Slacker...

Aight, so I've been slacking on posting. Sorry y'all, I'm in Hawai'i being busy doing nothing. Until I return to the mainland and wind myself back up, here's some pictures to keep you busy.


New tradition for the Boland family, Christmas eve dinner at my brother Ray's house. From L to R: My Dad, his wife Nilda, my brother Ray, my wife, and some jerk with bread in his mouth. Behind the camera is the chef, Jackie.

I am, the dog whispererererererer. That's me and Pearl, my older brother's dog. Calm assertive makes for a pretty well behaved dog.

The newest addition to the Boland clan, Santa Baby! Better known as Dylan. This picture reminds me of that urban legend from the movie, "Three Men and a Baby", where they say you can see a ghost of a little girl in the background hiding behind a curtain. OOOOOOH, spooky! Naw, that's just Dylan's mom, Susan, coming in the door.

Even cousin Jay got in the gift opening act. Wish we saw more of him, but he's always knee deep involved with his girlfriends family. As soon as he buys her a ring...


Everyone has their favorite toy of childhood. Snoopy is mine and here's the original that my dad fished out of the attic. I took that dog everywhere. Even had an ear transplant because the new Snoopy's ears were not as cool as the old Snoopy.

And finally, what's with the two babes?



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When I Wasn't Relaxing, I Was Busy Relaxing.

Merry Christmas everyone. First question would be... Why are you reading this on Christmas day? Go be with your family! Second question would be... Why am I WRITING this on Christmas day? I'll take the second part first. I'm awake and writing this because I've had some trouble sleeping lately. I think it's due to the possible cold or allergies I've been experiencing since returning from Lana'i.

And speaking of Lana'i... AHHHHHH Lana'i!! AHHHHH the Lodge at Koele!! AHHHHH Lana'i Pine Sporting Clays!! Oh wait, we covered that last part in the last blog. But I did forget to put in one picture:Trapper extrodinaire, Nicole Boland. C'mon honey! It's just a shotgun! Don't hold it like you're afraid of it!

Anyhoo, I should probably talk about the amazing lodge, before I forget about it. But then again who could forget this amazing property, and better yet where to start? I guess I should start by telling you where it is.

The small island of Lana'i is located south west of Maui. Back in the good old days, the entire island was one big pineapple plantation. There's one main city, if you could call it that, call Lana'i City, which is built in what is called "upcountry". The island itself is more or less a cone sticking out of the water. You come out of the airport and either drive uphill to Lana'i City or downhill to the boat harbor. When you get to Lana'i City, you then have a choice to turn right and drive downhill to Manele Bay where the "big" Four Seasons hotel is, or continue "upcountry" to the Lodge.

Because it's up country and at altitude, it's a lot cooler, well, better to say it's cooler than down by the beach. During the day, it was 75F (23C for you, Steph) and it dipped to a bone chilling 70F (21C) at night. Both days were slightly overcast which helped keep the temperature constant.

The lodge itself is like one big house. It's only two stories tall, and consists of two wings of rooms connected to the "Great Hall", where the entrance and subtle "front desk" is located. When you pull up to the hotel you are greeted with smiles and leis, as well as a hot towel! They invite you to sit in the lounge area of the great hall, and a staff member comes over to greet you with a glass of juice and to check you in. We had arrived in the morning to go shooting, and expected to just drop our bag off and come back later, seeing as check in wasn't until the afternoon, but they already had our room ready! After the formalities of check in, we were given a quick tour of the Great Hall, which includes the dining area. The wings are semi detached from the Great Hall. They are connected by an outdoor breezeway which is lined with rattan chairs and ottomans.

The room we had chosen was the cheapest one available, which had a garden view. The room itself isn't all that fancy. It was pretty basic, with a very comfortable bed, desk, large flat screen TV, and small dining nook.We were on the first floor, so we had a small outdoor patio that opened right out onto the gardens. I think for the most part, Nicole and I stopped using the front door, and every time we went out, we just took the back door and walk through the gardens.

