Press Release Now Published!

The press release for the Downtown Huntington Beach Business Improvement District is now out. It was sent to the media on Tuesday morning for general release, and has been picked up by a few local sites.

http://www.hbnews.us/calendar.html

http://www.hbdowntown.com/ (click on the graphic for the chili cook-off, then the link to the press release)

http://www.huntingtonbeachevents.com/calendar.html (search for "chili" in your browser)

http://events.huntingtonbeachevents.com/?m=200805

We are excited to be working with the Huntington Beach Downtown BID, and want to thank Michael of Harley-Davidson of Westminster for making the introduction, and Connie Pedenko for the opportunity to contribute to the local community!

Surf City

After staying up so late to view the Lyrids, today was a wash. Fred is working on a pet project, which should pay dividends in the next week or two. Michael from Surf City Harley Davidson has been a great contact for us here in Orange County. It looks like we'll do a little bit of pro bono work for the City of Huntington Beach and probably turn that into some paid work - which is awesome!!

Fred will go to the meeting with the City next week, and I am confident that we will begin work right away.

The International Surf Museum in Huntington Beach is also interested in working with us on their newsletter, with the idea in mind that we can then assist with a multitude of items as needs arise. We met with Jodi on Sunday at a big event that they held at the museum, and it was wonderful to put a face to the name. We are aiming to get together with her very soon in order to iron out details.

Hot Date! The Lyrids

So we just got in from doing a bit of stargazing. Tonight was the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower, so Fred asked me out on a midnight date, complete with hot peppermint tea and the propane heater, to see what we could see.

The answer, as it turns out, is not much...at least not of the Lyrids (for more detail: Lryids Drowned in Moonlight Fred's excited because we are now, "intrepid and stalwart"). However, we had a blast with our binoculars and the telescope that Fred's parents gave us as a wedding gift. We each saw a few meteors cruise through as well, and enjoyed using different lenses to view the moon.

To me, the coolest part is seeing the things that you CAN'T see normally. What we'd learned before we went out was that Lyra has a double star in the form of Epsilon, just off of Vega...I know; it was all Greek to me before I started reading more about it. Anyhow, Epsilon is a double star with binoculars and a quadruple star with a telescope. Awesome. Looking at the dipper is amazing - even with just the binoculars. 

Anyway, it's the wee hours, but I thought I'd share the moment. It is truly awe inspiring to view the heavens using first your naked eye, and then progress to increasingly stronger lenses. For me, that begins with putting on my specs, and moving on from there. I feel like we discovered Lyra tonight, even though we had a meteor drizzle as opposed to a meteor shower. Mars is still hanging nice and red, although we seem to have lost Orion to the spring sky. Perhaps Fred will share with everyone the hilarious anecdote as to how astronomy maps had us both doubting ourselves on the basics of the compass!!

Been a while

This is just a quickie since we completely derailed. 

A ton has happened, but suffice to say that for the moment we are still in Southern California, and we were married on February 14. I am working for Surf City Harley Davidson of Huntington Beach, which is pretty cool. Fred is going to teach me the basics of riding a motorcycle so that I can take the Rider's Edge course sometime in the future and get my M1. "How?" I hear you cry. Well, he traded the Mustang for a motorcycle and there you go.

The photo here is from our wedding day. Well, more tomorrow, I hope. LOL

Back on track....

So, our adventures have taken us to some wild places. We have had some REALLY odd things happen along the way.

Another storm came and went in Huntington Beach while we were in New York (I will write more on that in a minute), and as I write this we are weathering yet ANOTHER storm.

What happened to "It never rains in Southern California"?

Well, I guess one major thing has happened that everyone can rejoice about - Me and Amy are officially engaged to be wed. I am positive that we will be wed in the next few months. :-) I asked her mother for her approval, and was almost instantly questioned about grandchildren. I did not have the heart to remind her that the minute we were married she would be the grandmother of 3 - the oldest being 13...lol

Life is good, we have a fairly decent routine going that has us up all day and sleeping during the night. We shall see how long that delicate balance lasts.

Back to the NY side of things. We were invited to NY to see some friends from the UK. The friends are a pair that happened to have lived there before, and know some of the city's top chefs personally. I must say, I still think caviar just tastes a little salty, but, I am beginning to understand these "foodies" a little bit more.

Here at home things have been interesting as well. We have managed to pick up a sport that is designed for little rubber people that don't shave yet. It is called surfing. I swear I thought I used to be fairly athletic, I almost remember being athletic. This "sport" seems to be easy for some. Trust me, it is not. I have gained a serious respect for any and all of them. My first attempt to catch a wave introduced me and the board - and something that may have been the ocean bottom - numerous times. I can only say it scared me that first time, after that a wipe-out just seemed to be business as usual. The song never entered my mind while out there (too busy staying alive) but I am positive had there been an audience, they would have had one hell of a show.

I will not be giving up on catching a wave. I will get it and when I do hopefully we can capture it on film and I will look upon that picture as evidence that you can, indeed, teach an old dog new tricks.

Birding at Talbert Marsh

Yesterday we decided to get on the bikes and head to Newport Beach. Yes, we turned left on PCH instead of right...

It was a ride of a few miles along the pedestrian/bicycle path on the beach (where the surf was horrible, btw) to the Big Belly Deli for a late lunch first. Their sandwiches are awesome, but avoid the iced tea and the Pepsi! I stuck to pink lemonade and was satisfied with that drink, but the rest...trust us. Go for the food, and stick to water or lemonade to drink! I haven't dared try any beer there, on the basis of this: if their soft drinks are strange tasting...what are their taps like on the beer??

Anyway, after lunch we rode to where a trail goes along the Santa Ana River in order to check out the birds there. We saw quite a few killer sights - not least of which was the swan pictured next to this entry. Talk about unexpected! In addition, we saw several blue herons, one of which we watched fly into a nearby palm tree with a beak full of what I assume was stuff to make a nest. Or maybe food? Not sure - we'll have to look in Z's bird book this afternoon to see what it says about these herons and their habits. It was a sight to behold!

The bike ride wound up being quite a bit longer than we intended, since we rode all the way to Costa Mesa and back along the river, then back onto the beach path to head home. The trip still only took 2.5 hours, though.

Today we head over to my parents' house for Superbowl...in the POURING rain. Yikes. Not looking forward to being out in this weather. But at least we aren't expected to be running a half marathon like those guys down near the HB pier...Geez, with the rain and the wind, they are brave!!  X

P.S. -

Our new routine lasted two days. LOL  ;-)