October 27, 2008
Me and Kelly spent the day looking at the majesty that was the Grand Canyon. We spent part of the journey walking along the South Rim of the Canyon. We were able to follow a trail along the top of the canyon without having to crawl down if we didn't want to.
When we got there, the top of the canyon looked purple and red in the bright sunlight. It was one of the most beautiful sites I've ever seen.
Me and Kelly got brave and started going down a little bit into the Grand Canyon. I would have felt more adventurous except for 2 things: The high altitude and the stories of people dying while attemping to make the hike up and back from the Canyon.
Mid-afternoon, it got colder and we were able to feel the cool chillly Northern Arizona air. The canyon looked much better as the sun was about to set. The direct sunlight faded away and we were able to get a pretty good nightview of the Grand Canyon.
For Oct. 28, 2008, More of the Grand Canyon and onto Yuma.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
From Phoenix to the Grand Canyon
Me and Kelly left our room on Sunday, Oct 26 (the same day as the Chargers/Saints game in London) and headed Southbound on I-17 to the Heard Museum. Me and Kelly got a great education in Native American art from Arizona and saw how cool the art looked. Me and Kelly got some great decorating tips from the style chica. It was a cool exhibit inside the Heard Museum which was put together by Kathy Cano-Murillo of the Arizona Republic. Some of it was very glittery.
Next, from the Heard Museum to Sedona.
Me and Kelly were crusing Northbound on I-17 and suddenly we hear word of and see signs of a major traffic accident up ahead. We dumped off the freeway at the Happy Valley Road exit and took a bunch of side streets to Carefree Highway. I got to see a part of North Phoenix that I've never seen before. I was amazed at all of the houses that were near the mountains and on the desert.
I spent some time on Carefree Highway and inside an Albertson's trying to plot our strategy to get to Sedona. The best thing that we did was simply wait it out and wait for the traffic to clear up, which it did.
Back on I-17 to Exit 298:
We get off at that exit that leads to Sedona (AZ Hwy 179) and drove about 20 minutes before hitting Sedona and seeing all the red rocks.
Me and Kelly stopped along a roadsite pullout and got some pictures together before driving along State Hwy 89a towards flagstaff. Me and Kelly admired the inescapable beauty of the Sedona Red Rocks before traveling into the Flagstaff Night.
Me and Kelly took the drive from Hwy 89a to I-17 North to I-40 West (Bypassing Downtown Flagstaff along the way). It was very dark along I-40 where we were driving for about a half-hour. As we got on I-40, I remember this part of the road sign: Los Angeles, 492 miles away.
We got onto State Hwy 64 North heading towards our destination, the Grand Canyon (Tusayan, Arizona was where our room was for 2 days). It was even darker outside and There wasn't a whole lot to see on the road. I felt like I was driving miles and miles for miles and miles. I didn't see much for dinner until we saw this little cafe along the side of the road, and so we stopped there for a dinner and a brew (coffee for me).
Finally, Success!!!! Me and Kelly have arrived near our destination, the Grand Canyon. We will see the majesty that is the Grand Canyon for the next 2 days.
Next, from the Heard Museum to Sedona.
Me and Kelly were crusing Northbound on I-17 and suddenly we hear word of and see signs of a major traffic accident up ahead. We dumped off the freeway at the Happy Valley Road exit and took a bunch of side streets to Carefree Highway. I got to see a part of North Phoenix that I've never seen before. I was amazed at all of the houses that were near the mountains and on the desert.
I spent some time on Carefree Highway and inside an Albertson's trying to plot our strategy to get to Sedona. The best thing that we did was simply wait it out and wait for the traffic to clear up, which it did.
Back on I-17 to Exit 298:
We get off at that exit that leads to Sedona (AZ Hwy 179) and drove about 20 minutes before hitting Sedona and seeing all the red rocks.
Me and Kelly stopped along a roadsite pullout and got some pictures together before driving along State Hwy 89a towards flagstaff. Me and Kelly admired the inescapable beauty of the Sedona Red Rocks before traveling into the Flagstaff Night.
