Rookies put on amazing wedding!

We're back from a most excellent trip up to the Twin Cities for the wedding of Angela House and Kieran Houlihan. Patricia and I flew to MSP on Oct. 10 (Wed); easy flight; free upgrade to what passes for a Dodge Charger these days; off to Therese's apartment where we changed clothes and went to our first event of the wedding weekend. (BTW, we stayed for two nights at Therese's condo and enjoyed various St. Paul amenities; more on that in a separate post.) Anyway, that first night there was a get-together at the home of dysfunctional #1 - there were some tasty fajitas, good drinks, lots of good chat. Got to meet the groom and his parents and "mates", if I'm using the terminology correctly. Also got to see Carol & Jim, Steve, Cecilia & Margaret, etc. Nice all around.

Patricia, Therese and I eventually made it up to the House house after a late lunch on Thursday. Only to say goodbye to everyone going to rehearsal and turn right around to retrace our steps to pick up Nicole at the airport (flying in from Chicago). We were almost an hour late getting there; things are slow in this town after last summer's infamous I-35 bridge collapse. Made our roundabout way to the rehearsal dinner at Major's, where the group had its own room. Went around the tables with introductions by all; a very nice evening with good opportunity to get to know folks. And to catch up with my own family members, as seven siblings (plus HSG & EMG) were in attendance. Also some "big buck hunting" and the like downstairs as the evening wore on. Watched a bit of the Diamondbacks vs. Rockies NLCS game #1 during dinner (that's all I'm going to say about that series, our baseball fun peaked the previous week at the game described here).

Friday was the wedding day; similar to the previous day, we headed north to the church after a late lunch. It was fun talking to everyone before the ceremony, going through picture-taking etc. Then we were seated and enjoyed some pregame music, the high point of which consisted of Dolores and Clare performing the adagio movement from Mozart's concerto for clarinet and orchestra in A (K 622), a delightful excerpt from which appears immediately below (enjoy!):



This is a fine tune indeed.

After some uncertainty whether the ring bearer (Allison) would make her scheduled appearance, the ceremony otherwise went off without a hitch - very nicely planned. (Though the deacon reminded some of Montgomery Burns.) Then the usual fun going through reception line and yakking with everyone about how nice everything was.

We stopped briefly at the Hampton Inn (Shoreview) and checked in, then headed to the reception at Kozlak's - this turned out very well also. The four of us were at a table with Steve & Liz and family, which was fun. The place actually was capable of serving excellent banquet food at the right temperature, which is nice for fussy eaters like me. There was a nice video showing scenes around Sydney. The speeches were all quite good, and Steve H. actually generated some laughs with his description of Angie's studies "abroad." Wedding music and dancing, and I spent the evening talking to all the various folks that I don't get to see enough of. It was nice. By the time we got settled in at the hotel it was pushing 2a.

So we almost missed the hotel breakfast on Saturday morning except that the attendant took pity. That allowed us to finish breakfast by 11 and line up within an hour for a Green Mill pizza lunch courtesy of our intrepid wedding hosts. By the way, it was fun to hang around the breakfast room both mornings, another good opportunity for folks to talk. Patricia and I ran a couple errands for Cecilia and then went to the House house. This (Saturday) was the only day with scheduled outdoor activities, and it also was the only day with good weather - and it was fine indeed. Sunny, little breeze, mid-60s - sweet! Watched a softball game for awhile, then everyone gathered at the House house again.

The rest of the day was a bit rowdy and quite fun. Notre Dame fans were screaming continuously as their heroes fell to 1-6 courtesy of Boston College. The Aussies showed endless energy, even moving into some rugby action (supremely low quality video follows):



Had sandwiches, salads, etc. Plus ate some of the massive stack of cookies furnished by Grandma. Later, a pretty animated group gathered around the kitchen table to discuss whatever the heck they felt like discussing. This required additional fuel, so I started serving crackers with some smoked "buddha" cheese. Not sure how the topics all moved around, but it included items such as the dubious experiences of the EM Gales children with some of the vehicles that had been part of the EMG fleet over the years, including bluey and the bullet hole car, not to mention the three best cars that sadly had been wrecked. Even talked about digging the silver anniversary edition '64 Mercury out of Billy Devine's garage.

