jimsjoint

Weekend Fun

Every once in a blue moon we have a weekend where we live the high life. Friday night we went to a party in Woodside. TOL was a company that Barb worked for over 10 years ago.  The company was bought out by some larger company. The two original owners of TOL  continue to have yearly parties for all of the ex-employees. Very VERY cool.  This year the party was at the house of one of the owners.  The house was maybe the biggest I've ever been in. Billiard room, Library,  Swimming pool, tennis court, all on a huge piece of property just this side of highway 280. We had nice time visiting with some of Barb's old friends. It was fun!

Saturday morning bike ride was great. Sunny and warm, little wind. 

Saturday night we were off to the Shark Tank for Linda's surprise party. Tim had reserved a penthouse suite for 50 people!!  Tri-tip, mashed taters, corn on the cob and a 5-0 shutout of the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins!! It doesn't get any better!!!

Sunday mass then over to Vandy's for brunch. Two (or was it five?) bloody marys and a great meal with friends.  Vicky was in the process of making home made minestrone soup. Lucky for us, she dropped off a big pot at our house for our dinner. BEST SOUP EVER!!! Throw in some NFL football and a NCIS marathon on TV, and it makes for a perfect weekend!

Kelly - then and now

  We pulled down the Halloween costume trunk this week. Kelly went through and came out to model a costume that she wore 15 years ago. It still fits!!! HaHa!!

Coyote Hills Flamingo

Took a solo ride out the creek trail today.  First ride out since the storms blew through earlier in the week. You could really tell Alameda Creek must've been flowing pretty good. There were even a couple of signs along the way, where it was obvious that the creek had risen to the point where it sloshed onto the trail. Most noticeably where highway 880 crosses the creek. Looked like the water was up that far!

 The flamingo is back yet again. That bird must spend every winter here now. Crazy. The old pink better watch out and hope that some wayward duck hunter doesn't mistake him for a flamboyant mallard! Duck season begins next week! Woohoo!  Its always special when bike riders and hunters can share some space.

 

1st House

Easter Sunday 1986 - 1st house

Thats what Barb wrote on the back of this picture. Look at that pretty young thang! Newlywed Barbie.  Easter of 86, we weren't even married a year yet. No kids, just Apollo, the cocker spaniel our realtor (Jo Szeto) gave to us as a house warming present. All was good in this picture, with the whole world and our whole life ahead of us. Barb's camero in the garage.  Its funny that Barb wrote "1st house" on the back. She probably figured we be in this place but just a few years. Oh well. Things worked out pretty well anyway.  Barb, you are such a hottie!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Good Vibes!

Its been a long journey for us. Starting in 1994 and continuing today. We have come so far, survived so much, LEARNED so much, and have been touched by compassion and friendship of friends, family, doctors, nurses, everyone! We are blessed

The good vibes continue, thanks to you.

Art of Living

Barb and I completed a six day course on the Art of Living.

"A non-denominational, educational and humanitarian non-profit organization, The Art of Living Foundation's  stated mission is to uplift society by strengthening the individual through programs that create a sense of belonging, restore human values, develop  life to its full potential, and encourage people from all backgrounds, religions, and cultural traditions to come together in celebration and service. According to the Foundation, it has programs in more than 140 countries around the world, and offers several courses to bring individuals knowledge and techniques to unlock their deepest potential and bring fullness to life."

Barb's niece Erin and her husband Mark are very involved in this organization. Barb and Erin were talking (or exchanging emails) and Erin suggested this program could help Barb with the issues she is dealing with in regards to her cancer treatment and other things going on in her life.  So we signed up for the 6 day "part 1"  course held at the Crown Plaza in Union City. Tuesday through Friday 7-10pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am-2pm. "bring a pillow, blanket and yoga mat". Pillow and blanket are right up my alley but I wouldn't know a yoga mat from a welcome mat.  So, ok, the course is a blend of breathing techniques, meditation, light yoga, and philosophy. All with the goal of making me a better person. Happy! I'm all for that!

One of  the main goals of the course is to teach  breathing techniques. The message is that the breath is the connection between the body and the mind. We spend our whole life breathing without giving  it much thought. True.   We would practice the techniques each day until we were able to do it at home without guidance.

