dead soldier weekend another phase

i had intended posting this one yesterday.  i got sidetracked with the other one.  so here it is  for today.  the double barreled memorial day weekend ramblings of an old soldier.  i’m not sure what it all means but here it is.

yeah, that’s what it is.  i generally do a dead soldier weekend blog every year.  ok.  dead soldier weekend for those that are new and them that forgot.  it’s what the g/f called memorial day weekend one weekend long ago.  dead soldier weekend.  not much else to say.  it is what it is.  dead soldier weekend.

i remember a dead soldier weekend from long ago.  my favorite uncle was in the hospital that weekend.  a hemorrhoid operation.  i went to see him.  it had been a pretty emotional weekend as the vietnam wall  had been unveiled during it.  i was sorta numb.  i wandered into the room and he asked me what i’d been doing.  he knew. 

he knew i’d been feeling sorry for myself and all the dead from nam and from all the wars since the civil war.  where this weekend comes from.  no one remembers that.  the civil war.  lots of reasons for it and not just the one that jumps up and hits you in the face either.  drifting.  politically incorrect drifting as well.

my uncle was just a simple working italian man in the vino biz.  a cooper.  he made barrels.  wine barrels.  but he was sharp.  and as a drift, a damn fine amateur golfer.  plus sharp as a tack.  it wasn’t the first time he’d surprised me with something he’d gleaned from my demeanor.  many in a long line.

i’m drifting and i can’t stop.  it was an easter sunday lunch at his house.  easter was one of my mom’s sister’s jobs.  any the ways,  i’d gotten laid the night before.  actually my first piece.  oh, there had been lots of furtive steamy nasty dirty sex previous to it but it had been my first actual time for that simple wonderful act. 

well, i wandered into their home with my parents and he picked up on something or another and announced to the world that i had gotten laid the night before.  just how in the world he’d figured that i’ll never know.  an amazing feat to be sure.  but then we had or always had a nice comfortable relationship.  i still miss him.  a relationship better than the one i had or have with my own folks.  but that ain’t why i’m here.

dead soldier weekend.  lots of folks talk nice about soldiers these days.  much nicer than when i was one.  yeah, well, such is life and life ain’t perfect.  right, jwfh?  nice talk about soldiers is cheap.  pretty much everyone does it.

though when push comes to shove the deal comes down to your wallet.  the men and women that are off doing what you don’t want to do or don’t think needs to be done are, well, having troubles.  as they always have.  probably lots of them.  trouble from post traumatic stress to just having problems feeding a family on military pay.  or a lot worse. 

i know times are tough.  i noticed today gas has hit the $4 plus mark for regular here in socal.  folks are losing homes and jobs.  i’m just saying maybe think about the men and women who have given some of their life and or limbs and or minds for their country.  you may not like any of it or what they did.  what they did or where they were doesn’t matter.  this isn’t about lincoln, wilson, fdr, truman, ike, kennedy, lbj, nixon, etal.  or any other political deal for that matter.

those that serve are just doing what they think is right.  you may not.  you may not even like them and think they are stupid for doing what they do.  fine.  you are the lessor for it.  not them.  you may not like that sentiment as well but i really don’t care.  it am what it am.

a simple monetary gift to a veterans organization would be a very nice gesture from you this dead soldier weekend.  or any other time as well.  talk is cheap. 

jmh

jesus as a role model or it’s memorial day weekend

several friends are the inspiration for today’s blog.  the first being my friend, josh, and his continuing ‘kutler’ blog.  the other is my friend, ruby or aka, as i sometimes call her.  she made a comment about a comment in her latest or today’s or yesterday’s as the case may be poem blog.  her comment?  ha- jesus wasn’t a role model in my house. 

there ya go.  well, kids he was in mine.  however, he’s gone the way of the ‘dead kennedy’s’(thanks for bringing them up mel) in my current house.  um, the pun was intended.  i’ll forgo the last or current senator guy in the joe line for now.

jesus and the home front.  when i was growing up he was right there.  front and center.  daily.  as my time passed he sorta fell out of the front page in my life.  sex.  women.  drink.  drugs.  sleep.  rock and roll.  though i doubt in the long haul rock and roll had any sorta impact.  well, no, it really probably didn’t.  it was just an adjunct type deal and not really germane in the long run.  sorta like saying jazz made me give up jesus.  see what i’m saying?  none the less, drink had a lot to do with stuff in the early days.  or teenage days.  then of course there was vietnam.

just how could i as a lapsed lutheran before i even went to nam and then as a douche bag in nam being scared shit less and asking god or his kid to spare me the hardships of being maimed or being a p.o.w. or worse.  no, being a p.o.w was or had to be worse than being dead.  dear god.  i’ll do whatever you want just get me out of here in one piece and no p.o.w shit, please. 

asking all of this stuff and telling the old guy that, hey, god, get me out of this in some sort of semi sorta shape and i’ll walk the line.  please, just help me.  i promise.  yeah, right.