Then we pulled out some of the leftover fruit salad - a nice mixture of melon, grapes, raspberries, etc. Except that wasn't good enough for one of the conversationalists, who appeared to prefer "raspberries only" and shall remain nameless.

There was a spirited euchre game in the other room. Later we started yelling about ASU beating Washington (getting text messages from our sons in attendance at the game). At some point we went back to the hotel after a more than full day. The Summit Pale Ale continues to impress.

That takes us to Sunday - another nice session with all sorts of folks in the breakfast room; checked out; enjoyed attending 11:15a Mass with the group; picked up a quick lunch at LeeAnn Chin which we all ate at the House house; various folks peeled off from time to time for the airport or other destinations; more conversations; eventually said our goodbyes and Nicole, Patricia and I headed to the airport. It was v. nice that Nicole made the trip, though we missed the rest of the kids. Easy trip back to Phoenix after a slight delay on the runway.

A few editorial comments:

1. We of course knew that Kieran was lucky to get Angie, but learned that the luck runs in both directions. He is a v. good guy.

2. The Aussie contingent was lots of fun, those guys never seemed to tire, were excellent at dealing with the large contingent of new folks with whom they were dealing, etc. The "dysfunctionals" apparently were excellent hosts for these folks (and generally very helpful with the wedding as I understand things).

3. For being rookies at putting on weddings, Steve & Cecilia came through big time. The planning was great throughout. And this involved much more than many weddings do - they were planning for five+ days with folks from all sorts of different locations. Nice job.

4. This was the third out of four weekends that Patricia and I were on the road for multiple days. Completely different types of trips, all delightful; she is a fine traveling companion indeed.

5. Patricia and I did a lousy job of taking photos; most of what is posted here was taken from Charlie and Nicole, possibly with their implied consent. REMINDER, click on photos to enlarge, as always.

6. Didn't realize that Angie has a website for Australian info, you can reach it here.

7. Dan & Barb have photogenic children.

Salt Lake City and Park City (September 26-30)

This follow up an earlier post about our experience listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (which can be found here).

Anyway, Patricia was selected to attend an Emergency Nurse Association (or somesuch name) conference in Salt Lake City. She flew up on Wednesday, September 26 and I followed the next day; we returned to Phoenix on Sunday, September 30.

I certainly didn't have very high expectations for the trip, but it turned out to be wonderful fun. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir experience was great. The hotel - a Kimpton property (the Hotel Monaco) - was very nice, and Patricia had a beautiful room with views all around (unlike the room of the other Mayo nurse attending the conference). After the choir concert on Thursday evening, we had dinner at Bambera - the hotel restaurant.

On Friday, she went to a ridiculously early session or two, but we had most of the day to walk around the town. Had lunch at a brew pub named "Squatter's" - unusual local liquor laws require sitting in specific section of the bar to be served wine. Nice place, all fun. They had a bunch of entertaining T-shirts, etc. so we bought gifts for the kids.

During her afternoon session, I walked around Temple Square a bunch, including the museum and the genealogy center. Also walked far enough east to get a view up state street to the capital building. It is amazing what these folks have accomplished. Took a photo of the hand cart memorial as that is quite the striking image.

Then we (with Jackie) walked around town for awhile prior to dinner. Beautiful, warm weather. The downtown actually is quite nice, though massive rebuilding is underway. Walked to a nice shopping mall built around an old train station. Then walked toward our restaurant choices. I guess it would have helped if had made a reservation. One amusing incident was that some young kids were protesting the circus' abuse of animals, then switched to chanting about foie gras outside a nice restaurant before the cops intervened. I guess protests don't seem to have the same subject matter seriousness as in the good old days? We ended up at PF Chang's, which was ok under the circumstances (if barely).

On Saturday, we took a road trip to Park City. There was a fast-moving, one-day storm on this date, so drove through snow (though little accumulation) driving up the canyon and over the summit. Short, easy trip; more scenic than expected.

Park City is a fun little ski town; we walked the shops and had an amazing lunch at 421 Bistro. Continued to run into interesting microbrews. Also ran into interesting conversation at the Bistro, including this guy who was talking about his efforts to improve communication with China, etc. (with his Chinese significant other); you can read about him here. I was MVP of ordering with a sensational Beef Bourguignon. We walked the galleries and shops for awhile longer before heading out.

