Insight photos

As promised, here are a few pictures of my new car. Unfortunately, some of them look a little washed out - I guess the sun was brighter than I realized. But hopefully you'll get the idea of the color anyway.

Yes, I did wear this dress on purpose, to match my new car! I'm not sure what I'm going to wear tomorrow...I'm not sure how many other clothes I have in that color! ;-)

I have a new Insight!

...and I don't mean I've come up with some novel idea! ;-)

I got my new car tonight - a 2010 Honda Insight EX in Clear Blue Sky Metallic!

And, wouldn't you know, it was raining this evening when I picked it up - just like it was when I did my first test drive! But I guess that made my rainy test drive even more beneficial, since I already did have some experience using the wipers and driving it in the rain.

But, because of the rain, I wasn't able to take any pictures of it yet to post up here. Tomorrow is supposed to be a warm, sunny day, though, so after work I will make sure to take some pictures and put them up here for you to envy - oh wait, I meant enjoy! ;-)

One more thing - the first official song I played in my car this evening was - ready for this? - a song called "Insight" by Depeche Mode (whom we just saw in concert last night and enjoyed very much!!). The first words to the song are, "This is an Insight..." So obviously it was the perfect first song to play in my new car! :-)

Cruel & unusual punishment

You've probably noticed I haven't posted anything about riding my bike lately; that's partly because I've been busy going through the car-buying process, but also because I didn't have my bike. It was time for its 60-day tune-up, a service that Cole's Bicycle Shop provides when you purchase a new bicycle from them. They check to make sure that all the wires and cables and chains are working like they should after the bike has been broken in a little.

Unfortunately, this is their busy time of year, so I had to wait a week until it was ready. And of course, the day it was ready, we were getting lots of thunderstorms, so I didn't want to bring it home in the pouring rain. I was finally able to pick it up on Saturday, but I didn't get a chance to ride it until today.

Brian and I met our friends TC and Steve at a church near Steve's house. Steve lives about 15 minutes from our house, so we thought we'd try a different area for bicycling. We asked Steve if he had a route mapped out for us, and he said he did. He explained it briefly, and mentioned there were a couple of "cruel hills." (That's a direct quote from Steve.) Boy oh boy, was he not kidding!

The first 15 minutes or so of the ride was great - we went on these bike/walking paths in some developments, and it was pretty much all downhill. Then we went on the road, and that was still OK.

But all too soon, we started climbing the first "cruel hill." We hadn't really had the opportunity to build up any momentum, so it was really rough going. In fact, it was so rough going, that all of us ended up getting off our bikes and walking part of the way to the top! Brian stayed on his bike the longest, but even he had to admit defeat eventually.

Poor TC, who I want to make clear is usually one of the leaders, had it especially rough. He started the ride with a headache and had only eaten a bagel for breakfast. By the time we got to the top of the hill, he was not in good shape. I was not feeling too great either, but not as bad as him. So we ended up taking quite a substantial break at the top of the hill.

When everyone finally got their breath and strength back (cause even walking the bikes up the hill was a decent workout!), we continued on our trip. Steve said there was another small incline, then a large downhill slope, and then next would be the second "cruel hill."

When I got to the downhill part, I thought, "OK, I can do this. I'll build up my momentum and start pedaling furiously so I have a good shot at getting up this next hill." Well, the start of the hill was around a bend, so when I came around the corner, pedaling quickly with optimism and hope, I was in for quite a surprise. At that point I said, "Never mind," got off my bike, and joined Brian and Steve, who were already walking their bikes up the even-steeper second hill. I couldn't believe I had been shut down twice in one day! But it did make me feel somewhat better that nobody else felt up to the challenge either.

We had to take another brief break at the top of that hill as well, but then we continued on. A little while later I did manage to come from last place and beat everyone up another (more moderate) hill, but I really didn't take the lead the rest of the time.