well, i got out in some sorta semi shape and i blew him off.  i forgot about what i’d promised.  yep.  just became whatever.  ok?

my life since nam has been ok.  i’ve muddled through.  i’m 60 and i’m retired.  though the last 26 and a half years i dealt with work to get to this point wasn’t that pleasant at times.  trust me.  it could have been worse but well worse is what you make of it.  i’d had enough of it and it’s worseness.  a new word.

all of this makes no sense and i’m rambling.  however.  i’m thinking there is a god and he had a kid.  jesus.  i’ve blown both of them off in my sad semi sorta demented life.  and would still probably do it tomorrow or next week.  like what is wrong with me? 

none the less there is a god.  and he did have a kid and his is kid my only answer.  yours as well.  like it or not.  the trouble is me.  count on it.  you should too. 

well, any the ways, just remember that things ain’t perfect and never will be and probably weren’t ever meant to be in the first place.  someone will always love you.  thankfully.  i just hope he and his kid still do after today and then tomorrow and next week or year or…when i’m still a douche bag.

jmh

 

college football preview 2008 the ducks

yes, i know it’s early but then again it’s never really to early for college football.  that is if you love the game. 

yesterday it was the trojans.  today is for my other favorite college football team, the oregon ducks. there might be some new readers who are probably wondering just how the ducks got on the radar of a native socal old guy.  no problem.  back in the 50’s, 1958 to be exact, the ducks played the ohio st buckeyes in the rose bowl.  i was 10 years old.  the ducks lost but it was a great game and came down to pretty much the last gasp for the ducks.  however, it wasn’t meant to be.  didn’t matter.  i feel in love with the ducks and i’m still in love with them and college football.  simple easy.

mike bellotti has a pretty good team coming back this year.  plus the ducks are in some pre-season top 25’s.  ok.  fine.  let’s take a look at the schedule.  just remember i reserve the right to change my mind on any of this once the season gets going.

8/30  washington.  here’s a game i hope i get to watch.  hopefully it’s on tv some place.  i’m looking forward to this one.  ty willingham and the huskies are maybe a year away from doing some real damage in the pac 10.  though they could start this year and i hope for ty’s sake they do.  yes, i’m a pac 10 homer.  any the ways, this is about the ducks.  i think it’s going to be close.  a semi rivalry thing going here.  the ducks win.     

9/06  utah st.  the utes are a sorta kinda hapless team that can play at times.  don’t take them lightly ducks.  ducks win.

9/13  at purdue.  hopefully, mike and the boys spank them like they did michigan last year.  just do it.  ducks win.

9/20  boise st.  ok.  the boise team at home.  another game i hope i get to see.  at least i won’t have to look at the smurf blue field.  ducks win.

9/27  at washington st.  a pac 10 sleeper and maybe some trouble.  the ducks 5th game and no break.  it might mean trouble.  conditioning will be the key.  ducks win.

10/04  at usc.  this is beginning to look like a scheduling nightmare.  still no break.  yes, they are kids but this is div 1 football.  not tiddly winks.  depending on how the trojans are doing it might make a difference here.  the ducks are lucky it’s a night game.  cooler weather.  usc wins.

10/11  ucla.  still no break and it just might be all the bruins need.  do the bruins even have a quarterback?  luckily it’s a homer for the ducks.  let’s beat slick rick.  ducks win.

10/25  at arizona st.  finally 2 weeks off.  2 weeks to late?  i don’t know only time will tell.  no game time and like i was saying yesterday the arizona teams should play day games just to ramp it up.  plus arizona st might be back again.  ducks win.

11/01  at california.  two road games in a row.  at least it’s just north and south.  plus the bears might be out of it by november.  maybe.  it just depends on tedford and his coaching.  i think they may be on the verge of being out of it by this time. ducks win.

11/08  stanford.  the perennial fly in the ointment team.  might be a good game.  ducks win.

11/15  arizona.  depending on how the wildcats are playing this might be a good game too.  at least no heat in the southwest to deal with.  ducks win.

11/29  at oregon st.  the civil war.  doesn’t matter what’s happened all year.  everybody knows that.  though mike and the ducks should have only one lose on the board and winning this one will mean bcs gold.  they have a couple of weeks to get ready to rumble and i hope they do.  another one i hope somebody puts on tv someplace so i get to watch.  ducks win.

ok.  the ducks go 11-1.  not to shabby at all.  if they do that they should, notice i say should, be in a major bcs bowl game.  as we all know, the ducks have been shafted before by the bcs.  but if they are 11-1 they will be hard to ignore.  count on it.  damn, i hope the bcs understands that.  go ducks!!!

jmh

college football preview 2008 the trojans

yes, i know it’s only may and sorta not even memorial day as yet but it’s never too early for college football.  nope.  what i thought i’d do was run through the usc schedule game by game and see just how i think it’s going to work out.  yes, of course, i reserve the right to change my mind once the real deal goes down in three months.  it’s just something to wile away the time which has been dragging and the dog days of summer to come.

