Reno Aces Baseball Game (More Dangerous Than Swine Flu)

Oh man! I am so behind on blogging, and you know I hate that because then it feels like homework, which turns into to feeling like housework... and well... you know the rest of the story on that...

So let me start catching up with the Reno Aces game we went to on Friday at the new stadium. It was really a great time and I kind of felt as if the stadium was mine. You know what I mean? Like I had some sort of vested interest in something local. Something I can get into and support, and like everyone else there felt the same way (insert group hug here).

We met my in-laws, Marv and Joanie, and Matt's brother Ryan and our nephew Ben at the entrance for the game. It turns out that Friday's are perfect for a family night. In addition to all the entertainment between innings, there was a fireworks show afterwards, and then kids under 12 got to run the bases. I think we were there for about four hours, and the kids never complained :)

It turns out though, that standing in the concession stand line, the one that's about parallel with right field, is more dangerous than the Swine Flu. True story. A woman was nailed in the head by a foul ball in the exact spot I had been standing only two minutes before she was hit. She was in my line about four people back, but was still out in the open. I had already entered the covered area of the stand. It was shocking, to say the least, to hear that loud thud and then gasps all around. Surprisingly though, it didn't knock her out, and she remained standing, with support, and had the most terrible look in her eyes. She didn't say a word, but just stood there for a few moments (kind of looking like I imagine we were all supposed to be looking right now dying from Swine Flu), with her eyes all popped out and her hand on her head - and then they whisked her away. I wish I knew what happened to her.

So don't worry about taking your hand sanitizer to the ball park - take a helmet instead.

Oh, and note to self: the end of the fifth inning is the worst time of all to go for snacks. It's when EVERYONE goes for snacks, which causes people to have to stand out in the open to be struck by foul balls. And it's also the reason you missed the Barry Bonds home run that landed just two seats from where you had been sitting back in 2002 - that moment was one of the most shocking of your life, and sent you into a funk for days. You and Matt were the only two at Pac Bell Park who weren't celebrating. And on top of all that, you had that foul ball almost near death experience standing in line to get Eva garlic fries, only to find out, when it was finally your turn, that you were at the wrong concession stand, and that you had to go to a different concession stand for garlic fries and stand in line all over again. So, don't ever go for food right after the fifth inning. That's when bad things happen.

Ella's new photo policy since getting braces

Ben, Ryan and Ella

Joanie and Ben - no greater love hath a grandmother for her grandchild, but that she will crack open each and every individual sunflower seed for him

Eva

Sophie, unaware that she is about to be consumed by Archie

Matt's in the middle with the red hat, Eva's holding a glove over her head

Ryan and Ben - that's the same glove I've had since I was about twelve

Matt and Eva

The new Reno Aces Stadium with Downtown Reno in the background

Homework Assignment and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Well, I've put off writing my heartwarming salt story for so long, that now it feels like homework...

...so let me put it off for just another minute longer to tell you about a fantastic concert I went to the other night :) Talking about concerts is so much more fun than doing homework!

I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but I'm kind of a soul music fanatic - soul music as in the 'classic' soul/R&B of the 60' and 70's, not to be confused with contemporary R&B. Ya dig? Wednesday I went with a friend to see Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (Matt was so nice to take over my duties again). Sharon Jones is truly a throw back to the way soul used to done!!! And the Dap Kings, her band, are brilliant! They are known for having backed-up Amy Winehouse on several songs, including 'Rehab'. But dang if Amy Winehouse doesn't just give me the creeps with her tacky black widow hair, those scary Cleopatra eyes and her self-harming ways! It's not the Dap King's fault though. They can't help it that Amy's a crack head who needs a lifetime of rehab. Sharon Jones on the other hand has herself together, and they're her band.

Anywho, the show was one of the best and most fun I've ever attended. Case in point, check this out. Sharon does the dance moves she did growing up - she's 53, which means this is inspiring:

She danced like this most of the night! She pulled people up on stage to dance throughout the night as well, but if someone was boring, she kicked him/her off :D

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Then she did one of my my all time favorite songs, 'A Change Is Gonna Come'

This song (by Sam Cooke) is one of the greatest of all time in my opinion. It was very dramatic and wonderful - although I don't really think Obama is going to put any money in my pocket ;-)

A friend I hadn't seen in years came with me. Actually, she lived across the street from us and I labeled her house in my Google Earth post a couple weeks back. She's Tracy. We've recently been in contact again thanks to facebook :) We had a great time catching up on our lives and visiting, and even though we've grown to be political and religious polar opposites, she's kind of like a family member you haven't seen for a long long time, but makes you feel like home because you did so much together as kids and she knows you so well. She was a huge part of my childhood, and it was lovely seeing her again - plus, she loves this kind of music too. Thanks for the fun Miss T!

