Looking Out My Window

After all the days this winter that have been miserable, cold, windy, rainy or any combination of those, this week has been mostly gorgeous. And that’s despite the forecasters telling us that every day is the last nice day. When I woke up this morning, they were saying we would have rain, with partial clearing late this afternoon.

I love it when they’re wrong!! It’s so beautiful out right now that I decided to take a few shots to document it, you know, for those other days, when it’s anything but nice. First, this is looking out my window. Literally, looking through the window, you can even see a smudge or two…

Then I went to the conference room and opened the window for a clear shot across the bay. And it was really hard to close the window and come back to my desk after that!

Keeping Up Just Got Easier

Life is busy!

What with jobs, kids, church, school, wholesome recreational activities, errands, tasks, and all the other stuff that consumes our waking hours it can get rather difficult to remember to check in on your favorite Brinkerhoff Family Blog. (Or this one, if we're not your favorite...insert sad face)

But now keeping up is easier than ever! To receive an email whenever a new article is posted to the blog, just send an email to blogalert-join@mikeymix.com and you'll be notified whenever we do anything noteworthy here.

We love to hear that people have been reading about our lives, and the joy when those same people take the extra step and leave a comment just about pushes us to our joyful limit! Keep it up!

Double Digits!

The last time Tyler was featured on the blog, he was battling a nasty bacterial infection and was hospitalized for a week. This time, it’s something much happier – As of a few hours ago, Tyler is the last of our kids to reach the double-digit landmark.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TYLER!

So Cool

Back on February 26, 1979, there was a Total Solar Eclipse that was not only visible from North America, but from right here in Washington. This is one of the times where it totally paid off that my dad was an engineer, because he felt it was important enough to take the whole family over to the east side of the state to get a better view of it. I never knew until today when I researched it a little bit, but he took us pretty close to the optimal viewing location! (click here for a NASA map showing the eclipse path crossing through SE Washington) At the time, I thought it was great to not only miss school (it was a Monday), but to also get to see something that I was told wouldn’t happen again for many years.. I didn’t even remember how many years, because it seemed so far off. I looked it up today, and the next Total Solar Eclipse viewable in the NW United States is going to be in 2044. THAT made me even more appreciative of my dad’s dedication to exposing his kids to cool scientific stuff.

I still vividly remember standing out in the barren desert with my grandparents and several aunts, uncles and cousins, all of us using our special sunscopes (cardstock with a round hole and a mylar sheet in the middle) anxiously waiting for the eclipse to happen. When it did, the shadow of the moon came sweeping across the land, like nothing I’ve ever seen before or since… And the sun hung there in the sky, all blacked out except for a glorious corona around the blacked out center. It seemed to stay that way for a really long time, but according to Wikipedia, it was just under three minutes. Then the moon started to shift to the right, and a few minutes later the shadow swept out as fast as it had come in, leaving a disappointingly regular winter day in the desert.

When we got back to my grandparents’ house, one of the local TV stations was running video of the eclipse, with the brilliant corona looking just like it had in real life, only smaller. The rest of the day had that let-down feeling of Christmas day after all the presents have been opened and played with… especially since we had to get back in the van and drive home for school the next day. It was pretty cool being the only kid in my class who got to see it in person though! And like I said, now knowing that the next one is still 36 years away, I’m even more awe-struck that I got to be there.

All of which leads me to last night’s lunar eclipse. Seems like they’re much more common, but still very cool. And despite hearing news reports from all the national outlets bemoaning that weather conditions were going to render it invisible, in my little corner of the world, we had crystal clear skies, and the blood-red moon was hanging right off our front porch! I took a few pictures, and learned that I really need a tripod to do any serious night sky photography… So here’s the best of the pics, I’m sure it’s not as nice as the ones elsewhere on the web, but hey, that’s because I took it!

Little Dresses for Pretty Little Girls

That’s a picture of my niece. That beautiful dress she’s wearing was made by my sister Susan. Susan’s been making little girl dresses pretty much forever, and has definitely refined her skills to where I doubt anyone actually makes a nicer dress.

This is a good thing, because Susan just opened up an online shop to sell her creations to the public at large. It’s only just started within the past day or so, so there aren’t many dresses up to buy yet, but I talked to her and she hopes to expand her catalog quickly.

Good timing, huh? Easter’s coming, little girls always need pretty dresses for Easter… and now you can get a hand made dress from my very own sister.. Definitely a win!

You can check out her shop, Twiddlesticks, here.