This ride was definitely the hardest one I've done yet. I think it was a combination of things: not having been on my bicycle for over a week (the elliptical machine is just not the same!) and the weather. We were riding in the middle of the afternoon on a very humid day, and although the sun wasn't out the entire time, it was out most of the time, so that made it pretty uncomfortable.

By the time we got back to our starting point, I was really wiped out. I basically felt the way I did when I rode on the Rails to Trails with my brake rubbing my back tire the whole time. (That was probably my second toughest ride ever.) We stopped at a mini-market on the way home to get some Powerade, and by the time we were walking out of the store, I was feeling worse than ever. I made Brian drive home because I just felt so awful.

Luckily, the Powerade (I actually had Powerade Zero - didn't want all those extra calories!!) really did start kicking in, and by the time we got home, I at least wasn't feeling lightheaded and nauseous. But I was still really tired, and I had to go lie down a little while before I could even take a shower.

I think we're planning to ride again tomorrow - at least Brian, TC, and I are. But if Steve does show up, I don't think any of us are going to let him pick the route!! ;-)

Extinct and endangered products

I’ll bet all of you, at some point, have been in this situation: a product that’s a favorite of yours (be it food, beverage, cleaning supply, cosmetic, etc) either goes off the market or becomes extremely hard to find. Isn’t that so frustrating? It always seems hard to believe that apparently, millions of other people weren’t as enamored with the product as you were.

Then the next frustrating phase begins – trying to find a suitable replacement. Sadly, sometimes that’s a quest that’s never fulfilled.

I’ve been in this situation several times in my adult life. The first time I can remember was with a type of bottled water called Water Joe; it was out around 1995. Water Joe was just plain, unflavored water with caffeine in it. I loved the stuff! It was better for you than drinking caffeinated soda all day, but it still gave you energy- certainly more than regular water provides. However, I could only ever find this product at one store – one of those ‘independent grocer’ kinds of places. And eventually, even they stopped carrying it. I was pretty disappointed, but there didn’t seem to be much I could do about it.

Another product I currently use, that’s surprisingly (to me) hard to find, is the Swiffer Max – now called the Swiffer XL. It’s a version of the regular Swiffer floor cleaner that has an extra-long cleaning surface. I like it because (this should be obvious) it cleans more of the floor at one time. :-) However, it’s really hard to find the refill cloths! I used to buy them at our local Wal-Mart, but I was recently there looking for them, and they’re no longer carrying them! I kind of panicked a little and wondered if I was going to have to resort to buying a “small” Swiffer.

I decided to drive down the road a little and give the local K-Mart a try, even though I didn’t recall them carrying the product before. Lo and behold, they did have the Swiffer XL refills! I bought two boxes, and I hope they’ll last me a while. I also hope K-Mart will keep carrying them!

Now, it’s time for me to talk about the product which led me to write this in the first place. I think a lot of women are like me, on that seemingly-endless mission to find the perfect cosmetics for their makeup bag – always trying new foundations, new eyeliner, new lipsticks, etc. But when they’re fortunate enough to find the ‘perfect’ product, they become extremely loyal to it.

Enter Blistex Lip Tone. I discovered this product at least 11 years ago – I know I was using it before I got married. It’s a lip gloss “with a touch of color” – that’s what it says on the package. It goes on smoothly and gives your lips a nice nude color, while also protecting them with SPF 15. I think it’s ‘perfect’ because it eliminates the need to carry several different colors of lipstick, because you always have something that matches what you’re wearing. Plus, it provides skin protection that many regular lipsticks don’t have.

When I first started using Blistex Lip Tone, it wasn’t hard to find. I’d go into one of several different local drugstores, and there would always be several packages hanging on the rack with all the other kinds of lip glosses. Those were the days!

Then, a few years later, I started noticing that Blistex Lip Tone was harder to find. Instead of being available at several different drugstores, I could only find it at one or two chains. I started making special trips to these stores just to buy Blistex Lip Tone, and I’d usually buy a couple at a time.