So, it was a wonderful evening, and if you made it through all the videos, you're invited to come the next time I go see SJ&TDK :) And there will be a next time!!!

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Okay, fun's over - on to my homework...

When my poor mother was released from the hospital, she was in a bad bad way! The infection that had gone into her blood and caused kidney failure had left her profoundly weak, and her asthma had become a problem from lying in bed so long. But they always send people home as soon as they're not on their death beds anymore, so home we went (to Susanville).

Okay, that's enough of that - I'm boring myself, sheesh...will finish it soon and liven it up a bit...

Birthday Weekend Blowout, Rachel's Travel Guide Edition, Part 3, the Finale

Image overload warning!!! But I need to get this birthday bash over with already, so I'm doing it all in one post. And I just don't believe in photo brevity anyway. Brevity may well be the soul of wit, but it's not the soul of a pictorial - or my blog :)

I'm still in Susanville by the way. My mom is gaining her strength back slowly but surely, and I'm caught up on all the chick flicks I've been meaning to watch! And then some. I should be going home on Monday.

Now, on to lots and lots of pictures :)

Cable car still adorned in its holiday decor. I wonder if that man is using the Nikon D-90 I've been dreaming of?

Looking down California Street from the sidewalk. The Cathay House Restaurant pagoda facade and The Bay Bridge are in view.

View of California Street from our table at The Cathay House.

We also had this to view, and also siting below this church, a little old Chinese man playing his little ehru. He was playing 'Auld Lang Syne' both times we passed him.

The Transamerica Building from Chinatown.

Matt finds souvenirs for the girls in Chinatown - soapstone Chinese zodoac stamps with their names personalized in Chinese

Hopefully, he didn't carve anything vulgar.

Grant Street

This shop looks inviting and beautiful, but most stores in Chinatown are filled to capacity with pure cheap junk - and guess where it's all made? Chinatown must hold a record for cheap junk per square foot. But it sure is festive!

The lanterns are lit at night

I could walk the streets of San Francisco all day just looking at fire escapes. I would save all the drama in my life for a fire escape if I had one. I would talk on the phone on my fire escape, read books, get a tan, think deeply, cry, be happy, commune with God, solve the mysteries of the universe, yell at the kids from it, maybe even take a nap on it - if I didn't have so many sleeping issues. After dark, it would be like The West Side Story meets Breakfast at Tiffany's west, and Matt would sneak up to see me and declare his love for me under the stars. Then we'd sing a sweet duet before he goes off and accidentally kills Bernardo while trying to stop a rumble between the Jets and the Sharks. Then I would grab a little guitar (Ella's) and sing 'Moon River', and then I would go save Cat in the rain. Then I would grab the laptop and blog about all the drama in my life from my fire escape. I don't think I would hang my laundry out to dry on it though, because I don't like hanging laundry out to dry. In fact, I don't like laundry at all.

A Street in the North Beach Neighborhood, just west of Chinatown

There was a wonderful little record store in North Beach. Do you remember that I love nesting dolls? But what I really wanted was that microphone! I could sing some pretty awesome karaoke with it!

A lovely bride with Sts. Peter & Paul Church in the background, North Beach

Pizza fans waiting their turn to eat the best pizza EVAH!

On the outside looking in (an Oingo Boingo flashback)

Can you believe he doesn't write, or even read poetry anymore? He only did that when we were dating to impress me, because he's sweet like that :)

There are no words. 'Nuff said...

An inviting alley

The next morning, on my actual birthday, breakfast was delivered to our door, Matt served it to me bed, we ate, and then took a nap :) But it was soon time to check out and go pick up the girls at Marv and Joanie's (in-laws). When we arrived in the afternoon, they had a delicious birthday meal ready for us - shrimp pasta, tri-tip, vegetables, salad and garlic bread. It was a lovely ending to a lovely weekend! Thanks Marv and Joanie for watching your grand-kids ;-) Was wonderful of you!

It's always a crap-shoot when you ask a stranger to take a picture for you

p.s. Nie Nie's new post made me cry

Birthday Weekend Blowout, Rachel's Travel Guide Edition, Part 2 - Ferry Ride and Cable Car Advice

Tonight I'm posting this from Susanville, Ca., where I'm staying with my mother for a few days (at least). I brought her home from the hospital today, and she is now well on her way, it seems (we hope and pray), to recovery from kidney failure and a septic blood infection - yikes. I am now her nurse, but I'm much nicer than Nurse Ratchet - most of the time...

Matt will be handling things at home with the girls, and I hear they've LOADED up on the cereal!!! And not the healthy, may or may not, lower your cholesterol kind.