There's a larger gallery of her work on my niece's blog, here. (it's her daughter pictured above)

When Exaggeration Isn't Enough

Here’s the Bloom County rerun that ran yesterday. It’s originally from 1983, and concludes a sequence in which Binkley was dreaming he’s a Jedi Knight. I’m sure that at the time, Berke Breathed thought he was being preposterous – for comedic effect – by implying that the Star Wars saga wouldn’t be complete until 1998… And that was when the word on the street was that there were going to be 9 installments… So, in retrospect, knowing that George didn’t even start them back up until 1999, this strip made me laugh instead, at the innocence of the past…

New, but Not Improved

Cindy and I have developed a rather strong love/hate relationship with Costco over the past year or two... The love part is the same thing everyone loves about Costco - great prices on quality merchandise, and the smug ability to say "I got it at Costco... Oh? You don't have a Costco membership?? Pity..." Well, OK, not so much the smugness, but pretty much all Costco members agree that there is a lot to love.

However, I'm willing to bet that there's also a growing population that has been having the same problem that we do... Basically, as soon as we get hooked on a product, it either disappears completely, or is replaced by another product that is similar, but different enough to NOT be what we want.

A few examples:

• For centuries (or at least several years) Costco had a big plastic bear shaped container filled with animal crackers that were tasty, and at a really good price. Since we have a daycare running in our house, that was a regular purchase, and the kids loved them at snack time. About a year ago, it was replaced with Winnie the Pooh Organic Animal cookies. The jar is about 1/3 the size of the old one, yet the price stayed the same or went up. On the plus side, the new cookies are organic, and are crazy delicious, so we grumble softly and buy 'em anyway.
  
• Another long standing Costco staple, especially with the Daycare in mind, was their big ol' case o' PopTarts. Half brown sugar cinnamon, half strawberry, all frosted, all insanely full of yum. Unfortunately, the non-organic nature of PopTarts caught up with them, and Costco replaced them with a smaller box of Nature's Path Toaster Pastries, or some other completely un-fun name for un-good tasting poptart wannabes. Hoping for similar results that the cookies had, we bought them. The kids were NOT amused. The garbage filled up with toaster pastries with one or two courtesy bites taken from them. Oh, and the price stayed the same or increased slightly.

Which brings us to the real reason we're having this little informal chat...

The bottle on the left is likely recognized by everyone out there. It's the store-brand shampoo that Costco has carried pretty much since the beginning of time. The bottle on the right is, you guessed it, the new version. On first glance, I thought they pulled their usual "new, smaller packaging" trick, but despite the different shape, the new bottle still holds 40 ounces of shampooey goodness. Well, minus the goodness. Let's review what we have always known about Costco's generic shampoo:

• Smells Good, like Shampoo Should
• Leaves hair feeling clean and fresh, for bouncin' & behavin' hair

The new version has the following attributes:

• Smells like play-doh. Oh there are shampoo overtones, but it smells like play-doh.
• Leaves hair feeling stripped, like you're in the Tri-Cities without a water softener.

Way to go, Costco. At this rate, there are so few things we really like about you, we're considering not renewing our elite membership, and just doing our bulk shopping at Cash 'n' Carry. I mean, even Fred Meyer's been beating your gas prices on a regular basis!

Oh, almost forgot. There is still one thing the two Shampoos have perfectly in common:

Don't leave them unattended in the upper reaches of your shower, or they'll decapitate themselves while you're rinsing the lather from your hair!!

Love Is In The Air

I came home from work today to the best Valentine's Day ever! When I went to go into my room to change into my comfortable, non-work clothes, I found my doorway covered with homemade Valentines from my lovely wife!

Beyond the curtain of Valentines was a box of chocolate-covered applets and cotlets, my most recent Woot Shirt which came today (I'm planning a whole article about the wonder that is the Woot Shirt!) and my extra special Valentine from Cindy. Already, a strong contender for Best Valentine's Day Ever!!

Meanwhile, out in the dining room, the table was done up with a nice tablecloth, Cindy's grandma's fancy china, and a centerpiece that I could REALLY appreciate:

Yep, green M&M's and chocolate covered cherries! (the really good, liquid filled kind) To go along with that fabulous table, Cindy prepared steak, crab legs, rosemary fingerling potatoes, and steamed broccolli. That did it - Best Valentine's Day Ever!!

I love you Cindy, thank you!! I'm looking forward to many, many more!!

She has a dream!

Tonight was the "Winter Musical" at the elementary school, and Kaylee landed the female lead part... Which included her singing a solo, on the last verse of the opening production number... How did she do? Very well, thank you! See for yourself!