A couple of years after that, I went into one of those stores and saw that all the Blistex Lip Tone was on clearance. I knew what that meant – they, too, were going to stop carrying it! I snatched up just about all the packages they had, much like Elaine did in the Seinfeld episode about ‘the sponge.’ And for quite a while, I had plenty of Blistex Lip Tone to keep me happy.

Eventually, though, that ran out, and I was lost. No one in the area seemed to be carrying it anymore!

I happened to mention my plight to one of my friends, and she said she had seen it at some kind of outlet/closeout store (kind of like Big Lots/Odd Lots) from time to time, and that she would get some for me anytime she saw it. And in fact, this year for my birthday, part of my present from her was two tubes of Blistex Lip Tone – and I was thrilled!

But as the content of those tubes dwindled, I began to worry again. I even started buying other kinds of lip glosses in the hope I would find something suitable, but knowing nothing could never truly replace my beloved Blistex Lip Tone.

Then one day a few weeks ago, I was talking with a friend at work, and somehow the subject of Blistex Lip Tone arose. And as it turned out, she, too, had been a huge fan of the product, but once it became harder to find, she pretty much gave up and switched to other products. (Note I said products – I don’t believe she’s ever been able to find a suitable replacement either.)

We both lamented the near-disappearance of this wonderful cosmetic, but she went one step farther – she went to the Internet.

Ah, the Internet!! It gives us so much – information (true and false), advice (good and bad), news (important and trivial) – and BLISTEX LIP TONE!

Turns out one of the few places you can still purchase Blistex Lip Tone is online – on Amazon.com! (They sure have come a LOOOONG way since just selling books about 10 years ago!)

So, this desperate woman took what some might call a desperate measure – she placed an order on Amazon.com for 24 PACKAGES of Blistex Lip Tone! Yes, that’s a whole carton – just like what would be put on display at a drug store (if they were nice enough to actually carry the stuff). Lucky for me, I had an Amazon.com gift certificate just waiting to be used, so I got all this Blistex for a discount price.

Since you’ll probably never get to see an actual display of them in a drugstore, I know you are all dying to see what 24 packages of Blistex Lip Tone looks like – so here you go!


My one concern about buying this much Blistex at one time was, would it go bad? Does Blistex actually expire? I looked all over the boxes, and on the tube itself, but I couldn’t find anything that looked like an expiration date. So that relieved me somewhat.

And, since I had now found a fellow Blistex Lip Tone addict (as I guess I must call myself – sigh) she happily purchased 5 tubes from me! I brought the whole carton to work so she, too, could marvel at the sight of that much Blistex Lip Tone in one place. :-) As we were doing this, another co-worker walked by and was (understandably) quite curious. We both enthusiastically extolled the virtues of Blistex Lip Tone to her, and she asked if she could try some too. She bought two tubes.

So, now I’m down to a mere 17 tubes of Blistex Lip Tone, but I’m not feeling at all nervous about running out…yet. Maybe when I’m down to 10… :-)

The lesson learned here – the Internet really does have EVERYTHING!! In fact, as I was typing this, I decided to look up Water Joe to see if it is even still being made. It is, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be for sale at all in Pennsylvania. Perhaps another search on Amazon.com is in order…

Car buying update

In my last post, I compared test drives of the 2010 Honda Insight and the 2010 Toyota Prius, and I came away liking the Insight better than the Prius, which was somewhat of a surprise. However, I also said I wanted to drive the Insight again, in better conditions and on the highway too, so I could be completely sure of how I felt about the car and how it handled.

I got that opportunity Tuesday night. I actually went to another dealer, as a part of the ‘shopping around’ process. (I didn’t say I had been anywhere else or already driven the car.)

I got to take the car (another Insight EX) out on the highway almost right away. It was a good test of the car’s acceleration capabilities, since anyone who has driven on PA highways knows that most of the on-ramps are woefully short. So when there’s an opening to get on the highway, you need to be able to do so at as high of a speed as possible, since you don’t have time to build up speed on the ramp.