Me and Kelly took the drive from Hwy 89a to I-17 North to I-40 West (Bypassing Downtown Flagstaff along the way). It was very dark along I-40 where we were driving for about a half-hour. As we got on I-40, I remember this part of the road sign: Los Angeles, 492 miles away.
We got onto State Hwy 64 North heading towards our destination, the Grand Canyon (Tusayan, Arizona was where our room was for 2 days). It was even darker outside and There wasn't a whole lot to see on the road. I felt like I was driving miles and miles for miles and miles. I didn't see much for dinner until we saw this little cafe along the side of the road, and so we stopped there for a dinner and a brew (coffee for me).
Finally, Success!!!! Me and Kelly have arrived near our destination, the Grand Canyon. We will see the majesty that is the Grand Canyon for the next 2 days.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sites of Phoenix from October 25th
Most of the day seemed like we were traveling on just about all of Metro Phoenix's freeways on this day. My girlfriend and I started our journey from North Phoenix going down I-17 Southbound. We took I-17 to its end and moved along to I-10 Eastbound before transitioning to U.S. 60 Eastbound towards Tempe and Mesa. We moved down the Loop 101 Southbound to Elliot Road to get to where I used to live in Chandler. I took Kelly to my old house in Heatherbrook in Chandler. It looked just about the same as when I moved out of there in 1992.
After stopping to my old house, I took her through where I went to school (Hendrix Junior High School in Chandler and then Dobson High School in Mesa for my sophomore year).
After the school stops, we took a break and went to Golfland in Mesa. I wanted to ride the waterslides a la Napoleon from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". I was disappointed to learn that the water rides were closed for the rest of the year. I wanted to be Napoleon for my girlfriend. I settled for playing video games.
I thought $20 would be enough for each of us to play video games for a while. $20 stretches so far over at golfland. We were there for what seemed like an eternity, but it was really 4 hours. I set some high scores in Frogger and Donkey Kong and played some guitar hero games as well. Me and Kelly were rushing to get rid of our credits so that we could see some other sites.
After golfland, I took her to Red Mountain High School in Mesa and showed her the football field where I flew my cap into the air in 1994. After that I showed her my 2 houses I lived in when I was in Mesa. I showed her the one house on Sea Pines Circle and the Big house on Sandal Circle. The exterior of the house was much different when I moved out of there in 2000 and when I last saw it in 2004. It got painted from a cream color to a purplish color.
After the mesa tour, we took the Loop 202 Westbound from Power Road all the way down to Dobson Road and we got a look at the Riverview Plaza and we got a look at the Tempe Marketplace for a short while. It was too commercial and not really local enough for me and Kelly to stop there. We settled on going down University Drive to look briefly at the Arizona State University Campus and drove past Mill Avenue before settling on parking at a garage for lunch. I took Kelly to Uno's Chicago Grill and we had some of the best deep dish pizza we've had in a long time. It was so good we had some of it for breakfast the next morning.
I had a bad headache at one point I turned over the keys to the rental car to the beautiful kelly and she got us back to the hotel and we took a nap before our next journey: Sugar Daddy's in Scottsdale, Arizona.
I took a circuitous route from the hotel to Sugar Daddys. We took the Loop 101 Eastbound, then it curved Southbound before exiting at Thomas Road. Along the way I was listening to KTAR 620-AM and heard that Oregon was thumping ASU 44-13, so I quit Listening and listened to some hard rock on 98-KUPD. Thanks to Kelly, she saw the Sugar Daddy's sign and we pulled in for a birthday party for a friend of my friend Mike Spinelli. I danced with my girlfriend and jammed w/some gut in a gorilla mask that had the hair of one Rick James.
Me and the birthday boy, Felipe, talked about Florida Gators football (how good it was) and how bad my Sun Devils were.
After the party, Me and Kelly were traveling down Scottsdale Road (later turns into rural road) and initiated Kelly into an IN-N-OUT burger, and it was awesome. It was one of the best burgers that We've eaten. Later on throughout the trip, I regretably never got to take her out to Whataburger. That's another awesome burger too.
