere. We couldn't see it as it was so damn cloudy. We made an attempt though. Translate if you like. The altitude where this photo was shot is 3,100 meters, or roughly 9,500 feet. Mt. Aconcagua is 22,841 feet high (thanks Google).

Sketchy, winding dirt road. Mendoza is somewhere down there in the background.

Yet another random perro. This guy was pretty cute. Scraggly is good.

This random band started playing in the main plaza in Mendoza. We stayed a while and watched. Can't remember if we were drinking in the plaza...probably. If not, we were likely a bit inebriated.

Oh, proof of inebriation [sic]. Cotton candy is good. It also doubles as a goatee.

Mark had had enough of the cotton candy.

This is a short clip of part of the drive. It was an amazing drive...this portion seemed to be where maybe some water had once flown. There was a larger clip, but would have taken forever to upload it.

Weird scene. They were jammin'.

360 degree view of the middle of nowhere, Andes.

Argentina Day 13

2009-07-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Day 13 was all about getting to know Bariloche. So that's what we did.

This one goes out to Wanda.

They had a little market in the town centre (wow, centre spelled with an re at the end comes natural now). This booth sold Rastas.

Little market in town centER.

We took this sketchy gondola up to the top of Mt. Cerro to check out some amazing views.

Mark in sketchy gondola.

Why is David at the top of Mt. Cerro? Weird...

Gorgeous views from the top!

Gyrating cafe at the top of Mt. Cerro. Altitude 1405 meters, or somewhere around 4200 feet.

F*cking amazing!

Picnic at the top. It was so hot that the wine tasted a bit funny. Didn't matter though as we probably paid about 3 bucks for the bottle.

More views from the top.

That's Bariloche down there, or at least a portion of it.

This is by far the biggest chocolate store we've ever seen. It was mahoosive, and filled with madness.

Argentina Day 12 - Bariloche!

2009-07-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

On Day 12 we arrived in Bariloche, which is situated in the Lake District, in the Andes. It is a mountain town with crazy architecture and crazy teenagers everywhere. That was the only bummer, crazy teenagers everywhere. Other than that it was absolutely amazing. The day after a bus ride generally means tender vibes as you basically have jet lag. Check-in to the hotel, eat, drink, check out the vibes, and rest. That's what we did on this day.

We awoke to this craziness. That music went on for probably about 3-4 hours (the hum lasted pretty much the whole time I think). At one point, some man went down to the cockpit and asked them to chill out the music. They didn't abide.

Lake District, that is where Bariloche is.

More Lake vibes.

Crazy architecture. Thought we were in the Swiss Alps or friggin' Germany.

Stevie's garden.

That's the Nahuel Huapi lake behind us. Quite chilly this lake.

This is the view from our room. During the day, the lake is in view.

B&W.

Argentina Re-Revisited (Day 11)

2009-07-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

So I feel like an arse for not finishing the Argentina posts...I only got through half. I guess that's because I may have been a little ambitious with the amount of photos and stories to go along with them. Gonna try to be more succinct in finishing our vacacion en Argentina.

This was Day 11, our final day in Mendoza. We loved Mendoza, but time to move on. We were basically just killing time as we had to jump on a bus later in the evening, so we went on a walk through a park, went to the zoo, and had some beer and food later.

Mahoosive park in Mendoza...this is the entrance.

What's a day on our vacation in Argentina without a little Dakar action?

This body of water in the park was mainly dedicated to rowing.

Harshest zoo we'd ever been to. I don't think I'll ever go to a zoo again after this experience. We heard stories about monkeys and big cats lurking randomly around the zoo.

Meg & bird.

Sam.

Yeah, that's really where this large feline should be. Can't even stand on its hind legs...

Alpacas = awesomeness.

Harsh. I feel bad for even putting these up.

So skip forward to being on the bus. Bye Mendoza...the sky was lovely on our ride out of town.

Another example of how lovely the sky was.

Darkness + 14-hour bus ride = uncork the vino tinto! We must've been drinking prior to this bottle...

Even though the zoo was harsh and these monkeys should not be in this cage, at least they had some homies to kick it with.

Birkenhead Lake = Magnificent Camping Locale

2009-07-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

If you ever have a chance to camp at Birkenhead Lake, do it! It was my (Mark's) first time camping in Beautiful British Columbia, and boy what an amazing experience it was! The weather was gorgeous, and many camping activities ensued. We were in Bear Country, but didn't have any run-ins with any bears. That's a good thing, but we were strapped with some bear spray just in case. Here are some photos that don't do the site and experience any justice at all.

8 was the number of our campsite. A lovely campsite, nestled back in the woods.

Big tent, little tent (and some sporting equipment).

Campfire pit with janky chairs and the one and only Lounge Lizard.

Mark and Meg in Bear Country!

The crew.

This is Birkenhead Lake. We walked from our campsite, through the woods, and were blown away by our first view of the lake. Again, photos just don't do it justice.

Lounge Lizard time!

Chris and Jen made the most badboy bacon and green onion skewers. We ate real well on the trip.

Eating well.