I didn’t notice any problems with the car’s acceleration as I entered the on-ramp to the highway. My car before my Cobalt was a1995 Dodge Neon, and often when I prepared to get on the highway, I would turn off the air conditioner so I would have more power. I didn’t feel the need to do that in the Insight. Of course, I only tested one entry onto the highway, but the length of the ramp and the traffic conditions were pretty typical of what I’d normally experience.

On this drive, as opposed to last time, I did remember to listen for road noise. I mentioned to the sales agent that I’d read that the Insight had some road noise issues, but I didn’t seem to be noticing it. I said – actually half-joking – that maybe it was because my current car was also considered ‘noisy,’ so I was used to it. I was a little surprised when he agreed that was probably the case. I actually never thought of my Cobalt as noisy, but I guess if I would compare it to a higher-end car, I would probably notice a difference. At any rate, neither my Cobalt nor the Insight seem noisy to me, and since I usually have music playing anyway, I really don’t consider it to be an issue.

After I left the highway, I drove on some back roads and side streets with curves and hills. I drove on some similar roads on Friday, but that was in the rain, so it was good to see how the car handled on dry roads. As I expected, it handled just fine. At one point during the drive, I paused for a moment and exclaimed, “I just remembered that this is a hybrid!” Even though it was my second time in the car, I was still surprised at how smoothly the car transitioned between the battery power and the gas engine, even when going up rather steep hills or starting up again after stopping at a stop sign.(The Insight engine does actually shut off - sort of- when you stop at a stop sign or in backed-up traffic,to conserve energy. But it starts up again amazingly fast!)

In conclusion, when the test drive was over, I was more convinced than ever that I liked the Insight and wanted it to be my next car. So I went into the office with the sales agent, and he gave me the price I could pay for the car at their dealership. I gave the excuse that I’d have to talk to my husband first (who was conveniently absent from this test drive), so of course that was accepted.

On Wednesday night, I went back to the first dealer to find out how quickly they’d be able to get me the car. They said they should be able to get one from another dealership by the beginning of the week at the latest. (Nobody in the immediate area has an Insight EX in Clear Blue Sky Metallic.) That fit in with my timeline of wanting to get the car by the end of the months, so I asked the big question – how much would they charge me.

Of course the sales agent had to go talk to the manager to get the numbers, and when he came back and brought up the figure on the computer, the number displayed was only a little bit more than what the other dealer had offered. I decided to go with this dealer because they’re more conveniently located, and I would rather buy my car at the same place I’ll end up getting it serviced. Plus, the sales agent did agree to give me floor mats (which aren’t included with the car), and those are listed at about $100.

So—I’M GETTING AN INSIGHT! I’m still not sure when – I’m anxiously awaiting the call that will tell me they’ve made a swap with another dealer. But I’m confident I’ll hear from them soon!

Of course, as soon as I get the car, I’ll be taking pictures of it and posting some here. So stay tuned!

Car reviews

Here's something you probably never expected to see on this blog - test drive reviews of new cars!

I'm going to be buying a new car by the end of the month.Why? Well, my mother needs a new car by the end of the month, because her 14-year-old car is up for inspection and definitely will not pass without having to spend a lot of money on it. So after some discussion with my husband, we agreed that it would be easier for me to get a new car and give her my 2005 Chevy Cobalt LT (which I just paid off in January). This way she won't have to worry about going to used car lots and trying to haggle with salesmen on the price of a car she knows little to nothing about.

When I first started looking for a new car, which was really just at the beginning of this month, I was kind of all over the map. But I finally narrowed it down to the 2010 Toyota Prius (the 3rd generation model) or the 2010 Honda Insight (which looks remarkably similar to the Prius). I do like the idea of having a hybrid car; Brian bought a Prius last April and has been very happy with it. I even decided what trim levels and colors I was interested in: the Honda Insight EX in Clear Blue Sky Metallic or the Prius II in Barcelona Red Metallic.

