San Francisco, LifeCycle and beyond

I'm spending two days in San Francisco ahead of AIDS LifeCycle. Tomorrow I meet Alisa, the person I'll be in a car with for a week so I'm crossing my fingers that we'll get along. For the next week I'll be supporting 2500 cyclists doing the ride from SF to LA. Then I meet some friends in LA and drive back with Sarah via the Grand Canyon, Colorado, etc. Should be a fun week or so.

I also got talked into crewing the first ever Breast Cancer Ride. It's a two day event around Minneapolis. Should be a lot easier than the other things I have done. Just Saturday and Sunday and I might even be able to crash at home in my own bed during it which would be a nice change. It's June 20-21 and you can let me know if you are able to help out as they are still looking for volunteers.

Ok, now on to the season finale of Lost!

Reno

So almost to California. About 10 miles to be exact. Tomorrow is breakfast at Lake Tahoe and then maybe wine country on the way to San Francisco.

We spent the last four days in Jackson, Wyoming which was great although a bit rainy. To be exact, it has rained EVERY day of our trip so far. However, Sunday was pretty nice for the most part so we were able to see a good part of the parks. Yesterday was a downer and we were hanging out with my cousin Sara who lives there so we went to the National Museum of Wildlife Art which was actually really great. Also saw Ironman which wasn't too bad. Had some ice cream at what has to be one of the nicest Dairy Queens anywhere. Have you ever been to one that has a fireplace in the center and looks out on mountains? All in all, a great day even if it wasn't what was planned for Jackson.

On a bad first, today was the first day I have ever bought gas for over $4 a gallon. And it was well over that. Not the last time either. I think it will be a week or so before I get any for less. Bummer. Thank goodness I have been getting around 30 miles/gallon. Not bad for Gus (name of my Saturn Vue). Yes, it has more meaning. Saturns must have astronaut's names in my opinion so my SL2 was Shep and the Vue is Virgil "Gus" Grissom. Next Saturn will be Glenn after John Glenn to keep the Mercury 7 order going. If you want more info on them you can rent The Right Stuff :)

South Dakota

So today I pretty much crossed South Dakota. Erika and I are in Spearfish, almost to Wyoming. Tomorrow night I will be in Jackson where they are having Old West Days! There's a wine tasting tomorrow night. 400 different wines! Hmmm, what are the chances I can talk prima (cousin) Sara into joining us for that. I wouldn't bet against it if I were you.

We visited the Badlands which were pretty neat. It was really windy and pretty chilly though. The real bummer was that it rained and fogged in Mount Rushmore so we didn't get to see that. We did have dinner in Deadwood though. Pretty good and a cute town. You probably need to watch the HBO series to really appreciate it but I wouldn't recommend it if you are at all squeamish or averse to swearing. Interesting show though overall.

I'll write again with a update from Wyoming on our old West trek. Have a great day!

Off to the Wild West

So I've graduated, I'm still trying to figure out what to do for a career and so I've decided that now is the perfect time to take a long vacation. I'm crewing the AIDS Lifecycle in California with my vehicle which is forcing/allowing me to take a long road trip. I leave tomorrow with a friend for San Francisco. We're going to stop at Mount Rushmore, for several days at Jackson Hole (where I can visit a few cousins) and then to CA. In CA, I'll be hanging out for a few short days in San Francisco and then driving to Los Angeles with the ride. Once I get there another friend is meeting me and we are driving back via the Grand Canyon and Colorado. I'm not sure how much I'll get posted along the way but will try to at least do a few updates and maybe even put up some pictures. I definitely will get photos up at some point for you to ponder, enjoy, avoid work with.... Have a great day!

Neshek down? :(

Wow, really not daily lately. Oh well. The real bummer is that Neshek came up with an injury today which could be serious. Any time you feel a snap in the elbow as a pitcher, not good.

Spring has definitely sprung here. Getting much greener and going for a walk or run along the Mississippi is great these days. I noticed that there was a little mass of snow left on the banks of the river a few days ago but I think it is all totally gone now.

On the plus side in sports, the New Orleans Hornets are up 2-0 in their series against the Spurs. Tonight is game 2 in San Antonio. Keeping my fingers crossed.

So what does it say about the quality of your furniture when you rearrange it because there's just not enough support left? I have a really old sofa and love seat that are probably better suited for a fish house or something where you really just want trashed stuff but I'm not getting anything new for this apartment. Hopefully I can move in the next six months or so and grab something new. I rearranged it so that my main piece is the love seat rather than the sofa which kind of sucks because my knees are at the end of the love seat but oh well. Something different soon....

Have a great day and enjoy the spring! Oh yeah, there's now a lot of tulips blooming at yards in the neighborhood. Also good to see.