Eating well, drinking well (we drank well as well).

Bacon and green onion skewers going apeshit on the grill. That's Masta Grilla Chris Allen at the grill.

Bacon juice really gets the party started.

An evening photo of Birkenhead Lake.

We did some fishing, but didn't catch anything. One day I will catch a Brown Trout...not sure if I will eat it though.

That's Meg fishing for Brown Trout.

July 4, 2009

2009-07-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Went down to the Fuller's for July 4, 2009 celebrations and activities. Was Mark's first 4th in the States since the Summer of '06, so he was excited. We didn't take many photos either (Beavertooth). We had a blast though, thanks Dean and Melissa!!! See you up here soon!

Had lunch on the 4th right above the Public Market...tender vibes. Tender bloody mary's and mimosa's as well!

Meg really likes Crumpets, and just had to snap a photo of The Crumpet Shop. She didn't buy a crumpet though for some reason.

Meg with giant eggplant and 4th banner above her head. The sun was out, it was a wonderful day.

Pig head.

Argentina Revisited

2009-06-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a selection of film photos that we really like (for one reason or another), from our trip to Argentina in January. Hope you enjoy them...

Been Ages... Part 2

2009-06-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Update number two.

My turn! The fam came up for my graduation. I love it when they visit!

Meghan lives in Vancouver, so she wasn't visiting, but Liz was. I love it when she visits as well, and was very happy they were both there!

My Mom was also there, but thought three pictures of me in my regalia would have been overkill. Anyhow, my Mom was here for five days and I showed her around the city. This was taken on Granville Island. The weather was gorgeous!

Mom and fountain.

After the family had all left, Meg's good friend Hilary came for a visit. Again, the weather was beautiful, so we went on a bike ride to a park to play some bocce and sip some brews.

Magical.

Flagpole Throw, Shawnigan Lake, 2009.

Been Ages... Part 1

2009-06-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Recently realized it had been close to three months since updating this badboy, so here is an update.

Went to the island (Vancouver Island, that is) and went on a hike through the Mystic Vail...this is Meghan in a Mystical Paradise.

I wasn't acting Mystical in this photo, but was feeling the Mystic Vibes regardless.

Reminds me of Super Mario Bros. Very trim!

Seems that Dog should have a helmet on! And maybe a rain slicker as well.

Went to California for my sister's graduation. It was a lovely day all around... Congrats Katie!!

The day after the aforementioned graduation, we headed to Catalina for a little rest and relaxation (and some beers).

BBH! That's Big Buck Hunter for those that aren't in the know. Next time you are in Avalon, head to The Marlin Club and play you some huntin' games.

Artwork in The Marlin Club's WC.

Nothing wrong with a steak every now and then. The creamed corn looks like throw-up. Sorry 'bout that...

Dogmania!

2009-03-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

No, we didn't get a dog... But we did this 1,000 piece 'DOGMANIA' puzzle, courtesy of Ravensberger!

Whistler (and Squamish) Vibrations

2009-03-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Went to Whistler on Saturday and stayed the night with Andy and Nikki in Squamish that night. Any day of snowboarding at Whistler is amazing, but this day pretty much took the cake. Loads of snow the previous week, sunshine, good company, and cold temperatures made for a perfect day. The only imperfect thing was the fact it was so crowded...didn't matter, we had a blast anyway. Thanks to Andy and Nikki for the wonderful hospitality and for taking us to the Grizzly!!! We owe you one!

The crew...Mark, Meghan, Nikki, and Andy.

The line! Didn't matter though...look at all that lovely snow in the background!

So they have this gondola at Whistler now, that connects the Whistler Peak with the Blackcomb Peak...pretty freaky stuff. We had to ride it. This thing stretches for an eternity, and is supported by only four towers. The valley between the towers is massive...and the drop is ridiculous. Photos, obviously, cannot do it justice. Ride it when you get the chance.

The drop. Each gondola holds 20 people, and some of them have glass bottoms; ours didn't unfortunately. Check out how small the gondola looks in the upper left hand corner of this photo.

This ones for you Dean & Melissa...ahhh, such good memories!

The Grizzly Bar & Grrrill Pub, Squamish, BC. As your attorney I advise you to have some drinks at this place as soon as humanly possible. You must experience it for yourself.

Video of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola in Whistler.

Portland is a fun place.

2009-03-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

We went to Portland a couple weeks back, to visit Stevie & Monica. Jeff & Natalie live there as well, and Travis, Jim, and Dean & Melissa all came to enjoy good company in a nice setting. Portland really is a nice setting for a reunion of sorts. Some of these photos are Stevie's, and can be found on his blog, and probably on Facebook as well. But figured might as well post them to one more place on the World Wide Web.

The most yummiest cupcakes we've ever had.

Here is your ultimate tourist shot, out front of Voodoo Doughnuts. The maple bar with bacon on top is fun to eat.

Posse up!

Meghan and Mark down by the schoolyard. Forgot the name of this place, so schoolyard will have to suffice.

It snowed in Portland. Been a very snowy winter.