Stopped at the Olympic visitors center briefly on our way back to Salt Lake City. This was fun; the Chinese national team practices free-style snow board jumps, which involves coming down a ramp and landing in a pool. Interesting exhibits, etc. Eventually had a fantastic multi-hour dinner at Martine's; we benefited from a downtown dining promotion that happened to be going on during our visit. Filet tapas; pork medallion tapas; salads; duck entree; flourless chocolate dessert; espresso; yum.

Sunday - had our usual oatmeal & fruit breakfast at Bambera, a pretty room where they do a nice job with everything. Got organized to check out; another nice lunch at Squatter's; did our usual extended walking tour, including a bit more at the Temple Square; flew back to Phoenix. Just a great trip.

Jerome and Sedona (September 21-24)

Here are some photos from the trip Patricia and I took over the weekend of September 21-24.

We started out from Phoenix on Friday, September 21. Drove up through Prescott and had lunch at an old hotel there right on the old court house plaza. Lunch was fine, and that part of town is fun to walk around in. The remainder of Prescott (and particularly Prescott Valley) is getting progressively more depressing - just a bunch of housing developments, strip malls, chain stores.

So we drove up to Sedona via a beautiful, curvy road. Checked into the Jerome Grand Hotel - a converted hospital with a wonderful history, which you can read about here. The rooms are pretty spartan, but the place is clean and, perched atop the town, features unbelievable views. We always get a room on the third floor, which has a balcony.

Checked in, strolled around downtown a bit, then came back and sat on the balcony; our "neighbors" were chatty but amusing. Then had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant right in the hotel, named "The Asylum." Take a look at the interior photo. They do a great job.

Saturday, September 22 - we had planned on hiking the Woodchute Trail on Mingus Mountain, but the weather was cool and rainy. So we got our exercise in walking all around Jerome. Started with breakfast at the Mile High Inn - some of the local color was already hitting the bottle, but it was nice. Drove down to the old high school building, which now is used for art galleries. I really liked that place. Like the old hospital, the high school reflects a community that once was awash in money.

Then we drove to the house of the owner of the largest mine; now it's a museum. This wasn't as interesting as expected but was ok; I include a photo of the "Little Daisy" mine, it's interesting how they describe all this. Then continued walking the shops awhile, had a late lunch at a place called "Grapes." Fun food, beverages, waitress was a hoot. Rested at the hotel awhile, more walking all through the town, there was an interesting wine place with a cute dog. Another wonderful dinner at Asylum.

Sunday, September 23 - another breakfast at the Mile High Inn; then got organized and drove up to Sedona. Went to the Boynton Canyon trail head and did the hike past the Enchantment Resort and on up the canyon. I include a few pictures. Not much elevation gain, but we went at least five miles total. The part near the resort is average, then it gets more and more beautiful. We'd definitely go back. Back to town and had lunch at the Oak Creek Brewery in Tlaquepaque. Checked into the Orchards. This place has wonderful red rock views. Had a nice dinner creekside at Lauberge - everything very nice except it got a bit cold for us as the evening progressed.

Monday, September 24 - our only iffy meal of the whole trip was breakfast at some place in Sedona. But we had a nice cup of coffee and a spectacular view right down the street to make up for it. Walked the shops at Tlaquepaque and elsewhere; delightful lunch at The Hideaway (one of our regular spots in Sedona). Headed back to Phoenix and ended up for dinner at a new restaurant in Cave Creek named "The Spotted Donkey." Patricia had a salmon dish that was wonderful, it's a fun place.

D'backs beat Cubs

This turned out to be fun. Paul organized a group of 10 (including Patricia and me) to attend Game 2 of the division series between the Cubs and D'backs.

Seats were up high along the right field line. We've never sat up there before and the seats were just fine, actually a really interesting viewing angle. (And baseball is truly a beautiful game - click the top photo to enlarge and get a feel for our perspective.)

The game turned out really well, at least for the D'backs. Cubs hit an early two-run home run to take the lead, but otherwise it was all Arizona.

The D'backs did all sorts of interesting things - three-run home run by Chris Young (leading to the Ted Lilly glove toss); safety squeeze by Doug Davis scoring Justin Upton and discombobulating the Cub infield; two unbelievable plays in the field by Stephen Drew; Augie Ojeda being a general annoyance to the Cubs; Justin Upton tracking down a ball in right center (we actually had a great line on that play from where we were sitting); etc.