Yoga.  Now, I must tell you, the class was about 21 people.  Other than one other lady, we were the oldest in the class.  One thing you don't want to see is a 50 year old overweight Irishman trying to do yoga! Eighty percent of the yoga was good. Stretching, bending, breathing, relaxing.  When the teacher said to sit cross legged, put your hands behind your back, then touch your forehead to the floor, I laughed!  I looked around and most everyone was able to do it! AMAZING! There were a couple of other things that I struggled to do, but I did try everything. On Saturday and Sunday we had a full hour of Yoga! Imagine that. Jim Flaherty, yoga man!

I really like the discussion part of the program.  We talked about life, happiness, responsibility, service, duty. We also talked about "living in the present".   Our minds are always working.  Thinking about things in the past or things in the future. More importantly, STRESSING about things in the past or things in the future. If we  can  teach ourselves to spend more time in the present, (live in the moment), then our lives will be better off. This really hit home for me. I am CONSTANTLY worrying about things that have happened, or things the I think will happen.  Its stupid if you think about it. The things in the past cannot be changed, so why bother? Worrying about thing in the future is even more stupid! Because chances are they won't even happen! That goes back to what they say in church about "protecting us from all anxiety and useless worry".

The first night we committed to some  "rules'  for the six days.  No caffeine. No Soda. No Meat. No Alcohol.  Cleansing the mind and body now  people!  Other than a slight caffeine headache the first day or so, I was ok. 

I also enjoyed meeting everyone in the class.  18 of the 21 folks there were of Indian persuasion. Over the six days we got to know everyone as a person. And they got to know us. We did group activities and exercises  where we learned about each other.  It was good. All good.

We even got lunch on the weekend. Kick ass vegetarian food. With Kate being a vegetarian most of her life, it wasn't too difficult for us to move to a vegetarian diet.  I need to find out some of  those recipes because they were mmmmm-mmmmm good! 

Overall it was a good experience for me. Something I would have NEVER done if it weren't for Barb. Thanks Honey!

Coach Kelly

 Oh how the pendulum has swung.  Our girl Kelly, who went from unknown water polo player at American High school to National Champion at Cal State East Bay,  has landed a job coaching  the varsity girls back at American High. Anyone  that knows American High water polo knows that the Varsity girls have yet to win a game. EVER!  So, fortunately for Kelly, there is nowhere to go but up.    The season started yesterday with a loss to the Washington Huskies. Those husky girls are tough.  Kelly has high hopes for the team and will use her smarts, ambition, skill and knowledge (even good looks!)  to get these girls a win. But ultimately  its those varsity girls that will have to win it. In the pool.  Will this be the breakout year?   I sure hope so!   GOOD LUCK COACH KELLY!!

Throwing in the picture of Kelly and Melissa from the American High alumni game a couple of weeks ago.  You go girls!

Our Hero.....

  Kate has been in the Marines for 10 months now. In Okinawa for over a month.  We miss her so much. Communication back and forth is hit and miss. The 16 hour time difference makes it even more difficult. We continue to go by the "no news is good news"  motto.  She is in our thoughts and in our prayers daily.

 Kate gave me a dog tag that I wear proudly. Every Sunday to church and several times during the week.  The "Hero's Prayer" is etched into the back of the dog tag.

"Lord,  I ask for courage.... To conquer my fears.  I ask for strength..... To protect others. I ask for protection.... Over my family and friends. Through it all be at my side."

Kate is our hero!

Diamond Resorts Yes - Timeshare Forum No

So you already read the post about the horrid timeshare sales presentation that we endured while on our vacation week in Tahoe last month.After I wrote the blog entry, I sent it, along with a "cover" email, to a couple of executives at Diamond resorts international. I basically told them that I was disgusted and disappointed in the sales presentation, especially since the played the "cancer card" on us.

 

Almost  immediately I received an email reply from one of the executives, the Chief Experience Officer,  asking if he could speak to me about the situation. He even went as far as researching and finding my phone number. He left a nice voicemail saying he wanted to talk to me. I gave him a call the next day. He was a very nice man. Apologized on behalf of Diamond Resorts. He told me that that type of sales tactic "was not Diamond Resorts"  He wanted to let me know that this will be an agenda item during the next day's senior staff meeting. He told me that he would follow up with another phone call. Sure enough, couple of days later I received a call from the sales director at LTVR. He was polite and professional. He too apologized and said that he counseled both sales guys on what is and what is not acceptable sales practice. Today I received a follow up call from DRI as well as a nice comment on the blog. In my opinion these guys went above and beyond in trying to rectify the situation and properly communicate their actions back to me. Everyone I dealt with (after the presentation) has been professional and sincere.. As far as I'm concerned, case closed.

