Ride the new year

Feb 1, 2010

Falling behind already in the new year. I haven't had much of a chance to get out and ride. It's been very busy at work and the weather hadn't been cooperating very well. We had rain storms for almost 2 weeks. It flooded a couple interstates and cities. There were a few tornados as well. Yeah! Tornados in SoCal... who would have thought? They flipped some vehicles and boats over but I'm not sure about people damage.


And now it's already February! And this is my first ride of the New Year. Went up to Malibu with a friend of mine. Last minute planning and I was glad for the company. Rode up Pacific Coast Highway and nice cool weather, not too much traffic - course it was a Monday afternoon and we stopped at a biker hangout called Neptune's Net, which had pretty good food.

New Year

Running late as always, lately... but  Happy New Year!

Looking back, 2009 sure went fast. Day by day, it seems like time passes so slow but weeks and months just flew by extremely quickly this year. Quite the roller coaster ride, there were ups and downs throughout the year like the excitement of a possible new business and opening a restaraunt, to selling out my portion of of the restaurant, to leaving the restaurant industry completely for a total career change, going on my first Iron Butt mini ride of 1,000 miles in 18 hours and last minute mini vacations. 

There will be some definate long rides planned out for 2010. I'm quite looking forward to them!

I hope everyone has a great 2010. Best wishes to you all.

Oceanside

Dec 20, 2009

Last minute getaway with a friend of mine. I didn't want to drive too far but wanted to get out of town for the weekend. We decided to go to Oceanside... only a few hours away and about a half hour north of San Diego. The weather was abit overcast but still nice enough for shorts and a t-shirt, well maybe a sweatshirt.

Oceanside pier was right in front of our hotel room. Very nice view!

Kind of overcast all weekend but it still made a nice relaxing weekend that totally went too fast.

View from the pier.

On the pier some pelicans decided to hangout by the bait shop. Amazingly, there were a lot fo fishermen and women out fishing for sardines. We watched a few and as soon as they dropped the hook they would catch a fish. You could see the fish too jumping in the water just waiting to be caught.

Different day but probably the same pelicans.

Me at the beach.

We wanted to go snorkeling and had heard there was a great place in San Diego but the day was very windy. We ended up just walking around and spotted several baby seals still with fur resting on the beach.

San Diego is home to Camp Pendleton, a Marine base so there were all sorts of planes and helicopters out.

Sunset in San Diego.

Vegas

Dec 11, 2009


Had a few days off and decided to go to Las Vegas with a friend of mine. December was quite a busy month and am just now updating my blog.

Before we left, I received a crash course from the guys at work on how to play roulette. So that was my new goal on arrival. There were a lot of things we wanted to do and see but our list was too long and our days too few. We almost walked the entire strip and went inside a few of the shopping centers. Went up the Eiffel tower in Paris and on a gondola ride in Venetian, watched the water show at the Bellagio and gambled...lots. Luckily, even though we lost alot, we also won and came out even.

It sure seems like the days off pass way too quickly.

New York

Harley-Davidson Cafe... we didn't get a chance to go inside. There were so many great restaurants and buffets everywhere that our bellies were too full the entire weekend!

The water area behind me was full of cranberries. Everything in almost every casino was decorated for the holiday season.

A look down from the Eiffel Tower.

We saw the water show at the Bellagio twice - once up close and the second time quite by accident when we went up the Eiffel Tower.

San Simeon

Had the chance to go camping with some friends. I'd never been to San Simeon before... actually, I didn't know where it was but I've driven past it several times traveling up Highway 1, Pacific Coast Highway. As a matter of fact, when a friend and I went to Monterey last summer we stopped not too far from San Simeon to check out all the elephant seals on the beach.

One this trip, there were 9 of us... some of them camped at this location last Spring so they were regulars. A friend of mine had amazingly never been camping before. And was so excited to sleep in a tent and sleeping bag. Whew! It sure was cold with temperatures in the high 40's and the coastal breeze. I was glad we cheated and brought a propane heater! We cranked that sucker on and stayed nice and toasty at night. In the day time, it was in the high 50's and what a difference the sun makes - shorts, t-shirt and flip-flop weather!

