Best Commute ever

Took the train to work thursday and all I can say is wow.

The trip is only about a half an hour but the coolest thing is the route. It starts out in Oceanside and heads through Camp Pendelton north. That's not so special but what just past the Marine Base is the Pacific Ocean. The train gets about 20 feet from the water and travels past it for nearly the entire 30 minute trip.

The only thing I kept thinking was, "Now this is the way to commute to work!"

Needless to say, the rest of my day was very laid back. It was amazing just how much driving can stress you out even when you're not aware of it.

The train trip home was just as beautiful. I rode on the top part of the train and got to watch the sunset on the ocean. Nothing beats it.

Next up - Monthly pass!

Bolts!

So since moving to San Diego, a top priority has been getting Charger tickets. Opening day, Dave P and myself traveled about a half an hour south to watch my beloved bolts beat up on the lowly Titans. It is so nice to see that there are other Charger fans in the world. This day there was about 70,000 of us.

The cool part, besides our awesome seats, was tailgating. 6 years ago, H and I had season tix and tailgated with a group of folks lead by the great Boltmeister Lee. We all had great food and cold beer. I wanted to relive those days but couldn't remember Boltmeister's last name. I searched the internet high and low but to no avail.

Cut to sunday morning. I tell my friend Dave that we are on a mission to find Boltmeister. The sea of 70 grand wearing blue and gold (some powder blue - including myself) was daunting but we pushed on. Plastic bottles of Coors Light in our hands (I was out for quantity not quality), we walked up and down the massive parking lot.

Then I remembered. D4 or E4. One of those two was the magical spot. D4 was closest so we trudged through the open bbqs searching. My excitement was turning to fear. I can see that Dave was growing weary carrying the 18 pack of beer. Well, it was down to about 12 by now.

D4 was a wash. On to E4. My spidey senses were ablaze when we walked closer to the sign. I turn the corner and there he is! Boltmeister Lee cooking away on a huge grill with beer in hand. Gasman! he returns. I am back home. There's all the familiar faces all in Charger unis. The trek was complete.

Now the mission is to get season tix. Could be an expensive one but for my bolts, it's worth it.

Best Brew Day ever.

I"ve been brewing classic (HA!) brews for about 4 and a half years now. Thanks to my good pal, Mark Thielen, who made me a beer nerd way back in 2002. I've been trying to perfect the technique from the kitchen to the backyard to even the garage. Things were good but not great.

Until today.

One small reason we decided to rent this house was the side of the house. I knew it was perfect for brewing. Man, did I underestimate that. It was more than perfect. It usually takes me about 6 to 8 hours to brew my Gaspail ale - a favorite among the locals of DNA. Today, it took me a mere 4 hours including cleanup.

Why so short Gasaway? Usually, I answer that question differently but today it's in regard to my brewing. Everything was perfect for me. Hose, drains, cleaning, different levels for getting the wort from kettle to carboy. WOW! I couldn't believe it.

anyway... pictures of the house and brewing facility will be on the site soon. Heck, I even found a brew supply store less than 3 miles from the house...funny part is they also did "hydro planting" - I love socal - they had tomatoes to show off their stuff. Sure, that's what it's there for...

Beer will be ready for Summy's birthday in October. We'll keep ya posted.

I (heart) San Diego!

Well, it took a long time but we finally got in the house.

Day one - 15 hour drive to Gallup, New Mexico. Crappy food, crappy hotel. Easy drive.
Day two - 7 hours to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Great food, good beer, hotter than Dallas.
Day three - 6 hour drive from hell.

To summarize. We needed to take 2 cars across country. That meant that both H and I drove seperately. Not surprising, the kids wanted to go with her. No problem with me! Got to jam all the hair metal I could. AND I DID!!! Thank you Sirius satellite. (Tom, you have to listen to Stern again...)

But I digress. With this trip, I couldn't really burn the 4 runner over 85 mph, so we had an easy drive. H took the lead with the Prius and the navigational system (if you don't have that, GET IT - it's the best way to get around a new/foreign city) Now you see that I said, H had the nav system. Mike had a really bad map and that's it.

The trip was simple - follow H and call and scream on the phone when she got too far ahead (happened about every 2 hours). Simple until day 3.

As soon as we got into LA traffic (about 3 hours outside of LA), H forgot she had someone following her. Yeah, that was fun. Tons of cars zipping around, I have no idea which freeway to take to get to Daves...I think I busted a blood vessel or 10.

We made it to dave and his lovely wife stacy's place (both of whom I am eternally greatful). Stayed there for 2 days before we could move into the house.

The house is absolutely perfect. It's bigger than H and I remembered and the girls love it. We can see ourselves staying here quite some time. We'll post pix soon.

We went to the beach today and the girls had a blast. We're really getting around much more and easier than we ever did in Dallas. It just seems more inviting here. We still miss our friends and are sure they will all come visit now. The guest room is all ready!