8/30 at virginia.  this one should go well for the trojans.  a sorta no brainer but then it is the first game and it’s away.  virginia one of the east coast darlings.   what am i thinking?  a thumping.  usc wins.

9/13 vs. ohio st.  the college football pundits have been all over this one since the end of the last season and the bowl games.  national title implications and bcs championship all rolled into this one game.  it might just be so.  only thing is pete will have had 2 weeks to get ready and the buckeyes play here in l.a.  generally not a good thing for school to deal with on either count.  usc wins.

9/25  at oregon st.  another 2 weeks to get ready and if the trojans do happen to lose to ohio st the beavers are going to be in for it worse than usual.  though they do have a good team coming back this year and the game is up in oregon.  however, it might not be enough.  usc wins.

10/04  vs oregon.  the ducks are probably one of the few teams that just might give the trojans a run for their money this year.  ohio st as well.  only thing is the game is here.  and the ducks are lucky it’s a night game and things will be cooler.  usual readers know the ducks are my other favorite college team.  what does it all mean?  yeah, just what?  well, i’m still thinking and i’m thinking the ducks are going to have a problem.  usc wins.

10/11  vs arizona st.  the sun devils are set to field another good team this year.  though they aren’t the ducks or the trojans and maybe not the beavers as well.  usc wins.

10/18  at washington st.  washington st is capable of all the cliches.  can they beat usc?  maybe but not this year.  usc wins.

10/25  at arizona.  as yet no announced game time.  if i were the wildcats i’d go for a nooner.  no, that’s not what i’m talking about.  a noon game.  sure why not?  alls fair in love, war and college football.  though it won’t help much in this case. usc wins.

11/01  vs washington.  to bad ty and the huskies come into town in november.  the trojans don’t lose in november or very very seldom.  it’s ty’s year to put up or trouble comes knocking.  however, i think he will put it up.  though not enough for this game.  usc wins.

11/08  vs california.  the bears will either be totally out of the race by this game or right in the thick of things.  their only problem is tedford can’t keep them focused.  usc wins.

11/15  at stanford.  yes, the lelands.  ah, no.  the cardinals beat troy last year in a stunner of sorts.  they are capable of doing it again this year but they are going to need the band’s help once again like long ago if they expect to win.  pete is no doubt ready for that action.  usc wins.

11/29  vs notre dame.  the hapless irish stumble into town either looking good or maybe just as bad as last year.  only time will tell.  charlie has much to prove and improve upon since last season. regardless.  usc isn’t duke football.  usc wins.

12/06  at ucla.  this one looked really good on paper back when the bruins hired former trojan offensive coordinator, norm chow.  only problem is spring practice blew out both the bruins starting quarterbacks.  not a good thing.  though one might be back by this time but it’s hard to say.  norm has worked college qb magic in the past.  can he do it again in time to knock the trojans out of the bsc championship game?  no.  usc wins.

yep, i’ve got the trojans to run the table.  they may not but they have the ability to certainly go for it.  the talent as well.  ohio st, oregon, and maybe oregon st are the known stumbling blocks to stardom and the crystal football at the end of the road. 

this was fun and i think i’ll do the ducks tomorrow.  are you ready for some college football?  yeah, way over ready. 

jmh

cruising the mexican riviera part 4

when we woke up the next morning we had already anchored in the bay of cabo san lucas.  there’s no pier to tie up to just like here in california at catalina island.  locally run tender boats take you from the ship to the shore and back.

cabo san lucas, mexico.

i really didn’t care much for cabo san lucas.  it’s just a tourista town and everything seems to be right on top of each other.  plus the air was foul.  i guess the place is sorta picturesque when you look at it from the bay but i didn’t care much for actually being there.

our shore excursion for the day was a lightweight one.  we’d had our fill of the over the top stuff.  the tour included a forty minute boat ride out to the point and back then several hours on a bus going to other spots on the peninsula.

the arch at cabo san lucas.

the arch at cabo is spectacular as you can see from the photos.  viewing it up close from the water is just amazing.  when the tide is out you can actually walk through it.  something we did not do or have time for.  the ship sailed again at 4pm in order to get back to long beach by 7am on sunday.

any the ways, if we could have just sat in the water and looked at the arch all day in the ever changing light i would have been a happy camper.

while on the boat ride we noticed kayakers heading out to see the arch.  i’m very glad we did our kayaking and almost dieing in mazatlan.  the water around the point in cabo looked to be a bit rough and way more trouble than than the water around deer island.  nothing near a placid lake.

after the boat ride we boarded a bus and went to a glassblowing shop.  pretty interesting but i’ve seen it done before and those guys were just doing rough stuff and not that artistic.  yeah, like i could do it.

from there we were taken across the bay by bus to a nice promontory point at a hotel and we were afforded a nice view of the harbor, arch, beaches, and foul air of cabo, plus a nice camera shot of the cruise ship.  there were also some nice waves down below with a few surfers out getting some rides.