Meghan Poppins!

The Blazers blew the Lakers out on this night. That's okay though, they just better hope they don't play the Lakers in the playoffs.

Crappy photo (thanks Stevie) of Mark in Laker gear in front of the Rose Garden. Yeah, there was some heckling...

Day Nine

2009-02-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

Our ninth day in Argentina, and our second day in Mendoza, was all about the vino. Actually, most days were about the vino as we sipped some pretty much everyday, but this day was completely dedicated to the vino. The greater Mendoza region has three or four main areas where grapes are grown; the most popular (Valle de Uco) was too far for a day trip, but two regions, Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo, were nearby. The Mendoza wine country is amazing...tiny tree-lined roads (some of which were dirt) characterize most of the region, and amazing stories and wine at each of them. We hit five wineries/vineyards, or maybe it was four...who knows? Either way, this was definitely a highlight of the trip. Who doesn't like tasting wine???

This is right out front of our B&B...most of the streets in Mendoza are this beautiful.

Yep, it is everywhere.

You must look very closely to see the sign in the middle. It says 3,287 (or 3,289 - can't look that close). Anyway, this is the kilometer number...this highway is very large. It goes from tip to tip.

En route to our first winery in Maipu. Vineyards on the left and right...you don't need to look closely.

Yep, another self-portrait; this is our first wine experience in Mendoza, Argentina, South America. This winery said they were the oldest in the region, dating back to the 1800's (can't remember what year, precisely).

Mark and sign de Familia Cecchin.

A beautiful tree-lined street in Maipu. This was the most lovely and serene drive. A lovely and serene moment tambien. We miss it very much.

Another self-portrait, which includes some grapes.

This was the second or third winery we visited. It is called Familia Di Tommaso, and dates to 1869. They also said they were the oldest winery in the region; guess they all say that. Anyhow, these brick VATs (that line the room) are original (from 1869 or so), and they still age wine in them. After they spend some quality time in these brick VATs, its off to oak barrels to finish the aging process.

This is a room that is used for nothing more than a stop along the winery tour. They used to age wine in here and you could see the crystals, etc. on the walls from the tannins [sic]...or something like that. Either way, its a real nice room.

We should have purchased one of these bottles as they were going for about 90 pesos or something, which is only like $25 or $30. We wouldn't have brought it back, instead we'd have drank it at a special dinner, but oh well. Anyway, this particular Malbec (Don Angelo) is quite rare...they only produced 4,000 bottles or so. If you purchase one, the winemaker writes all the details of the wine and signs the bottle with a wax marker or whatever. Quite neat...too bad the picture is a bit out of focus.

More wine, more self-portraiture!

This was our final stop, and boy was it a doosey [sic]. So we park and this dude comes out to greet us, stating "I am Christiano, welcome to my house". He was wearing a white cloth sort of robe, along with some greasy hair and some sandals. He instructed us to go on HIS wine tour and to meet him on the patio to try some wine. Real weird situation. The place was gorgeous, and I'm sure it was handed down to him at some point by his father or grand-father or something. Whoever founded it is probably rolling over in his/her grave.

This is the patio at Christiano's house/winery. It was a real nice setup, but a bit too modern, especially considering there were some serious Euro beats going on, real loud. It actually wasn't so much the music, but the volume level of the music that was too much. There were a number of other groups on the patio (prior to this picture being taken), and Christiano would come up to them and put his hand on their shoulders and make sure they were comfortable; at one point we noticed him stumble as if one had had a little too much of the vino. Anyhow, upon our departure, Christiano invited us to come back when his house/winery closed, at 19:30, for dinner. We did not go back. As for Christiano, a nice guy, but lots of cocaine is suspected.

We wondered around the city and had dinner at some point. This extravagant light situation is at the main plaza in el Ciudad de Mendoza.

We had lunch at the Familia Di Tommaso winery. A lovely location for a lunch, with a babbling brook running beside us...it provided very pleasant sounds.

Siete y Ocho

2009-01-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Days seven and eight are combined because they were basically like one long day...the night between the two days would be our first extended, overnight bus ride...you guessed it, Super Cama!!! Super Cama basically means Super Bed. These buses are absolutely amazing; think Business Class on an aeroplane, but somewhere near sea level, not 40,000 feet. In other words, you don't get all swollen... Anyhow, the shitty (bad words are allowed in this post...you'll see why later) thing about day seven was that it was our last day in Buenos Aires, for the time being. However, many exciting times lay ahead. Next destination = Mendoza, wine country! And lord knows we like the wine... For Meghan, this last day in BA was amazing...shopping! Palermo Viejo is known for its shopping. Meghan bought some beautiful handmade shoes for $90 - likely would cost upwards of four hundred bucks here. Ask her for more shopping details, if you wish.

Day eight...ah yes, first day in Mendoza. We were basically jetlagged, even though we hadn't been on a jet. When we got to Mendoza, it was nap time, aka siesta. After a short nap, it was off to the city to take care of some chores: rental car reservation, next Super Cama ride reservation, and laundry. So enough of this attempt at explaining days seven and eight in paragraph form...let's look at some photos.