She also had several spoken lines, and I'll get them up, but it's bedtime so for now, enjoy Kaylee's dream!

What comes around goes around

I love music! It's a passion. It's been a career. It's been a hobby. Through various stages of my life, music has been a constant, and the soundtrack in my head never stops. Like, ever. Even when I want it to.

So where did this passion come from? I'm sure to an extent, I was born with it. But being born with something is really just saying there's a tendency, a preference for the thing in question. In order for it to grow into a self-defining attribute, it needs to be nurtured. For me, that nurturing came from many sources, but none so meaningful as my uncle Richard. My dad's second-youngest brother, Richard is the same age as my oldest sister. As a result, his relationship with me more one of big brother than of uncle - he was like my big brother who happened to live at my grandparents' house.

And I remember so clearly, when we'd head east for a holiday weekend or any other occasion, pulling up in front of that little green house in Richland, and as soon as we were inside and the greetings were out of the way, I'd make a beeline to Richard's room to see what new records he had acquired since my last visit. Not only did he have a great collection, he worked at the local radio station, and got cool promotional copies, sometimes even in duplicates, and he was very generous about giving me the extra copies. My favorite of those hand-me-downs was a 45 of ELO's "Sweet Talkin' Woman" on purple vinyl. He also took me with him to the station, where I got my first taste of the back-end of Radio. With that taste still lingering in my mind, I became music director at my high school radio station (KASB-Bellevue) and then went on to my proudest (professional) accomplishment, the Friday Night PartyZone (1993-2001 RIP) on Seattle's C-89.5 FM.

Richard also gave me my first experience of playing in a band. He was putting together a band for a church talent show, and I was brought in to play one-finger keyboard basslines... By the time the show happened, I was also singing a duet ("Leather and Lace") and playing a sax solo ("Old Time Rock & Roll") and playing drums ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Desperado"). We got the same group together a couple more times, and I always loved it. That transitioned into my being on the worship team at Champions Centre, where I regularly played drums, played bass and led several hundred kids in praising God. One of my favorite moments there was last September when Richard & Dorothy came and watched me sing, and I got to introduce him to the rest of the guys in the band.

And yet, with all those pivotal, inspirational experiences that Richard gave me, I don't think he ever intended to, or thought that he was doing anything special. He was just being him, which is always how he is. But to me, he's been an amazing influence at all the different stages of my life. Thanks, Rich, for everything!

But what inspired me to spill out this long-winded monologue about his many virtues? My own nephew Donald (aka The Donald) put a post on his blog this morning that totally gave me vertigo as I read that I helped shape his musical experiences in a similar way to how Richard had shaped mine. Donald's trip down memory lane took me on my own, and I hope that someday Donald reads that he has been powerfully influential to someone else.

Oh, and in case it's not perfectly clear, that picture at the top is a giant boombox robot destroying a city with the sounds of awesome.

Even better because it's real!

As I mentioned a week or two ago, I am a fan of Guitar Hero.

However, even while I'm playing it, there's an accute awareness that all I'm really doing is pushing buttons, not actually playing guitar... And since I'm "somewhat learning" to play guitar in real life, the Guitar Hero thing actually feels somewhat hollow, like even though I'm having fun, I should be doing something that will actually help me on the real guitar.

There's a solution coming, and it looks completely awesome. Witness Guitar Rising:

Of course, it's not out yet, so I'll have some time to shred on the fake guitar a little longer...

A New Twist On An Old Favorite Game

Word of an injury sure spreads fast! Cindy's ankle/foot (and assorted accessory injuries) caused us to miss church yesterday, which meant lots of phone calls to make sure she was OK. Our bishop's wife brought us dinner tonight - pretty sweet, since I normally cook dinner during the week anyway - and Cindy had several other visits and/or offers of help throughout the day.

After dinner, we were chillin' (OK, I was playing on the Wii) when there was a knock at the door... which almost always means that our missionaries were dropping in - yep, it was them! They came by to see if Cindy needed any help... and to hang out. (I'm pretty sure we're THE place for fun hanging out in our ward!)

Anyway, I can't really even remember how it came around, but one of them (Elder Richins) asked if we'd ever played "Speed Scrabble". Nope, none of us had ever even heard of such a thing.

But now that we have, I don't think I'll ever go back to slow scrabble!! Heck, I won't even capitalize slow scrabble anymore - Speed Scrabble all the way!! And as an astute Keeper Up With The Brinkerhoffs, you can get in on the action too. (You + Today = Your Lucky Day!)