Then there was an entertaining element in dealing with Cub fans. Arizona is plagued with these folks (as are various other markets, including Florida cities in particular). There was a decent number of Cub fans in the stadium, with quite a few near us. And there was some big talking going amongst the Cub contingent after the initial home run. After that: complete shut-down. It had to be a miserable game for these folks, some of whom supposedly had traveled from Chicago due to ticket shortages there. Most were gone by the 7th inning.

Two of these folks deserve(?) mention. I'm enjoying that the photo here of a portion of our group also includes the obnoxious - and obviously miserable - Cub fan that sat right behind us. This guy was loud and annoying for about 15 minutes (which is about how long it took for the Cubs to fall behind for good); then he spent three hours in evident agony, very quiet, until finally disappearing in the 7th. Beer didn't seem to help him.

Then there was another clown in a Cubs hat who jumped from section to section blowing a whistle. The guy ostensibly was pumping up Cubs fans (though only a few remained at this point), but it was pretty obvious that his main goal was to draw a response from the Arizona fans. Which he got, including (in addition to some not-so-fond comments) a beer shower and a water bottle in the back of the head before security shuffled him off. This woman sitting beside me (Laurie) was pretty well loosened up at this point and the soon-to-be-incarcerated clown certainly inspired her to run her mouth. Not that it took much.

Huge crowd (48,575) and long concession lines, which led to a tale by Jon Blaha about selling two beers to some fan for $20 each.

Good times.

A video clip worth playing (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

I can't really explain great musical experiences, but it involves some combination of right time and right place (in addition to excellent performance, of course). Patricia and I ran into a memorable combination just last Thursday evening (September 27).

It happened that we were in Salt Lake City, Utah - Patricia had been sent to an emergency nursing association conference there in recognition of the good work she's doing at Mayo Hospital (I'll post more about this excellent trip separately).

It was perfectly random that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practices on Thursday night, that the practices were open to the public, and that we were available to attend (with another Scottsdale Mayo nurse, Jackie). We also were able to walk around Temple Square in Salt Lake City for 20 minutes or so before lining up for the concert, so this helped set the mood. Here we were at ground zero for the Mormon religion on a beautiful evening as darkness set in, with a large crowd filing into the Tabernacle to hear this world-famous group. And the Tabernacle was filled.

It turns out that it wasn't just a practice - the MTC actually did a 30+ minute concert. The reason for a concert (rather than the normal rehearsal) was that there were special guests in attendance - in particular, the president of the Czech Republic president, Vaclav Klaus (you can read about him here) and veterans of the 390th Bomber Group (World War II) who were in town for a reunion (you can read about them here, I suggest you check out some of the items in the "War Stories" link toward the bottom of their home page).

We enjoyed the opening numbers, which included "The Star Spangled Banner" and a very effective version of the traditional hymn, "Praise to the Lord." So the crowd was quite well warmed up. Then they introduced the Czech officials, followed by an introduction of the 390th. Perhaps partly because WWII is so present to everyone these days (thanks to the Ken Burns PBS series, "The War" (read about it here)), the crowd literally jumped to its feet and cheered for these old vets. All this was setting a nice emotional tone.

The MTC next performed a Czech folk song (for the Prez) that was quite nice. They they switched to the song that was memorable for us. It was an 18th century hymn - penned exactly 250 years ago - named "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." The tune is very familiar though I didn't know it by name.

I took a couple short (30 seconds or so) video clips on my camera, one of which is attached at the end of this post. But please also take the time to listen, a few times if you can, to the full version of the song as it appears immediately below (it's the exact arrangement that we heard, as performed by the MTC at the General Session on March 31, 2007). And turn up the volume - there's no other way to get a sense of this.



The crowd was in a highly receptive mood, as were we; the lead-up had been great; and the old hymn just worked.

Some comments on the song:

Verse 1 is performed by the women and verse 2 is performed by the men; each is a cappella and very beautiful. Verse 3 includes the full chorus; I think it is at the 2:35 mark in the video (where the organ enters) that it started to occur to us that this was going to build into something more powerful than a pretty song.