One of the evenings, we went up to Hearst Castle for a tour. Wow! What an amazing place! Just the kitchen alone would be such an awesome place to hangout and cook all day long. The architecture was incredible! A majority of it like the ceilings, a few doors and some wall panels were hand-carved. The swimming pools were fantastic - there were 3 of them. One was lined with gold. Quite extravagant! I wish I could have taken more pictures but flashes were not allowed and each picture turned out too dark.


A friend of mine had a very nice zoom on her camera. This is Hearst Castle.

We went for a short hike (yes, in flip-flops!) and open land is so nice to see compared to city life!

We camped not too far from the ocean.

On Hearst Castle property, I think the plan was for a zoo many years ago. It didn't quite happen but there were zebras on property.

Stopped over at Pismo Beach on the way home for a few scenic snapshots.

Pismo Beach pier...

The 9 of us - Lek, Heather, Stacy, Kate, Boo, Wendy, Kat, Deb and me.

Elephant seals along the beach. Most of these were still young.

Oh! On our way to the beach we came across a bobcat. It was just sitting there on the path, at least 100 feet away... I didn't see it since it was in the shadows and of course, I was without my glasses. One of my friends yelled out for everyone to stop walking... then zoomed in on her camera.

Copper Keister 2

I'm not exactly sure what copper keister means but this is the second time the bike club has gone this route. I think the first time it was called the 70's route. Also, the first time we went one of the girls got heat exhaustion and we cut the ride short. This is quite the ride! In all, if everything went to plan this ride would only take 6 hours round trip. But of course, whatever can go wrong well, sometimes does. I was abit excited because I knew this would be another 12 hour day.

The ride organizer decided that we'd hit up a new breakfast location. I had heard some really good reviews but when we got there, I guess it really is a good place because the line to get a seat was out the door and into the parking lot. With 11 starving women, we decided to go elsewhere - across the street. The parking was empty and they served breakfast, lunch and dinner. But once we got inside I found out it was a bar. They were open and we were the only ones in there besides the server. Something was wrong with the cook and in hindsight, I should have asked if I could make breakfast. It would have been alot quicker and much tastier! We were all busy talking but about an hour went by when all of a sudden we realized it's been along time and we're still hungry! It took 1 1/2 hours to get our breakfast after the server took our order. But we were flexible on time so we ate very quickly and everyone was still hungry. The food was just awful and we were joking around we should have ordered drinks... they probably never made food before.

Two hours after we arrived at the bar, we were ready to go. Next stop was a historical town called Julian. It was an old mining town but is now famous for pies. The route we took were all 70's... Highway 76, highway 79, highway 78. Very scenic and lots of space! It's mostly farmland, wineries and just hills. We definately took the "scenic" route for sure! But all was good because the scenery was so nice and I didn't even notice we were going the wrong way... about 60 miles the wrong way. No one else noticed either.

We finally made it to Julian. The whole town closes at 5PM. Luckily, it was 4:50 and everyone was starving and we stopped for pie and ice cream. It really was good. But honestly, I think my mom's pies are better. What can I say, I'm biased!

Out of all the riders, I live the farthest. I got home around 1030PM... so 14 1/2 hours. We took a few extra hours on this trip. I think last time, it was almost a 12 hour day. We had a lot of new riders and about half the group had never ridden in the dark before. They nervous and were not prepared. I didn't realize it until later but I think there were only a few that had eye protection for night driving. I was wondering why some were riding so slow but they had sunglasses on! Whew, very dangerous. A long day but it was just a nice time riding around, socializing with new friends, etc. I definately think this ride is a keeper. I know we'll be doing this ride alot since the organizer wants to perfect this ride in 6 hours.

So this is what most of the scenery looked like. Quite a nice area.

There were 11 of us total. One rider lives in San Diego so she met up with us once we got closer to her location. I wished I could have taken more photos but I just didn't want to pull off the side of the road into gravel.