We conclude this day traveling Westbound on the Loop 202, then Westbound on I-10, and then Northbound on I-17 to our hotel and went to sleep. Next stop, Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
After stopping to my old house, I took her through where I went to school (Hendrix Junior High School in Chandler and then Dobson High School in Mesa for my sophomore year).
After the school stops, we took a break and went to Golfland in Mesa. I wanted to ride the waterslides a la Napoleon from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". I was disappointed to learn that the water rides were closed for the rest of the year. I wanted to be Napoleon for my girlfriend. I settled for playing video games.
I thought $20 would be enough for each of us to play video games for a while. $20 stretches so far over at golfland. We were there for what seemed like an eternity, but it was really 4 hours. I set some high scores in Frogger and Donkey Kong and played some guitar hero games as well. Me and Kelly were rushing to get rid of our credits so that we could see some other sites.
After golfland, I took her to Red Mountain High School in Mesa and showed her the football field where I flew my cap into the air in 1994. After that I showed her my 2 houses I lived in when I was in Mesa. I showed her the one house on Sea Pines Circle and the Big house on Sandal Circle. The exterior of the house was much different when I moved out of there in 2000 and when I last saw it in 2004. It got painted from a cream color to a purplish color.
After the mesa tour, we took the Loop 202 Westbound from Power Road all the way down to Dobson Road and we got a look at the Riverview Plaza and we got a look at the Tempe Marketplace for a short while. It was too commercial and not really local enough for me and Kelly to stop there. We settled on going down University Drive to look briefly at the Arizona State University Campus and drove past Mill Avenue before settling on parking at a garage for lunch. I took Kelly to Uno's Chicago Grill and we had some of the best deep dish pizza we've had in a long time. It was so good we had some of it for breakfast the next morning.
I had a bad headache at one point I turned over the keys to the rental car to the beautiful kelly and she got us back to the hotel and we took a nap before our next journey: Sugar Daddy's in Scottsdale, Arizona.
I took a circuitous route from the hotel to Sugar Daddys. We took the Loop 101 Eastbound, then it curved Southbound before exiting at Thomas Road. Along the way I was listening to KTAR 620-AM and heard that Oregon was thumping ASU 44-13, so I quit Listening and listened to some hard rock on 98-KUPD. Thanks to Kelly, she saw the Sugar Daddy's sign and we pulled in for a birthday party for a friend of my friend Mike Spinelli. I danced with my girlfriend and jammed w/some gut in a gorilla mask that had the hair of one Rick James.
Me and the birthday boy, Felipe, talked about Florida Gators football (how good it was) and how bad my Sun Devils were.
After the party, Me and Kelly were traveling down Scottsdale Road (later turns into rural road) and initiated Kelly into an IN-N-OUT burger, and it was awesome. It was one of the best burgers that We've eaten. Later on throughout the trip, I regretably never got to take her out to Whataburger. That's another awesome burger too.
We conclude this day traveling Westbound on the Loop 202, then Westbound on I-10, and then Northbound on I-17 to our hotel and went to sleep. Next stop, Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sites of Tucson
Me and Kelly went to the San Xavier Del Bac Mission, Old Tucson, and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.
Kelly and I traveled down I-19 to get to San Xavier, and it's a cool old-looking church building. All the distanced posted on I-19 going towards Nogales and Mexico are all in meters or kilometers. I thought that was cool.
Kelly and I took great pictures of the building inside and out. We did a cool little hike up this small mountain too. Since I worked out really hard on Thursday, I felt the pain a bit on Friday.
Next stop, Old Tucson. We saw a cool reenactment of a bank robbery thwarted in the middle of the complex. After lunch, we saw "Cowgirl up" inside the palace theatre, and for some reason, I saw UofA banners on the stage. Those had nothing to do with the show and I made a motion to leave, but i stayed and it was a good show.
I panned for "gold" and found some.
Also, the mine tour was so much fun. The tour guide was asking me where I was from, and I said Atlanta. My name for the tour was Atlanta. When I heard the tour guide say follow the light, me, Kelly, and the group had to repeat "follow the light." When the tour guide asked me "Where are you Atlanta?", I said "over here." The tour guide was so funny and I'd tour with him again because he was good and entertaining.