Palermo Viejo - shopping day - melted booze bottles hanging on a brick wall. We acquired a Quilmes bottle to hang on a wall in our home. It wasn't acquired at this location and it won't be hanging on a brick wall. Nonetheless, these things are pretty cool...make a good souvenir.

Random street with neat building coloration. This was also in Palermo Viejo...as a matter of fact, it was right across the street from the melted bottle tienda.

Couldn't help but put this photo in...that explains the foul language approval in this post. Place wasn't open, and the shutters were down on the windows, so don't know what was going on inside. Use your imagination...

A nice plaza in Palermo Viejo that we frequented...on this day we had Quilmes. It was muy hot.

Craziness. Some sort of vehicle with loads of books on it. The people sitting in the middle/front are on a tour of the city. So, this vehicle gives tours of the city.

Holy shit! The Buenos Aires bus station... Can't remember how many platforms there were (maybe 140?), but there were a shitload. It was a very stressful situation. Basically, when your bus turns up, there is a screen that shows what platform it will be at and it is your job to show up there. Problem is, that not all the buses show up on the screen, and you have a short time to show up. You also must watch like 15 platforms as the bus could show up at any of them. To top it off, lots of thieves are at work at the bus station (Omnibus).

More Omnibus. That wasn't the bus we rode, but it was similar. Check out the bus in the background wiht the white wall tires...

After all the madness at the station, we finally managed to get on. We had a nice spot, with a nice window view. We like Super Cama rides, much better than flying.

After we started rolling, this dude came by and gave us a cup of booze...not sure what kind, but it was sweet. A short time later, the same dude came by and poured us some vino tinto. And after dinner we were served a tumbler of whiskey! We also brought our own bottle of wine, so you can imagine it wasn't tough for us to fall asleep...

Dinner on the Super Cama! Pretty shit actually, but this is all you're gonna get. In the morning, the same dude mentioned earlier comes by and gives you treats for breakfast, but this meal was the bulk of the food we ate. All in all the bus ride is great; for about $90 you get a place to sleep, two meals, and a bunch of booze. This is needed in North America.

Mendoza! This is a shitty photo of the main plaza in Mendoza.

This is not a shitty photo of us in the main plaza in Mendoza.

After our siesta, we went to the city to take care of chores. Before work, we needed to feed (and drink). Good pasta on this afternoon, which was much needed after the lack of good eats on the bus.

Quilmes in Mendoza. Mendoza is great...smaller and quieter than BA and not as hot. Very pleasant.

For dinner, we went to arguably our favorite restaurant of the whole trip. The joint was called La Barra, and was owned by this lovely couple. The dude cooked the food (over a proper wood fire), and the dudette [sic] hosted, served, and just hung out. We sat on the patio, which was a quaint little area with 5 or 6 tables, in the back of the restaurant near where the dude cooked up the meats. The patio was covered in real (yes, real) grape vines...you could pick them and eat them if you were so inclined. Lovely, just lovely...

Mark ordered some ribs, cooked "Como le gusta", which means "How he likes it". Ordered 'em how the owner/cook/dude likes 'em as I knew they would be perfect. So this massive rack shows up and just about the time they were devoured, another rack shows up, free of charge! What a nice guy, or he just likes it when people order their meats "Como le gusta". Oh yeah, we are sitting inside because it started raining pretty hard and we would have been quite wet if we'd stayed outside. Rain, thunder, and lightning two of the three nights we were there. Lit the sky quite nicely, awesome.

Short video showing semi sketchy area near the bus station in BA...also shows our view on the Super Cama.

Day Seis

2009-01-26T15:13:00.001-08:00

On this day, we ventured to a neighborhood called San Telmo, to check out the San Telmo Sunday market. This public market is huge, to say the least. There are basically a bunch of street vendors/stands all along this street for what seemed like miles...it went on forever. Every so often there would be walkways, or smaller markets, that went off in other directions. It was actually quite overwhelming. Everything was on sale at this market...if you can think of it, it was likely there. We bought a few items, including Quilmes coasters and a photo of a local woman with all kinds of flair (an old dude was selling a bunch of photos for his son).

Subway ride to San Telmo. The passengers looked thrilled to be on the subway.

Mark and Meg on the subway. We looked thrilled to be on the subway as well.

The San Telmo Sunday market. This was the main street, with vendors for days.

More of the market...very crowded.

This booth was selling old phonograph players from a very long time ago. I think he was trying to fetch 600,000 pesos for each of them, which would be around 200,000 dollars. Gimme a break...they're cool, but not that cool.

Yet another photo of the market. We were so busy checking things out at the market that we didn't really take a lot of photos on this day, and we were so beat by the end of our market experience that we just wanted to go back to B&B and have our siesta time.

More posts soon.

Expensive phonograph player in action!

#5

2009-01-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

This was Day 5, a day we were real excited about since we were going to Tigre, a town one hour north of Buenos Aires by train, which is situated on the Parana Delta. There are all kinds of islands, canals, and waterways in this area, and seems it is a vacation spot for people that live in Argentina and surrounding countries Uruguay and Brasil. Looking back, this was easily one of the best days of the trip.