I don't know if it's because the property is not by the beach, but they had a lot of activities to keep one busy when you weren't busy relaxing. The entire property is lush and green. There is a path that leads through the many different well maintained gardens (we didn't have time to check that part out). There are croquet fields set up in both American and English styles (I didn't know there was a difference), a lawn bowling field, and of course, a pool.The heated pool is detached from the building, and was a short walk from our room. There are also two hot tubs and an exercise room all open 24 hours! There is a staff on hand during the daylight hours that bring you towels and cold water, as well as loan you a bicycle if you wanted to go for a ride around town. For some reason, both days at the pool, we were, for the most part, the only ones there. People would come out and look, but few would stay very long. Maybe because it was overcast, which drastically reduces your ability to tan. Or maybe it was because there's so much to do on the property, no one had time for the pool. Either way, Nicole and I certainly didn't mind having a hot tub all to ourselves and a friendly wait staff that made sure the bubbles were blowing.

I think the biggest draw at the Four Seasons for the "jet set" are two championship golf courses. Neither Nicole and I play the sport, so we didn't check out the courses. We did, however, check out the "Executive Putting Greens".It's not "Miniature Golf", it's not "Putt Putt", it's "Executive Putting Greens". Which is really what is was. There's no wind mills, no clown faces, and certainly no astroturf. These really were Greens. 18 holes of maintained greens grass. There were up hills and down hills, slighting tilting greens, sand traps and our favorite, water hazards.When we picked up the putters and balls from the front desk, the guy said, "I got you guys to floater balls". And thank god he did.This was not an easy course! But it was a lot of fun.

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For me, the big draw was the Lana'i Pine Sporting Clays. For Nicole, it was tea time! In the Great Hall, tea was served in the afternoon. Nicole and I went on the first day and chose seats near on of the two large fireplaces.Fireplaces in Hawai'i? Strange but true, I don't think it was cold enough for a fire, but it certainly didn't hurt the atmosphere. It did add to the relaxation factor.

Not being a fan of tea (or coffee for that matter) I was a bit skeptical at the idea of sitting in the afternoon and sipping on a hot drink.But when the waitress brought out the menu...Port! They have port on the menu! Port at 4 in the afternoon! Port with sandwiches and lemon curd! This wasn't going to be bad at all!

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That evening Nicole and I sat on the rattan chairs in the breezeway and watched the sunset.The clouds had broken just enough for the sun to poke out and make for a real stunner over the pine trees. It was so quiet and calm, you could hear the sizzle from the sun as it sunk into the far ocean. As the first day ended, Nicole and I adjourned to our room with one of the free DVDs from the front desk, hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign and waited for sunrise.

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Day two was just like day one. Quiet filled the air when I woke, I sat out on the patio and listened to the birds sing. Nicole and I ordered room service before heading out for a second day of shooting.

Upon our return (see previous post to learn about wobble trap and compact sporting), we talked to the front desk, who was gracious enough to give us a late check out, returned to our room and then headed out to the pool for another relaxing dip in the hot tub. A quick nap, a quick pack, we checked out of the hotel. Our flight wasn't until later that evening, but we were still allowed to use the facilities at both hotels. So Nicole and I took the shuttle to Lana'i City for lunch (uneventful sandwich) and then headed to the other property, the Four Seasons at Manele Bay.

The shuttle bus wound down the hill to the hotel by the bay. The temperature slowly climbs and was quite warm and humid by the time we stepped off into the lobby that overlooked the pool.

It was like stepping off into another time. The lobby was buzzing with people, hurrying back and forth, moving bags to and fro. We walked downstairs to the pool which was also buzzing with children and every lounge chair full of bronze bodies. Nicole and I sat at the poolside bar, ordered a drink and sucked it down as quickly as we could. We got back on the shuttle and headed back to our sanctuary in the mountains.

We were sad to leave, but the time had come. We boarded our plane and said good bye to the pineapple island, vowing to return sooner than later.

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And finally, no place is complete without a cat.This was obviously a cared for cat. There was a food and water dish underneath one of the chairs by the entryway. It wasn't overly friendly, but it never shied away from a good pet.

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2 Days, 200 Shells

Lana'i Pine Sporting Clays. The only sporting clays course in Hawai'i. Which means only one thing, I gotta shoot it.

And I did.I'm not sure if Lana'i Pine Sporting Clays is part of the Four Seasons property. The only way to make a reservation on the course is through the Four Seasons, but when you are up at the club house, it doesn't seem to feel like it's part of the hotel. No matter, the point being, because of it's "tie" to the Four Seasons, I knew I could expect great people and exceptional service.