Labor Day Weekend

It happened to be one of the best Labor Day weekends I’ve had in a long time. Yet, we were struck with a few obstacles that kinda just made the adventure quite a good story.

Okay, so I’ve been in this biker club for over a year now. I joined a few months after moving here last year and it fulfilled two of my requests – to be able to ride my bike more often and to make new friends. It’s just amazing that this group is getting larger and larger. So much in fact, that there are some folks I have not even met yet!

While making some new friends with this group, we’ve all decided that not only do we want to ride but also to socialize. Riding can be very difficult on the social aspect except when we stop for fuel breaks or a meal – it’s the only time we are able to chat since we’re riding our bikes all over. Then the hikes began, then dinner parties, poker parties, playing pool and even having a beach picnic. It’s really a great group of people. I’m just so amazed that everyone is so friendly, inviting and seeking new friends.

When I was in Texas a few years ago it was very very difficult to make friends and even trying to find decent biker buddies. It was very clique-ish and I was very surprised since it changed so much from the great Texas experience I had while in the military. Then I realized a majority of my friends were no longer in Texas and perhaps that was why it wasn’t the same. Maybe that was why it was so easy to pick up and leave when I found out I was accepted into sushi school and moved to Los Angeles.

I think its people that are changing my perspective on SoCal. I still don’t understand why so many people live here. Sure the weather is great for most of the year but it’s really over populated, there are lots of rude superficial people, traffic is horrid, pollution is just crazy and there’s just no sense of space and definitely nothing serene! I’ve been ready to pick up and leave for the past 6 months or so but then I think of this group and the new friends I’ve made… and want to stay. Yeah, it surprises me too!

So back to this past weekend. One of my new biker friends invited us to the lake for the weekend. There were only a couple of us that had the time off and wanted to go. We left early Saturday and as we were about to leave, she asked if I liked to drive fast. Of course! But then common sense made me ask what do you mean by fast? 80-85mph… Oh, sure no problem. I usually travel 80mph on the highway by car anyway. Originally we were all going to ride together – there were only 4 of us. But I had to return a day early to return to work so I drove my vehicle. And one of the girls was nice enough to ride with me. And Rookie did not go 85… she has this huge monster truck and from what I was informed, the bigger the tires the lower the speedometer reads. So according to her speedometer, she was going 85 yet I was going 95 to catch up. (Yes, mom… I was speeding. Sorry.) And I still couldn’t catch up so I just slowed down to 80 and thankfully, Jayna knew how to get there.

It was so hot out; we unpacked as fast as we could, made a picnic lunch to take with and high tailed it to the lake. Lake Mead is huge! Rookie was driving us to all these coves and we’d swim a bit then move on. Time flew fast and the wind picked up. We moved once more to another cove and when we decided we were hungry and should get back for dinner. We were not able to cross the lake! The winds were so strong the swells were over 2 feet tall! Rookie was worried the boat would capsize although she tried twice to get us home. Several other boaters also tried and had to return to the safety of the cove to wait out the winds as well. The only ones that made it out were the ocean cabin cruisers and even they were knocked around by the wind and waves.

Luckily, we were stranded next to a huge houseboat. We were thinking of the worst and we could perhaps ask them if they could let us sleep over. But 3 hours later, we thought the winds died down enough to try returning to the boat slip. And no, we only were able to cross the lake into another cove. There was a boat there but no one was around. So yes, we ended up waiting and waiting and waiting and the wind never died. There was a lightning storm in the distance and we were worried it would rain (which was in the forecast for the evening). Luckily, it didn’t rain but we did end up sleeping on the boat overnight. Now that was quite uncomfortable! Not the worst situation I’ve been in but just uncomfortable yet we managed to find humor in our delirium… a lot of humor.

The sun rose yet the wind never stopped. It was not as strong at 5AM and Rookie decided to give it one last try. We made it. The waves were crazy huge and it took about 45 minutes to cross the lake and the safety of our boat slip. We were exhausted and ended up taking a nap. We awoke to a very hot RV. What happened?