 

Thanks to the management staff at DRI. My faith in humanity is restored

 

But wait!!!  Now some jerktoid has hijacked my blog entry!

 

Soon after posting this story on my blog, I received a comment (since deleted)  from someone I didn't know. This person must have Googled their way to jimsjoint. Anyway, this person said that I should check out the "timeshare forum" website where other people have similar stories. SPAM!   I clicked  the link that they provided.  I'm scrolling down the main page and ..low and behold...there is my posting on their website. HI-JACKED!!  So, who ever this person was, copy/pasted MY story, and made it sound like it was their own story!  INCREDIBLE!  There were even several comments on my post there.  A mix of "I feel your pain" and even a few who slammed us for going on the timeshare presentation in the first place. The next day I received even more "comments/spam" (since deleted) on jimsjoint telling me that I should use some exchange company for my timeshare!   I've asked the hijacker to remove my post but they have not. If only they would step up like DRI did, all would be good.

Timeshare Hell

Things got nasty at the end. We were finishing up a timeshare presentation at the Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort.  This, the same resort where we own a timeshare week. We've been owners here since 1998. Every time we come up (especially since the property was sold to Diamond Resorts International) we are invited  to take a tour and convert our deeded property to a "points based system."  After years of being worn down, and with time on our hands during our week up there, we decided to take a tour. Compensation for our time would be a $125 gift card and a "complementary" 3 day 2 night stay at one of the other Diamond Resorts locations.  Under no circumstances were we going to buy, upgrade,convert anything to anybody. We learned our lessons about timeshares when we paid "developer prices"  back in 1998.  I told our sales rep "Andrew" right up front, that we weren't interested in buying, trading, or exchanging.   One true thing that Andrew said during the presentation was "well, the one thing I can't do is spend your money."  Thank God for that, else Andrew would have dipped into our pockets and pulled out near $50,000.  

 

Anyway, we get pulled into a large room where 20 other couples were each sitting at a table with a salesperson getting the Diamond Resorts sales pitch. After some obligatory small talk,  Andrew  went on with this presentation. Assured that, with his mountain of data, smarts, quick wit, and logical answer to EVERYTHING, he would convince us that it made sense to "buy points." Since we were what he called "traditional owners" (deeded vs. "points" owners), he first tried to get us to supplement our current week in Tahoe by buying into the points system. To make a long long LONG story short, they were trying to sell us one of three "point packages" ranging from $20,000 to $47,000.   The pitch was, for $20k, we can get lifetime access to a studio or one bedroom for a week anywhere in the world. For the $47k, we can get a two bedroom for a week anywhere in the world during the most desirable times of the year, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Easter, Christmas.  I told Andrew, that out of the 11 years that we have owned our timeshare in Tahoe, we have spent 4th of July here 8 of those years. That means that what I have now is worth $47K, so why would I need to buy more points? "To get into the CLUB". The CLUB allows us "exclusive exchanges to exotic locations around the world". "Where do you want to go?" Andrew asked us. We hate to play this game. Truthfully, there are plenty of places I'd like to go, but what I wanted to say was that we don't like to go anywhere but Tahoe. To please Andrew,  I say "Hawaii". Andrew is proud to show us the "signature properties" on both Maui and Kauai. HA HA!!  I tell him "we've stayed in both of those places via an outside exchange company. One of our best vacations ever! Things weren't going Andrew's way so he decided to give us the tour.  We did like the "new" two bedroom. He called them "deluxe" but they were just "remodeled". Same floor plan but totally upgraded. NICE!!  He first said that in 18 months all the units would be upgraded, but later said that traditional owners (like us) would not get to use them. Whatever. At this point we knew we couldn't trust anything Andrew was saying. He had lost us. 

 

The hard sell, no matter how he tried, was not working.  It was finally beginning to sink in to poor Andrew that he wasn't going to make a sale on this day. Several times throughout the presentation, Andrew would stop, put his pencil down,  look at us and say.."make sense?" Just to move things along (already at the magic 90 minute mark) I always said "yes, makes sense". But no matter what sense HE thought it made, the fact of the matter was that he was trying to sell us something that we already had!   I just think Andrew wanted to make "cents".