And it didn't disappoint. After we landed on Lana'i and checked into our room, a very nice man named Mike, came to the hotel to shuttle us to the club house. I guess I should have payed better attention to the details when I signed up, because when we got there, they had everything you needed to shoot. Included in the cost for shooting the course was: The shotgun (your choice, over/under or automatic), 100 shells, eye and ear protection, shooting vest, and golf cart rental. Being over prepared, I had lugged my own vest and eye and ear protection from L.A.. But I guess that's fine since it's what I'm comfortable in.

After signing the waiver, Mike drove me and my trapper (also known as "wife") down to the first station. To keep with the fancy Four Seasons theme, these golf carts were retro fitted just for the purpose of shooting.As you can see, it had gun mounts for four shotguns, and the diamond plated box on the front, which had extra ear and eye protection, score cards, a first aid kit (in case Dick Chenney came to shoot the course) and a box of kleenex. There was also a rail along the top of the box so you could put your shells.

Not only were the carts fancy, so was the course.The entire thing weaved through a pine forest and was completely paved. Every station had a small covered gazebo, gun rack, bench and a name, usually of a locally found game bird. What I thought was a nice touch was a small metal pail hanging on the gazebo for your spent shells. Everything is completely automated with wireless triggers for the traps.

At other courses I've shot, you are given a card or key that keeps track of how many targets you throw, so at the end of the course, they charge you the proper amount. At Lana'i Pine they just hand you the wireless remote and say, "Have fun!" So we were able to throw as many targets at each station as we wanted.

All this is great, but how did the course shoot?As I've said before, my worst day shooting is still better than... This however, was not my worst day shooting, this course is a lot of fun! The standard course (it changes for tournaments) is designed for first time shooters. Which many people are since most of the clientèle are coming from the hotels. This is to say, many of the stations offer "soft" targets. Basically, easy things to hit. Targets that fly at you or have high arcs so they actually appear to stop in the air. There was also a number of challenging stations.As you can see from this picture, this station had a very narrow field of vision. It has one soft target that came over from the far trees and the second target flew left to right.

There was also my favorite targets, ones that come from behind and fly over head. I think these are the targets that help bruise my shoulder real good. I liked this station so much, I shot it twice in one day. Well, I shot it twice because when we got to the next station, there was no remote for the traps, so we got back in the cart and drove in reverse back down the path!

There were 14 stations, two of which didn't work. The first station had traps at the top of a hill, that for some reason didn't work (they were the only hard wired traps). And as mentioned before, one station didn't have a remote. So I thought that I had extra shells because we didn't shoot two stations. Well, if you do the math... 8 shells per station, 14 stations, 8 x 14 = 112. I only had 100 shells. Which means, I didn't have extra shells, I was actually short. But we didn't figure that part out until we got to the second to the last station, which was another series of overhead targets. I reach in my pocket and only found 8 shells! Oh well, 4 shots here, and 4 at the last one.

And I was glad to have held on to the last 4 shells. The last station had a really great view. It jutted out from the top of a hill and the targets were launched from below so you were shooting down the hill.

We drove back to the club house returned the gun, and was shuttled back to hotel. But I had to do it again!!!

I convinced my trapper/wife (also known as "photographer") that we need to go back. So that same afternoon, I had the concierge sign me up for another session the next day. This time on the wobble trap...

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The next morning, Dave picked us up and shuttled us to the club house. Leo greeted me there, handed me the same over/under shotgun I had used the day before and handed me 1o0 shells. "Only 50 today," I said, and Leo just smiled and said, "You shua? Tell you what, take 100 and whatever you don't shoot, bring back." Nicole knew at that moment, I was bringing back empty boxes.

Leo drove us out to the wobble trap. Seeing as I've never shot wobble trap, Leo explained how it works. Basically, it's one trap that constantly rotates left, right, up and down. When you "pull" it launches a random target. That made a for a really great time, because you never knew which way the target was going! I shot a couple of rounds and Leo gave me pointers, "Keep the gun moving, don't aim, relax." Then he said, "If you want more shells, or want to go out on the sporting clays course, just come by the club house and let us know."

I turned to the trapper/wife/photographer, wide eyed like a little kid and she promptly said, "NO."

The wobble trap had 5 stations, and you shoot 5 shots at each station. I did two rounds and shot 28 out of 50 targets.

I wanted to try something different, wobble trap is fun and I could sit there all day and unload shells. But as long as we were here, we may as well try as much as we can. I drove back to the club house and told them I was going to try the compact sporting course.