So you put all the tiles face down in the middle of the table, then everyone draws four tiles, keeping them face down. When everyone's ready, flip them over and make a word or two... The goal is to use all four tiles. Whoever reaches that goal first knocks on the table, and everyone takes four more tiles. The cycle repeats, with whoever is first to use all their letters knocking, until there aren't any more tiles left in the middle.

When the final round ends, everyone adds up the letters in their words, subracts points for any extra letters they still have, and the winner of that round (who knocked to end the game) gets a ten point bonus.

You can play to a certain point level, or a certain number of rounds. It's incredibly fun, and I managed to beat the master at his own game. Looking forward to playing again soon!!

The Best Of Both Worlds

We have an eleven year old girl in our family. That means that when we heard about the new Hanna Montana 3-D Concert movie, we knew we had to go. And just for fun, we brought along the rest of the family and a couple friends... (Andy was more than happy to give up his ticket - in his own words, "Oh, I know the songs. I just don't like them.")

So here is the gang - minus me, taking the picture, in line for the opening night show last Friday night!

What you can't see in the picture is how close we came to missing it all together.

It wasn't a matter of tickets, we'd bought them weeks in advance. We bought them for the 6:30 show, which required a delicately orchestrated plan: I would leave work a little early to go get Tyler for the weekend, Cindy would have a friend cover for the last hour of the daycare, and we'd meet up around 5:30 at the theater in Auburn.

All was going according to plan, I was just pulling in to Tyler's mom's driveway when my phone rang. It was Cindy - I thought she'd be calling to say that she was on her way and everything was great. Instead, she said that she had fallen down stairs at the school, and had quite likely broken her foot.

Wha-wha-whaaaaat????

There's not much that's as frustrating as having your wife injured while you're far enough away to be completely unable to help. So I grabbed Ty and headed for home, calling the theater on the way to see if they'd be willing to swap our tickets for a later show. Long (and frustrating) story short, they did! Cindy got out of urgent care with an inconclusive x-ray, and the doctor promising a 95% chance that her ankle is NOT broken, and we headed up for the 9:45 show. Made it! And Li'l Miss Cyrus puts on a heck of a show... The manager of the theater came out before it started and reminded us all that it IS a movie, so you still can't take pictures, block the aisles, etc... But that it is also a concert, so you CAN get up and dance, sing along, scream, etc.

Kaylee's voice is still raspy. Them Jonas Brothers were more than she could handle...

Good times, and Cindy survived. Though she slept all day Saturday as her body began rebuilding itself...

It's funny because it's true

As always, click the picture for full size...

It really is that simple.

Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passed away last night at the age of 97. I've never read a quote from him that I disagreed with - he truly was a speaker of truth, and without a doubt was in every way, a man of God.

But my niece Lisa pointed out a quote from a talk he gave in October of 2004 that I'd not heard before, and it struck me in the profound, head-smack kind of way:

"If every husband and every wife would constantly do whatever might be possible to ensure the comfort and happiness of his or her companion, there would be very little, if any, divorce. Argument would never be heard. Accusations would never be leveled. Angry explosions would not occur. Rather, love and concern would replace abuse and meanness."

Look at the thousands of books, seminars, lectures, retreats, conferences, videos and counselors dedicated to teaching husbands and wives to get along. Then read that quote again. Why do we always make things so complicated?

President Hinckley, we thank you for the words of wisdom. You will be dearly missed.

p.s. Thanks, Lisa!

Christmas Eve Was SO Fun!

Ok, I know the timing for that headline is a tad delayed, but it WAS fun! I put up a bunch of pictures from Christmas over on the Brinkerhoff Offspring (or Brinkerhoffspring) blog - check it out at www.thebrinkerhoffs.com.

Snow Time!

I was sleeping beautifully this morning, when the phone rang at about 5:08 am. It was the school district, saying that school would be 2 hours late today. In disbelief, I jumped up and looked out the window, and saw...

OK, first, I was surprised we had snow. Yesterday was gorgeous, and we saw that our Krokuses were starting to pop up and bloom. In fact, I planned to take a picture and blog that Spring was just around the corner. Now this...

Second, I thought, this is why the Seattle area has such a wussy reputation. You can see that the grass isn't even covered all the way, and yet it's a 2 hour delay. Urg.

But the kids loved it, as they are contractually obligated to do.

Here, Ellysa and Kaylee are taking snow off my car - of course, they didn't take any off the driver's side of the windshield, which was still totally covered when it came time to go to work... Thanks, girls!! =) A few minutes later, I think Kaylee was wearing most of what they DID take off the car.