Here's the 2010 Honda Insight EX in Clear Blue Sky Metallic:

And here's the 2010 Toyota Prius in Barcelona Red Metallic:

On Friday afternoon, I had appointments to test drive both of them. Here are my reviews of those test drives.

I test drove the 2010 Honda Insight EX at 1:30 on Friday. Unfortunately, it was raining, so the conditions weren't ideal. But I guess in a way maybe it was good to see how it handled in the rain.

I was surprised at how much like a "regular" car it seemed. In Brian's Prius, you can really tell when the car switches between battery power and the gas engine - there's a definite "shudder" that takes place. But in the Insight, it operated smoothly the entire time - stopping, starting, accelerating, going around curves, etc.

The car was comfortable, and the controls were well-placed and nicely-designed. There's plenty of storage space up in the front - several little compartments for holding random items, and of course several cupholders as well. Here's a picture of the Insight interior:


I had read that the rear seating was kind of cramped, and that was definitely true. The back seat is definitely not very roomy; anyone of average or greater height sitting behind me would be pretty uncomfortable. However, it's probably comparable to my Cobalt, so it wouldn't be a downgrade from what I have now. And when we have passengers (which isn't very often), we usually take Brian's Prius because it is roomier. So obviously we could continue doing that.

One other bad thing I had read about the Insight was that there was a lot of road noise. I had planned to specifically listen for that, but I actually forgot. However, I never did notice anything in particular - in other words, it wasn't obvious to me. And Brian was in the same situation - he planned to really listen for it, but forgot, but also didn't particularly notice anything. And we drove with the radio off, on wet roads, so I would think if it was going to be noisy, those would be conditions where we'd be more likely to hear it. We didn't get out on the highway, but I did go at least 45 mph, and nothing was really brought to my attention, so I don't think that was as much of an issue (at least not for me) as I was expecting.

******************
I test drove the 2010 Toyota Prius III (I'm considering a II - but the only difference on the III is the stereo) at 2:30 pm. It was still raining, so I guess in a way that was still a good thing, because I drove the cars under similar conditions.

Brian and I were both surprised at how much the new Prius drives like a "regular" car. The "shuddering" I mentioned above that's present in Brian's Prius is pretty much non-existent in the third-generation Prius. It definitely has much smoother transition between the gas engine and the battery - I would say it was about the same as the Insight.

The Prius handled well - not noticeably better or worse than the Insight, in my opinion. I did get to take the Prius out on the highway, and it accelerated just fine on the entrance ramp, and I got up to 65 mph in plenty of time. I didn't try the cruise control, but if driving the car 'manually' was smooth, I have no reason to believe the cruise control would be any different.

Another noticeable difference in the 2010 Prius was in the interior. They decided to kind of meld the dashboard with the center console, creating a kind of barrier between the driver and passenger seating area. It's not a solid block of plastic - it's more like an archway. There's space to store stuff underneath, but I have to think it would be a little awkward to access it. You wouldn't really be able to see what you were reaching for without really taking your eyes off the road. Plus, the complete division of the passenger and driver areas was kind of confining, in a way. I almost felt like I was in an amusement park ride.

Here are some pictures, which should give you at least the idea, but not necessarily the full effect. It's definitely different when you're actually in the car.



I also wasn't too crazy about how they changed the energy monitor display on the Prius. On Brian's car, it's a big full-color display with a diagram of the engine and the battery, with colored arrows going back and forth depending on what power source is being used or charged. It is a little distracting at first, and even a little gaudy in appearance, but it definitely looks 'modern.'

