Monday, August 25, 2008

Uhaul at the Ritz

Just thought it might be fun for everyone to see the uHaul at the Ritz.
thats all

Ritz Uhaul

Sunday, August 17, 2008

The show is over

The show went well, the client was happy. It was really tough though. For whatever reason... it was really long and boring. Lots of data, they went long on every presentation and we were just beat up sitting through it all.
When it ended at 4:00 we started striking and the house came in and started laying down tables. We found out that there was a dinner in there right after our gig. We were rocking the teardown and trying to get out of their way. It all came down and we loaded it out in about an hour and a half. Evan had a 7:00 pm car to the airport so we changed clothes and then had a drink with him before he left. Allen and I went to a restaurant called the Distillery and had a nice quiet dinner that was really good. The Distillery was right on the ocean and seemed like a locals kind of place.
We came back and got an excellent nights sleep. These beds are super comfortable and the hotel is pretty quiet.

We are going to check out in a little while and hook up the Uhaul trailer for a two and a half hour ride back to Folsom.
Life is good.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Gigging in Halfmoon Bay

Allen and I got up this morning around 5:30 am and got on the road by 6:00 am.
It was an easy drive in Allen's Jeep Grand Cherokee towing a u-Haul trailer loaded with the audio gear for the gig.
The traffic was really light and it took about 3 hours to get from Folsom to Halfmoon bay with a quick breakfast stop for an Egg McMuffin at McDonalds.

I am sure that we looked like the Clampetts rolling up to the Ritz Carlton with an Orange uhaul trailer, but they were very nice and told us to go to the loading dock.

The push wasn't too bad, and we loaded into the room fairly quickly. There was a little bit of mayhem once we asked for the cases that got shipped here via fedex, however it all worked itself out and we finished the setup with no problems by about 1:00 pm
Lunch happened in the bar and was not too bad.
Evan went to the Pre-con meeting with the hotel and the client and the next thing on the agenda is to hit the local brewhouse for dinner.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Lunch

Allen's Dad stopped by on his motorcycle this morning to say hello and after chatting for a few minutes, I found out that he was going to ride up to Lake Tahoe for lunch. So I told him that I would go along.
Lake Tahoe is just over an hour away right up Route 50. I thought... it is noon... by 1:30 I will be stuffing my face in a casino somewhere in Lake Tahoe! We got about 15 mles away and I was starving! I guess John was starving too, because we stopped at a Mcdonalds and got a quick bite.
Then we were back on the road, and we got off the highway and started rolling through these beautiful twisty roads. The trees started getting bigger and bigger. We rounded a corner and the view was stunning! There was a beautiful lake that was brilliant green and blue.

One of the roads we were on that took us by the Caples Lake Resort

We started climbing the mountains and went from just above sea level to about 8000 feet, then back down to about 3000 feet. Then back up.... finally we ended up crossing the Nevada state line, after about 100 miles and then took a left hand turn directly into this huge mountain. We carved back and forth through the switchbacks and finally ended up at Summit Village for Heavenly Ski mountain in Lake Tahoe. Down the hill we pulled into the Lakeside Inn and Casino for lunch.
We both had hot open-faced turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. I was stuffed, and couldn't finish my vegetables... sorry mom!

The Lakeside Inn and Casino



Back on the bikes, we rolled through south lake tahoe and back down 88. The roads were so beautiful and the pace was perfect.
After about 70 miles or so, we stopped at a Safeway and John bought us some V8 Fusion, strawberry and banana juice, and we just relaxed a little bit, and talked about motorcycles and camping. John has had his motorcycle for less than a month, and has over 4300 miles on it. He has really put the miles on this last month!
Then we got back on the road for the final stretch.
I waved goodbye to John as he pulled into his neighborhood, and then I cruised the last 8 miles home for a much needed shower.
Thanks John for taking me along on your lunch ride!