And now the sun is out, and they're finally at school. But they're predicting snow again tomorrow...

Tales From The Road IV

I meant to post this one right after we got back. Then I forgot. And did a bunch of other stuff. And then this morning I went throgh the memory card on our carmera and found this shot from a rest area in northern California.

I loved the picture of the coiled snake, and that after all the scary talk, the revolution that "reasonable watchfulness should be sufficiend to avoid snakebite".

But as I was taking the picture, a guy who was walking past said that because of that sign, his wife wouldn't get out of the car. Too bad, cuz it was a good 60 miles to the next rest area, and it was certainly not summer, and it was night, so I'm sure there was nothing to be afraid of. Cindy, for example, boldly walked right past any would-be attacking snakes, showing them that they're not the boss of her!

Now these are my kind of campaign promises!!

One of the stations I flip between on my drive home has decided to discourage my listening by playing Jay Leno's monologue from the night before, a few minutes after 5 every day. Pretty much always as I'm sitting in the traffic jam where 705 merges with I-5, and then 16. I've said for years that Leno just isn't funny, but I really haven't experienced it for myself ever since I came to that conclusion, easily over ten years ago. Now I have a daily reminder. And since the writers strike, and he's supposedly writing his own material, it's gotten even worse. And they bill it as "America's Favorite Monologue!"

AS IF!!

C'mon Jay... It's bad enough that you're 100% un-funny, but then to rub it in, Letterman is still putting out pure gold on a regular basis. Case in point? Last night, he had Barack Obama on to deliver the Top-10 List, a list of his top campaign promises.

My personal favorite items are:

You know that won't require any supreme court debating!!


Letterman's reply said it all: "That's an innovative campaign promise..."

I bet even the scary apple fanboys will agree that this is a good idea!


Now there's something this country has needed for many years!

Throughout the segment, Barack comes off very much like other politicians I've seen on the talk show circuit, kinda stiff, trying too hard to fit the role of funny, personable, "normal guy/gal" candidate. But Letterman's responses, timing, the whole atmosphere he creates in his show, makes a final product that is way greater than the sum of its components.

See the whole clip here.

More Disneyland Pictures!

I can't believe it's been almost a month already since we were in the Happiest Place on Earth... But looking at the pics again sure helps to keep the feeling alive! These are from New Year's Eve, when it was sunny and 75 at the California Adventure, but by nightfall the wind had kicked up so bad that they ended up cancelling the fireworks. You can see in the pic where we're standing in front of the Flower-Mickey, the flag in the background is waving so hard and fast that it's just a blur.


Farewell, Disneyland. We'll be back soon!

Funny, Sad, and True.

*click picture for full size image*

Let's Rock!

OK, so here's Part Two of my plea for more Wii friends. Our nephew Mathew has not only swapped friend codes with us, he also got Guitar Hero III, so we can rock each other's socks off! But here's the thing: Not only do we need to swap console friend codes, we also need to swap Guitar Hero III friend codes. We've done it, but in case anyone else has the game, I'm gonna throw our code up here to spread the Rock as far and wide as possible!

The Brinkerhoff Guitar Hero III Online Code: 044418044927.

Please make a note of it!

Wii Need More Friends!

I knew when I was waiting outside Fred Meyer at 5am on November 19, 2006, that it would take a while for enough people I know to join the Wii Party. And the supply issues haven't helped any... But now it's starting to seem like everyone who really wants one has one, so I'll just put out a little reminder that Sharing is Good! And with games supporting online multiplayer finally starting to come out, it's the time to beef up the Wii address book in order to share the good times.

So here once again, is our Wii code:

5855-9926-3488-7983

The way Nintendo set it up, it only works if both sides register each other, so if you want to join up, put your info in the comments and I'll get it entered on our end.

P.S. I got Guitar Hero III for Christmas, and would LOVE some online play...

December Takes its Toll

The 2007 Holiday Season was a great time, no doubt about it! Hosting Thanksgiving at our house, Christmas Eve at my uncle Richard's, the week long California Adventure... All good!!

But what's not so good? Well, I'd spent pretty much all of 2007 convincing my body that it needs to be in better shape. All in all, I held on to a net loss of around 17 pounds for the year, but that figure had been well over 20 in Early November. But I guess as long as I have a year-to-year loss, it's all progress, so I won't get too down on myself.

The thing that really surprised me wasn't that I gained weight - I knew that was happening, as all the new clothes I proudly bought were getting tight and much less comfortable. The real shock was just how fast my stamina got up and left. Checking my fitness log (see the "Mike's Fitness Progress" link at the top right) I see that I had been quite disciplined in my working out right up to November 19. Then, only three days between then and yesterday.