They've replaced that display with a green LED display up in the area of the speedometer, with a smaller picture of the car and its power sources. I guess it's less obtrusive that way, so that's kind of good, but the display itself to me just looks kind of old-fashioned. The green pixellated LED display seems like something I'd have seen on a car 15 years ago. I know that's picky, but that's the impression it gives me. See if you agree:


So, even though going into these test drives, I was leaning towards the Prius, after driving both of them and finding no major differences with the driving, handling, and comfort, I had to compare more minor aspects of the cars to really decide how I felt about them. And I have to say, the new interior details on the Prius left me less than dazzled. The Prius may now drive more like a 'regular' car, but I think that new center console piece makes it look much less like a 'regular' car. The Insight, on the other hand, both drives like a 'regular' car, and looks inside like a 'regular' car as well.

Plus - and this normally shouldn't matter when buying a car, I know - the Honda dealer said they can get me the car I like within a few days, whereas the Prius dealer still has to call around and 'trade' cars with other dealers or wait for upcoming shipments. It could actually take 2-3 months for them to get me a car with the specifications I want. (Not as bad as some people had it last year, but still quite a wait.)

So, I think at this point I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the Honda Insight. I would actually like to drive it again, hopefully in nicer weather, just to be sure of how I feel in it and how it handles, and I'd also like to get it out on the highway for a little bit to see how it accelerates and how it feels when it's going faster. (Oh, and to check for road noise again too!)

Stay tuned for updates on the car-buying process!

Uphill Both Ways!

You know the joke about older folks sometimes make about how "When we were young, we had to walk 10 miles to school, and it was uphill! Both ways!" Well, I kind of feel like I just did that on my bicycle.

I went for a bike ride this evening with my husband and our friends Rob, Steve, and TC. Rob had come up with a route in advance, and he did tell us it had lots of hills. Now granted, it wasn't as bad as going through the Pyrenees on the Tour de France, but it was definitely a hilly ride!

I had been doing really well on my last few rides - so well, in fact, that I had been keeping my bike in 2/7 gear for entire rides, hills and all. But tonight I was forced to admit defeat and shift into lower gears on some of the hills. I went as low as 2/4, going about 5 mph, and I was still huffing and puffing! But despite my struggles, I was actually the first one to get to the top of some of the hills. So that made me feel better (at least mentally).

At one point in our journey, we ended up at a nearby drag strip. In the past, the guys have driven on the track while they're out for a ride - it's a nice empty road to pedal on, and it even forms a semi oval, so it's sort of like a velodrome. (Now, how many of you are going to look up that word? ;-))

Even though the track was empty, there were some people there, sitting in chairs under one of those "tarps held up by poles" things. (I simply can't think of the right word for that contraption! I guess I'm burned out after using 'velodrome.' :-)) We were worried they were going to chase us off the track, but they paid us no mind.

Then as we started riding down the track, Steve noticed something on the adjacent track, so everyone stopped and went over to look at it. I thought it was going to be baby animals or something cute, but instead it was several rows of quarters, laid out for hundreds of yards along the ground.

Then one of the people who was sitting under the "thingamajig" (it's 10 pm and I'm tired - I give up on that word!) came over towards us. I thought we were going to get yelled at, but instead she smiled and asked if we had any quarters to add to the path. We all started scrambling through pockets and bike bags, but we travel pretty light, and no one had any quarters. As we were searching, we asked her what the quarters were for, and she said it was a fundraiser for the Salvation Army. They're hoping to have a mile-long path of quarters tomorrow evening (when a big racing event will be taking place), which will be used to help feed needy people in the local area. She said this year they've been feeding about twice as many people as they did last year, which, given the current economic conditions, is not surprising. As she was talking, Rob found a dollar in his pocket, and he crumpled it up and threw it to her (she was about 30 feet from us). She laughed, thanked him, and said she would put four quarters down on the path to represent his contribution.

As we continued to apologize for not having more money to contribute, she said to me, "You can give me your bike!" She was joking, of course, but then she went on to say that she had just gotten a Trek hybrid bike about a year ago, and she loved it, but then she let her son take it to college, and someone stole it. She asked me where I got my bike, and I told her I got it at Cole's Bicycle Shop in Carlisle, and how friendly and helpful everyone is there.