then it was off to san jose.  no not the one in california but across from cabo and it’s sister city.  san jose is much smaller than cabo and actually a very nice place right on the sea of cortes.  nice surf at all the beaches we past by.

a typical beach in san jose.

in san jose we visited the town square and a very old catholic church built by the jesuits years ago.  also a cactus garden.  i enjoyed san jose very much.  if i were going to live down there that’s where it would be.  however, there’s one major thing that would prevent that from ever happening.

the growth of cabo san lucas has taken an extreme toll on the fresh water supply.  our tour guide told us that when he moved to cabo years ago there were 9 artesian wells that supplied water to both cabo and san jose.  now there is only one artesian well left.  the others have have gone dry. 

only 45% of cabo is supplied with water 24/7.  not a good number and if i remember correctly none of san jose gets water 24/7.  the rest of the folks get 500 liters of water each week or every other week.  they all have large black plastic cisterns on their roofs.  if they need water before the next delivery by the water company they can buy water at a hefty price from vendors who venture through the area.

the tour guide explained how they take a shower at his house.  a five gallon bucket is sorta filled up then they stand there and use a cup to dump water on themselves in order to soap up.  then they rinse off with the same cup.  the only time anyone gets a real shower is on the day when the cistern is filled up.  not my idea of fun in the sun.

of course all the hotels have water 24/7.  perhaps even in san jose.  that would be because they desalinate the ocean water.  they have enough leftover to sell to the many golf courses in the area.  more golf courses are being built as well. 

i love golf.  don’t get me wrong.  but there’s something wrong with a country or system where 45% of the population has running water all day and night and the rest of the folks have to bathe out of a 5 gallon bucket.  and use a pitcher of water to wash their hands like they are in some old black and white cowboy movie.

oh,yeah, julia roberts and all the other hollyweirdos vacation homes are in the 45% area.  some really nice homes.  guess it doesn’t bother their limousine liberal sensibilities when they are down there resting up from their very very hard lives.  when the locals, the mexicans, are living totally like third worlders.  well, the regular folks that is.  the mexican politicians live where julia lives.  it makes you wonder.  or at least it makes me wonder.  but then i guess shit really is the same everywhere.  the pols blow.  all of them.  all of the time.

when the ship pulled out that afternoon i was up on deck and got myself another fine view of the cabo arch.  it was just spectacular in the afternoon light.

did i visit sammy hagar’s joint?  no interest.  did i try his tequila?  no interest.  if i want to i can buy some here.  no interest.  as a matter of fact, the only tequila i drank on the trip was a couple of shots of some ok stuff in the back of the 4×4 on the ride home in puerto vallarta.  it was provided by the nice tour guide lady.  gratis.  any the ways, for what it’s worth, i’m a david lee roth kinda guy.

that evening and the next day were spent at sea steaming our way back to california and long beach.  the last day at sea was cloudy, cold, and very windy.  the outside decks were pretty much deserted as you could only stand to be outside for a very short time.

all in all the trip was very nice.  a few glitches along the way but still nice.  would i recommend it?  sure why not.  we love the cruise ship deal.  nothing like being out on open water with good food and drink
along with pleasant company.  try it.  you just might like it.  bon voyage.

we have a 7 day alaska cruise coming in july.  woo hoo.  stay tuned.

jmh

my sunday feeling

ok.  yeah, my sunday feeling.  a damn fine song by jethro tull back in the daze.  this is not a blog about jethro or the song.  far from it.  it’s just my sunday feeling about what the hell i’m writing about.  capice?  maybe.

i really had no intention of doing a blog today.  i was more or less content to just let the cruise ship deal play out.  yeah, there’s still another.  i plod on in that regard.

however, my friend, jwfh, turned me on to something this past week that is just too hard to pass up. especially if you love music.  more to the point, the music of frank sinatra and the shear genius of the man. 

sure, there’s mob issues that the family is now probably trying to do some damage control with and i could lay a few rounds of 155mm arty on their attempts but that ain’t why i’m here.  plus there’s his way of dealing with the little folks who were just trying to make a living and the family is trying to cope with that as well.  nope.  neither of which is why i’m here. 

i have a few musician friends or those that love music, as friends.  fine.  god bless us all.  i’m gonna drift here and i don’t want to do that.  things pull here and there.  things try to call to me but i can’t.  not today.   

i’ve always loved the music of frank sinatra.  always.  there’s the hard working ethic of the young italian american who’s mom probably pushed him into what he became.  just maybe the best singer, entertainer ever.  yeah ok, keith and mick, the glimmer twins.  though they have yet to do a sammy chan and jimmy van heusen tune.  yeah ok, maybe so.  i guess it’s just give them time.  uh, ha.  frank did a beatles tune or more precisely, a george harrison tune, and it was stellar. 