 

So after two hours we give Andrew the final, bad news, that we just couldn't afford such a great deal no matter how much sense it made.  " The one thing I can't do is spend your money".  (THANK GOD!)   "I'll go get Danny to give you the exit interview and you'll be on your way"  Awesome.  Thanks Andrew!!  So we are waiting for about 10 minutes.. I really thought the worst was over. 

 

 So Andrew comes back and introduces Danny. Danny shakes Barb's hand first,  " Andrew told me about your battle with cancer. (Andrew asked us about our wristbands when we were seeing the deluxe 2 bedroom)  My Dad has stage 4 pancreatic cancer so I know what a hard time you are having". Danny was VERY compassionate.  " Let me go through the exit questions real quick and get you back to your vacation..... How was Andrew?? 'good'. Was the presentation helpful? 'yes'  Why won't you buy?  'we can't afford it. "Ok, let me go turn this in and I'll be right back. Five minutes later Andrew and Danny BOTH come back. Danny has done us a favor!!  He has checked and noticed that we were never given the opportunity to "convert to points" back in 2004 and that he would "go to bat for us" if we really wanted him to. He will try to get us the same deal that "everyone else" has taken advantage of.  So now Andrew leaves and Danny sits down. They called in the relief pitcher! THE CLOSER!! So Danny sits down with a piece of notepaper with the "FINAL OFFER" all written out.  For $7200, they would give us 3000 points a year, then convert our current deeded timeshare week to 10,500 annual points. Giving us 13,500 points a year, all for the bargain basement price of $7200. "Its an unbelievable deal.  I'll give you a couple minutes to think about this. Then Danny looks me right in the eye, and with all sincerity says  "but I want to tell you, if my wife had cancer, I would definitely want to spend some more quality time her. this would be the perfect opportunity to do that". It was only then that I realized just how much of a sleaze this guy was!!!!  Danny was actually trying to guilt me into buying his stupid points!. He played the cancer card in trying to sell a timeshare!  How low can a guy go?  I was disappointed  and I think it showed. He looked me in the eye when he said that, and I'm pretty sure he realized that, at that point, he had blown it.

 

So Danny leaves to let us decide. What a jerk!! We both couldn't believe what he had just done. My faith in humanity was shattered.   Five minutes later Andrew comes back and says "Good news!  Danny just heard from his dad and the tumor is shrinking....So I hear you are ready to buy?!?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Sorry Andrew, you have it all wrong. "Danny said that you were interested in the offer, and it IS an excellent offer." Get a clue Andrew, and get a shave while your at it. I quickly TRY to explain to Andrew that if we paid $7200 to convert to points, and received 13,000 points a year, we could not spend 4th of July (like we've done 8 of 11 years) in Tahoe anymore since it would "cost" 15,000 points to do so. HELLO?!?!?!?!?  MAKE SENSE!!!!????? 

 

Andrew's only response was that he "felt real sorry for us" because we weren't taking this offer. He made it sound (in his own special way) that we must be idiots for not taking the offer. At this point I'm just trying to get out of there with the gift card and without assaulting someone.  "OK, Jenny will be over to get you your gifts and get you back to your vacation" Thanks Andrew!!!  Jenny comes over, not with the gifts but with the FINAL FINAL OFFER. Pay $900 for a "$3500 valued"  vacation and have a whole year to decide on the original $20,000 to $47,000 offers. No thanks Jenny, Gifts please!! COCKTAILS!!!!

 

So we FINALLY get out of there with a couple of Visa Gift cards totaling $125 and the voucher for the 2 night stay. Our blood pressure was WAY up and we needed to get back into vacation mode ASAP. We decided to make a bee line across the way to the Riva Grill for cocktails and appetizers, courtesy of the gift cards. After a couple of rounds and a few appetizers, the bill came and ...CARD DENIED!!!!. SORRY!! We don't accept these since we've had so many problems with them!!  Are you kidding me?!?!?!  The final insult in an otherwise perfect vacation to Tahoe. It was a good thing we were able to order stuff online that night, else I would have had to .......