I was surprised she didn't know about Cole's, since it's been around for years, but then we found out she just moved to Carlisle eight weeks ago, from Maine! And get this - she came from the same town that Steve and his wife had lived in several years ago, and knew of the amusement park Rob worked at up there many years ago! Talk about a small world!

We chatted with her a while longer, and then we finally resumed our ride. As we rode away, I remarked to Steve about what a amazing coincidence that was, going to a practically-deserted drag strip and meeting someone who just moved from the same town in Maine where he had lived. He agreed and said he really does believe in the "six degrees of separation" concept. And I think I agree with him too!

OK, so back to the ride. We ended up going back on one of the hilly roads we rode on earlier, only from the other direction, the hill was even steeper! I actually whimpered a little as I went up the hill. What makes it worse for me is that as of yet, I'm still unable to stand up and pedal - I'm just not coordinated or balanced enough. I did try for a couple of seconds, but I was just too wobbly, and I had to sit down again. However, I guess that means I probably got an even better workout!

When we finally ended the ride, the sun was setting, and my odometer read 17.5 miles. So that was my longest ride yet - and definitely the toughest! And, I actually went to the gym earlier in the afternoon and did a little workout on weight machines, so I got a LOT of exercise today!

I was kind of complaining as we went up the hills - mostly the later ones - but as is always the case when I exercise, when I'm finished, I never regret it. And I did stretch a lot when I got home, so I'm hoping I won't regret it tomorrow either! :-)

OK, as I said before, I'm pretty tired, so I need to end this. Good night! :-)

A few quick trip pictures

I thought I would post just a few pictures here on the blog so you can get an idea of some of the things we saw while we were in California. (See the post below for a brief trip report.) Enjoy!

A restless sea along 17-Mile Drive

This rock is called Bird Rock, but as you can see, lots and lots of sea lions hang out here too!

Cypress trees with Pebble Beach golf course in the background

We encountered this large group of lazy harbor seals along 17-Mile Drive

The Lone Cypress - a very famous tree at Pebble Beach

Crashing waves along the Pacific coastline

Us standing at the edge of the Pacific

Some cool-looking stinging nettles at the aquarium

A very cute resting sea otter at the aquarium

California - brief trip report

Once again, I feel I must start my post with an apology. I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for so long. Over the past few weeks, there were a lot of things I wanted to talk about - my bike odometer passing 100 miles, my first bike ride in the rain (both were on the same trip), and a few other things that I've since forgotten. But June turned out to be such a busy month that I just never found the time to sit down and write about them.

However, one thing I did do in June, that I'm definitely going to make time to report about, was my first-ever trip to California. Brian had to go out to Monterey for a work conference, and after the conference ended, I flew out to join him and spend a long weekend there.

Simply put, we had a great time! We drove on the scenic 17-Mile Drive, a coastal toll road which goes to Carmel and Pebble Beach (home of a very famous golf course), and took lots of pictures of the coastline and the sea life there (most notably the sea lions and harbor seals). We also spent a lot of time at Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf, shopping and dining. We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was at least as nice, if not nicer, than the National Aquarium in Baltimore, for those familiar with that venue. And, last but not least, Brian and I tried kayaking for the first time! We went on a guided kayak tour of the Bay area and learned about the different kinds of kelp, algae, and other sea life in the ocean, but more importantly, we got to observe some sea otters, including mothers with babies, as well as more sea lions and a couple of harbor seals. And of course the most important part of the kayak trip was that we didn't tip over! :-)

Now, my next task is to go through the HUNDREDS of pictures we took out there and decide which ones to post. We went a little crazy taking pictures of the seals and sea lions, because we were so excited to see them, so I'll have to be judicious in selecting how many to share online. But as I get them posted, I will let you know! And as I get the pictures posted, my intent right now is to also post a little more detail here about the part of the trip for which I've posted the pictures. But at least if I don't get that accomplished, you know now pretty much what we did and that we had a very good time. :-)

Oh, and one more thing before I end this - Happy Independence Day!