Saw this badboy on the way to the train station. Everytime we walked by here it was there...no idea what the deal is with it. Often wondered if B.A. Baracus was inside...

Before we started our mission to Tigre we needed to exchange some legal tender. This is Florida Street in the Recoleta neighborhood; very touristy. If you need to exchange legal tender, go to where the tourists are. We never went back to this street though since it was a bit much for us.

From Florida Street we walked through this parque/plaza to the train station. Very pretty...the flag is nice.

The train to Tigre...all during the ride people would be trying to sell you the most curious and random stuff: socks, candy, bobby pins. Some people wouldn't even be selling stuff, just yelling random things in Spanish and looking for free handouts. A great experience.

Tigre train station. Tigre is a real beautiful place; it was a beautiful day as well.

A Tigre canal, or waterway. Since Tigre is on a delta, the water is real brown and murky. You will see more of the brown and murky waters below.

We jumped on a boat for a 45-minute ride to a small island called "Tres Bocas". There were lots of destinations; we picked this one in the interest of time. Some were an hour or more away.

View from the boat. That bridge in the background is where the first water photo was taken.

Random boat that at some point ran aground.

This is the type of boat we were riding on. It is real crazy in these waters...boats just haul ass all over the place, creating big water disturbances (wakes). Would be very stressful to drive a boat around in these parts.

A closer shot of a boat similar to the one we were on. Objects in photo are closer than they appear.

Ahhhh...a beautiful (except for the brown murky water) canal running near the island of Tres Bocas. We did a short hike around the island(s) in this area. Came across this bridge and stopped to snap a couple photos.

Actually, the brown kinda adds to the vibe.

We came across this restaurant called "El Hornero"...don't know if that means "The Horny", or "The Horny Guy". Should probably look it up; actually, would prefer to have it mean our little stop there for lunch. There were three restaurants on Tres Bocas...this one was the farthest from the boat dock, which meant less North American/European tourists. There were definitely less NA/Euro tourists; everyone was either a local, a weekender, or on a day trip like us, but from Argentina or a neighboring country (no English spoken here). Again, was an amazing dining experience...very relaxing! The Quilmes was especially tasty on this day!

Chorizo or Blood Sausage? Chorizo please...

Meg opted for the Blood Sausage...just kidding.

They had these real cool coolers for the brewski. Kept the Quilmes nice and chilled. The whole patio area was covered with trees as well, so we were nice and chilled tambien.

The mission back from Tigre was basically filled with the same images as the mission there. Back at the B&B...siesta time! Our days would generally start at around 10am, we'd go on our mission for the day, and we'd be back around 6 or 7pm, which was our siesta time. We would then chill for a couple hours before going out for a drink around 9pm and then get dinner around 10pm. Argentine's don't really eat dinner before 10pm... We became very comfortable with this arrangement...

This is the "Obelisco" on the widest street in the world (apparently). The street is called "9 de Julio", and it is mahoosive! This photo is taken from one side, and the buildings in the photo line the other side.

For dinner we went to this tango show at a real famous tango spot called "Confiteria Ideal". I guess some badboy tango has gone down at this spot in the past. Unfortunately, we went on an open tango night, which meant "a bunch of f*ckin' amateurs" (thanks Walter) were getting their tango on. We were hoping for like professional, fast tango vibes, but what we got were amateur, slow tango vibes. Oh well, was cool to check it out anyway. A live band played, which was nice; the food stunk, which wasn't so nice.

This video depicts cruising on the Parana Delta in Tigre. Should've filmed when it was a bit busier...oh well.

Dos de Enero 2009, The Fourth Day of the Trip

2009-01-22T18:41:00.000-08:00

So this was the fourth day of our trip, and our plan was to head to a neighborhood called La Boca, which is famous for a number or reasons, primarily the fact that is where the football (soccer) team Boca Juniors is from. This is the team Maradona played for. La Boca is also a bit sketchier than other parts of the city, or at least of the parts that tourists (travelers) should actually go to (it probably gets pretty sketchy in neighborhoods off the beat and path). Anyhow, after a visit to La Boca it was off to the Recoleta neighborhood to visit the famous cemetery there.

There are random perros all throughout the city, and country for that matter (probably the continent as well!). There is also a lot of poo on the sidewalks; Mark stepped in one like the 2nd day of our trip...never happened again though! Anyhow, this guy was in rough shape and we felt really bad, but there is nothing you can do.

First Argentine public bus experience...was a very pleasant ride on a very pleasant day. La Boca bound!

This is the start of the "Caminito", which is a very colorful, touristy area in La Boca. Originally the area was a bunch of bars and brothels for the sailors that came to the small harbor just to the left of the above building in the photo. It has since been turned into a network of small streets and buildings that have souvenir shops, outdoor cafes and restaurants, street vendors, and tango performers.

Shopping in Caminito. I think all we bought was a magnet.

Yep, you guessed it...more Caminito...