The real build happens in the organ lead-in to verse 4; including key change; listen for this to start at the 1:53 mark. Then the chorus starts in, and there is about a minute or so (starting at 1:33 on the video) where you could have pushed us over with the proverbial feather. I don't know how to describe how this sounded, or felt, or why so many folks had tears in their eyes as the tune built to its conclusion.

Listen for the sopranos' ascending line at 1:06; then I like how it sounds like this line will be repeated at 0:59, but instead the arranger has the sopranos stay on the same note while the altos get the ascending line. Neat!

Some suggestions:

1. If you want to experience this, don't always watch the video, just listen with a bunch of volume. It's hard to describe the setting inside the Tabernacle with lights down, but the listener at the live performance is not distracted with close-ups, pans, or other visuals. It's just the music at an enveloping volume - in this famous, darkened space.

2. It's helpful to read the lyrics, which are available here: scroll down to the version used by the MTC.

3. Enjoy. Don't get distracted by whatever images of the Mormon community have been (mis)communicated, that has nothing to do with this performance.

My final comment is that Patricia and I normally haven't much cared for the MTC. We only see the choir on TV; it always involves busy video, and it's often over-produced for my taste. Their repertoire also is iffy from my perspective, often including popular music - for example, they did a great job with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." But I don't want to hear them sing this stuff, leave it for Judy Garland or Jane Monheit. I want the choir to blow me away with songs like the old hymn discussed here.

Anyway, I will never complain about this choir again, nor will I soon forget the 30-minute gift we received in Salt Lake City.

And here's what we heard (from the climactic verse 4):

Poster Art, Clarinets, Food

PJ and I had a fun weekend over September 8-9.

Visited the Phoenix Art Museum mid-day Saturday (September 8). We had wanted to see an exhibit titled "Mexico and Modern Print-Making (1920-1950)". And really enjoyed this. Those three decades were of course pretty turbulent times, and it seems particularly so in Mexico. In addition to color, composition, etc., these folks were using this type of art for pretty overt political statements. There was a fear of Nazi-type ideology taking root in Mexico; thus, there was a poster in support of the Red Army as it fought the Nazis in Germany. There was quite a bit of sympathy for Communist principles in Mexico (as in many other places in those days). Many posters dramatized the plight of the poor, or the displaced natives. We thought it was pretty powerful stuff, and much of it just made you feel sad. The conventional understanding is that Mexico seems to lurch from one form of centralized power to the next (to this day), and the works also illustrated this.

Afterward we went to Richardson's New Mexico restaurant (16th Street and Bethany Home) - the only shortcoming for this restaurant is that it's almost impossible to get in, but we solved that problem by showing up at about 2p on a Saturday. Delightful. I had three enchiladas with a (fairly hot) red chili sauce, PJ had a dish with shrimp wrapped in bacon. Almost made us overlook the dreadful Notre Dame loss (against Penn State, which we watched at home).

On Sunday afternoon, we went to a faculty recital down at ASU (summarized on my other website). Later in the evening, had another tremendous meal at the Roaring Fork in Scottsdale. This guy named Robert McGrath came up with a bunch of wonderful SW recipes, many in reasonably-sized portions on their "saloon menu". I had a "kettle" of green chile pork; we also shared seared scallops on soft cheese grits with some type of mushroom/bacon combination. Fun all around.

ASU Choral Union (season 3)

Chris, Paul Jr. and I are back at it for year 3 with the ASU Choral Union. Same practice routine: Tuesday night at ASU at 7:15p - 9:15p.

Our fall semester concert schedule again has two dates: first concert is on October 26 at Gammage auditorium, Christmas concert is on December 2 (also at Gammage) . This year there is a repeat performance of the Christmas music on December 3. Which is nice, because typically we invest quite a bit of time and effort learning really nice pieces that we only have the opportunity to perform one time.

The music this fall is quite a bit easier than the last couple years. In October, we perform Beethoven's Choral Fantasy. It's in German, but we're getting used to that language. And most of the holiday music is in English! (More on that later.)

I continue to enjoy this a bunch.

Back to school . . .

Patricia and I dropped Paul Jr. off at his apartment on Wednesday, August 15. Mostly because we were hauling a full-size bed down there, we ended up using a U-Haul. Everything went smoothly except it was very hot and very humid and we were moving him in between about 1 and 3p. Bad timing. The apartment looks really nice, on University just west of campus. They completed a ton of construction at ASU even in the last months. He shopped for football tickets, did a few things in the apartment, then we headed home and returned the rental, etc.

