Happy 4th of July, Muckers!!!

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Wow, what a week! Well, I guess I’ll start from the beginning. Thursday night after work, my dad & stepmom arrived in town…so I took them to a few of my favorite spots down by the lake (while everybody else was downtown at Truckee Thursdays). Here are some pictures from that adventure…

Friday I worked while they drove around the lake some more, then stopped by Kings Beach for a few to listen to Blues Monster...and see parachuters.

Saturday morning, we met up with my stepsister and her family. Now, I’m not sure if I mentioned this before…but I really only met them at Christmas and stuff like that because when our parents married, she was already married and lived out here…and now has four kids ages 5-12. The youngest, we’ll call her… Cutie, I had only seen once before when she was a few months old, and she’ll be going to kindergarten in a few months. However, she REALLY liked me. All the kids seemed to be vying for my attention as most kids do…but she always wanted to sit in my lap, have a staring contest, roughhouse, “Look at what I can do”, play games, read books, ride me like a buckin’ bronco, chase me around the room with a fake snake, hold onto my leg when we were walking around town, sit up on my shoulders, do cartwheels, all that stuff. Great times…and the kids are just adorable. Anyway, we met up at Spooner Lake to do a hike before going to their place out in Carson City, the capital of the Silver State. Here are some pictures…

Sunday, we had breakfast at Terrible’s Casino in Dayton, then we spent the (hot) day inside playing Wii (my first time…and I totally beat everybody in a 9-holes game of golf by 6 strokes) and then probably my new favorite board game “Apples to Apples” Junior Edition of course. For those who haven’t played, it’s basically everybody gets five cards with fairly random items on each (like “China”, “Water”, “Ghost”, “Getting Stitches” & “Abraham Lincoln”) and then a judge (goes around the group) will pick a word like… “Pure” with a definition in case it’s a tough word. So then you pick the word from your hand that YOU THINK the judge will pick to match that word. Everybody puts in their cards randomly…and then the judge reads them aloud, everybody has a laugh, one is picked, that person gets a point. Good times, especially with family…and I’m guessing good friends with lots of beers would also be fun. Now, I had the funnest part…because Cutie & I were a team. Now, think about this for a second. When we were the judge, you had to pick a word that would be agreed upon by both a 5 year old girl who’s as pure as the driven snow…and a 29-year old eccentric. For example, we were the judge for the word “Pure” and I helped narrow them down to “Water” & “Ghost” as the two choices. “Okay Cutie, which is more pure? Water or a Ghost?” “I like ghosts.” “We all do…but are ghost pure? Or do we go with Water, which actually has the word pure in the description right there?” “Ghost” “Okay, ghost it is. Who had ghost?” Good times.

"Uncle Steve, look what I can do..."

After a day of games, we headed to Virginia City for fireworks & adventure. The mascot of the Virginia City High School…is a Mucker. What’s a Mucker? Well, I was curious…because my imagination wanders when I don’t know facts…and Mucker is ripe with parody. Apparently it’s an Irish or Scottish term of endearment, like saying “my friend” or the sort. Instead of saying “Are you alright, my friend?” it would be “All’rite mucker?” So I was kinda close. Oh…or they may mean somebody that mucks things up. Nobody was at the fireworks that could give me a good answer, so I googled it. Here are some pictures…

Robo-Predator vs. Robo-Alien vs. Robo-Cop?

I'd watch it...

Monday, despite my warnings of leaving early because it was the 5th of July…so people would be migrating back to San Francisco from the Tahoe area, we decided to get a late start on our journey westward to the city by the bay. Well, nine hours in the car later…and literally a traffic jam from Truckee to Berkeley (but NOT the Bay Bridge oddly enough), we made it. Then a decision had to be made – Do we stay an extra day…or leave the next day after only seeing one or two things in San Francisco? My family hadn’t been there in a while…so despite some major plans for me at work (unbeknownst to me until I called to tell them I wouldn’t be in) we decided to stay a day so that my family could enjoy the area. It was well worth it though. Besides, I’m not sure if they know this…but I have a LOT of vacation coming up that I MUST use…and half the department’s leaving on maternity leave so…they may be strapped for employees when winter comes. Anyway, I got the family as situated at the hotel, then I met up with Bubbles and a few of her friends from work for some adult beverages. Good times with good peeps.

Tuesday, we went to Fisherman’s Wharf and did a few cool things that I hadn’t done there, namely the Aquarium by the Bay & toured a Stingray class submarine (think Down Periscope). I also ran into Oswald (or his twin Oscar) and found that he loves pretzels. The kids loved the aquarium and the seals in the harbor and all that jazz too. Here are some pictures…

Tight fit for large gentlemen...

Two crappers like this for a crew of 80+

Sounds like fun...

"This is my rifle, this is my gun...

This is fightin', this is for fun..."

That night, we met up with Bubbles in Chinatown for an “authentic” Chinese dinner at R&G Lounge. This was the most authentic place that I knew…but primarily because it was very nice atmosphere, great food, and we had a family room with a large table and a “lazy Suzette” spinner in the middle. The kids obviously loved that…and again, the food & company was magnificent. After dinner, Bubbles & I went for some more adult beverages at the Tunnel Top & Bacchus Kirk.

Wednesday, the family & I went to see the Golden Gate Bridge despite it being a little colder and windier than expected (typical San Fran, but I had good luck during my visits). We walked out onto the bridge…

At least somebody only has eyes for me...

Suicide Hotline

Next stop was Golden Gate Park and because we were trying to save a few bucks at this point, we strolled around the complimentary Botanical Gardens…and that was just as fun as the Tea Gardens & museums there. Here are some pictures…

Legends of Alcatraz are greatly exaggerated...

So long, San Francisco!!!

After the park, we decided to start heading back home…but decided on the route across the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito and through a taste of Wine Country for a scenic drive. Besides, it probably only took an extra 15 minutes from where we were than trying to navigate cars simultaneously across town (we almost lost on trying to find a giant park “Where is it?” “See that green stuff to your left AND your right? That’s the park.”) So yeah, on the ride back we had In-N-Out Burger for dinner…and seriously, those kids can eat. The ten-year old who reminded me a bit of myself (wore glasses, straight A’s, reads a lot, etc) ate TWICE what I did AND a milkshake. I had my usual cheeseburger & animal style fries. He doubled it up. Anyway, we said our goodbyes…and of course they want me to come visit them in Carson whenever I can. I’d be glad to. They’re a lot of fun…and you know how I like spending time with my nieces & nephews. Also, my dad & stepmom said their goodbyes and left for their flight back home. The whole week they were talking about moving there…but I doubt it. They even said something along the lines of “We just have to find a place in between our grandbabies here & the grandbabies in Utah.” So I said, “Well, Winnemucca’s in between.” Anybody who has ever driven through Winnemucca is laughing right now, I’m sure.

Anyway, that was my week, and it was awesome. I’d elaborate more but…it takes a long time to load all these pictures. Maybe more later on. Tomorrow is the Beerfest & Bluegrass festival…followed by a going away party for a coworker so… paired up with Truckee Thursday from last night, it’s gonna be an epic weekend. Have a great weekend everybody!!! Don’t drink & drive…