Compact sporting is just another word for "5-Stand". I read somewhere that "5-Stand" is a trademarked name, so you have to pay royalties to call it a "5-Stand". So the way around that is to call it "Compact Sporting". A compact sporting course is basically 5 stations over one field. The one field has numerous traps launched from different angles. So it's like sporting clays, but you don't have to get in a cart or walk very far.The compact sporting course at Lana'i Pine had 8 traps. In the picture above you can see the big yellow number 6 indicating the location of trap 6. You can also make out the little sheds left or right for other traps, as well as the dirt path in the foreground for my favorite... Rabbits!!

I had 50 shells, so I shot 10 at each station. The stations were basically a raised platform with three positions and one outside left and right. I had the trapper/wife/photographer select targets at random. Which made for all kinds of fun! I had no idea where the clay was coming from so I had to jump to get on target and fire.

If I learned one thing, it's that I like shotgunning. Sporting clays is fun, but so is everything else I did. I would do any and all of it again!! Who's with me?

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Tomorrow, a blog for the ladies... Did someone say "Time for high tea!"?


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Two Days Off the Grid.

Wondering where I've been? Nicole and I just spent two amazing days "off the grid" on the island of Lana'i at the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele. In a word, stunning.

The initial reason for going to Lana'i was selfish on my part. They have the Lana'i Pine Sporting Clay course there, and I wanted to shoot it. But seeing as I know my wife, saying to her, "How about a quick get away to a Four Seasons Resort while we are visiting my family?" And then mumbling right after, "plus I can shoot sporting clays while we're there," usually will get a resounding, "YES! Wait, what did you say?"

It didn't matter, I got the "YES!" and we booked the flight and hotel to the "privately owned" island of Lana'i. I put "privately owned" with quotes because that's how it is sold to the tourists. It's not really "privately owned". Yes, most of the land belongs to the conglomerate of Castle and Cooke, and yes, they can pretty much do anything they like. But that doesn't mean there aren't people living there and a little city with"privately owned" homes. Even my aunt has a couple of vacation rentals there. But it's longer to print in the brochure, "Mostly, a privately owned island, since the pineapple plantations have closed".

No matter, Nicole and I were there and loving it. I won't go into detail now about any of it, I'm just whetting your appetite. Okay, the real reason is because I forgot my camera sync cable and I don't want to write anything about the hotel or the sporting clays course unless I can back it up with pictures. Although I don't remember taking many pictures of the amazing grounds at the Lodge, but we got some great shots of the sporting clays, wobble trap and compact sporting clays courses!

I will tell you this much, Nicole and I are going back. Not just for the sporting clays, but for the whole experience. If you ever want to unplug from the world, sit in a beautiful and serene place, but still get room service, the Lodge at Koele is the place for you!

4 For Life...

Nicole and I took drive up to Sacramento over the weekend to visit family. We left the L.A. basin a little after 5AM on Saturday morning and started the 6 hour, 400 mile trip north. The early hours and hum of the truck helped lull Nicole into sleep. I turned on the radio and popped in a CD, "Louder Than Bombs", by The Smiths.

I started to smile and reminisce about all the great and not so great times this album had been in my life. I started to think about what other albums have had such an impact on who I am today. I could think of four. All of them from my early years. All four of them will always be in my collection. When MP3's and iTunes go by the way side, like albums and CD's, and are replaced my music microchips implanted in our brain, the first 4 microchips I'll buy, or "download" will be these four. Check it out.

Metal Health - Quiet Riot. Alright, so maybe the first album isn't in my iTunes yet (I'm downloading as I write), this album turn my life on it's ear, literally. Before 1983, the year of the albums release, I had albums, (you remember pressed vinyl?) that my mom had bought for me. I had 45's of singles like "Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbit. But it wasn't until we got cable and TBS and USA networks had music TV shows. I can't remember the name of the show on TBS, but USA had "Night Flight" and my brother Ray and I would watch on Friday and Saturday nights. We would even hook up the tape recorder to the TV and tape the songs we liked. Then one day a video came on, "Cum on Feel the Noise". I was mesmerized and had to have the album. I bought it, and it spun on the record player non-stop. It started the "metal" phase of my life, my brother Matt remembers well. It's quite embarrassing to think about now, and I won't go into details, but I will say this, I didn't have enough money to buy the spandex so popular during that time, but I did have every colour bandana you could find.