Down to Tucson on August 17 (Friday). After firing up my old blackberry Thursday evening as Patrick's phone had pretty much passed on. This move takes two vehicles: EPG uses the '94 Bonneville down there. That thing runs great but has not withstood the Arizona sun. Smooth trip all the way and an easy unload; he's in a nice house on Park just NE of campus, good location. We did just a bit of shopping and then went to eat at a place called Guadalajara Grill. Patrick's pal (Austin) met us there. Very hot, but we very much liked sitting on the patio. Among other amusements, they made up the salsa table-side. (I have a nice-ish photo of this on my phone that I'm having trouble uploading, maybe later. But here at least is a fawning review of the restaurant.) This was all very enjoyable. Easy trip back to Phoenix (though there was a major accident with road closed in the opposite direction, so we were lucky).

Pop culture (me = in the know)

I was picking up photos for Patricia at Walgreen's. After standing in line for awhile, some friendly slacker type took the receipt; it had the name "O'Donnell" on it. He says something like, "dude, (yes, he actually used the word "dude") with that name everybody must be asking you about (the movie) Billy Madison, do you know about that family in the movie?"

After repeatedly hearing the phrase "O'Doyle rules" from my sons for all these years, I was able to correct this amiable fellow.

California Trip (2 of 2)

Here's the "rest of the story" on our California trip.

On Tuesday, August 7, we had a big day at Disneyland. We got over there a bit late due to mixup on the opening time for the park, but (as discussed below) we made up time once we arrived. The weather was absolutely gorgeous if not a bit hot when standing around in the sun.

We worked our way through the parking lot and ticketing queues. Had decided that Nana would use a wheelchair (thanks to her recent but iffy knee surgery). The advance party went immediately to Space Mountain. Patricia, Nana and I followed later via the handicapped entrance and ended up getting on at about the same time. I must admit that I was wondering whether this was a good idea - I personally don't get along well with the faster rides - but Nana did great (per photo) and we were on to the next ride. Folks wanted to try the Matterhorn bobsleds but the line didn't look promising. So we went over to the Haunted Mansion - which hasn't aged all that well. Pirates of the Carribean is always fun, that is probably my favorite. The wheelchair saved us lots of time - it was amazing how many rides we were able to get on in such a short period of time. The park was busy but not overly so.

Next was "Splash Mountain" - defeated a very long line, then Nana, Patricia and Dan "changed their mind" about riding at the last minute and the remaining six of us went (per photo). And they didn't revoke anybody's pass over this scam.

The three non-Splash Mountain riders and I next went to lunch; after a short wait, had a surprisingly good meal at the Orleans Cafe. The others went off to some ride or the other and weren't so lucky when it came to food: a long wait at our restaurant, so they ended up getting some pizza.

More riding: Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones (Dan did not like my driving). Also rode the monorail. Waited in line for the Nemo Submarine for awhile before figuring out it was going nowhere; Dan was quite excited for this, though Arnie didn't think it was realistic.

We also rode the train around the perimeter of the park - this actually was quite fun. Nice to be off our feet, weather great, and the conductor looked like Patrick's friend (Brie).

Finished off with the Matterhorn bobsleds and then Paul Jr., Dan, Nicole and I went on this rocket ride. It was fun but a little weird when one of the riders just ahead of us was so obese that his (her?) fat hung over the side of the "rocket." Yuk.

So this was a fun day. I don't really understand why, but I always enjoy the day at Disneyland. It's a great group activity.

We then tried to find a prime rib restaurant that Arnie had spotted; located it, went inside, and walked out asap. The place was pretty well dead. Walked across the parking lot to El Torito. I didn't have the greatest memories of that chain, but I certainly liked the meal we had that evening. Folks were pretty tired after a huge day. Fun.

On Wednesday, August 8, we went for our daily breakfast downstairs. There was a series of discussions about extending our stay (scheduled to leave that day) and we decided to wait to drive back to Phoenix until the evening. So we packed, set aside beach stuff, checked out, and drove down to Laguna Beach. Parking was a bit of an adventure, but then we found one bench that had shade; the rest of us sat immediately behind under this big shade tree. Some were in the water quite a bit. Weather and views were gorgeous from this vantage point. Some hobo was interested in scamming for money. Other hobos were hanging around under the other side of the tree. There was a group of sand volleyball players that was actually quite talented, so we watched them a bit.

