The Boys of Summer ~ August 7, 2013

Today we made our first trip to AT&T Park to see the Giants. The game wasn't until 7:15 but we took off from home around 2pm so we could amble down the back roads of Sonoma and Marin and pick up Hwy 101 near Corte Madera. There was traffic once we got on the freeway, but all in all it was pretty easy to get there and parking was right across the street.

 

We watch the games on TV all the time but nothing prepares you for actually being there: the view from the promenade, the sounds, the sun on your back, the food aromas wafting along the walkways. People get all keyed up in traffic and their everyday lives and worries. The minute they walk into the Willie Mays entrance at the stadium you see the weights drop away, scowls turn smiles, inward to outward, silence to chatter. Grown ups out of their boxes, children in their element.

 

We were way early so we checked out where our seats were located. Our friend at Jeff's 4X4 gave us two of his season tickets: awesome seats about 25 rows back and just to the right of home plate. Oh Baby!

Stadium food is not health food, it's a day off from being good kids. It was hard to decide, but we settled on garlic fries, a brisket sandwich and a coke. Brown rice and salads for the rest of the week to recover our dignity.

Time for a few laps around the Promenade to check out the vendors and the view during batting practice. We have a Kaiser iPhone app called Everybody Walk that lets us track time and mileage with a map. Two laps around the promenade was a little under a mile. We were leaning on the railing looking down to where the ferry parks and checking out boats and kayakers. All of a sudden we hear the crack of a bat and someone yells "heads up".

A fly ball arced over our heads and plopped in the water about 15 ft. from the pier. A kayaker was stroking hard to get to it, but a man on the pier cast a small, weighted dip net out beyond the ball and gathered it in. My understanding is that he's there all the time, but the fans never get tired of the competition.

Before we left home we'd been briefed about dressing for night ball, what you could bring in and where to park. Right nice to have someone blaze the proverbial trail for you. We brought water and snacks, cushions and extra shirts. Plenty warm for evening fog and a breeze.

We've heard Kruk and Kuip talk about the seagulls during broadcasts but never really understood their comments until we experienced ritual. Unfortunately the Giants lost their grip in the 8th. A number of fans left and we started seeing seagulls circling the park and perching on the roof line like ornaments. In the 9th more fans left and the number of seagulls doubled. When the game was over we walked up the stairs to the landing and looked back. We were astounded to see hundreds of gulls on the field and in the bleachers. It appears they are the first wave of the cleanup crew. Humans are a messy bunch and sea gulls are opportunists ~ a match made in heaven!

 

Parking $30

Got have Hats $64

Food $35

Gift of Admission ~ Priceless

 

Thank you Jeff and Kathy for the tickets, the tutorial, and a grand adventure. 



The Road to Elko 2012 ~ Day 1

January 31st ~ We've been spoiled by travelling in "Gone" our little motorhome. All you add is food, water and a ditty bag and you're ready to go. Not wanting tempt the Fates, we decide against it since there's always a chance of snow this time of year. A motorhome is a flying brick to begin with and they don't wear chains. We haven't packed a car for a road trip in six years so we found ourselves rather amused by the amount of stuff we're bringing along: cowboy clothes, hats, foul weather gear, boots and shoes, camera, binoculars, walking sticks, cooler, emergency pack, rolling backpacks, books on tape, etc. How did we ever find room for our two big dogs before? The entire back end of the Jeep is full to seat back level, neatly buried under the waves of a colorful Pendleton blanket.

We finished packing the car about 9:30, did a last check of the house and I started, no let me rephrase that, tried to start the Jeep: a slow groan and then clickita, clickita, clickita. I call Jeff, my mechanic, who said it sounded like the starter. He advises banging on it a few times with hammer and try it again. Nada, so he orders a starter and waits for us to get towed.

Called CSAA and Sebastopol Tow shows up in about 15 minutes. Brian, the owner, asks us what's up, then says "let me try something". He brings out his portable jump starter and badabing, she turns right over. Hero #1 of the day. We call Jeff back and tell him we'll get there under our own power. All systems check out. Have we stumped the mechanic? Not likely, but he's at a momentary loss. I ask him if it's possible to check the electrical system (I've got a few motorhead genes thanks to my dad).