Some Great Reward - Depeche Mode. My friend Marc has my email name as "Depeche", Because he remembers how much I played this, and the many other Depeche Mode albums I own. But "Some Great Reward" was the first one I bought. I didn't put me over the edge in fashion sense, I still wore my bandanas and swim suit (I was competitively swimming at the time). But this tape was in my Walkman all the time at swim meets. It was the perfect album for discovering girls. Listen to it sometime. It was really one of the albums that started the "New Wave" phenomenon.

How to be a Zillionaire! - ABC. And so started my Mod phase. I remember seeing the video for "Be Near Me". It was unlike anything I had seen before and the song was so damn catchy. I remember getting the cassette tape in my stocking for Christmas (1985) and listening to it all the way to church, to my aunts house for Christmas brunch, to my Grandma's house for lunch, and all afternoon. Every time the video was on MTV (we had MTV by then) I watched it, enthralled by Mark White's haircut. For those you young'uns out there, his head was completely shaved except for his bangs, which were curled up and around, as if he used one hair curler to help it defy gravity. The next day, I cut all my hair off except for my bangs, packed all my bandanas into a box and put it in the attic, tore holes in the knees of my jeans, and grabbed a pen and graffitied every lyric I could remember on the those jeans. I went out and bought every loud coloured shirt I could find and started to wear eyeliner. This is how I looked for my high school senior photo. This look and this music, brought me to my best friends in high school, Kent and Danny. This look and this music got me my first girlfriends. And speaking of first girlfriends...

"Louder Than Bombs" - The Smiths. My first real serious girlfriend came from the "Mod" clique at school. She had friends who listened to The Smiths. I had never heard of them, but when I sat for the first time and listened to the song "Ask", something in me clicked. The lyric, "If it's not love, than it's the bomb that will bring us together," was perfect for the cold war mentality I grew up with. I think it was the first album I ever heard where the songs were more story oriented, less "verse-chorus-catchy hook". I would listen to songs like "William, it was Really Nothing" and wonder, who the hell is William? William Shakespeare? Willem Dafoe? Willard Scott? Who is Morrissey singing about? This album led into buying everything ever recorded by The Smiths and later, Morrissey. It was the song "I Know It's Over" from the album "The Queen is Dead", that got me through my first hard break up (same Mod girl that got me into The Smiths).

Since these four albums, I have bought a lot of music that I found influential, but it was these albums that more or less carved me into the person that I am now. My style may have changed many times over the years, heck, now I shop at Sears and JC Penny's for most of my work clothes. But these four albums can be played at anytime, anywhere, and I will never grow tired of them.

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I'll get back to you...

Working on a TV show today and tomorrow. Plus we went up to Sacramento over the weekend to visit family. We went north computerless and I'm currently using my lunch break to type this...

I'll try to write tonight, but time has been tight with Nicole and I heading to Hawai'i on Wednesday!!

Think about this while you sit there... Can you think of 5 musical albums that changed your life?

I can think of 4...

I'll get back to you...

Who Knew That Was There?

On Wednesday, I found something I am pretty happy about. Just a 1/2 hour drive from my house, is a decent sporting clays course.

When I first moved to L.A., I went to school at California Institute of the Arts, which is north of Los Angeles proper, in the Santa Clarita Valley. To get there, you need to drive up Interstate 5 through the Newhall pass and down into the valley. Over the years, I have made this drive many times, but I never in my wildest dreams, thought there was a gun club right there in the Newhall pass.

Since I took up this sport, I've been looking for sporting clays courses. Oak Tree Gun Club is right here in L.A. and will rent you a shotgun. Which is important for me, seeing as I don't own one, yet.

I was able to talk two of my friends here in L.A. to joining me. Both Kevin and Jerome have never been to a sporting clays course, much less shot a shotgun. Kevin told me he'd been quail hunting recently, but never tried this sport. We were all excited to go.

We showed up at the club house, and after a little bit of wandering about, found the window where we had to check in. Oak Tree doesn't take reservations for the sporting clays course, but that's fine because no one ever shoots it on weekdays. Which works out great for me, since I've not got a regular job, I can probably go shooting on any given weekday I'm home. But Nick, who was helping us, says it can be pretty busy on the weekends.

While I paid, Kevin and Jerome watch a few old timers practicing at the trap stations. I could see the excitement build in their eyes while watching these expert shooters knock clay after clay out of the sky. Nick handed me the shotgun and three hundred rounds and directed us to a gator (basically an off road golf cart), where he would drive us to the start of the sporting clays course.

