The Mission Inn Festival of Lights

Limo Man had the priviledge and pleasure to see the annual Mission Inn Festival of Lights after Thanksgiving this year. He got a GREAT bunch of shots for me to publish for those of you who have never been to the Inn.

Even the trees are full of lights!

This is the entrance to the Inn...

This is the back of the hotel and may be a bit dark but the toy soldiers are cute.

This shot is out at the pool.

And check out those fireworks!

Let's not forget people that these pictures were taken at night.

Wow, look at this!!!!!

Here are a few pics of the strelitzia that finally bloomed.
Ah, I just love a good bird of paradise.....

FINALLY THE WAIT IS OVER.....

I brought home a baby strelitzia plant 5 years ago and it is just now getting its first bloom.
I can't wait until it's fully opened.
The bird of paradise is such a beautiful flower!
Our buds Janice and Dean have a flower business named "Strelitzia" in Davis, CA so if you're ever in Davis and need flowers stop by and see them!
Meanwhile I'm waiting....open, open, open!

Weekend Warrior

QUICK!!!!Someone get these BIG DROPS off of me before I melt....aaaaaaaaagggggggghhhhhhh

Gotta love this logo!

What's that say?????

Yep, that's me Mr. Vet Syco...there's my bro' the gas ho' up the sidewalk.

Oooooh I love a good massage!!!!!

It's a beautiful HOT Saturday and Limo Man and I washed the hot rod today. Yep, for the second time in 7 years the hot rod actually got wet.
It didn't take very long because it's just not that big of a car but boy is it fast....
After we washed it we covered it and put it away for the winter. Yep, like there is actually a winter in Huntington Beach...I laugh!

We finally meet Border!

The weekend of October 25th we decided to take off and go to Oakdale to meet our newest grand nephew Border Marion Rath.
I didn't really know how long it would take us to get to Oakdale until I looked it up on Mapquest (wow, 5 hrs, 57 mins.). Limo Man drove the first 3 hours and then I drove for the next two. I got a little lost at one point so we had to do a swing back down HWY 99 to correct the mistake I made. Limo Man was a little irritated with me because I woke him up and he wouldn't go back to sleep for fear that we would never make it.

We finally arrived and got to see Tyler and Marjean's new digs. Wow do they ever have a beautiful home in the middle of God's green acres. We had a great visit with Limo Man's brother and sister in law, Steve and Janet. We met the little guy Border and is he ever a cutie! He is Tyler and Marjean in every way! (I was really disappointed that I forgot my camera otherwise I would have had a lot of pictures to post).

The barbeque that we had was fabulous and we had some great wine and great conversation. Thanks so much guys!!!!!

It's a good thing that Saturday was a great day because Sunday didn't end up so well. I had a bit of a meltdown when Limo Man was backing into a gaspump and didn't see the little hispanic man behind us. I guess I yelled at him "Watch out, Watch out!!!!! and he didn't appreciate that.

Let's suffice it to say that I now know what my little phobia is called: Amaxophobia is a dreadful fear of riding in cars. So I guess from now on I either drive or I am banished to the campsite (aka the back seat of the Tahoe).
It is certainly a bitch getting old.....

Dean's 60th!!!!!!!

I guess this says it all...Happy 60th Birthday Dean!

Best Buds...

What a happy looking trio!

Here's Limo Man and Dean doing what they do best...Cribbage!!!

Thanks guys for the beautiful roses!!!

Limo Man in a pensive moment...

Yay! It's Dean's 60th!!!

Better have a shot to deal with this knee!

Our buds Janice and Dean flew down from Northern CA to celebrate Dean's 60th birthday.
We were so happy to see them but when Dean arrived in a wheelchair we were a little surprised! It seems he stepped off a curb and wrenched his knee.
Their first night was spent icing down his knee and the second day they were here he felt better. Good thing because that was his birthday! Limo man took us on a tour of Corona Del Mar and we got to see some fabulous homes in an area I didn't even know existed. We had a fabulous dinnner at Roy's Pacific Rim and to have J & D with us to celebrate was an extra added bonus! By the way, thanks so much for dinner Janice!!!!! After dinner we went back home and had a bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon with some chocolate for desert. Boy was it ever a great time!
I was sad to drop J & D off at the airport on Thursday morning but they had to get back to work.

