The holiday season

Well, it is back to normal this year, as the holiday season was full of it's usual bevy of parties and things to do. It started off with the trolley lights tour ( the previous post) and revved up from there. I have been to the Desert Botanical Garden for 'las noches de luminarias', a Tuesday night party thrown by Groupon, 2 Saturday night parties, a Saturday afternoon motorcycling with the boys, a tequila festival + concert, been down to catch up with the MIZZOU alumni association for a watch party (the annual Busch Braggin' Rights), my Christmas Eve open house, and finally (so far) Christmas dinner at some friends house. It's a wonder I have time to go to work! Speaking of that, I continue to give serious thought as to when I will retire, but have not come up with a good date as of yet, so I will continue to trudge along for a while more.

Pictures from the entire crazy holiday season are at the usual link on this page. I still have the Insight Bowl and NYE to get through this week, and will make them their own separate post !

holiday lights by trolley

Saturday night I went out with the local social group to view holiday lights via 'Ollie the Trolley'. A nice night of being driven around the town to view several neighborhoods that had great light shows, and some nice spiked cider to take the 'chill' out of the air here in Phoenix !!

Thanksgiving trip

After having to take off a year to make the annual trek back for Thanksgiving, I was able to make the journey this year. The weather actually held up for me, with only some headwinds to tackle on the way back. As Bob had recently gone through heart surgery, this year was a little different. He could only have small groups at a time, so I did not get to see all the family I had hoped to :( Still, it was a fun, but exhausting trip - trying to see so many people leaves you feeling less like you were on vacation than other trips. Ultimately, though, rewarding, except for the fact that I ran out of time to see other family and friends. Next time !!!

I was thankful, though, to be alive and able to visit this Thanksgiving; it had a little extra meaning this year. Happy Holidays to all of you I did not get to see !

Fall NASCAR

Well, the boys (and a few girls) were back in town last weekend for the Kobalt Tools 500, and what a great weekend for racing. Weather was perfect in the day and only a light jacket during the night races, which were dominated by Midwestern winners. Clint Bowyer took the Friday night truck race, and Carl Edwards swept the Nationwide and Sprint races. Way to go Ford Racing !! I went by myeself on Friday night, as Caryl had to work, but Saturday she got in a full day with me, and had a lot of fun.

On Sunday, I had the day off, so I stayed home and watched the final Formula 1 race of the season in the morning, the NASCAR race in the afternoon, and then went to see a blues concert by Robert Cray that night. What a way to close out the weekend!

SEMA show

My friend Brian, who owns his own brake business, got me credentialed, and off we went to experience the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) show. This is the biggest show in the country for all the vendors to show their stuff to potential business clients, and it did not disappoint. The cars and equipment are fantastic, but everyone goes there just as much to see the hot models the companies hire to attract attention to their product, and attract attention they did! This may be a once in a lifetime event for me, so it was very cool!

LOTS more hot pictures in the photo album section !!!!

Happy Halloween !!

A fun-filled night last evening as I ventured out to my first costume party in YEARS ?!?!?!?! The house was decorated hauntingly, and all ghouls, ghosts, and other assorted goblins were in fine form. Me, I went as "Big Daddy Money", which seemed fitting since I just bought the Vegas property. Today it off to work, though, and hopefully NOT a scary day from the Chiefs!

Indy Car drive

This past weekend I did some catching up on things I was supposed to do last year, and went to Vegas to drive an Indy car @ the Mario Andretti racing experience at LVMS. The weather was perfect for a drive on Saturday, and I was stocked for the chance to actually get behind the wheel! The drive went great, and except for the need to go faster, could not have asked for more fun. To boot, legendary driver Mario Andretti was at the track for this, and I got a few pictures with him plus he signed my race photos !!! Caryl came along as the official photographer, and got a picture with Mario herself!

After that, we headed back to the hotel to relax and clean up, then off for some great tapas & sangria at a restaurant up the street, plus we grabbed some tickets and saw a performance of the Blue Man Group - a very entertaining show, if you ever get the chance to catch it! After that, Caryl wanted to do a little more gambling, so she set up shop at the penny slots. 3 times she tripled her money (although that amounted to 3 dollars total). Still a winner, though. And I did well to boot, as I had put some money down on MIZZOU to pull off the win, and of course, they did !

Las Vegas BikeFest

Well, after having to skip last year because of the wreck, I was determined to get back to BikeFest for their 10th anniversary. I only had a few days, so I did not take the bike this year, but still had lots of fun seeing all the cool customs, partying with a few friends that came up, and listening to some good rock and roll music. All in all, a good weekend and I was glad to be able to be in attendance.

Route 66 Days

Saturday, being my last day of vacation, I decided to head up out of the heat to Flagstaff for the day to attend the Route 66 Days car show. A few other gallant (and smart) souls headed up as well, and we were treated to a grand day of cool weather, very cool cars, and general frivolity! We started by having lunch on the patio of the Lumberyard Brewing Co., with spicy wings & cold microwbrews - woo hoo! Then it was on to several hours of looking at some awesome vehicles. My Porsche & Mustang clubs were both in attendance, with the 'Stang club really turning out in numbers! We took a respite for my ankle, then continued to gaze (along with hundreds of other people) at the cars. After this, my friend Barry took us to a local new restaurant which a former client of his had opened, and my what a treat. Exceptional food and beverage, I have to say - thanks Barry for the dinner and drinks! Then it was back down the hill to Phoenix, but the sun had gone down and the temperature was once again nice. All in all, a great way to spend a Saturday.

100+ more pics of the day's events in the photo album!

Labor Day @ the Ozarks

Just got back from a great time - spent a week at Lake of the Ozarks, and got to hang with family and friends. The rain even played along - it rained the first night I got there, and then after I had put the boat up for the weekend. Except for a minor boat problem (easily solved) and a REALLY windy day on Monday, all was perfect! Here a few pics of friends/family I got to see - the rest can be see via the photo albums.

annual Corona party

A fairly quiet weekend, which is nice with Labor Day upcoming. The highlight was yesterday as my friend Patrick hosted his annual Corona pool party. I had not been able to attend for the last couple of years, so it was nice to spend the afternoon 'chillaxin', even if the monsoon did drive us inside for a while with a quick afternoon storm. Still a good time was had by all!

D-Backs game

Well, a little late, but a week or so ago, I took Caryl to the Diamondback vs. Reds game as her birthday present. I had purchased some sweet seats right behind home plate in a charity auction, so we went to enjoy the night's game. Too bad the team stinks so bad this year, but it was still nice to sit in great seats, and we even got a close-up from the 'Racing Legends' as they made their way up through the stands.

A little bonus as former pitcher 'Papa Grande' - Jose Valverde, now with Detroit was in the stands down from us cheering the team (and heckling the Reds)- woo woo!