We drove passed the skeet and trap ranges, took a left by the pistol range and then headed straight up the side of a mountain. We got to the top of the ridge and turned right to the first station. Nick showed us how to work the traps, pointed out which direction the course went, told us to call him when we finished and climbed back into the gator and left us.

Jerome shooting at station one, Kevin is acting as his "trapper". The view was just stunning, and we had a gorgeous day to boot.

The entire course runs across the top of a ridge. The view was absolutely stunning. Los Angeles had a few days of rain last week, which makes for super clear skies. No smog. From where we stood on the first station, you could almost see the ocean.

The first few stations were built out off the ridge, so most of the shots were down and away. This also made for a really pretty garden of spent shotgun shells, just below the station. No point in trying to collect those, you'd probably just slide a few 100 feet to the valley below.

As we moved down the course, the shots changed some, including shooting at 60s, the smallest target they make. But I was a little disappointed they didn't have a station with rabbits.

A standard size 90 target, a CD for comparison and a size 60 target. Now if I can only get a battue...

There was a great station with a target called a battue (pronounce "bah-too"). It's a completely flat disk, that was released from overhead to the right. Because it's so thin, it travels really fast with the ability to dip and dive if it finds a pocket of wind.

Here's Kevin lining up to shoot at the battue.

We were shooting 4 sets of 2 per station. At the battue station was also a regular 90 that came from overhead to the left. The shot was so difficult, that a wager cropped up between Kevin and Jerome. The wager started simply, if Kevin could hit all 8 targets, Jerome would buy dinner at a nice steakhouse. Of course on the first round, Kevin failed. Then the bet changed. For each battue he hit, he'd get something else. Let's just say Kevin earned a salad with croûtons and a baked potato with butter.

All in all, a great day. Of the four courses I shot, this was, honestly, my least favorite. But it's similar to the bumper sticker, "The worst day fishing is still better than the best day working." In my case, "The worst day shooting clays is still better than, well, most things."

Kevin is chomping at the bit to go again. Perhaps on Friday...

Blog Back Up.

I've been a little remiss in posting my blogs. Apologies to Jade. A lot has happened in the three days I've been home, so I might as well start posting some of the events. Starting with our trip to Disneyland.

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We went to Disneyland on Monday because today (13 December), our annual passports run out. Not to worry, we can renew at anytime, and we figure we'll renew later when I'm home for a spell (July?) No point in spending money on a pass I can't use.

The nice thing about having the pass is we can go at anytime, stay as long or as short as we like, and leave when we like. If you buy the day pass which is now $91.00, then you feel you have to show up first thing in the morning and do everything you possibly can before they shut the doors at the end of the night.

We left the house around 3PM and got there a little before 4PM. No pressure, we really just wanted to see the decor for the holiday season. And throw in a few rides for good measure. We started in the California Adventure park. The highlight was stopping by the Winery they have there and sitting with a nice glass of wine.

Oh the nose on this wine is so nice! Paradise Pier in the background.

Yes, the new Disneyland park (California Adventure) has a winery that offers wines and cheese plates (15 bucks a pop!) as well as wine tastings if you feel so inclined. As a matter of fact, as we were entering the original Disneyland Park, there was a huge sign out by the entry gates proclaiming "Application for Permit to sell Alcoholic Beverages." Guess some parents want a little afternoon drinky-poo to handle the screaming kids. I don't blame them.

The winery at Disneyland has one of our favorite wines there (believe it or not). Clay Station Old Vines Zinfandel. If you can find it, I recommend picking up a bottle.

After getting Nicole tipsy on one glass of framboise (a raspberry liqueur) and sparkling wine, we walked over to the original Disneyland park. Our intention was to stick around for the evening and watch the fireworks display and fancy lighting effects. But after a little bit of alcohol and a little bit of food, we were winding down quickly. We rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and went and stood in line for the Haunted House. But that was moving too slow so we jumped out of line and decide to trek home. As we were leaving, there was an announcement that they were about to "light up" Sleeping Beauty's castle, so we walked over to check it out.

The space wasn't full, as people were milling about. Nicole and I chose a spot at the back of the area, near some of the park benches and fenced off gardens. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the show started. Then came a tap on Nicole's hip, "Excuse me," said a woman sitting on a bench, cell phone to her ear, "Can you please move, I can't see the show." Nicole stared at her blankly for a moment and then took a step to the side. I, on the other hand, said out loud, "You know, if you stood up, like everyone else, you could see the show." but of course, she didn't hear me because the conversation on her cell phone was more important than what was going on around her.