The air conditioner was on full blast the whole night we were gone and froze the compressor and line. Several hours later and way into the evening, we figured that out and defrosted the line. The A/C was ready to go. We finally made our first meal since that picnic lunch the previous day. Whew! We were starving! With a great dinner in our bellies, we ended up checking out Hoover Dam and just hanging out.

By this time, it was already Monday and we all wanted to go for a little boat ride before I left. I ended up leaving later than planned although nothing else went wrong the remaining time of the trip. The other girls left Tuesday and everyone was wishing for a longer weekend.


This is the arch portion of the new bridge. The road across Hoover Dam will be closed off in a few years due to Homeland Security. People will have to travel across this bridge instead. The arch itself is the largest concrete arch in North America.

This is also part of the dam. You can see the water level of the lake. It is very very low - the top of the white portion is where the lake level usually is.

The new bridge from the road on Hoover Dam.

Guardian angel statues sit near the Hoover Dam tourist building.

As with a climber statue.

Lake Mead - low lake level... as you can see the white portion on the hill is where the lake water usually is.

Lake Mead close to the park entrance.

Paddleboat rides were also available on the lake.

The four of us - Carrie, Jayna, Eli, Rookie

Sunset on Lake Mead as we were stranded in a cove overnight.

Mtn ride - Rim of the World

Had some free time today to go for a last minutes bike ride. I've been wanting to do this trip since last year when I first heard about it. But I had to wait for the snow in the mountains to melt, then Spring and Summer arrived and there was not any time. So today was the day. Went up to the San Bernardino mountains toward a Lake Arrowhead and then onto a small town named Crestline. This route is called the Rim of the World since it's along the crest of the mountain and in certain spots you can see down both sides.

I also recommended this ride to the bike club I'm in. It might be too late this year since it snows early in the mountains so it might be a last minute trip for the group of we'll put it off until Summer 2010.

The roads were very curvy and in some areas very steep with switchbacks and going only 15 mph in spots. The locals drive crazy fast through these mountains as with the police.

There were very nice views in the places I stopped but there were many more turnouts that I did not stop in.

Company picnic

My first company picnic. I was abit surprised at the organization and things they had for us. We were able to bring family and friends so I invited a friend of mine to go with me. There was a lot of food. It was unbelieveable! And they had carnival rides, elephant ride, rock climbing wall, vollyball, miniature golf - pretty much almost everything you could think of.

Of course, being such a large company, they needed a huge space. I knew the company had a park for employees only but I had never been to it. And it's huge! So huge that I only saw a few of my classmates - and I had thought it would be a small ordeal and I would see all of them.

So here's my friend and I on an elephant ride.



So far, I've been with this company for 4 months. I'm still in training. I've been out of the classroom phase and have been on the job training for the past month. It doesn't look like my supervisor is in a rush to certify me on my own, which is kinda nice but so far no emergencies have occurred where I would need my trainer to actually train me. We have daily routine duties that are the same every day. In a way, time seems to go quickly but not at the same time. We end up working alot of overtime. As the recession hit the restaurant industry, it seems as if in the refinery world, it has not slumped at all or only a small amount.

Monterey

I had a few days off to do an overnighter trip to Monterey. I haven't been there in a couple of years and I've always thought that's a nice place to visit. Some friends of mine have never been so off we went!

In the morning, we walked outside to find ash covering the car. Come to find out the whole area further north was on fire. But the wind was carrying the smoke out to sea. We didn't realize there was a fire until we got home and looked it up online.



Sunset at Carmel-by-the Sea.

Couple of sea otters swimming in the Monterey bay.

Pismo Beach

One of the stops on the 17 Mile drive in Pebble Beach.

Another stop along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. This one is called the Lone Cypress, since the cypress tree is secluded.

Julia Pheiffer Burns State Park. It was really foggy when we stopped and walked around to see the waterfall. An hour later the foggy was slowly disappearing and the sun was shining through.

Me at the beach near Monterey bay.

This bridge is part of the Pacific Coast Highway. It was built in 1932 and it was the longest bridge in that time.

We saw some elephant seals too. As with pelicans and sea lions.