He chased down and tested every fuse, connection and wiring harness. It took 2 hours but he finally found frayed wire in the harness under the dash. It was shorting the system and drained the battery. He fixed in a few minutes. We asked what we owed him for his time and he says "Just get your asses on the road and have a good time". Hero #2 of the day. Jeff's been working on our cars for years and you can understand why!

All things happen for a reason, though we haven't quite figured this one out yet our thought is that it's better to have it happen in the driveway than somewhere in the middle of Nevada. We finally leave Sonoma County around noon, arrive in Reno about 4:30 and check into the Silver Legacy.

Digital Painting, Reno, NV

http://www.etsy.com/shop/btfogelberg

Perfect ending to the day is a fabulous dinner, visit and lots of laughter with our friends Steve and Barb. The road to Elko lays ahead. Weather is clear and cold ~ a good sign. 

It Comes in Threes - Part Deux

I just wrote about Omne Trium Perfectum in mid July and here we are again. My first thought was now what have we done to piss off the goddess of the manor? But then I realized humans aren't the only things that age and have parts wear out.

One – Hmmm, I wonder how long it's been since we changed the filters on our water system. Much of Sebastopol's well water harbors bacterial iron and other minerals so it's a given that things get will get funky on a regular basis. One should change filters annually. Check the paperwork - oh crap - it's been two years. Hey Culligan Man! Filter change quite reasonable, but what's that you say the compressor's shot too? Whoa $760 is an expensive lesson, but we’re trainable and a filter change is on the calendar for next summer.

Two - White Fang the Jeep ~ the extremely comfortable, 5.9 liter, deep throated and trustworthy beast I've have had for almost 12 years. She just turned up 180K so I was banking on a major tune up this week which is an ouch by itself at $550, though well worth expense. I trust my mechanic!

But life isn't always simple is it? I notice a small leak on my front differential and make a note to show him the next day. I take off to go workout and start hearing a really strange noise. I'm thinking this isn't good and since I was less than a ½ mile from home I turn back. It started getting louder. As I start up our road I'm chanting "Come on baby just get me home, just get me home". On the second to last corner of the driveway I hear a loud "thunk" and all of a sudden I'm driving a Mack truck with no power steering. I park in front of the house and open the hood. Yikes, no serpentine belt and fluids hemorrhaging everywhere. I walked back down the road and retrieved the belt.

Because the Jeep is a 4X4 a flat bed tow truck is in order to get it to my mechanic. All of a sudden I’m really glad we have AAA (first time I’ve actually had to use it). The guy shows up about 7:50am with a 26 footer and his first words are "I can't turn around up here". I said "Of course you can, bigger trucks than this little puppy have turned around here". He gave me a really testy look.

By then my neighbors up are because their kids heard the big truck and all are out watching. They're kind enough to move their vehicles so the big guy could get turned around in their driveway at the end of the road. He loads up and off he goes. About 30 minutes later I get a call from AAA to verify the address where he’s supposed to go (the street is like 3 blocks long). I call my mechanic to see if he's arrived. Kathy, his wife says “No but I just saw the tow truck go by he'll figure it out eventually.”

She called back the next day and said "Well, we expect things wear out with this much mileage, but not all at once". At that point we just burst out laughing. The front differential needs R&R, water pump replaced, power steering repair and major tune up. The job is done and I pick the Jeep up this afternoon. The invoice is only $1,968.79.

This is what my friend Trisha would have called an “Oh Well” moment. It a huge amount of money, and really inconvenient, but even this is really "small stuff" in the big picture.

Three – Oh well, oh well!

It seems the cement pad that surrounds our well head and holds the pressure tank is slowly crumbling and heading down the hill (It's over 40 years old and had a falling tree rock it's world about 6 years ago). Our well guy suggested we might want to replace the slab prior to winter. Preventative maintenance called for here, so let's stay one step ahead on this one. Estimate is about $500, seems like chump change at this point!

Messages here:

• Due diligence on preventative maintenance whether it’s your body, your home or your vehicle.
• Set up an automatic amount to go in your savings every month (no see ‘em, no spend em), no matter how small it adds up and can save your proverbial bacon.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff because most of it is small stuff.
• See the humor in everything.
• Now go treat yourself to a massage, you've probably earned it!