Yesterday! Yep, back on the train, baby! I hit the Y at lunchtime, planning to do my normal mon-wed-fri routine. Before the break, I'd run between 8 and 16 laps (.5-1 mile) then do three full circuits in the weight room. Yesterday, I got 4 laps and one circuit, and I was wishing I'd brought an inhaler along.

Just to punish myself enough that myabe I won't let it slip so bad again, I got up at 4:30 this morning and played Racketball with a friend from church. Ouch. But we'll do it again Thursday, and I'm really hoping that the accountability factor of partnering with a friend will make it easier to stick with.

In 2007 I resolved to get in better shape, and even after this setback, I'm in better shape than I've been in over 15 years. 2008 WILL see me complete the trek to my final goal, hopefully before summer, so I can spend summer solidifying healthy habits. Wish me luck!!

Disneyland Day Two in Pictures

I gotta go eat b'fast and head out for day 3 - aka NEW YEARS EVE! - but wanted to throw up the best pics of yesterday!
As we arrived, Alice, the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, and Disneyland Band were making some little girl's entire vacation, by celebrating her Un-Birthday!

Cindy trying not to be scared of the giant cobra as we wait to go on the Indiana Jones Adventure.

Happiness on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

Safety Goggles: CHECK!
Waiting for "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience".
This show has definitely passed its "Pull-By" date, I am sad to report.

Pixie Dust! PIXIE DUST!!!
That sword is REALLY stuck in that stone... Maybe someone who was recently sprinkled with Pixie Dust can help??
Nope.. That sword is definitely NOT moving... But at least it's more fun with two!





Cinderella's Castle at night... From inside Fantasy Land. Wait 'til you see it from the front!
Thousands and thousands of white LED lights make it look like it really is covered in icicles and snow!
Another angle... So gorgeous, I couldn't quit looking at it every time.
And finally, a kiss at California Adventure, where we're heading right now for day three!

Astro Blasters Day Two

Last night we got in another round of Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, and both of us greatly increased our scores!!

We're feeling pretty good about ourselves, even though we met a guy in line who had never played before, and got something in the 140,000 neighborhood...

Tonight: Third Time's The Charm!..?

Disneyland Day One

We Made It!!

After flawless road conditions throughout the entire trip so far, we finally encountered dilapidating traffic this morning on our way from Carpinteria to Anaheim. Turned out to be a 5 car wreck on I-5, with car-remains on both shoulders of the road, so at least there was a good excuse. But enough about that, because as soon as we got past it, it was mere minutes before we were pulling into our hotel, where they were gracious enough to let us check in early!

Found our room, which is pretty much opposite in every way from the roach motel we stayed in a few nights ago, and headed out to D'Land, which you should know, IS The Happiest Place On Earth!

For the Saturday after Christmas, and heading in to New Years, I expected it to be crowded. And the sign outside the park warning that it was "very crowded" seemed to back that thought up. But it really didn't seem any busier than it had been three years ago when we were here - in fact, in most areas of the park it seemed less full. So we were off and running, and hit several key rides today.

First up was the Matterhorn's Left Side. I love that ride, whichever side I'm on, but I *think* I like the right side even more. We'll know tomorrow.

Then we hit up Autopia. The irony of standing in line for 30 minutes to pretend to drive at 5 miles per hour, after spending the past few days in the real car didn't strike until right before we got into our car... And with that irony still thick in the air, and some 4 year old driving in front of us who seemed to keep forgetting that you need to push the gas pedal down to make the car go, we decided we probably won't venture on to the Autopia again...

Also making the first day was Star Tours, which even though it looks a bit aged, is still one of the best virtual reality rides ever, anywhere.

New in Tomorrowland since our last visit (It was actually built, but still under wraps back then) is Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. I LOVED THIS RIDE! When we decided to get in line, I didn't even know if it was a ride, a show, or some hokey kiddie hybrid of the two. What it actually is, in case anyone else doesn't know, is an excellent "Dark Room" ride (like all the Fantasyland ones a la Mr. Toad) that adds a Laser Tag element. Your ride buggy (probably some sort of rocket, but who had time to care while shooting the evil Zurg and his minions??) comes equipped with two Astro Blasters, and all the glowing, neon coloured characters in the ride have targets all over them, which you can Blast for points, as well as feedback from the characters, which is pretty much lights and sounds, like shooting anyone in a normal laser tag game. Only cooler. Lots cooler. Unbeknownst to us going in, they take a picture of you during the ride, like so many others... But then they don't try to sell you an overpriced printout, they let you email it to yourself for free! So I present, as a token of our first day in Disneyland, Cindy and I playing Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters!