I didn't know that some of the modern classics, "Revenge of the Nerds", "Little House on the Prairie", "Young Guns II", and "The Three Amigos" were all filmed at Old Tucson. I hope that Old Tucson will be used for movie filming more and more again.
Next stop, the desert museum. They even have drinking fountains there. For the first time, I saw dispensable sunscreen there too. I put some on because I have a history of sunburn. Me and Kelly saw some cool animals and a cool mountain lion that we adored. I saw lots of snakes at the beginning of the tour and found a few of them to be very colorful. I saw some cool rocks and got to take a piece of one home. Mine was a blue/green/silver rock that looked so shiny. I love shiny colors.
Last stop, the gift shop. You can never leave anywhere without walking into the gift shop. I have a prickly pear cactus ornament for Christmas this year. I wanted that turquoise tie, but it was $45 and up. I'll pass on that for now. Maybe later I'll find one on the cheap.
Tucson was a pretty neat town. Me and Kelly liked it. I wish we had more time to see more of the sites in and around Tucson.
Next stop, to I-10 and the Phoenix Area.
Kelly and I traveled down I-19 to get to San Xavier, and it's a cool old-looking church building. All the distanced posted on I-19 going towards Nogales and Mexico are all in meters or kilometers. I thought that was cool.
Kelly and I took great pictures of the building inside and out. We did a cool little hike up this small mountain too. Since I worked out really hard on Thursday, I felt the pain a bit on Friday.
Next stop, Old Tucson. We saw a cool reenactment of a bank robbery thwarted in the middle of the complex. After lunch, we saw "Cowgirl up" inside the palace theatre, and for some reason, I saw UofA banners on the stage. Those had nothing to do with the show and I made a motion to leave, but i stayed and it was a good show.
I panned for "gold" and found some.
Also, the mine tour was so much fun. The tour guide was asking me where I was from, and I said Atlanta. My name for the tour was Atlanta. When I heard the tour guide say follow the light, me, Kelly, and the group had to repeat "follow the light." When the tour guide asked me "Where are you Atlanta?", I said "over here." The tour guide was so funny and I'd tour with him again because he was good and entertaining.
I didn't know that some of the modern classics, "Revenge of the Nerds", "Little House on the Prairie", "Young Guns II", and "The Three Amigos" were all filmed at Old Tucson. I hope that Old Tucson will be used for movie filming more and more again.
Next stop, the desert museum. They even have drinking fountains there. For the first time, I saw dispensable sunscreen there too. I put some on because I have a history of sunburn. Me and Kelly saw some cool animals and a cool mountain lion that we adored. I saw lots of snakes at the beginning of the tour and found a few of them to be very colorful. I saw some cool rocks and got to take a piece of one home. Mine was a blue/green/silver rock that looked so shiny. I love shiny colors.
Last stop, the gift shop. You can never leave anywhere without walking into the gift shop. I have a prickly pear cactus ornament for Christmas this year. I wanted that turquoise tie, but it was $45 and up. I'll pass on that for now. Maybe later I'll find one on the cheap.
Tucson was a pretty neat town. Me and Kelly liked it. I wish we had more time to see more of the sites in and around Tucson.
Next stop, to I-10 and the Phoenix Area.
Welcome to Tucson
Thursday Night, me and Kelly arrived at the Tucson International Airport to begin our journey. When we got there, the airport looked dead. I mean, we were part of one of the last flights arriving into Tucson for the night. Getting our bags was easy and quick. Next stop, the rental car counter.
There were 7 rental car places within the airport, but Thrifty was not one of them. So I hit "1" to get a bus for one of the shuttle buses. We were the only passengers on board. We were also the only customers inside Thrifty. We have a shiny new Kia for the week to drive around Arizona and California.
I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with driving around Tucson. My faithful guide, and beautiful girlfriend, Kelly, got me to where I needed to be to get to our motel room, the Days Inn Suites.
on the stay at the motel, I expected better quality from Days Inn than what I got. The Air Conditioner didn't work all the time, there weren't enough clean towels, the TV wasn't where we slept, and there was no coffee maker. I'd have to give the Days Inn a 2 star rating. That's the best I can do.
for Friday, on to the sites of Tucson.