This is one of the entrances to the Boca Juniors football field. Unfortunately it was the off season, but we were able to wander around in the stands a bit, as you can see below.

Meg and the Boca Juniors football field.

Mark (and Meg) and the Boca Juniors football field.

Just the Boca Juniors football field. Lots of these photos...oh well, deal with it. Can't imagine watching a game here!

If you are at a Boca Juniors football game (or just taking a tour of the facilities) and you are a male, this is where you would do a number two. Can't imagine doing a number two here!

Another random perro. This one we wanted to take with us...

Random tienda (store) front; these folks are real hyped on the Boca Juniors football team!

Detail of the above photo...Maradona, numero diez. He is currently the head coach of the Argentina national team.

This photo shows two bridges, that look very similar. The closer bridge is the original La Boca bridge, which is real cool when viewed up close (pretty cool from far away as well). The other bridge is a sort of replica (kinda) of the original bridge. The original bridge does not function as a bridge anymore.

After the Caminito and football business, we were hungry, so we were off to locate this restaurant called El Obrero. Well, we found it, and we were really glad we did. The food was absolutely amazing, and the vibe was the same. If you go to La Boca, you must go to El Obrero.

The Recoleta cemetery is mahoosive. This photo shows just a couple of the graves, but there are thousands, and it would take days to go through the whole thing.

Eva Peron, or Evita (the woman Madonna played in the movie Evita) is buried here. Don't know the whole story about why she is so famous, but her grave is definitely a tourist attraction; so we had to put up the token Evita grave photo.

So the Dakar Rally was in Argentina (and Chile) while we were there, and it seemed as if it was following us around the country, or at least it was everywhere we looked. Rally is cool and all, but that wasn't the reason we were in Argentina, and we certainly weren't about to go out of our way to check it out. There will likely be Dakar references throughout the rest of the posts; it sorta became a theme of the trip. On our way back to our B&B, we came across a street closure where all the participants were parading, the day before the official start of the rally. Here is a photo of some cycle dudes.

This video shows some of the four-wheeler dudes doing their rally parade thing.

Drums and Dancing, Argentina Style

2009-01-14T16:11:00.000-08:00

So we are back from the trip now (today is January 22 and not January 14, which is the date this post was first attempted), so posts should be coming much more frequently than they did while we were away, thanks to a fairly stable and fairly reliable internet connection...

The video below is from New Year's Day night as we walked the streets of Palermo Viejo in search of a suitable location for a feed. We heard it from blocks away, and it just so happened to be going down in the direction we were walking. Completely random...

Vacacion de Argentina - El Dia de Tres

2009-01-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Day Three...January 1, 2009...can't believe 2009 is here already! Any holiday in Argentina is mellow...they already have siesta during the day, which I'm sure most people are familiar with. But when it comes to holidays, it is a ghost town. We were a bit hungover and got off to a late start on this day, but ventured out and about anyway. It was our third day in BA, so a mosey was mandatory.

Example of the ghost town...on most days this street is completely filled with cars and people, lots of hustle and bustle. But not on New Year's Day. This street was right near our B&B and is a main vein in the city.

We hopped on the Subte to go see some sights...this sign says January 1st.

Subte stop...can't remember which one. Real nice subte system though.

We ended up at Plaza de Mayo, a plaza we wanted to check out. It is known for these ladies that go there every Thursday to protest the disappearance of a bunch of kids back in the 80's or something. Don't know the details of all that, but this is some government building near the Plaza. There were a bunch of buildings with similar architecture in this area. Makes sense that is where the protests would go down...

This is the Banco de la Nacion Argentina...probably the main branch, or at least it appears that way. It was closed on New Year's Day.

We wanted to see the protest, and luckily they only protest on Thursdays...New Year's Day was on a Thursday, what luck! We were so out of it that we forgot it was Thursday and wondered what was going on as we arrived at the plaza...then realized it was the protest. Don't know what the banner says, but probably protesty.

Another building at the plaza...think this one was a hotel or something.

Here we are, Plaza de Mayo, New Year's Day...hangover and all.

We didn't party at this trash can for New Year's, but someone did. This was in Puerto Madero, which in our opinion sucks. Very (very) touristy (we've decided we are travelers, not tourists...there is a difference) and bad restaurants, etc, etc, etc... Was the only place to get a bite to eat though so we ended up at a crap cafe. It was also chilly out this day.

Puerto Madero has a bunch of dikes, with bridges that cross the dikes. On each side of the dikes are aforementioned crap restaurants and what-not. There was a really cool bridge that we crossed...it is the white thing in the background.

Example of crap restaurant. Asia de Cuba...Asian food, from Cuba, in Argentina. Sounds great!

After our crap experience in Puerto Madero we decided to head for home. We were staying in Palermo Viejo, which is easily the best neighborhood in the city. Tons of shopping, restaurants, bars, etc... This store had a pillow with a stressed out pug on it...figured the Fullers would dig this photo (and probably the pillow tambien!).

So it is January 14th and we just got around to posting January 1st...doesn't seem we'll get it all posted before the trip is over. We'll keep it flowing though...