ok.  the damn point.  find ‘jazz improv’ magazine vol.8 no.1 spring 2008.  there are 3 wonderful articles or interviews with folks that worked with frank.  the voice.  or ‘the old man’ as he became  known to those that worked with him forever.

if you love music you must find and read this edition of the magazine.  you will learn things.  wonderful things.  stellar things.  things you need to know.  yeah, trust me.  just do it.  because you will come away with knowledge.  musical knowledge.  a good and wonderful thing.  one of life’s little treasures. 

then there’s other stuff in there as well.  gerald wilson.  oh, yeah.  if you don’t know this dude you had better find him.  there’s a nice interview with him as well. 

i stumbled across gerald back in the very early 80’s.  his lp ‘gerald wilson’s orchestra of the 80’s’.  wow.  i wish i still had that vinyl.  gerald is someone you need to know.  period.  composer, writer, arranger, leader, player.  detroit born.  not much else needs to be said.  the northern musical roots.  he ain’t motown or that sound but something that transcends time.  gerald and frank.  um, yeah, bring it.  

i’m still pretty much haunted by one of his tunes on the lp i mentioned.  gerald that be.  of course, there’s frank’s stuff as well but i’m talkin’ gerald here.  ya hear?  a song called ‘hello and goodbye’.  one of those seminal musical deals when your life has fallen apart and the song just sorta sings or dances or eases the raging pain in your sad dead pathetic heart.  capice?

yes, of course.  magik.  my first and only wife had just left me.  yeah, well.  yeah, there’s still those sad demented thoughts that linger.  not unlike sinatra and his early concept albums.  maybe it’s an italian thing.  i dunno.  or maybe it’s a frank and an eva thing.  deal is.  it still hurts.  deeply.  yeah, torches.  for another time.   

any the ways, if you love music.  you need to score a copy of this magazine and read it.  probably cover to cover but the frank stuff for sure and the gerald wilson stuff to be sure as well.  count on it.

thanks, jwfh, i owe you one.

jmh 

cruising the mexican riviera part 3

we arrived in mazatlan early the next morning.  i have to say the view of the city from the port was much nicer than that of puerto vallarta.  then again mazatlan is a smaller city.  the air quality was somewhat better than puerto vallarta as well.  perhaps due to the fact there were no mountains to hold the smog, dust, grit, and whatever else was in the air over the city.

our shore excursion for the day was to be ocean kayaking out on deer island.  not my idea but what can i say?  mazatlan means land of the deer or some such thing.  plus deer island is a protected place and not open to just anyone.  you have to be accompanied by some sort of certified guide or something.  probably whoever greased the right palm with the right amount of money.

in order to get out to deer island we had to take a small, well not that small, sorta vessel which was a two story number.  there were probably aroun 40 of us on the trip which was to be a five hour or so excursion.  the boat ride out to the island took about 40 minutes.

deer island, mazatlan.

the g/f gets sea sick.  she takes dramamine for the problem but for some reason this time around it was making her very sleepy.  so she stopped taking it.  she has these wristband things that put pressure in or on your pulse area.  they work.  or most of the time. 

the ride out to the island was very cool.  the tide was coming in and it made for an interesting trip in the small boat.  lots of typical ocean action.  the whole deal was making g/f sick.  she made no mention of this to me at the time.  me?  i was digging it.

the island itself is pretty much barren.  just a bit of scrub growing and the usual dried out stuff we see around here on the local foothills.  from the island you get a very nice view of the beaches and hotels of mazatlan.  we had the island to ourselves along with another small party that had come out on a catamaran.

another view of deer island.

for some reason or another neither of us wore our bathing suits.  we had taken them along for the trip but i guess we figured we weren’t going to get wet that day.  neither of us had been kayaking before.  we should have figured it out.  we got wet right from the get go when we were taken from the boat to the island by a small skiff.  debarking the skiff was in almost waste deep water.  my shorts stayed wet the whole day.

ok.  so we are hanging around for a bit enjoying the view and waiting for the rest of the people to be ferried to the island.  then they give us our kayak lesson.  there are to be 2 groups doing the kayak trip.  thankfully, we are in the first group.  kayaking is a sorta easy enough thing.  right?  yeah, right.

ocean kayaking.

after the lesson on shore we are given our kayak. board it and head out into the water.  there’s a tour guide guy in the lead and one playing trail dragger in the back.  plus a small outboard skiff along as well in case anyone was to get into any real trouble or needed water or something. 

things didn’t start out real well with g/f in the front flailing away at the water with a total disregard for what she had just been taught on the beach.  there is supposed to be a nice easy flow to the paddling.  she was impossible to follow and after some yelling i just gave up and tried not to capsize the damn thing. 

we paddled for a bit then we stopped for a short break.  i was already tired.  actually i was hoping we would turn around and head back.  oh. no.  we were only halfway there.  we ended up going to the south end of the island where the water was a bit rougher and there were waves and rocks and by that time i was cramping up.  both groin muscles were on fire.  the life vest was also digging into my throat making it sporta hard to breathe.  sweet.