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So, on with Part 2

We stayed in Tiburon at a little hotel we've stayed at before called The Waterfront Hotel. This time, we had a room with a view :)

View from our tiny balcony

Daytime view of the city from our hotel's deck

The Hotel is right on the water, as is obvious from the photos, and there is a ferry dock only a couple hundred yards away. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to take the ferry into to San Francisco, even though the last ferry was scheduled to come back at 4 pm. The views were worth our day in the city being shortened, especially since we had our car to go back later :)

Alcatraz

Transamerica Building

View up Hyde Street from the bay

View down Hyde Street from the back of a cable car

Further up Hyde

We didn't really have a plan for the day - we only knew that we wanted to eat delicious food! When we arrived, we decided to walk down to the Hyde Street cable car turnaround area. Hopping a cable car a block up from the turnaround is one of my favorite things to do in San Francisco. Let me tell you why, and by the way, this happens to be very valuable information for anyone who ever travels there. Pay me now, thank me later. I love it because there are always a bunch of poor saps waiting in line (yes, I was once a poor sap too), sometimes literally for hours (especially during the summer months), and none of them know that they can catch one at every intersection :D They think they have to have to buy a ticket at the booth near the turnaround, but they can buy one right on the trolley from the driver, and get on whenever the car stops, which is all the time, not even counting the cross streets. They don't ever fill the cars to capacity when the load them because they know they'll be picking people up along the way. There's usually room right on the back end, which is where you want to be for the best view of the bay. Does it make me a bad person that it warms my heart to hop a trolley and enjoy knowing that everyone on it is a suckah (like we were before we discovered this trick)?

Part 3 coming soon...

Birthday Weekend Blowout, Rachel's Travel Guide Edition, Part 1 - Bodega Bay

jenn g. commented on the last post:

"Awesome photo on your blog header...I think National Geographic will be calling for that one! Did you have a great time in SFO? Was the weather really that beautiful??"

Thank you! And yes, as a matter of fact, the weather was that beautiful! Bodega Bay and San Francisco knew I was coming to celebrate my fortieth birthday, so accordingly, the heavens opened and the sun shone.

But it was just a tad bit windy out on the point of Bodega Bay. Other than that though, the winds were calm, because they knew I was coming (I'm pretty sure).

Bodega Bay is where the Hitchcock movie 'The Birds' was filmed. I'm ashamed to confess, as a self-proclaimed lover of classic movies, that I have never seen the entire movie, even though I've seen 13 Hitchcock films (just looked at his filmography and counted them). Basically I've seen the scenes in which birds are attacking people *hangs head low*

But in an attempt to redeem myself, I joined Netflix last night, and 'The Birds' is on its way!

Rustic boats in Bodega Bay

The 'Molly Kathryn'

I'm kind of peeved with myself that I still haven't sent in my nicer camera in to be fixed, and we had to take the pocket camera instead - but blurred crows feet for a fortieth birthday picture are a good thing :)

After exploring a bit and buying a bag of salt water taffy, the same exact kind you can get right here in Reno by the way, but just not from an adorable pink and white striped taffy shop on the edge of the water that has Led Zeppelin blasting inside, we had a late lunch at the Tides Wharf Restaurant. Our meals were delicious, but I can't remember what they were called. The original Tides Wharf Cafe, which was featured in the film burned down (so our waitress informed us). The new restaurant sits on the same wharf complex.

In the gift shop I saw a book that I wanted called 'Footsteps in the Fog'. Matt bought for me because he's nice like that, and because it was my birthday weekend :) I'm all ready for the arrival of 'The Birds' now.

Sunset on Hwy 1 near Stimson Beach

When we made it to our Hotel in Tiburon, across the bay from San Francisco, we were greeted with this lovely view from the hotel's deck. A lot of people may not realize this, but San Francisco has fewer foggy days during winter, which makes it an excellent time of year to visit.

Part 2 coming soon...

Pt. 3 Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk VS The Über-Everything Theme Parks

I already stated in part 2 that I prefer the SCBB to all the bigger theme parks. Here are my reasons:

1. The Beach!!! - The Boardwalk is literally next to the beach. What is better than being next to the beach? Nothing. After riding the rides all morning and early afternoon, we changed things up by getting into our bathing suits and going to the beach for a couple of hours. I body surfed for the first time in 20 years!!! More on that later - maybe. Colton, who came from Denver, Colorado to stay with Marv and Joanie, swam in the ocean for the very first time ever (he didn't like its saltiness). At what other park could you do this? None of them. After having fun in the water for a couple hours, we changed back into our clothes and went back for more rides and stuff on the boardwalk. Unfortunately, I did have salt water hair. But I just bought a hat, put my hair in a ponytail, and called it good.

2. Good music - I notice what music is playing where ever I go and take mental notes. I love to be surprised by a song I love. This happened all day at the Boardwalk. Mostly they played classic soul and classic rock, which is perfect for a beach side amusement park. I was singing along to songs all day to myself. What was almost as fun as the great music, was that the entire day long I didn't once hear Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, Camp Rock, etc. - I guess I did hear Rihanna once though. But I can make some small allowances for not playing any Disney produced songs.