You'll note from the scores that appear in the corners, that I (as Player 1) was completely whoopin' her... Although when we got to the end and checked our rank, we were both level 7. I really want to play it again now that I know what I'm doing!

We also hit Pirates of the Carribbean, which has received a few post-movie updates, with Captain Jack Sparrow making 3 (or so?) appearances. The Disney Imagineers have really taken the animatronics to the next level, in one of his scenes, it really, honestly looked like a real person popping up out of the big powder keg. Highly recommended!

I think the favorite of the night for both of us was the Haunted Mansion, which once again was taken over for Christmas by Jack Skellington and his gang of merry morbid misfits. It's just so incredibly well done, so many details making it a truly outstanding experience!

But when have I ever been known to end on a high note? As we left the mansion, we saw that Splash Mountain only had a 10 minute wait! I LOVE Splash Mountain! Cindy had earlier said that she didn't want to go on it, but then said she would for me. (Love!! After 5 years of Marriage, there's still LOVE!!) Well the 10 minute wait was an overstatement, we literally walked right on. And it only took the first small drop to figure out why nobody wanted to ride it tonight. They were running the ride in a way that I would call "Very Wet," and after that first little dip, my right leg was more than damp, and both of my shoes were approaching soaked. The next dip finished off my shoes and right leg, and got started on my left leg. Oh, and Cindy, who loves me so much she went on this ride for me, was sitting in the very front of the log, and got hit even harder than me. (Love? After 5 years AND Splash Mountain at Night in December? I Hope So!) But that was all just preperatory for the big drop, after which our coats and hair joined our lower bodies in the "fully soaked" category. They hooked us into buying a picture, since apparantly Critter Country doesn't have the high tech Internet goodness of Tomorrowland. Since the scanner's at home, here's my attempt at taking a picture of a picture of a happy couple riding a log down a waterfall.

After that, our evening was rather abruptly called to an end, as we rushed back to the hotel to take a warm shower and put on dry clothes... But we did get to see the fireworks as we waited for the shuttle to arrive. Now it's off to bed to charge up for day two!

Tales from the Road III

I try not to be a brand-centric snob. We drive a Kia, and in fact it's the 3rd Kia we've bought! We really try to embrace the philosophy that if a product or service does the job well, that's more important than the name on the label. That mindset has, in the past, extended to overnight accommodations. And while I won't argue that there's a noticeable difference between Motel 6 and the Red Lion, I'd never been in a M'6 that wasn't clean, comfortable, functional.

Until we were looking for a place to stay in Stockton, CA. (See post below, "More Yup than Hip") So we failed to follow through with our original plans to sleep in the van like hippies. Around 8:30, as we drove through Sacramento, we decided we'd logged enough time in the van for one day, and it was time to quit messing around and get a room for the night. But not wanting to needlessly spend a lot of money when we were going to literally sleep, shower and leave, we opted for the budget lodging. Found the Motel 6 right off the freeway. Paid for our room, and went on in.

Wow.

I mean, really, WOW.

From first glance, the room was more sparse than any I'd ever seen before. Not even an alarm clock. And the sheets appeared to be the original ones they opened the motel with back in 1972. Clean, but they'd been washed enough times that you could not only see through them, but read through them. They had all the silky softness of a mid-grade sandpaper. And we got to sleep in them! Well, I use the word "Sleep", but really it was more like "we got to endure them until daylight."

But the sheets weren't the only issue... oh no... A quick check of the bathroom revealed one - yes, one - towel. So Cindy called the office, and asked if we could have more. The answer was "Yes." But upon hanging up, she wondered out loud if "Yes" meant that they would bring them to us, or we would have to go get them. Good question, but not one I really felt like tackling at that time. No big deal, because a few minutes later, the phone rang and the clerk said that security would be bringing our towels. Moments after I hung up, there was a knock at our door, and the 87 year old security guard (complete with badge!) was at the door with TWO towels. SWEET!! Enough for us to each use one, and have a third one just in case. Ahh, luxury and excess, thou art Motel 6.

So we watch TV for a few minutes, and go to sleep. And the quality of the structure surrounding us really began to show itself. I didn't hear anything from the surrounding rooms, but I don't know that anybody was IN the surrounding rooms. But the exterior walls were paper thin. And I'd guess there wasn't any insulation between the layers of paper. Every noise, every footstep, every car on the freeway, sounded like it was inside the room. At least that kind of stuff eventually fades into white noise and you can sleep through it.