it was also at this point where the g/f was getting  sea sick again.  no mention of this was made at the time as well.  we head back to the starting point.  i’m about ready to die.  g/f is still flailing at the water and not much help.  then of course she’s almost vomiting.  but i don’t know this.  i’m doing all the damn work and it’s killing me. 

i just want the whole nightmare to be over.  it seemed like we were just inching our way back to the beginning and the shore.  most of the folks had passed us and some had even made it back to shore and nirvana.  i was dieing.  by this time the only way i can paddle the damn thing that is anywhere near to being comfortable is to lie back like i’m in bed and paddle away.  the whole thing must have looked like laurel and hardy on a bad acid trip.

finally it was over.  we made it to shore.  we actually beat a couple of the others back.  the head guide was very impressed with my lie back and paddle style.  he said it looked really cool.  i told him it was the only way i could manage and i’d never do any kayaking again.  ever.  he seemed shocked by that.  whatever, dude.

we get back to the shade of the ‘camp’ and g/f then tells me about her sea sick time out on the boat coming over and then again out in the kayak.  i didn’t say anything.  i was worn out.  just happy to be alive.  too worn out to go on the nature hike on the island.  i just wanted shade, water, a bite to eat, and a chance to recover.

we spent several hours out on the island and my pants were still wet when it came time to board the skiff back out to the boat for the trip back to the port and our cruise ship.  my pants got soaked again getting back on the skiff.

for the trip back the water was a bit calmer than in the morning but still just about to rough for g/f.
she made it though by standing up in the bow and taking videos.  me?  once again in ocean heaven.

after the trip back we did a bit of shopping then headed back to the ship to get out of our still wet clothes, take a shower, and a short nap before dinner.  mexican customs was a snap.  i left the swiss army knife on the ship.  i wasn’t taking any chances.  we both sleep like babies that night.  way too tired to even dream.

jmh

cruising the mexican riviera part 2

i may as well address the food on board the ship or cruise ships before i get going on puerto vallarta. there is always something to eat on the ship.  24/7.  if the restaurants, buffets, sushi joint, pizza place, coffee and danish places aren’t open, just dial up room service.  the best part being it’s all included in your fare.  though room service gets a tip tacked on it.  which by the by also happens every time you order a drink.  mr. otto matic tip added on.  fine.  i go knowing and planning accordingly.  you should too.

the food generally speaking is very good and like i said, there’s plenty of it.  way more than enough to satisfy most folks.  though from the looks of some of the plates people were hauling away from the buffet lines it seemed like a fork lift should have been involved.  the buffets.  we did the breakfast one daily.  yeah, well, the salt air and all makes for a hearty appetite.  there’s a sit down breakfast as well.  it’s more time consuming though and we gave up on it after our first cruise.

lunch usually consisted of pizza, soup, and or salad.  that is if we were on board at the time.  yes, i know.  though we did lots of walking up on one of the decks.  an hour a day.  plus more.  there’s plenty more than just pizza soup and salad at the buffets.  lots of various good tasty stuff.  it isn’t the buffet at the bellagio in vegas but then what is?  

dinner was the sit down deal in their dining room.  very good food though they can’t seem to cook a steak the way you want it.  i guess it’s just due to the shear volume of folks eating at one time.  1,300 for each sitting and there’s 2 of them.  no lolly gagging over your dinner.  at any rate, i gave up eating their steaks halfway through the first cruise we took.  i eat the fish and pasta now.  or maybe the vegetarian selection if it strikes me as worthwhile.  or maybe just fill up on a bunch of really good appetizers, soup, salad and a wonderful desert.  want more of something?  just ask.

the food is stellar.  though one evening the fish selection was god awful.  the worst food i’ve ever eaten on a ship.  it stank and was dreadful.  they were most apologetic but the simple fact they would serve anything so vile was like a slap in the face.  we left and went up to the buffet area and ate a couple of pieces of pizza.  which by the by is very good.

puerto vallarta, mexico.

puerto vallarta.  a large city with horrible air quality resembling los angeles air in the olden days.  the city itself is not that attractive as well.  though there are probably areas in the city that are quite nice.  we didn’t see any of them though. 

lots of things to do while on shore.  plenty of excursions to choose from.  a word here on the shore excursions.  book them through the cruise line.  yes, they are cheaper if done locally but if something happens while on the tour you might miss the ship when it leaves.  we heard several horror stories
along those lines.  someone taking a non cruise ship tour and getting into a minor fender bender or something and resulting in a major delay in getting back to the ship and missing the ship when it sailed.  if something happens to you on a ship scored tour they will help and work something out.  they will not help if you take a locally scored tour and things go sideways. 

we took a 7 hour 4×4 road trip.  it’s what the g/f wanted to do.  the said 4×4’s were mercedes benz german army trucks.  see the photo.  not unlike a us army deuce and a half.  major flashbacks for me on the tour.  four hours of which were on dusty unpaved roads up and down and over the sierra madre mountain range around puerto vallarta.  totally reminiscent of the dirt roads in vietnam and an army deuce and a half.  tossed and turned left and right.  not for the faint of heart but a really really good way to see some back country. 