3. Cost - there is no entrance fee to the boardwalk. You simply buy either an unlimited ride pass, or ride tickets if you only plan on doing a couple rides. This is unlike the other places where you have to pay $50 or more to enter the park, but may never actually ride the rides. The unlimited ride pass was $25 I think.

4. Better food- anyone who's ever been to Disneyland or the other big parks, can testify that the food sucks and is UBER-expensive. It's safe to say that you're probably not going to get a great deal at any amusement park on food, but the SCBB has a variety of food vendors, and some of them are actually good. They have a lot of what you would find at a fair, which is usually much better than what you have to buy at the big places. Also, at the SCBB, you can actually just walk across the street and eat at any number of little food establishments, or bring whatever food you want to in a cooler, and have lunch at the beach, or even on the boardwalk.

5. Close parking - at the SCBB, you need not walk a mile to catch a tram that will drop you a half a mile from the park entrance. The parking is close, which makes it easy to leave stuff in the car you might want later, but don't don't want to put in a locker.

6. No Disney souvenirs or cartoon themed rides - well I guess there are cartoon theme rides, but what I mean is that the SCBB doesn't seem to be sponsored by Disney, Nickoldeon or Warner Bros.. There's only so much Disney, Nickelodeon, etc., stuff I can take. I'm not anti-Disney, but it sure was nice to not have all the souvenir stands pushing Disney in our faces at every turn. The merchandise was mostly geared around beachy items, which is so much better than the ubiquitous Disney Princesses, High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, Dora, blah blah blah (I left Spongebob out because I love him) cheapy stuff they usually have at such places. Oh, the stuff is still cheapy, but it's beachy cheapy.

7. Everything is very close together! - like a traveling carnival or fair, but not hastily put together by traveling crack heads. They have all the classic old school carnival rides, but also plenty of thrill rides for people like Ella who will ride ANYTHING! Even rides put together by crack heads if she were allowed to. Everyone was satisfied, and we didn't have to walk 1,000 miles to do it all.

8. And lastly, the SCBB is close to Monterey, which is close to Carmel, which is not that far from Big Sur. How can you go wrong with that?

9. Our kids have also decided it's their favorite place, without me having to do any of my usual brainwashing.

I'm not even getting paid for this ad - can you believe it? And if you made it this far and actually read this entire post, you're invited to come with us next summer :)

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Pt. 2 - The Pics

Part 3 (that's right, I'm not quite finished yet) will be my reasons why the Boardwalk is preferable to Disneyland, Six Flags Marine World, Great America, and all other über-large and über-themed out amusement parks. But until then, here are the pics.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Pt. 1

I'm dedicating Pt. 1 of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk portion of our weekend post, entirely to the Looff Carousel and the Giant Dipper. The family photos must wait :) These two attractions alone are not only blog worthy, but worthy of taking precedent over the family pics and having their own post!

To begin with, both the Giant Dipper roller coaster, and the Looff Carousel were declared National Historic Landmarks together in 1987. When you ride them, you're riding history (I love history, btw). The Giant Dipper was built in 1924, and the Carousel in 1911. The carousel also still has its original pipe organ that was constructed in 1894, so not only are you riding history when you're on it, you're listening to it as well.

I first rode the Giant Dipper with my friend Tauna Fudge when I was a teenager. I remembered it all these years until we went as a family to Santa Cruz last year and rode it again. The thing about riding a National Historic Landmark that happens to be wooden roller coaster that is over 80 years old, is that you feel that you are taking your life in your hands when it's your turn to step into its car. Half the thrill of the ride, is realizing the cars didn't jump the tracks and you weren't killed or maimed. Besides that, it's just a great ride!!!

I've been to the Looff Carousel a couple times too, and even have a cute picture of Eva and Sophie riding it last summer. But I guess I'd never been on it myself, or I would have noticed that it's not your ordinary carousel, besides being a National Historic Landmark. I'm kind of ashamed I didn't notice before what's different about it. This carousel has a brass ring dispenser that you can grab a ring from as you ride past, and then you try to throw the brass ring at a giant clown face. The target is the clown's mouth. I was wondering why all these adults were chucking money at the wall kind of violently when the ride started, and I was down watching the kids. Then I peeked around the corner from where I was standing and saw the clown. I didn't realize at first that they were grabbing rings. Well it was all such a surprise - and a pleasant one! To see a bunch of adults taking over a child's ride and wildly throw things at a target was heart warming :) Of course I had to do it myself too! Unfortunately, we were moving on as a group to do other things, or I would have stayed and done it a few more times. You can rest assured, that the next time we go to the Boardwalk, I'll be pushing children out of the way to get to a horse on the outside - my own children if need be :) That carousel is too much fun!!!

This is the ring dispenser and clown face target

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