October Ramblings

Here I sit at work and for the life of me I just don't want to do anything today. Sometimes I don't grasp the concept of getting here and having to work as well. It's just not fair.

In fact nothing in life seems that fair anymore.

After watching the 2 boobs debate for a second time last night it is clear to me that this country is going to hell in a handbasket. Why couldn't these guys just answer a question? Bottom line people, bottom line! Quit with the tap dancing around all the issues and quit with the mudslinging! Those guys just pissed me and Limo Man off and we ended up turning the slugbate off.

I think I'll just write in Limo Man for President.
Yeah, that's what I'll do.....

Fall Update

Labor Day weekend has passed and that can only mean one thing. (Okay maybe two things).

School has started and I'm back taking a class at Cal State Long Beach and Huntington Beach will finally get back to "normal" after a busy summer tourist season.

Limo Man and I are looking forward to a couple of things coming up in October: Our pals Janice and Dean are coming down to celebrate Dean's 60th birthday. They'll be here for a few days so it will be so much fun to see them and spend some time with them. Then we'll be going to Oakdale to meet the newest member of the family, our first grand nephew, Border Marion Rath. It will also be the first time we get to check out Tyler and Marjean's new digs! We can't wait!

Oops, maybe I shouldn't have let the cat out of the bag about our trip to Oakdale. If the "Big man" finds out we may have to wrestle him to hold the baby. The "Bigman" loves the babies! And why not? He's got a third grandie on the way! We're so excited for all of them!

Walkin' in HB

This little beauty takes up one entire corner lot.

This is a little convenience store that has a beach mural painted on it's side.

This stone beauty was recently completed.

An unusual style with a clock above and an indian statue below.

Here's your basic "beach house". The porch looks so cozy!

I have recently started walking around Huntington with my IPod blaring. I can't believe that it took me almost a year to take the silly thing out of the box and learn how to use it. Right now I am downloading the best of the Matchbox 20 "Exile in America" tour. Limo Man and I went to see Matchbox 20 at the Pacific Amphitheater at the end of July. We had great seats and with the package that we bought we also got the entire "best of" downloads of the tour. Needless to say it was a great concert and Rob Thomas is so awesome!

Anyways, one recent Saturday when Limo Man was out driving I decided to take a walk and take come pics of some interesting homes in the neighborhood. Some of the pictures may not be that great but hey, I don't claim to a photographer. It's interesting to see the different architectural styles in this city by the beach.

Turtles turtles turtles....

L.W. here and I love turtles.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that Limo Man calls me "little turtle". He says that I look like a turtle when I pout. Can you imagine?

Anyways I shot (not with a gun silly!) some turtles out on our patio to share with anyone that reads my blog.

Okay, so sometimes I get a little bored.

This time off is gettin' to me.

I'd better go do something useful like laundry or something.

Yeah that's what I'll do....

Life after Las Vegas

Limo Man and I had a fabulous trip to Las Vegas this last week.

We left on Sunday and got into Vegas about 3pm. We got an upgrade on our room so we actually had a suite that was bigger than our townhouse. The spa tub pictured above was huge and to give you an idea of how huge it is Limo Man is 6'4" and he could barely sit up in the thing.

We had a fabulous dinner on Sunday night at our favorite sushi place at the MGM, The Grand Wok. We love going there for dinner and the sushi makers love it when we give them a tip. We sat at the sushi bar and after we tipped the guys it started a trend with other diners at the bar.

Monday and Tuesday we hung at the pool. They have a new pool at the MGM Grand called Wet Republic. That's where all the beautiful, young people hang out. Since there are 6 pools now at the MGM we hung at the director's pool which is the adult pool. It was nice to see that the "adults" weren't the usual suspects that we have always seen flaunting their little hard bodies there before. Apparently they have all migrated to Wet Republic. THANK YOU WET REPUBLIC.... Now I have no qualms about hanging at the pool.

