"Long...Slow...Distance........" Agraichen's Profile

Current Events...

Still unpacking boxex but we finally got a draft design for our new home. The pitch and putt course suggestion seems almost reasonable.

Current Upcoming Happenings

Aug - Traded with our daughter for a trip to a dude ranch while she goes to Cost Rica. Hmmmm......

Most Recent Happenings.

2012

Mar - Moved from SF East Bay (Danville) to Eastlake district of Chula Vista. It's a sign that you have collected too much stuff when Goodwill employees know you by name when you stop by to donate things.

Jan - May - Loreto, BCS - Lots of trips north to San Diego this year to get moved into the new place and out of the old.

2011

Oct - Loreto, BCS - Day of the Dead celebration.
Oct - Las Vegas - Jimmy Buffet Concert !!!
Sep - Loreto, BCS - Visa renewal time
Jul - Alaska Cruise - one week is not enough
Jun - Napa - wine pick up time
Apr - Side trip to La Paz to get more VT tips and some necessary shoping for things not available in our village.

Jan - May - Loreto, BCS

2010

Dec- Loreto, BCS - The diving off of Coronado was great according to my Daughter. Lots of Sea Lions in very playful moods.

Sep/Oct - Lexington, KY for The World Equestrian Games

May/June - Side trip to see my daughter in Hollywood led to a choice location to photograph the Tour de California coming though Molholland Hyw in the canyon between Malibu and Thousand Oaks.

Mar - Early run to Napa for a Tasting at Clos Pegas This was bittersweet as Jan, the owner lost his wife of 50 years the month before the event.

Feb - Loreto, BCS

Jan - Loreto, BCS - The new year was "rung in" with a roaring bonfire on the beach. Somehow the party for a few friends turned into "the party" for the neighborhood and 40 or so people enjoyed themselves.

2009

Dec - Loreto, BCS - Christmas was great this year. Lots of people and many holiday parties where new friends were made.

Oct - Loreto, BCS - time to survey the damage and help with getting repairs to the house and the town.

Oct - Napa - Halloween party at Clos Pegase winery.

Aug - Livermore, CA - Big White House winery release party.

Aug - SF, CA - VT_Meet. Rixie orchestrated a meet with Matim (Ilse) and her family in SF. We had a great time meeting and talking about their US travels that have taken them from the US east to west major sights.

Jul-Aug - Loreto, BCS to see how hot it can get in the summer. Two weeks at 112 was more than enough. Even the water was hot.

May - Less than two weeks in Loreto, BCS is not enough to end the season. The drive north is still in front of us since the truck needs to get a CA smog inspection before it can be registered again. Hopefully this will be uneventful in spite of the Swine Flu issues that have been present on the mainland. Friday we take off for the US.

May- Quick trip to SF for a screening of Angels & Demons on Thursday, the day before the release to theaters. OH WOW...great movie I don't care what the WSJ "critics" had to say.
Apr - Weekend trip to Napa to taste a few grapes. Rombaur was first on the list to replace the sold out 2005 Zinfindeld; Duckhorn was next as we had a bit of extra time. It was well worth the trip. Last, Quintessa for barrel tasting and to pick up some 2006 magnums. mmmmm....
Apr - Las Vegas. World Equestrian Event is back to the US.
Mar-Apr - Loreto Blue Whale watching in the Sea of Cortez

Feb - Monterey & Carmel Mercedes back road RIDE; Great time just driving back roads at speed.

On a rainy day in Danville, thousands of town residents turned out with EVERY major TV station in the SF Bay Area to pay tribute and welcome home Sully Sullenberger, the pilot of the US Airways jet that "landed" in the Huson River last week. ALL 155 people aboard the aircraft survived.

Jan - Napa - Release party at Clos Pegase with a Jazz ensemble featuring the Wine Club Manager Susie. Great time.

Now back to reality...


Cronicles of the family:

TV is subject to the economy too. Christian Slater's "My Own Worst Enemy" debuted in October and was cut in November. With the combination of the writer's strike and threat of a SAG strike there was limited need for Assistant Directors on new material.