Turns out, we were standing in a really great place, because after the light show finished, the snow started to fall.Alright, so it isn't really snow, it's soap bubbles. But that didn't stop the kids from going crazy. We were quickly surrounded by 25 or so kids trying to catch the snow/soap bubbles.We had no choice but to stand there. Eventually there was enough soap collecting on me that a picture was required.

As soon as the little kids scurried out of the way, Nicole and I made our way to the exit. We wanted to stay, but we just couldn't seem to muster the energy.

We stopped at the big Disney store for some final Christmas shopping before opting to walk back to the car instead of riding the tram. We'd had enough of people. Disneyland was really crowded for a Monday night. But that's not to say we didn't have a great time. The annual pass has made it really an enjoyable experience to go there. I can't wait to renew and go again. Next time, corn dogs!


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And We're back...

Two uneventful flights later (unless you count sitting next to a fat guy eventful), I'm home in Altadena. This leg of the tour has ended, and I now get to sit here and unwind with my beautiful wife and animals. We're off to Disneyland this afternoon. Our season passes expire on Thursday so we want to get one last dig in before the end. We probably won't renew until I'm back in town on for another long spell, which doesn't seem to be until next summer. Assuming I stay on tour with Blue Man Group.

At the final show on Saturday, they had a quick meeting to announce the confirmed plans for the coming year. If there's one thing that the Blue Man tour is good for, is a rumour mill. Rumblings of where we were going and what we were doing for 2008 were passed around. But to confirm, here's the big plans...

Final U.S. leg - January - April
France - (10 shows in Paris and then a bunch of shows around France) - May - start of June
55% confirmed - South Korea June- start of July, 10 shows in Seoul and then a bunch of shows in smaller cities.
July, August, start of September off (So Blue Man can come up with a new show).
End of September - Eastern Canada (See you in Ottawa, Steph).

That's as much as was confirmed. Of course the mill started turning out rumours of Australia after Canada, but those are still rumours.

It's strange for me to have my future planned out, if I want it. Part of me likes the idea of seeing work in my future. But the designer in me, hates the fact that I'm just a trained monkey pushing buttons.

As you can see, anyone can do my gig.

It would be nice to take Nicole to Paris for two weeks on someone else's dime. Well, I'd still have to buy her flight, but that's nothing considering the hotel will be paid for. I should ask her, but I don't think Nicole has any desire to go to South Korea. Japan on the other hand...

Well enough for now. Must go wear the dog out so he can sleep while Nicole and I ride the Indian Jones ride...

Hopefully, I'll have pictures from todays Disney adventure...

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Oh, The Things You Learn...

Yesterday was a bust at any attempt to do something resembling exercise. First, the sporting clays course we were planning on shooting didn't answer their phone, so there was no point in us making a 2 hour drive. Second, I went out to the bus to get my bike and go for a ride, only to find the bus had left. I'm assuming he went for a repair, or to wash the bus. Either way, by the time he came back it was too late.

I was, however, able to get my Xbox off the bus and let my brain melt in my hotel room. There was an HD TV in the living room section of the hotel. It's pretty amazing the difference in picture quality when you have something that is also HD (the Xbox 360).

For anyone planning a trip, you should look into Embassy Suites as a possible hotel. The rooms are often spacious, with a separate living area to the bed room. Which is great for letting your suitcase explode and dump all it's contents everywhere. I call it "organizing". Also, the Embassy Suites includes breakfast and a cocktail hour in the evenings. And it's not your coffee and donuts kind of breakfast. They actually had an omelet station. And the cocktail hour isn't just wine (I don't think). Of course the only trick is to be in the hotel when both are offered. I wasn't awake yesterday morning for breakfast (ended at 9:30AM), nor I was I awake for the cocktail hours (5:00PM to 7:30PM), I was napping.

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Today we are in the arena on the campus of Texas Tech University. I've never been here before, first time in the building. But I'm not unfamiliar with their sports teams. I knew of their womens volleyball team through matches against the University of Hawai'i. I've heard about the football team, and the mens basketball team is famous for their coach, Bobby Knight. Even those who don't follow basketball (like myself) know of Bobby Knight and his on court antics. Chair throwing and unapologetic attitude makes for good TV and a well known reputation.