the 4×4 tour bus.  not ours but that’s what it was.

a stop at a small village was also included.  very interesting.  plus a stop at a small family run farm up in the mountains where the lady of the house prepared handmade tortillas, salsa, guacamole, beans, and a killer cactus salsa as well.  very tasty.

there was also a nice 40 minute nature walk included along the way.  our guide was very knowledgeable about all things on the tour.  amazingly she was a very nice 26 year old american lady who fell in love with the place on a vacation and is now living there.

the tour ended with more dirt road driving into a private beach area on the bay.  lovely and secluded.  a very tasty bbq lunch was served as well. 

a secluded beach on the bay in puerta vallarta.

other than the trek being dirty and noisy that excursion was well worth it.  from city driving to wild mountain roads and stuff in between.  nicely done by a very good mexican driver who could do a second gear into third gear power shift with the best of them.  pedal to the metal the whole way.  rock and roll.  outstanding.

this has been a bit long in the tooth, but what can i say?  other than i hoped you stuck with it.  one last thing.  before getting back on the ship that afternoon you had to go through mexican customs.  a formality of sorts at every port except cabo sorta.  packages and stuff x-rayed.  plus a walk through a metal detector.

i set it off.  a young kid was all over me with his wand.  he demanded to know what was in my front pocket.  i pulled out my swiss army knife.  he grabs it and runs over to this old guy and shows him what he’s found.  i can tell the old guy is an ass hole.  he’s got the longer of the two blades out and he’s measuring it using the back if his fingers.  he asks if it’s mine.  i’m thinking, yeah ass hole, it’s mine that’s why it was in my fucking pocket you self important goon.  now give it back.  but i just say, yes.  he’s still looking at it and i KNOW he wants it for his own.  i say u s customs didn’t have a problem with it.  he wasn’t impressed.  he was still lusting for the knife.  then i say, you know, i traveled all over china with that knife and no one ever said a word about it.  that got his attention for some reason and he handed it back to me with a sad look in his eye.  i didn’t even say thanks.  just stuck it in my pocket and walked away.    

next stop mazatlan.

jmh

some more of the more wii iin mii

i haven’t gone off on this one for a long time.  i’ve learned a few things since the last blog on tiger wood’s pga tour 2008 wii game.  some of which might make sense and some of which probably won’t.  sorta like golf and life.

the biggest thing i’ve learned, is if you somehow  missed the first fedex cup deal in your first year of the tour and you’ve qualifying for it.  you are screwed.  yeah.  it sucks but there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do about it.  it’s easy to miss that’s for sure.  i did and i know of one other person who has as well.  see the deal is, if you miss it the game only let’s you play it in what it has down for it’s chronological year or order.  that doesn’t make much sense.  let me try again. 

in my case, i’m playing the pga tour season year 2011 or maybe it’s 2012.  i’ve forgotten.  i’m playing in that year because the game still isn’t very user friendly and it’s a point i’ve made before.  as for the game and the fedex cup deal it’s in year 2009.  capice?  so when i start playing for the fedex cup today i’ll just more than likely be wasting my time like i did when i played it the last time around.  but i won’t know for sure until i do.  like i said, you may not understand any of this though wii tiger golfers will.  i hope.

what’s the point of being the fedex cup point leader and tour money leader if you can’t really compete in the fedex cup because the game ain’t user friendly?  good damn point.  i’m qualified to play in it but the game sorta goes bonkers when i play in the cup and it just becomes a monumental waste of time trying to play for the cup when the game is being a prick.  i would have more of a chance for a cup of ice water in hell.

just as a side track the fade and draw still don’t work.  the glitch on the second hole at east lake comes and goes but there’s a few ways around it.  try everything you can think of and if that doesn’t work just start over and hit the green the next time with your tee shot.  though there are times doing that doesn’t even help.  the glitch wins.

as for the more or less big news and something i hadn’t thought about before.  the other day i was actually looking at my player rating and i started using stuff like clubs, clothing, etc that tell you when you buy them that they are specifically for your player rating.  you can find your rating under the resume section of the game.  mine is a 3.  which i don’t really understand because i’m good at the game and could probably beat you.  but whatever. 

i had been using anything i could afford to buy.  or more importantly what kind of hefty sponsorship money i could get by my using a certain club or whatever  when i used it while playing in a tournament.  ah, not a good idea.  oh, you can still win and stuff but you can do even better if you stick with stuff that is specifically for your player rating.  if you do that lady luck kicks in like you are being jolted by 110 volts. 