Thus, my daughter headed back to the USC in a Medical "Post Back" program with the aspiration of getting into USC's Medical School.

She had to wait til Chrismas Break to get some more diving in. The few dive shops in our Mexican home welcomed a Dive Master to show around so they could concentrate on the scenery and not watching out for the tourists.

Now back to the more mundane stuff like my history and how I began traveling.

I tend to think I grew up traveling. In New England, USA, you can see a lot without driving too far so even a weekend is enough for a "short vacation" and it could be done inexpensively.

Trips to surrounding states could be done in just a few hours so on my father's occasional day off, we'd pack the car and just drive. Where ever we ended up at the end of the day is where we stayed for the night. Explored a bit the next day and returned home.

Later we began vacationing on Newfound Lake in Bristol, NH. After a few years of renting a cabin we acquired a small house near the lake and my summers were spent in "another world." After chores, I had the freedom to wander the Apalachian Mt. Range trail heads or swim in the lake or mountain streams which filled me with a desire to wander.

Fortunately I've been able to trave widely throughout the years, but there's more out there waiting and I hope to cover much more.

Mt. Diablo

Winter in No. CA sometimes provides a few "cold" days. Just enough to leave a bit of snow on "our" mountain. Only 3849 feet high, Mt. Diablo has the unique ability to allow people to see more land mass of the US than from the top than from any other peak in the US.

This phenonomon has something to do with the mountain's location and the fact that much of the "central valley" of California is quite flat. On a clear day you can see the Sierras to the east, the Ocean to the west, Mt. Shasta to the north and almost to Bakersfield to the south.

Oh Yeah? Well, mine is bigger than yours....

The resident varmits have decided to migrate by my back door (well better these guys than the wild boar that are beginning to show up on the mountain).

They must know that in CA, you can't do much with a wild Turkey (legally) other than shoo it away (but don't try it with a hen herding chicks) or just sit back and enjoy the gobble (even at 4:00 AM)....... and once again (2nd year) on Thanksgiving morning 3 dozen showed up for "breakfast" along with 4 deer.

Royal Gift (Aka Merlin)

It's hard to believe Merlin is now just over 4 years old. He's grown from a very scrawney colt to almost 16.0 hands. We were hoping for only 15-15.2 but once my wife rode him for the first time and found his gentle manner his height nolonger was an issue. His ground manners continue to be very gentle and playful as a puppy.

Loreto Bay Entrance

US Government Travel Warnings - Travel warnings form the US State Department.

Loreto Bay Video - Great travel video of the Loreto area. This prepares you for the Baja experience.

Explorer's Corner - Home of Extreme travel. - Once you meet Olaf and Marie, you will be sold on this unique type of travel to the most obscure and interesting places that very few have experienced.

JAlbum - this is great free software for building photo albums "easily." It takes a bit of getting used to.

Meeting Planner and Multi-time Zone calculator - For the multi-time zone meeting planning or just finding what time it is somewhere else on VT.

Baja Big Fish charter site that includes links to other sites in Loreto, Baja Sur - I built a new home in Loreto so I want to support our local travel people.

US White House - I was fortunate enough to have managed the group that created the orignal page. There was a Democratic Unix guru, a Republican security guru, and a very Independent and fantastic Editor that loved to get the other two into "debates."

Time for R&R - I worked with the owners of this travel site some time ago. They always have local hints and tips for places to visit that are fun.

Malin's National Anthem Page on VT - What a wonderful tribute to all the countries of the world.

A wonderful tribute to NYC - There's not much to say..just listen, watch and read.

A great dive trip to the Galapagos - Incredible sealife shots. If you haven't been to the Galapagos, put it on your 10 list.

VT SF Dine About Town CREW....

SF VT Madness Blowout -Part Deux.

June 25 SF..SF VT Part Deux Only SF VT can consistently outdo itself. This evening was a few hours of dancing and gambling (for fun money) on SF Bay.

Yubert photographing his VT Fan Club..

VT HOSTED a fabulous time in Mahattan Beach, CA; KUDOs to the "Brains behind the machine."

And er...well..it seems some members always have more fun than others...