But until you get into the buildings these teams occupy, you don't really know the storied pasts. The rafters here support banners with the team achievements dating back to the 50's. This building wasn't here then, but the history of this place was.

We can mark points in history by many things, including sports. We all remember where we were on the morning of 9-11, and many people remember where they were the day the U.S. Hockey Team beat the Soviet Union during the 1980 Winter Olympics.

I will remember 2007 as the year my first nephew was born. I will remember 2007 as the year the University of Hawai'i football team achieved their greatest season to date.

2007, though not over, has been a good year thus far. We'll see what memories lie in it's final 25 days.

The End is Near.

Changed my header picture. I've been on a hunt to find the perfect Snoopy plush doll, like the one I had as a kid, when I stumbled on this picture. It's of the mural painted in the entrance hall for the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa. One day, I'll go there.

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A quick note in answer to the comment Jade left yesterday about my Alamo blog. If I was to find a ride around the Alamo, it would have only been 2 blocks long. That's because the Alamo is right in the middle of downtown, next to the hotel and the Riverwalk. I should have no excuse for why I have never been in. Or, I could blame Pee Wee Herman who went there looking for the basement (in the movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure") only to discover there is no basement in the Alamo. Why would I want to go to a place that has no basement?

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4 more shows. I think today is the final insult for this tour. We're in Amarillo Texas today. Talk about saturating the market, we were just here with this same show back in February. That might explain why we've only sold in the neighborhood of 800 tickets today. It's also the final insult because:

A) We had to drive almost 600 miles to get here, so we had to start load in later than usual (about an hour)

B) This is a very old building, not designed for shows. There is no rigging, well there's two beams to hang everything from. The last time we were here, we had to do a pre-rig, meaning, we came in the day before and got a head start.

C) All the stagehands (not the riggers) are from "Labor Ready". That translates into a long day because these day laborers have no idea which is "stage right" and which is "stage left". And forget about trying to describe dimmer beach.

and D) We've only sold 800 or so tickets. You'd almost want to just cancel the show and take the loss. The brain believes it costs us more on a daily basis to put this show up and take it down. But I was told that even if we aren't selling like we should, the losses felt here can be made up over the week at another show. Or something like that.

At least tomorrow is a day off... In Lubbock, TX. Never been there, but we're already planning our escape. There's a sporting clays course about two hours away...

I Cannot Recall the Alamo, Sir.

I remember my first day off in San Antonio. It was in 1996, I was on tour with Santana. I can't recall the name of the hotel we stayed in, but it was right on the Riverwalk. You'd take the elevator to the basement and there was a door right out onto it.

For those of you who have never been to San Antonio, the Riverwalk is quite nice. It's a meandering path that goes along a river (man made) through the better part of the downtown area. It's lined with restaurants sporting lots of outdoor seating, some boutique shops and lots of waterfalls/fountains. In 1996, I found this place quite charming. Since then, every time I came back to San Antonio, I'd go to the Riverwalk and sit at a different restaurant and have lunch.

This time, however, was different. I did not find the Riverwalk charming at all, I walked to it from our hotel only to find it jam packed with people and every restaurant full. Foot traffic was at a snails pace. The path is only about 6 feet wide, so people all have to walk single file or risk falling into the river. It was noisy, and smelly. It felt like a confined Bourbon Street in New Orleans, just with kids and a river. I wanted out. So the first stairwell back to the streets I could find, I took it and headed back to the hotel. I was still hungry so I stopped at Fuddruckers (Which I forgot to mention on my top 10 burger list - Honorable Mention for good buns), and had a burger. Then back to my hotel room to watch re-runs of Law and Order.

I don't know what it was that turned me off to the Riverwalk. I don't think I'd ever seen it that crowded before. Perhaps because it was a Sunday, or the fact that there was an important college football game in San Antonio the day before. Maybe I'm just getting old and don't much care for crowds of people. And I especially have no tolerance for waiting to eat. At least at Fuddruckers, I could order a burger and get it almost immediately.

To add to the day off fun, we had our end of tour party last night. The booze was paid for, so I had a few gin and tonics, before escaping for dinner with the boys and then back to the hotel room. I'm an old man.

It should also be noted, that I've never been to the Alamo. I've been to San Antonio more times that I can remember, and I still have never been to the Alamo. Does that make me unpatriotic?

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