There were 7 rental car places within the airport, but Thrifty was not one of them. So I hit "1" to get a bus for one of the shuttle buses. We were the only passengers on board. We were also the only customers inside Thrifty. We have a shiny new Kia for the week to drive around Arizona and California.
I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with driving around Tucson. My faithful guide, and beautiful girlfriend, Kelly, got me to where I needed to be to get to our motel room, the Days Inn Suites.
on the stay at the motel, I expected better quality from Days Inn than what I got. The Air Conditioner didn't work all the time, there weren't enough clean towels, the TV wasn't where we slept, and there was no coffee maker. I'd have to give the Days Inn a 2 star rating. That's the best I can do.
for Friday, on to the sites of Tucson.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
My San Diego Dream
The other night, I was asleep while listening to Tears for Fears "Mad World." Along the way, I dreamed I was in San Marcos, California while driving on Highway 78 and I saw a neon sign that said KMYI-FM. It didn't say 'Star 94.1' on the sign on the East Side of the Freeway.
That prompted me to get back to listening to that station, my favorite one from San Diego.
Later on, I woke up listening to "Mad World" on Comcast's Music Choice on digital cable.
I'll be going to San Diego on vacation next week. Horay!!!!!
That prompted me to get back to listening to that station, my favorite one from San Diego.
Later on, I woke up listening to "Mad World" on Comcast's Music Choice on digital cable.
I'll be going to San Diego on vacation next week. Horay!!!!!
Travel blog 2
Last Night I packed my suitcase for my trip to Arizona and California. My beautiful girlfriend Kelly showed me a new way on how to pack my clothes in my suitcase.
So I rolled up everything and it all fit inside my green bag. I think of all of my bags as 'gear bags'. That'll help me gear up for my field rotation for CNN in the coming weeks.
So I rolled up everything and it all fit inside my green bag. I think of all of my bags as 'gear bags'. That'll help me gear up for my field rotation for CNN in the coming weeks.
Travel Blog 1
Last night I started packing my suitcases for my vacation out to Arizona. I leave for Tucson and the rest of AZ on Thursday Night.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
The Weekend
In a way I'm glad Saturday is here. The only downside right now is having to work it. My girlfriend takes the edge off and helps me forget that I have to be at work until it gets time to leave. One great thing about the weekends is that there's alot of sports to be watched.
Another good thing about the weekends are new movies. Today I'm going to watch "Superhero Movie" and laugh my head off. I need a new movie to make me laugh. I haven't had one of those since "Semi Pro" came out last month. I've had movies that have made me laugh like National Lampoon's Vacation, Clerks, and The Wedding Singer. Those are some oldies but goodies.
I don't mind being here at work as long as it's sunny outside and it's not so gloomy out there. As long as I can look out the window to see the outside, work is good.
Have fun and I'll be posting again later on.
Another good thing about the weekends are new movies. Today I'm going to watch "Superhero Movie" and laugh my head off. I need a new movie to make me laugh. I haven't had one of those since "Semi Pro" came out last month. I've had movies that have made me laugh like National Lampoon's Vacation, Clerks, and The Wedding Singer. Those are some oldies but goodies.
I don't mind being here at work as long as it's sunny outside and it's not so gloomy out there. As long as I can look out the window to see the outside, work is good.
Have fun and I'll be posting again later on.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
I'm still sick
This weekend has been a challenge to tr to get better. My problem is that I've been unable to get a good day or night's sleep to get back to where I need to be.
The first thing that might have made me sick last sunday was that Arizona State University was hosed out of an NCAA tournament appearance and was passed over by Oregon and the University of Arizona. BoooOO!!!!!!!
The worst part of being sick is that I have a sore throat and that it is dry too. It hurts to cough, but I know I need to so that I can spit out all the bad stuff.
I'll be back again on Monday.
The first thing that might have made me sick last sunday was that Arizona State University was hosed out of an NCAA tournament appearance and was passed over by Oregon and the University of Arizona. BoooOO!!!!!!!