Some folks did a bit of shopping, then we had a meal at a seaside place - again great views all around, it was nice out on the patio. And Patrick and I got carded. One last tour through the shops; then said our goodbyes. It actually was a very good idea to meet up over there; always fun when we go to Chicago, but this was a good change of pace. Hit the road around 6:25p.

Made it to Phoenix about 1:05a. Some traffic in the LA area but all in all everything was very smooth. The car was very quiet. Picked up gasoline, coffee and a bite at the usual border town.

California Trip (1 of 2)

Patricia, Patrick, Paul Jr. and I drove to California on Saturday August 4. Our idea was to meet up with "Nana," Arnie, Joann, Nicole and Danny, who were flying in that day from Illinois. Made a mistake along the way and had lunch at Coco's. Smooth trip except I switched over to navigator position to get us through an iffy area in the Google maps directions, and then promptly got us lost. Arrived at about 5p at the Ayres Hotel in Costa Mesa, California.

The hotel served our purpose fine. You can see information about it right here. The only downsides were that it was pretty far from the beaches, and also a bit isolated along freeways and other busy roads. Chatted a bit, went to the Elephant Bar for mediocre food and fine chatting. Except Nicole and Dan were falling asleep on the spot (time change, travel day, etc.) Patrick and Paul Jr. used the sleeper sofa in the "living room" of our suite. It was too small and collapsed toward the center, otherwise was awesome.

Sunday, August 5

Full breakfast at the hotel - this actually was a good daily routine. The idea developed rather spontaneously that we would take the boat to Catalina Island. The spontaneity was of course spontaneous, but also resulted in a couple hours or so of driving. We started by driving south down the Pacific Coast Highway to Dana Point. The drive was beautiful and Dana Point was beautiful - but spots on the boat to Catalina Island were filled up through the next week or so. But did we give up? No. We decided to drive up to Long Beach to catch the last boat there. This gave us a good, long look at the Pacific Coast Highway, northbound. Once we got to Long Beach, we had the chance to drive around the city quite awhile before we figured out where the boat landing was. Including a couple neighborhoods that were kind of scary looking. Including asking directions from some service station slacker who was helpful. Then raced through a quick pizza meal and hit the road, I mean the water, for Catalina Island.

The boat ride over was very enjoyable; lasted about an hour. We sat up top; perfect weather, good views. There is a little town over there named Avalon, so we just wandered around there a bit. Pretty typical seaside shops and restaurants, but a bit different flavor because it's an island with limited population, fewer cars, etc. Having taken the last boat over, unfortunately we missed the chance to tour the island. We did settle into a restaurant named "Coyote Joe's" which was very fun. The boat ride back involved freezing either inside or outside the boat, and it was dark so we missed the views. An easy drive back down the PCH to the hotel and got to bed around 1a.

Monday (August 6) was a beach day - decided to drive down in the Newport Beach area and found the same beach area where we had visited a few times with the choir over the years on their Southern California trips. This is a really good area because the beach is nice, not terribly crowded, and there are shops and restaurants within easy walking distance. We were on the beach for a few hours, then had a very nice lunch at a restaurant overlooking the bay and ferry to Balboa Island, etc. The clam chowder there was the best thing we ate on the entire trip. Walked the shops awhile and then worked our way back to the hotel. Folks were pretty tired, so we showered, relaxed; everybody ended up at our room where we talked some more, played some cards, looked at photo albums, etc. It was an enjoyable evening. The four of us went out for a late dinner; I got on the wrong road (again) but we ended up at a Houston's and it was just fine.

More to come . . .

Anniversary

This website is now two years old.

Will update on recent trip to California etc. as soon as I can get to it.

EPG #21

Quiet around here for the most part since getting back to AZ from our Iowa trip. And now we'll be heading to California for a few days.

But we did have a fine gathering in honor of Patrick's 21st birthday.

Our friendly photographer captured most of the attendees, as you can see here. It might have been even more fun to have photos from the after-party led by Chris in Scottsdale.

Patricia made a fine dinner and cards; we celebrated on July 29 because she was working on July 30. But that probably was for the best also given that some appetites were iffy on that day.

Fine party for fine son.