100K

One thing I didn't mention in my last post is that during all my hiking/leaf peeping excursions, the ol' Honda Accord rolled passed 100,000 miles.  This is my third car and the first I've managed to get passed the 100K mark.

When we bought the accord and the Wife's civic we assumed that we would replace them at the ten year mark.  Last month was the ten year anniversary and we've decided to drive these cars into the ground before buying a new car.  It just seems to make more sense economically.

I'm curious to see which happens first: the accord dieing or me giving in and buying a plug-in hybrid.

Done!

I've finished our taxes!!!

Send us the refunds!!!

Missing: Flag Pole and Flag

The wife came home yesterday to find that someone had absconded with the Notre Dame Flag, and the flag pole it was attached to, in front of our house. The first thing we have ever had stolen. What kind of sick person would steal a Notre Dame flag this year? It must have been some Navy fan. Or maybe a disgruntled UCLA fan. Or maybe someone who needed a flag pole. Heh.

What's The Secret Password?

We're planning the drive out the California City to see Polaroid Mary,better known as Our Lady Of The Rock. I mentioned this a while back. This Mary apparition is not sanctioned by the Catholic Church. The wife found out first hand what this means when she called the Catholic Church in California City to get directions to the apparition site. When she asked the person who answered the phone about the Mary apparitions she was told that she didn't know anything about it. When the wife pressed on, the person repeated that she knew nothing about it. The impression the wife got was that she knew a lot about it but was not allowed to acknowledge the existence of Our Lady Of The Rock. I guess we didn't know the secret password.

Tomorrow the wife will try again, this time calling the California City library. If we don't get any answers, then we will probably just drive out there, find a bar or cafe, and start asking people.

Sweet Tooth ... No More

The "J" came by last night bearing a plate of birthday Brownies - Ghirardelli Brownies no less. I had been thinking of sweet stuff and the pantry was empty and the brownies hit the spot. Three were consumed that very night. Today I was reintroduced to the joy of brownies for breakfast - Yummy. At this rate the plate will be empty by Monday ... maybe Tuesday.

THANK YOU "J" !!!!

Saint Patrick's Day - Guys - Alone

The wife and the "J" are at a Secondary Education Convention down in Anaheim this weekend so it's just me and the Homer-Dog. What this means is that I am being lazy, not doing my chores, watching Mythbusters and Battlestar Galactica (STARBUCK!!!!), listening to This American Life, and generally goofing off. I will regret this later.

The wife and the "J" (A good Irish girl, ya know) who think today and tomorrow will be boring will be celebrating St. Patty's day in the hotel bar.

I have to say that the house feels awfully empty when the wife is away.

Windy, Dry, and Smoke

Today was a windy, dry and smoky day. The humidity is hovering around 14%, the winds are blowing at 20-40 MPH gusting to 60 MPH, and the smoke from the Moorpark fire is blowing our way. I have spent my day itching my eyes. I feel so dry that I'm afraid I will crumble to dust and blow away. This is what the Santa Ana Winds do.

New Travel Magnet for the Week of 1 December 2006

This week's travel magnet is a little unique in that it is from a trip the wife took by herself. She bought it while attending a seminar/class at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida.

Some Journeys Fall Flat

I'm driving to work this morning ... not my favorite journey ... when I notice my steering wheel was shaking a little. I get to work and get out of the car and see a flat tire. I used my small compressor to pump the tire up to see how fast it was leaking and found that is was a slow leak. It was still up at the end of the day but flattened again on the way home. I am convinced now that the valve stem is leaking. Crud! Not a great start to a long weekend (I'm taking leave Wednesday, have an off day on Thursday, and have Veteran's Day off on Friday - a five day weekend - WOO HOO!). Tomorrow I will spend some of my precious time getting my tire fixed. BOO HOO for me. I'm sure you all feel sorry for me ... HA!

I'm considering going to the Santa Barbara Zoo on Thursday. The wife isn't interested in going so if I go it will be a solo sojourn. If I go it will be the fifth zoo that I've been to (Guatemala City, Omaha, Honolulu, San Diego).

Exercise Your Right

Tomorrow is election day. If you haven't voted already by absentee, please vote tomorrow.

A Few Corrections

After I posted about Olvera Street and Chinatown, I was talking with the wife about the little incident with the Crazy Chinese Lady. It turns out I was totally wrong about a few things. The wife didn't think she was saying our last name. Neither was she saying Hawaii. I pretty much was wrong about everything. The Crazy Chinese Lady, as the wife correctly pointed out, was saying "Hauli" which means: Hawaiian slang for a white person not from Hawaii.

I stand corrected!

Now I'm in trouble!

Yesterday I let more of my family and friends in on my Blog. Before yesterday, only my Mom and the wife's godson knew of the blog. Now that more people are reading ...THE PRESSURE! HA! The mother-in law called today and talked to the wife. She said she liked the blog and she wanted to know where we are going next. AAH! I don't know!! HA! Our adventures tend to come and go in spurts. The last month has been busier then usual. We both keep our eyes and ears open for new things to do. This is a departure for us actually. We tend to be homebodies. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but in less then two years we will be leaving California and it would be a shame to realize after we left that we had missed a treasure or two.

Most of the comments I have received about Homer's Travels has been positive. I'm surprised - I'm not the best writer and my life is pretty ordinary - I figured it would be boring. Then again, they are all family and if it were boring I doubt they would tell me.

Most of my posts will probably be done on the weekends. I have found that my writing really suffers after a long day at work. I think my brain shuts down when I get home.

I think the wife and I will go out now and get some supper.