The worst part of being sick is that I have a sore throat and that it is dry too. It hurts to cough, but I know I need to so that I can spit out all the bad stuff.
I'll be back again on Monday.
Friday, March 14, 2008
ASU got screwed
As I sat in front of my TV on Thursday, I thought I was going to see a close victory by my Sun Devils and listen to a thrilling broadcast on my satellite radio between ASU and UCLA today. That's not going to happen because the referees screwed over the Sun Devils late in the game.
Jeff Pengergraph should have gotten credit for the follow up slam dunk that would have tied the game at 57 all. Instead, he got called for an over the back foul that wiped out that basket and also made him foul out of the game. Even though the Sun Devils didn't hit a basket for the final 9 minutes of the game, they still got screwed.
Now I'm done venting. Today, I will spend the next 20 minutes with Daniel T. Cat and get ready for my Florida trip. I hope Steve is feeling better so that he can come along for the ride.
I miss my girlfriend and I love her so much. I can't wait to see her again on Monday Night when I'm expected to return.
Jeff Pengergraph should have gotten credit for the follow up slam dunk that would have tied the game at 57 all. Instead, he got called for an over the back foul that wiped out that basket and also made him foul out of the game. Even though the Sun Devils didn't hit a basket for the final 9 minutes of the game, they still got screwed.
Now I'm done venting. Today, I will spend the next 20 minutes with Daniel T. Cat and get ready for my Florida trip. I hope Steve is feeling better so that he can come along for the ride.
I miss my girlfriend and I love her so much. I can't wait to see her again on Monday Night when I'm expected to return.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Excitement for today
When I get home, I'm getting excited about seeing Daniel T. Cat and watching some tournament week basketball at home. I'm going to start by watching the Big East Tournament at noon, and then I'll watch the ASU/USC basketball game at 3pm. I'm getting stoked about the ASU Basketball game this afternoon. Daniel and I will bond together during that game.
Daniel has the case of the meow's lately. I don't know whether I need to feed him more (I feed him a big bowl of food already) or just play with him more. I'm going to go with B on that one (play with him more).
Tonight is my last full night w/my girlfriend for a while as I gear up for my trip to Orlando this weekend. I'm hoping Steve will feel better so he can go too. I love Kelly so much and I want to give my best to her until I return home next week.
Let's watch some basketball.
Daniel has the case of the meow's lately. I don't know whether I need to feed him more (I feed him a big bowl of food already) or just play with him more. I'm going to go with B on that one (play with him more).
Tonight is my last full night w/my girlfriend for a while as I gear up for my trip to Orlando this weekend. I'm hoping Steve will feel better so he can go too. I love Kelly so much and I want to give my best to her until I return home next week.
Let's watch some basketball.
Do not fear the freeway
Yesterday I left my girlfriend's place and drove to the dentist up near where I live in Acworth, GA. Rather than take I-85 South to I-75 North to get to where I needed to go, I took a bunch of sidestreets to save time. That didn't work because I hit some red lights behind a bunch of cars. At least on the freeway, there are no red lights. From now on, I'm taking the freeway home. No question about it.
Growing up in California and Arizona, I was fascinated by the freeway when I used to ride around with my dad alot.
Remember one thing anywhere you go, the freeway is your friend.
Growing up in California and Arizona, I was fascinated by the freeway when I used to ride around with my dad alot.
Remember one thing anywhere you go, the freeway is your friend.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Beginning
I never thought I'd start blogging, but thanks to my friend Matt Roper, I'm inspired to start. First, a little about me. I'm a Huge sports fan of teams from San Diego, Phoenix, and Atlanta, and in that order.
I like to read, watch TV, watch movies, laugh, and make people laugh. I also own a cat named Daniel T. Cat. He's a good buddy who likes to meow at me alot.
I like video games and I have a Playstation 2 and an XBOX 360.
I like to read, watch TV, watch movies, laugh, and make people laugh. I also own a cat named Daniel T. Cat. He's a good buddy who likes to meow at me alot.
I like video games and I have a Playstation 2 and an XBOX 360.
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