in the past i’ve had some trouble playing tpc sawgrass.  like who hasn’t?  some days whipping up on it but for the most part it whipped up on me regularly and often.  however, with the new rating strategy i killed the course twice today in two tour events winning both.  one of which was a world championship event something i had not won in a while.  i had some amazing lucky breaks.  like the ball taking a nice carom or something.  turning what might have been a bad shot into something that wasn’t so bad after all.  like saving par or even turning it into a birdie.  or more importantly not getting a bogey on the hole.

maybe this helps or maybe it doesn’t.  i hope it does.  just another old guy who can play the damn game coming at you with a few tips for the tiger woods  2008 wii game.  just do it.  fore!!

jmh

cruising the mexican riviera

ok.  here’s the details.  well most of them any the ways.  some aren’t gonna get published.  yeah, well what can i say?  of course, there will be a few visual aids as well.  they kind of add a certain something to the whole sordid deal.  the visual aids have been googled from the net.

i don’t know how many of you have cruise shipped it before.  apparently many of you as they are pretty damn busy.  our ship was no different than the other two we have taken.  crowded and full.  that’s fine for the most part.  sorta.  but i skip ahead.

i guess i might run into some sort of cruise ship mob deal if this gets read by lots of folks.   fine.  whatever.  also the mexican government may not like a few things i might bring up as well.  ok.  fine.  it ain’t like i’m going back anytime soon or ever to mexico.

the boarding process is what it has always been in my experience.  stand in a line only to pass one point  then stand in another line.  not unlike the army.  a time consuming deal if there ever was one.  the earlier you get to the ship the better off you are.  sorta.

here’s a lovely photo of our ship or at least one that resembled ours.

the really sad thing about the whole trip was the agent who booked us was a clueless moron or some sort of ass hole.  or even perhaps both.  the g/f did the work in booking the deal and wanted another room but was talked into the one we ended up with.  we had great expectations.  a room with a nice view.  a room with a sorta french door.  a room with a view of a life raft.  yeah, that’s what we got.  a lovely view of a life raft.  oh, if you looked down you could see the ocean but as for any sort of view we had none other than the said life raft.

yeah, we got fucked.  i’ve been fucked a few times in the past so i got over it pretty soon or sorta something.  at least there was plenty of natural light and it wasn’t like we would have to spend the whole trip stuck in the cabin with no natural light or semi-convoluted view. 

shit happens.  it happens more than it should but what can i say?  other than buyer beware.  never trust anybody.  ok.  that might be extreme but worth the thought.  at any rate, i grew accustomed to the room and actually grew fond of it in an odd sad sorta way.  after all, it was my g/f’s 60th bday gift to me.  what’s a poor boy gonna do?  just go with the flow.

as a semi sorta drift our first cruise was our best.  we both had no trouble with anything on that cruise.  a 4 day deal out of long beach and over to catalina and then off to ensanada.  as for the next two, this one included, things went downhill.

ok.  so we finally get on board and into our room.  the shock of the life boat wears off and we begin to unpack and try to get wired into the next 7 days on board.  of course, there’s no soap in the bathroom.  oh, there’s sorta soap in the shower but i find it nasty and the the shampoo dispenser doesn’t work and never did the whole 7 days.  which is fine.  we bring our own shampoo.  shower soap as well.  you should too for various reasons.  however, a bar of soap at the sink should be a no brainer.  plus other stuff was amiss in the cabin.  a towel or two and other minor but important stuff you are paying very good money for.  

the head steward apologized and things were corrected.  his excuse was they were busy with the turn around.  the ship gets in on sunday morning at 7am and leaves again at 4pm for another 7 days with a different load of folks.  fine.  but it’s the same crew and they should know what they are doing.  oh yeah, we never saw the head room steward again.  no idea just what the fuck he was doing those 7 days.  interesting.  and of course he got his tip.  it’s added to your account.  whether you like it or not.

the first 2 and a half days were spent at sea.  very nice.  i love being out on the ocean.  nothing much better.  though on a crowded cruise ship there’s not many places one can go for any sort of solitude.  other than your room with the view of the life boat.  it did get a bit claustrophobic by the second day.  or maybe i should have just drank more.  i don’t know.  most of the people on board were going a bit stir crazy as well.  though it was warm and sunny and lots of time was spent out on deck just power walking about getting some exercise so we could eat more food.  plenty of good food on a cruise ship.  probably too much.

i may as well address the entertainment on board now.  it’s pretty good.  or very good if you like a vegas type show with music and dancing.  very good music and dancing by some very talented folks to be sure.  stellar stuff.  good entertainers backed by some very capable musicians.  tight, right on stuff.  carried out by professionals.  nothing more to be asked for.  good comics as well.  evenings well spent after dinner.

ok.  there ya go.  the first two days down the tube, as it were, spent eating, drinking, and relaxing.  2 days at sea.  some minor trouble with that but all in all not too shabby.  nothing but pacific ocean to the front, back, left, and right.  bloody sweet.  no land in sight. 

that’s pretty much it for the first few days.  next stop the mexican riviera.  puerto vallarta, mazatlan, and cabo san lucas, in that order.

 

jmh