On Monday night we trammed down to Caesar's palace and had dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Wow, was that ever a delight! We have decided that since the food was so good that we will go back sometime and make a meal out of the appetizers.

As you can see by the picture with all the building they are building a huge city center in Las Vegas. It's going to consist mostly of condos and timeshares. It will be interesting to see how it plays out in this economy.

We're back from Vegas and back to the usual.

L.W.

Happy 4th of July

Limo Man is driving the dignitaries for the HB Annual 4th of July Parade today. The 4th of July in HB is amazing. People drive in from all over southern california and park where they want. Most of them don't care if they are in a red zone or not. It's almost like the lemmings making their way to the edge of the cliff.

Then later Limo Man is taking some favorite clients to a soccer match at the Home Dept Center. So the 4th of July is a day that I can take for myself.

In the past I have always barbequed ribs and made macky salad for Limo Man but this year we are having hot dogs and hot links with some store bought poatato salad since he only has a short break at home.

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th and that you get to see some great fireworks. All I know is that later tonight my neighborhood will be a war zone.

Fireworks are illegal in HB unless they are controlled in a show down on the pier. But the people who live here don't care. Oh well, a few shots of tequila and I won't hear a thing. HOPEFULLY. Say a prayer of thanks for our troops over in Iraq and other foreign countries that are fighting for our freedom and those who have fought before them. We owe them big!

L.W.

OH MY GOD

Limo Man and I are getting ready to go to Las Vegas next weekend.
Yes Limo Man loves to go into the desert in the summer time and going into the desert in the summer time means one thing.....
The nightmare search for a new bathing suit!
I boldly went out shopping last night and hit Sears, J.C. Penney's, Macy's, Kohl's and was about to give up while walking back to the car when I remembered that there was a Mervyn's at Bella Terra.
So I stopped in and actually found a couple of cute suits.
But here's the catch.....
I have been so bad about doing any exercise and have been making some pretty poor choices about eating and drinking that I seem to have ballooned to about the size of a small country. I love cottage cheese for lunch but I DO NOT like seeing it on my butt and legs.
All I can say at this time is it's a good damn thing that the trend for this summer is bathing suit bottoms that have skirts attached to them. At least no one has to be subjected to seeing my cottage cheese cheeks.
Oh God......how could I have let myself go like this?
L.W.

A Few More from Humphrey's

Here's a few more pictures from the balcony of our suite at Humphrey's. Gosh we have just fallen in love with that place! In the picture on the left there are actually 2 birds sitting on the fence but one of them blends in with the bush behind him because he is so green.

The concert venue was just below our balcony (on the right) and as you can see by where Limo Man is standing (second row, seats 1 and 2) we had sweet seats. The band was doing a sound check while Limo Man was scoping out our seats.

The picture in the middle is more seats in the venue and the sailboats docked right across from the stage area. People actually raft, kayak, and pull up on their boats in that little cove to see concerts for free!

The Birthday Weekend

Friday the 13th was my birthday.

Last year Limo Man surprised me with brunch at Sarducci's in San Juan Capistrano, a train ride to San Diego, and tickets to see George Benson and Al Jarreau at Humphrey's By the Bay on Shelter Island. I have always wanted to see George Benson so it was really a wonderful surprise. We had so much fun that we booked another trip for this year to go to Humphrey's By the Bay to see Johnny Lang.

Limo Man took me back to San Juan Capistrano to have breakfast at Sarducci's this year. Sarducci's is a great restaurant at the train station and you can sit and watch the trains come and go. Right across the tracks from the restaurant is the Los Rios district. There is a lot of history in that area. After breakfast we got on the train to San Diego. What a relaxing way to travel! No freeway stress, and very little gas used.

When we got to San Diego our favorite shuttle driver Bill from Humphrey's By the Bay picked us up at the train station and took us to the resort.