Ciao!

Vacacion de Argentina - El Dia de Dos

2009-01-07T16:18:00.001-08:00

So it has almost been a week since the last post - that is due largely to internet connections that are mal, or the connections don't extend to our room. It is also due to the fact that we are on vacation and posting to the blog is not the top priority. That being said, we have managed to post a segundo tiempo. We are in Mendoza currently, relaxing at our B&B (La Escondida) awaiting an upcoming 16 hour bus ride...yes, 16 hours. Holy sh*t is right. We are headed to Bariloche, which is going to be amazing...Bariloche is la zona de lagos (lake zone). Can't wait! The following is what went down on New Year's Eve, the second day of our trip...

Came across a shop that sold basically nothing but roller skates...they also sold some skateboards and various items of the sort with wheels. This was their sign...thought it was neat.

Prior to having lunch at likely the best lunch spot of the trip, we went and bought tickets for the Super Cama! Super Cama is a bus where you get beds basically...more about that later. La Neuva Gata Alegria was suggested by Mr. Ewman Bowmananian, and am very glad for his suggestion. The best Empanada I will likely ever have! The Quilmes is real nice tambien. Thanks Ewan!

Same restaurant, same day, except a photo containing the both of us.

On the walk back from La Nueva Gata Alegria, we came across a plaza/parque that had all these wild cats roaming around. The park was basically infested with wild cats...crazy. Hilary would like this park as she is a fan of the feline...

What would a trip abroad be without some anti-Bush sentiment?

So it is New Year's Eve, and we didn't know where to go. Most places were 500 pesos a person for set menu dinners...that's about $150 US per person...a bit outrageous. We somehow lucked out and found this place La Payana, which turned out to be the luckiest thing ever! This place was only 160 pesos a person for set menu, which is about $45 US...we had all the wine and champagne we could manage and an 8 course meal! A couple of Meg's work associates were in town as well, Sarah and Melissa, and they met us for a wonderful array of courses and drinks for our New Year's celebration. At midnight, the employees came and kissed everyone! That's all that can be said at the moment, but it was a New Year's that will stand out in our minds forever.

Sarah on the left, Melissa on the right...was nice to celebrate with friends in a far far away place.

Mark on the left, Meg on the right.

Just before midnight, the champagne flowed...and flowed, and flowed, and flowed...

Cheers big ears!

Down the hose big nose!

Feliz ano 2009!!! Argentine style...

This was the 8th course, the second dessert course. Look how mahoosive that plate of comida is!

After dinner, around 1:30 am, we headed to a bar in our neighborhood to meet some of Melissa's friends. We drank quite a bit, and ended up home pretty early in the morning. That's a normal night in Argentina, let alone New Year's Eve...

Evidence of aforementioned drank quite a bit...

Mark bought fireworks from a tienda earlier in the day. They were real loud, and scared people. Meghan really likes fireworks.

At some point during the night (these are generally sequential, but don't really know when this one was shot) we saw this billboard for our new favorite beer...Quilmes Chopp! We found out that Chopp is a Brazilian-style light beer, with some hints of fruit.

Argentine Vacation - Day 1

2009-01-02T13:58:00.001-08:00

So we made it! We are here in Argentina and will post as often as we can. The internet connection isn't the best so you will have to bear with us a bit (took four separate attempts to get this post posted), but posts will come, and will generally consist of the best contents from each day...wow, that will be a mission as this vacation is something like 19 days! Anyhow, this is the first day, the day we arrived. We were feeling very tired and jet lagged, and mosied around town trying to stay up so we could get a good night's sleep. From door to door it was about 20 hours, for both of us.

Yep, that is the Argentine flag. It welcomed us to this fine city. What a lovely flag it is...

Argentine PJs...this is on the ride from the aeropuerto to the ciudad.

So of course they play Football in Argentina, pretty much the deporte nacional [sic]. Anyhow, don't think they call it Indoor Football, instead it is called Cover Futbol. Thought it was interesting...

Went and bought some water and cerveza and came across these diapers. Didn't buy them, but couldn't resist the temptation to shoot a photo...hope it tickles your fancy...

On our lazy walk of the city on the first day we came across one of the widest (and biggest) trees we had ever seen. Here is a photo of Meg...

Same tree (back left) except a self portrait that includes Mark!

We needed to eat, so we headed to this restaurant in Recoleta called TeaTriz...we got there about 9:00 pm and there was nobody in the restaurant! The locals generally eat at 10 or 10:30 pm, so we went to this Cafe and had a beer before going back for din din. This is Mark at the Cafe...happy as a clam! He also very much enjoys Quilmes Chopp (more on that later).

Here is Meg at same Cafe as Mark above...she very much enjoys Quilmes Chopp tambien!

The restaurant was on this street...what a lovely name for a calle.

That is all for now unfortunately, but much more to come later...and we reckon you'll enjoy what's to come a bit more as well. Ciao.

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

2008-12-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

Stockings are Neat

2008-12-18T17:56:00.000-08:00

So our stockings have been up for a while. For some reason, just decided to share them with you. They will likely tickle our fancy on Christmas.