 

I should say that I fully expected a hard sell. That's why I avoided their calls and invitations for so long. It was a hard sell that got nasty at the end. Playing the cancer card to sell timeshares is a disgrace. Our buddy Andrew "feeling sorry for us" was his back handed way of saying we were stupid.  SHAME SHAME SHAME ON THEM.

 

We used the cards to order stuff from Amazon.com. Bought a pizza the next night and even some Starbucks coffee!!   If you want to buy a timeshare, call me first!!

Lance Corporal Kate

So Kate's been in Okinawa for just only a couple of weeks and already got a promotion! Hard to believe that Kate has been a Marine for  nine months now. Needless to say, we are so proud of her. She knew that she had a promotion coming and sent us email saying "I'm getting promoted in a few minutes".  Then about an hour later we got this picture, of her new rank. So Lcpl Kate gets a few more bucks in her pocket every month, and a little more respect from her peers. I should mention, that during the promotion ceremony, they called her "Flattery", just like they used to do to me in the Army!

Communication is limited to email and skype, and with the 16 hour time difference, we can only "connect" late night or early morning.  Either way, its amazing to me that we can connect at all.  I love technology!!

Congratulations Kate!

Ahhhhh.... Tahoe

Our week in Tahoe has come and gone!  One of the few years that we weren't in Tahoe for 4th of July. We were looking for a more serene and quiet week this year.  And we found it.  We invited Sheri Carruthers and family  for a "relaxation vacation." Checked into a nice two bedroom on the 5th floor with lake view. Spent the week in kick-back mode. After a combined $300 (boy can those Carruthers eat!) grocery shopping trip, we were ready for our vacation!  We met team Downing (who were up there for a quick weekend)  on Sunday for a nice hike out at Rubicon Point. I've always wanted to do this hike,  on the west side of the lake between Emerald Bay and Meeks Bay.  The trail skirts the side of the lake and provides stunning views. Its also the part of the lake where its 1000 feet deep right off shore.  Just beautiful.

The rest of our week consisted of grill'n and chill'n. We ate like kings!  We slept in everyday! We did a beach day. We drove around the lake one day. Did the Heavenly Gondola one day. We spent  quality time with Sheri, Becca, Taylor and Matt.  All good people. Matt loved Tahoe so much that he spent the bulk of his time trying to convince Sheri to move there.  We missed them when they left on wednesday. We went on a stupid timeshare presentation on Wednesday afternoon, then spent pretty much all Thursday hanging out in the condo. We packed up and said goodbye to Tahoe on Friday afternoon. The end to another great Tahoe vacation.  Check out the pictures by clicking here!

Wet Woody Wednesday at the Riva Grill

Getting to (know) Okinawa

We dropped Kate off at Oakland airport on Wednesday morning. She had stop-overs in Las Vegas and Albuquerque on her way to Dallas.  Arrived Dallas 9:30 PM (thanks to "papa " Fraley for shuttling Kate to the hotel and getting her settled). 6am flight brought her BACK to San Francisco for a short layover (don't ask why she couldn't just leave from SFO, thats the military way) before she got on the Boeing 777 for a monster 12 hour flight to Osaka Japan. Short layover then another two hour flight to Okinawa.  According to my calculations she just landed in her new home (for two years anyway) a couple of hours ago!!

So where the hell is Okinawa anyway?  Its 6400 miles across the pacific. Its 900 miles south of Tokyo and part of the Ryukyu Islands. Its about as far away as one can be. If you look at the little speck on Google maps, you will see what I mean. She is just as close to Taiwan and China as she is to Japan.  They are on Japan Standard Time zone, which is 16 hours ahead of us. As I write this its 8:02AM Friday in Cali and 12:02 AM Saturday in Okinawa.

The weather?  Tropical. Yahoo weather shows the high is 88 and the low is 81, everyday! 

Sounds good to me!

Now we wait for that first call or email.

Tahoe to Tahoe and in Between

Seems like we were just up in Tahoe for the Downing anniversary party, and here we are getting ready to go up again this weekend for another vacation. In between our Tahoe trips we have been busy. Weekend before last we were up in the city for a Flaherty family reunion at MaryAnne and Bob Short's house. MaryAnne is our cousin. Her mom and my dad were brother and sister.  I brought along some old photo albums and pictures. Also brought a couple of Toto's pizzas since Toto's is/was a San Francisco and Daly City tradition.  It was great to spend some time with family at something other than a funeral. Thats what MaryAnne said and its true. Its up to us cousins to keep the family connected now that all the children of Michael Flaherty and Kate Halligan (my grandparents)  have passed away.