But the heater in the room was another story. Looking at it, it looked good! It was made by Carrier, a company that still makes quality heating and cooling systems today. It even had a digital display! Much newer and nicer than the typical low-end motel heaters, made by companies I've never heard of.

And then it turned on.

Right as I was allllllmost asleep, I heard a click, a clank, and a jet engine big enough to power a 747 spin up for takeoff. After about 45 seconds of warm air hitting me like a hurricane, it clanked, clicked and spun down to silence. (leaving the aforementioned white noise) This thing turned on and off every couple minutes. Ridiculously short cycles... And noisy enough that there was NO way I was going to sleep through it. After an hour or two of trying in vain to sleep through the racket, I finally got up to investigate... Thankfully, there were three speeds for the fan, and it was on High. So I switched it to low, and hoped for the best.

That lowered the volume enough that I was able to sleep, though badly, for a few more hours. When Tom Bodette (yep, he really does the wake up calls) called at 6am, I really doubt that I'd slept more than three hours. But wanting to get moving and put the whole ugly ordeal behind us, I forced myself up and into the shower. And if I'd thought the heater's fan was noisy, it was just baby steps compared to the wailing banshee that is the bathroom fan. No exaggeration I can do verbally or bloggally can even come close to the sound that fan made. And since it was on the same switch as the light, and Cindy was still "sleeping" (I use the term lightly), I took a shower in the dark because the sound from the fan would have ended a bad night's sleep with a horrible wake up.

An hour later, we were back on the road, thankful for a shower and sink to brush our teeth in. We were also pretty sure that we'd have slept better in the van, even with the ruts on the floor. So we placed all the value of the motel in the fact that we had clean bodies, hair and teeth. Stockton was quickly fading in the rear view mirror, and we are now much more leery of low-end lodging.

Tales from the Road II

For those of you who didn't know, I run a daily email game called "Fact or Crap." I've been doing it for a couple years, and it's good clean fun, and you get the added benefit of learning stuff!

A couple days ago, the statement which was to be judged was something along the lines of "It is illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon." As an educated reader, you most certainly know that statement as Fact... And to those of us who live on the left coast, it was ludicrous to even ask! But it did get some conversation going about wether it impacts the cost of gas. Well, when we made our first stop for gas in Oregon, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the gas prices there - at a Shell station - were cheaper than what I'd paid that morning at Fred Meyer (with reward card, of course).

So to anyone wondering if they should fill up north of the border, don't! You pay more, and you have to pump it yourself!

Tales from the Road I

I've mentioned before - probably even more than once - that I am terrible at getting the camera out when things happen that really should be captured on film. (or memory card...) Well, here's another case. I present to you, a Mercedes SL, I'd guess from the early '80s.

We passed this car at least four times, in Washington, Oregon and California. Any time we'd pull off for food, gas, or potty-breaks, we'd get back on, and before long, come up on this car again. After the 4th (and ultimately, final) time, Cindy said "You should get a picture of it!" So I did... But if I'd done it sooner, it would have been better.

Now, there are a couple of things that this picture doesn't show. Things that we really wish we'd captured to enhance this post!

#1 - The driver was an old man, we'd guess at LEAST in his mid-70s, with perfect posture, sitting up straight with his hands religiously at "ten and two" on the steering wheel. We were inspired by his adventurous spirit, taking his wife and car on a trip through the Siskiyous in late December. This is the type of life we want for ourselves when we get to those later years.

#2 - The car's left blinker had been on for at least 300 miles, one of the ways we repeatedly identified the car as we were coming up on it from behind. Passing it in Centralia: Left blinker on, car in the right lane. In Eugene: Left blinker still on, car still in right lane. And so on. This is one of the artifacts of aging that we're hoping to avoid, but if that's the worst that happens to us, we'll still consider it a victory. Besides, it confuses, irritates, and amuses the young whippersnappers like us!

Finally, when we passed it after having dinner in Yreka (and what a great name for a town, Yreka!) it was still flashing its ID by way of that left turn signal... But it was in the left lane, and moving to the right. (with the signal indicating otherwise) That's when Cindy made the comment about taking a picture. I decided I'd do even better, and shoot a movie of it! But then while switching the camera to movie mode, framing the shot and starting to shoot it, he finally realized that his blinker was erroneously on. So you get that picture of a run-of-the-mill Mercedes SL... But it had been such a part of our first day's travels that we decided to post it anyway.