We also (after complaining about being upgraded to a room without a king bed) finally got to stay in a Junior Suite (which is what we were originally booked for last year and this year as well).

Our suite was overlooking the venue's stage so we got a few really good shots from our balcony of the area.

The concert was great. Dave Barnes is a guitarist and singer from Nashville, Tennessee. He was fabulous! Johnny Lang was good but he has a new band now and they seem to be going in a different direction from when we had previously seen them 2 years ago. Don't get me wrong, Johnny Lang is a very talented guy but seeing him with Reeve Carney 2 years ago was a better show.

So Saturday we took the train back home and Saturday night we went to the Samueli Theater to see a dance troupe called "Groovaloo". The show was very entertaining and the dancers had the energy that I wish I could find again. There were break dancers, b-boys, street dance, and a really fascinating story behind the origin of the troupe.

Sunday Limo Man took me up to Hollywood to have a late lunch at the world famous Ivy Restaurant. It was so much fun! I had always wanted to have a dining experience there at least once and he made that wish come true for me. I am truly blessed to have a guy in my life that works as hard as he does to do such wonderful things for both of us! I mean why work so hard if you can't play sometimes?
Last night, Monday night, we got to go to the Angel's/Mets game at the Big Ed compliments of the lovely and generous KR. The Angel's got beat 9-6 but they put up a good fight. We found out this morning that the Met's coach just lost his job. It was something that Limo Man told me might happen at the game last night.

Well, tomorrow it's back to work for me. We didn't take very many pictures on our trip this time so next trip to Vegas in July we'll try to do better. The birthday weekend was a success and a great time was had by all!

Aaaaah The Caymen's.....Heaven on Earth

Limo Man and I took a trip to the Cayman Islands with my entire side of the family plus my cousin Patrick.

We did a lot of snorkeling and our fair share of drinking. We actually got a bottle of cuban rum that you'll not see here in the states. It was the best sipping rum we've had. We had lots of good times and a few not so good (the owner of our condo double booked the place so we had to move out a night early). Needless to say we won't be calling that bitch ever again.

We left the island a day early. Our brother in law Mason and sister Mary got us the buddy passes and we even got to fly first class on the way to the islands. It was fabulous! All in all it was a great get away and we had fun spending time with the fams.

Notice the pirate ship behind Limo Man? It was really cool! Oh and those coconuts are real! REALLY!

Remember the Speed....

Okay so let me apolgize now because most of my posts are looking back.

But that's okay because history can always be revisited and I like to go back.

I'm sitting here listening to some old tunes on my I Pod while Limo Man is out driving. And that's okay because we actually got to spend a Friday night together last night.

It's always good to have a little barbeque and some libations. (Is there such a thing as a little barbeque?)

I decided to post a few pictures of Limo Man's racing experience at the Shrine. I took him out to Fontana to California Speedway so that he could drive a Winston cup car.

Needless the say that he loved it and the need for speed took over. Of course the guy riding with him didn't exactly love the speed so much because his signal to slow down was pulling on the driver's right pantleg.

As you can see by the picture on the right his pantleg is slightly higher than the other because Limo Man decided to put the pedal to the metal! The only thing that matters is that he had a good time!

The Story of the Hat.....

So a while back Limo Man drove Genie and Paul from Kiss to a Cisco bash and was given the "flames hat" that he is wearing in the very first post. We really couldn't figure out what we were going to do with it until we were invited to Chico for a family get together in Tyler's honor because he completed his MBA at Fresno State.

We decided that the hat needed to be bestowed to the graduate. I sewed a button on the top of it and Limo Man had a tassle from a graduation video shoot, so we designed the quintessential MBA hat and gave it to Tyler after his celebration dinner. Next to Tyler is his cutie wife Marjean.

The kid with the hat over his entire head is Limo Man's nephew Luke. Luke is one cool customer!

The cute couple in the middle picture are the graduate's proud parents Steve and Janet. The happy guy with them is Will John, maker of the best shiners around!

Needless to say it looked so good! And we all had fun with the hat!