Kate came home on Wednesday!!  Its been a LONG five months since we saw her last. She completed Marine combat training in North Carolina and the Communicati0n cable/ antenna systems apprentice course in Texas. So great to have her home, even if only for a few days.  She is home for a week before she heads to Okinawa (her permanent duty station) for the next couple of years.

We had a little homecoming/21st birthday/going away party for Kate on Saturday. Low key and nice. All her best-est friends were there. It was great. After the party, Kate and Kelly hit the road for Southern California, spent the night in Ventura (thanks Heather!), then made their way to 29 Palms so Kate could say hello and goodbye to some Marine buddys. They come back tonight. Then we take her to the airport and say goodbye (this time for at least a year) on Wednesday. *mental note to get passport.*   Kate and Kelly already have plans for July 4th 2010 in Tahoe.

So we will be at our timeshare on Ski Run from this saturday to next saturday. Spending the first few days with Sheri Carruthers and a three of her kids. Hopefully the end of summer crowds will be fewer. Its going to be a kick back and relaxation vacation. 

Tahoe Ramble

We were up there Sunday to Sunday.  Our first EVER Tahoe vacation without the kids. Used our timeshare week at the Stardust Resort.  Monday morning we took advantage of one of the resort activities, a guided bike ride down to Eldorado Beach, Regan Beach and back. Since we had our bikes, and have always wanted to take part in some resort activity, we signed up the the ride. It was fun for us.  A nice easy (how slow can you go) ride down Lake Tahoe  Blvd to El Dorado beach.  Kenny, the resort manager and tour guide, educated us on Lake Tahoe.  It was a beautiful morning for a ride. The view from El Dorado Beach was fantastic. After the "Tahoe talk" it was back on our bikes and onto Regan beach to feed the geese. Right before we got to the beach, Barb got a flat tire!   I had a spare tube with me so I did a quick (8 minute!) tire change and we were back with the group in no time.  

Monday night Michelle and Olivia arrived, and we spent most of the rest of the week with them, getting ready for the big anniversary bash that would take place on Saturday. It was real nice to spend some quality time with our newest buds. Tuesday night we were just kicking back in our room watching the news when all of a sudden we see a bro John picture on the local news!  The weather guy for channel 2 in Reno is ALWAYS using bro John's pics in his weather forecast, so it was really cool to see one of his pics show on on the news while we were there. The Hope Valley picture was another stunning shot. Bro John has turned into a great photographer.

The rest of the week went by fast. Wednesday was the beans and rice tour. Thursday people started arriving. Weirdest thing about Thursday was the hailstorm that blew through.  We were on the deck at the Downing's cabin when a HUGE crack of Thunder clapped over head, then big drops of rain and hail started falling.  Friday morning we took a bike ride from Downing's cabin down to Pope Beach to check out the digs for the party. We made a BIG batch of salsa (which was VERY popular by the way) at the cabin while party prep went on all around us.

Saturday was the party. Spent most of the day at Pope beach. Played horse shoes, swam, ate, drank and visited with all of Michelle and John's family and friends. All good people. Michelle's aunt Pat lives in Gardnerville and promised to look up bro John since she is in Scolari's almost every day. As the day stretched into early evening people started to filter out. After the sun set behind Mount Talac, it was time for us to go. Since we were leaving first thing Sunday, we said our goodbyes to everyone and thanked Michelle, John (and Olivia) for their hospitality and friendship.

Tahoe "beans and rice" Tour - 2009

So Barb and I are up in Tahoe for Team Downing's 25th wedding anniversary party on Saturday. Everybody that's anybody in "Downing world" will be partying on Pope Beach day after tomorrow.  I guess the crowds start arriving today.  Yesterday was a fun day. We rode our bikes (5 miles) to see Michelle and Olivia at their cabin. We hung out  awhile then decided to go check out some Mexican food places in preparation for the party on Saturday. The anniversery party  menu is carne asada, pollo, rice and beans.  Rather than cook everything (good idea!!) Michelle was going to have the rice and beans catered, then all they would have to do is cook up the steak and chicken. So our goal yesterday was to go on a rice and bean tasting tour. YAY!! It was pretty cool because, first of all, we got to tour around south shore in Michelle's Sebring convertible!. Plus, its just me and the three girls. Plus we get to eat!!!