Don't mess with Texas!

Boot detail...

Trees, Lights, Snow - Normal Winter Occurrences

2008-12-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

So it is now December, which means snow shows up usually, and most people buy trees and put lights randomly around their house, both externally and internally. This is what we've been up to as it relates to those topics.

Went to the Christmas tree lot - a friend's family owns it actually. This sign was neat with the light hangin' next to it.

Meg and Norman...just hangin'...

Norman really wanted to come home with us. So we took him home and dressed him up.

The car has real bad tires, or at least not good for snow. Makes driving in situations like the one above very interesting. Where is Nuge when you need him?

Ate food at a neat little breakfast spot in Victoria - this is the view from out table.

And here are the external lights at our place...very spiritey!

Very Jiggly...

2008-12-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

Birthday and Thanksgiving Vibrations

2008-12-02T13:30:00.001-08:00

Had a birthday, Stevie came down, Finch came down (the Fullers were here as well), went to Seattle for Thanksgiving, and that's about it for this post. November is a great month, year after year...

It's always good to see Stevie...it had been a year! Couldn't believe that; time flies.

Went to a jazz show for the birthday, it was great! Good people, good jams, and lots of the special pasta.

Finch came up as well; got him a boo-ley. I think he enjoyed the place, except for the fights with Kayo.

Bought Finch this Elvis Chicken...it makes the most horrendous sound possibly ever.

Thanksgiving trip to see the Fullers... This is sort of a sequence, but not really. Had basically officially finished school, so the bubbly on the right is about to be cracked.

There went the cork!

So the cork landed on the roof, bounced down the roof, bounced once on the ground, and landed basically in my hand. Cool occurrence, crappy photo.

Cheers big ears! Down the hose big nose!

And now what we were all waiting for...turkey time! Poultry = 190F. This was the next day of course...

Finch and Cheddar were real anxious once the wonderful aromas kicked in. Finch was even lickin' his chops!

Mandatory self portrait with the poultry.

Thanksgiving sunset - amateur photos never do sunsets justice...

More amateur Seattle sunset photos... That includes the next photo as well.

That's all she wrote.

A Birthday, Pretty Leaves, Chores, and Dead Sal-mon

2008-11-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

So this basically goes down monthly now, but at least it goes down. The last month has been pretty crazy, for the both of us. Here is some stuff that might Tickle Your Fancy.

Meghan had a birthday, October 19th! Here she is blowin' out candles. Photos of Meghan blowin' out candles are just great...very cheeky.

More cheeky...

Fall in these parts is absolutely lovely - look at these pretty colors.

Leaves for days...

Chores at Shawnigan...Mark manned the leaf blower!

It was late in the season, but we still saw the Sal-mon running...its called the Salmon Run, but they don't actually run. There were lots of dead Sal-mon, and it was really stinky.

The seagulls come and pick the eyes out of the Sal-mon's sockets.

This bird just decided to post up on this dead Sal-mon.

This video shows Sal-mons swimming, and likely laying eggs. They are real tired, so they don't swim much anymore. When they get to tired to even attempt to swim, they just float down the river until they wind up at their final resting place.

California Dreamin'

2008-10-17T16:05:00.001-07:00

The following is a list of what went down on my recent trip to California (in no particular order): some drinking, golf (at the 'lark), college football, fishing, shabu, matsu, shabu again (but 50 people were in front of us so didn't eat), a bit more drinking, shabu again, and of course hangin' with family and friends. It was a great trip, but too short. Nice warm weather was also very nice.

These are the only photos I have that were worthy of a post, which is amazing since so much went down. Too busy to snap photos I suppose...

That's my sis, Katie. Was nice hangin' with her. Got to see her new apartment and met her roomies; nice people. She was at the college football game as well. We had a blast.

The college football game field. The team we were cheering for was victorious on this day.

This was a pretty fun night - the usual when hangin' with the old crew...not sure what time it was, but I do know they wanted to pass out. I only snapped four photos this night, and all of 'em were like this. I miss these guys...

You're a big strong yellowfin tuna.

This big strong yellowfin tuna tasted real nice as well.

Porpoises are pretty neat, and agile. You can see them in action below - pardon the wind.

Lately...

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Been a ton going on, but nothing really exciting to report. Maybe the camera hasn't been used appropriately lately...who knows?

This is the bathroom (washroom, WC, whatever) at Shawnigan. I had a chore...painting! Meghan thought it would be a great idea to take photos of me in action! I wear contacts, and it would be a bummer to have little white spots on them.

Straight rollin'...

Throw your hands in the air [aye-yeerr].

Monkey happy.

Irish folk and whiskey in the future!

Pretty view.

We went to this thing called Feast of Fields...was amazing. Would have taken more photos, but we were busy stuffing our faces. Basically, loads of amazing restaurants show up to this gig and give you all you can eat (and drink) for $75 per head. It was presented by FarmFolk.

There were chickens there - a whole coop actually.

Here is an example of one. They seemed pretty happy.