California Vacation

In August we took a couple of weeks off for a much needed vacation to California. It's always nice to go "home" and spend time with loved ones! We've not lived in California for about 14 or 15 years. We're used to not being close to family now, but it can be hard at times. We really miss them.

We flew into San Francisco and were picked up by my wonderful sister in law, Gloria. We checked into our hotel by Fisherman's Wharf and decided to take the kids down to the Wharf for some local "touristy" culture. My wife and I have been to the Wharf many times and always enjoy the atmosphere. The kids has a blast watching the street entertainers and checking out the shops. My oldest son even bought a piece of "Spray Paint Art". We really enjoyed getting some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, a San Francisco specialty!

The following day we went to Japan Town. My daughters are really into anime and found some cute anime characters to add to their collection of stuff. They got to eat some Japanese pastries and had a grand time! We also spent some time at the Golden Gate Bridge. What a beautiful day it was!

We drove down to Visalia that afternoon (pit stop at In-N-Out Burger) and stayed with Gloria and her husband Richard. They treat us so well and we enjoy ourselves tremendously when we're with them. It's great to really relax and enjoy our time off from the stresses of everyday life. My youngest, Jill, really loves their cat Cosmo. The funny thing about Cosmo is that he's deaf as a post and will let Jill pester him for hours on end.

My oldest son, Jaren, has taken up golf recently and plays on his High School golf team. Uncle Richard is an avid golfer and took him and my son Brad out golfing a couple of times and the boys had a blast! Richard has a great sense of humor and a great head on his shoulders. As a result, my boys love being around him. One of the best parts about visiting is that my kids get to spend time with their cousin Taylor. Taylor is a very nice young man. He's super Smart and can basically pick up a musical instrument and start playing. It's amazing to see how much he's grown! Most day's were spent visiting, swimming, and just plain relaxing. I've been blessed with terrific in-laws and it's always a pleasure to spend time with them. John is the friendliest person I've ever met and has always set the perfect example of Christian manhood. Irene is a wonderful person with many talents, she's amazingly well read as well!

It was really nice to spend a couple of days with my family in Fresno. I'm the oldest of 10 (5 boys, 5 girls) and it's really hard to stay in contact with everyone, let alone maintain any "closeness". I mostly stay in touch with my dad and several of my brothers. They all have a great sense of humor and love sports and politics! I miss them and it's great to "yuk it up". There are now around 25 grandchildren (and counting).

We've been able to visit California the last couple of summers and I hope we can make the trip again next year!

Cancer Sucks, And So Do Dopers!

Just when pro cycling is starting to put a dozen or so years of asterisk worthy results behind it, the worst example of "getting away with it" in sports has decided to poison the peleton. Lance Armstrong announced his intention to seek an 8th Tour crown via a carefully crafted propagandaesque 'interview" with Douglas Brinkley in Vanity Fair http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/09/armstrong200809?currentPage=1.

It's a very revealing look into the mindset of a foul mouthed celebrity athlete who's hoping to ride his popularity into political office someday.

Like many, I was thrilled (and shocked) when he won his first tour. He'd been a very good classics rider with the potential to be excellent, he even picked up a couple of stage wins, but win the Tour? After Cancer? Wow, what a miracle! His second win was equally impressive. After his third win in a row I really started to have my doubts. Not just about him, but much of the peleton. The speed at which these guys were plowing up the cols was unbelievable (literally)!

My discomfort with what was obviously going on with pro baseball absolutely fueled my suspicion of what was going on in cycling. When I was growing up, most baseball players were long and lean and if a guy cracked 20-25 home runs he had an awesome year. If you hit 30 or more you were a freak. Not many guys could do that. Starting in the early 90's, long and lean

became WWF. Guys started looking like "Hans and Franz" from the old SNL skits, and it seemed like anybody (even Brady Anderson) could go yard at will.

Unfortunately, baseball leadership, ownership, and management knowingly ignored the obvious. Attendance and profits were way up, "it'll be our little secret". I believe the same situation existed in cycling with regards to Armstrong and those he left in his wake. The story was great, sponsorships were up, and America was lapping up the Armstrong story. Sadly, the story is garbage...

• His open association with infamous doping doctor Michele Ferrari is telling.

• Almost every one of Armstrong's main rivals during his run have been identified as dopers (and he destroyed them all riding clean as a whistle?).

• A large number of his former teammates have been caught doping, or have admitted to doping.

• I believe the Andreau's story regarding Armstrong's admission to using PED's.

• I find the Oakley rep Stephanie McIlvain's recorded admission that she lied "on the stand" about what she heard in the Armstrong hospital room nauseating.

• He led the charge in bullying clean riders if they spoke out about doping in the peleton.

Before they let this guy take the line, I really hope the ASO thinks long and hard about the irreparable damage this walking drip bag has inflicted on pro cycling.

Fenway Park!

I've been unbelievably busy the last several weeks and it's time for an update. A couple of weeks ago my oldest son and I had a fantastic evening at Fenway Park! Several months ago A wonderful member of the organization I work for gave me and a collegue 4 of his season tickets to see the Red Sox square off against the Texas Rangers. The seats were unreal! We were behind home plate about 20 rows back! The atmosphere inside and outside the park was terrific, in fact it reminded me of my trip to Wrigley Field earlier this year. Both venues are unique in that they're located in long established neighborhoods, not in the middle of 1000 acre concrete parking lots, hence people can walk around, visit pubs and restaurants, etc. "Dice-K" dominated the Rangers and the Red Sox pounded the ball. Dustin Pedroia and "Yook" were killing it and "Big Papi" crushed a home run.

The most exciting part of the night was when "Big Papi" fouled a ball straight back up the net, it hit a steel girder and popped through an opening, falling straight down toward us. My son out jumped a mob of fans and grabbed the ball! What a rush! This kid is a ball magnet! Last year we were at Dodger Stadium and the left fielder, Luis Gonzales, caught a fly ball to end the inning and tossed it into our row along the left field line and my son came up with it. He probably has a dozen balls he's snagged at various minor league games over the years as well. But catching a game and getting a ball at Fenway has to be the best one yet! (I'll post some pictures when I get a chance...)