So we cruise around to about 5 or 6 Mexican places. Olivia, Barb and I wait in the car. Michelle goes in to do business.  Sooner or later, she  would come out, with a smile on her face, and a little sample of beans and rice. All of us take bites of each, then critique each while Michelle gives us the rundown on the dealio. In each place she it asking for prices on beans and rice to feed forty people. So, as we are sampling, she gives us pricing information as well as ancillary information, All in an effort to come to an overall conclusion on the best (and most affordable) beans and rice in South Shore.  Place after place, we would stop, Michelle would go in, then come out with samples. This was starting to be fun! We joked, could you bring a margarita with that? Maybe some chips? Each time out though, Michelle would come out with her little samples and be smiling like the Cheshire cat, and we ate like kings. Kings of rice and beans anyway.

I think we covered just about every Mexican eatery in South Shore. From hole in the wall to upscale cantina. Surprisingly, beans and rice are not just beans and rice. Each place offered samples with different flavors, consistency and presentation. AND PRICE!! You'd think plain old rice and beans would be pretty inexpensive, but when you are asking for 40 servings, the prices start to go up.  The highest was $90!!!!! FOR BEANS AND RICE!!!  That's almost like movies charging $10 for popcorn. Along the way we talked about all the places we tried and in the end, we all voted for the first place we tried. The Grandma/Grandpa hole in the wall was the best!

Happy Birthday Kate! Sorry its Late : (

Ya know, sometimes,  I forget that people actually read this blog.  I check the stats once in a while, and see that, on average, I get about 15-20 hits per day on jimsjoint.  I'm thinking most of those are me!  Now with the popularity of Facebook, and everyone using that, I was beginning to think that jimsjoint's popularity was starting to diminish. Then I realized that I have one reader of jimsjoint that is maybe more important than anyone else out there. My Marine.

It was her birthday Monday. We sent her a card, some goodies, and even Skyped with her. I was even the first one to wish her a  HAPPY BIRTHDAY on her facebook wall.  All was well intended, but I neglected to put up a happy birthday posting here on jimsjoint. For that I have earned the wrath of my Marine.  MY BAD!!  On the bright side, it made me realize that I'm not just posting these posts for my own benefit. People actually read them. Kate actually reads them!   Another lifeline to home.  Man I love that kid!

So our baby turned 21.  Away from home, with her Marine buddys, and feeling maybe just a little homesick, we agreed that we would have her birthday party when she comes home in a few weeks. August 15th. Schwing by!  Drink a shot with the 21 year old.  Shotgun a few brewskies before she heads off to Okinawa. 

Seriously though, I couldn't be prouder of Kate. She has been gone 8 month now!  Has gone through sooooo much, has learned soooooo much and has grown soooooo much. She is not only a Marine, but now she is a full fledged adult!  Our baby is 21.

I love you honey!

Lapdogs

The Crazies at Google

So Kate is going to be stationed in Okinawa. Of course, since we heard the news we've been scouring the net for information on Kate's future home.  Looks pretty nice to me. Its smack dab in the middle of some prime snorkel territory!   What I really wanted was to see where Okinawa is on the map in relation to California.   So I pull up Google Maps, and just for fun,  used the "Get Directions" option, and typed "California" in one field and "Okinawa" in the next.

To my surprise (and delight) , Google provided  directions!!  It would be 9003 miles and take 36 days and 17 hours!

 I will spare you the details of the 95 different steps.  The first 17 steps make me drive from California to Washington state and the coast.  Not sure why.  Step 17 states  "Kayak across the Pacific ocean - 2756 miles".   Step 18 is  "slight right at Turtle Bay Hilton"  HAWAII BABY!  Then you are forced onto city streets in Honolulu (UGH!) .   Step 30 puts you back into the mighty Pacific on your Kayak,  this time for a 3879 mile paddle to Japan!!!!

After that it gets confusing because the directions are in Japanese.  It looks like the last 800 miles you are driving toll roads and taking ferries, and eventually ending up in Okinawa!

I just paddled in and boy, are my arms tired!

Thanks Google. You made my day