California, at it again...

It seems California has forgotten that it has the second highest unemployment rate in the nation at 12.3%.  Being beat out only by my former state of Michigan which is at 13%.  Not only is the state of excess in excessive debt, but they now seek to rape their state residents of their hard earned (or unemployment earned) cash.  I know I can be dutch sometimes (actually, I'm always Dutch, but sometimes I'm "dutch" too; fortunately, Matt is of the same school of thought). 

Matt and I thought we'd go explore nature and ride mountain bikes down near the beach yesterday.  I think it cost us more to go places around Orange County, than it did to drive down there in fuel.  Did you know Toll Roads in Illinois cost anywhere between 30 cents and $2 at each toll booth (and $2 is unusual)?  Well, you're lucky if you pay $2 in California.  I thought the point of toll roads was to get people to use them and to help pay for the upkeep?!  Well, these roads are practically empty.  Why you ask?  Because most can't afford to take them.  The road to Laguna was backed up for miles, so we sought an alternative route.  Word to the wise: AVOID the 73.  Sure there was no one else on it, but it cost us $4.50 to go 1 mile.  Yes, 1 MILE!  And this was only one of the toll fees we paid.

Then we thought we'd hit a State Park.  Well, it now costs $15 to get into a State Park, whether this is for 2 hours or the whole day.  If you want an annual pass, it's $125.  Oh, and there are some state parks and state beaches that won't accept your $125 annual pass.  NO state is this much.  Tennessee and Missouri are free.  In Washington state, you can get in for a day for $5-7, or $70 annual.  Moab State Park in Utah, is a mere $7.  Have you ever been to Moab?  It's pretty sweet.  In Michigan, you can get an annual pass for 10 bucks if you're a resident (and $24 if you're out of state).  Montana State Parks cost $4 to get into daily.  And, to top it off, a National Parks Annual Pass is $80.  Well California, you can keep your annual pass.  All of these other places are so much cooler.  And as far as riding mountain bike in the State Park?  We went up the hill and parked at the city park for free, and rode our bikes straight into Crystal Cove State Park without paying a cent....

My Handyman

I've found a wonderful handyman,
What a lucky girl I am.

So much he can do,
And this is just some of it too:

A rat ran down the chimney;
Up the roof my man shimmied.

The racoons in the cellar;

He stopped the little fellers.

The kitchen sink got leaky;
Under the sink he fixed it neatly.

My new mailbox looks the best;
It put his cement-work to the test.

Dug, planted and watered my new avocado tree,
And all of this just for me!










How to open windows that high?
He's got a great creative eye.

Sprinkers, garage lights that fall,
He's a master of it all.

I love my MF.  Thank you, baby.

Going Postal (or not): Part 3

This is what my mail looks like lately. Do you see anything useful in here? I don't. More often than not, I walk directly to my recycle bin and dump most or all of it. I think the USPS is killing more trees than it is actually delivering mail. The famous inscription on the James A. Farley building, which is the main post office in New York City, says: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Well, I'm afraid that prediction was a little premature; it's hard to complete rounds when there's nothing to complete. Apparently the US Post Office is a dying breed. They're losing more money than they're making: hence yet another increase in your postage stamp (the latest featuring Bart Simpson; boy, isn't our Federal Government displaying the intelligent side of our country). Don't get me wrong, it's nice to receive that personal letter or card in the mail (my mom is the only one who sends me these), but inspite of good intentions, I never use snail mail unless I have too. Yet another way our hard-earned tax dollars go down the toilet: delivering junk mail by the billions of dollars.

Watch out for the Pothole!

Redlands is known as the "Jewel of the Inland Empire." At one point, the Santa Fe Railroad even led an excursion train in a loop through the Redlands orange groves, Mentone, and over the Santa Ana River. What I don't get is why this "Jewel" has the absolute worst roads in the Inland Empire. Go anywhere else: Riverside, San Bernardino, Rialto, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, even Fontana, and you'll find nicely resurfaced roads and constant upkeep. I think they resurfaced the roads 3 times during my years in Grand Terrace. Not so in Redlands, They fill the potholes, only to have them reappear 6 months later. The roads are cracked and rutted. All of this is especially noticable riding a little more in tune with the ground while on a road bike. My backside does not need a massage from rough road vibration, thank you very much. Maybe the City Council is trying to let Redlands get back to it's roots, and let the paved roads go back to dirt roads.  Except for this past week where they've decided to grate down and resurface roads that were actually decent. Don't get me wrong... I love living in Redlands. It is a beautiful city, with that down home comfortable feel. Beautiful and refreshing in a land of concrete and traffic. But let's get with the program people! I know I pay plenty of property taxes...

Uno

It's been 1 year. 1 year since my man wouldn't take no for an answer. Boy, am I glad he didn't! Our first "date" was Ride Around The Bear. Matt twisted my arm into riding it with him. He told me that he would come to my wine party that same night if I did the ride with him. I'm not sure it was a very fair trade off. 95 miles and more than 8000 feet of climbing. Or wine and gourmet food. Hummm... Dehydration and calorie deficit after riding that much made the wine tasting even more interesting. Well, it all has sure made for good memories and a fantastic year to follow. Today we rode to that same 8,443 foot peak, only from the opposite direction. And there's more memories to be made. It's good to be happy.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Go Reef

The summer heat has arrived and out come the flip flops.  I LOVE flip flops.  And in particular Reefs are the best.  I have 6 pairs of Reefs alone, and my oldest pair are 10 years old, well used, and still in good shape.  Reefs have taken me to Africa and Europe and beyond (Canada), and my feet are always happy.  Non-Reef flip flops are not recommended; those I have are much less used and much less durable than the Reefs.  Here are my very dirty feet at a mountain bike race last weekend.  Note to self: hiking around a mountain bike venue in flip flops was maybe not the best idea, but it worked...

Disclaimer:  I have no financial affiliation with the Reef Company, except for the money I have paid them to enjoy a little bit of their heaven....

Going Postal: Part 2

Speaking of going postal. The infamous ex-US Postal Cycling Team member Floyd Landis, seems to be digging himself a bigger hole. Not quite sure why it would seem like a good idea to admit to doping after you've sworn up and down for the last 4 years that you're innocent. Not only that, but that you doped, but 'I swear to God' not for the Tour de France. Yeah, we believe that... right. Oh, and don't forget everyone else was doing it too. A little desperate, don't you think? I believed with the best of them that he was innocent, but it's a little disheartening to find out that he lies like the best of them. But there seems to be a lot of that lately. It is a little hard to believe that people get bigger, stronger and faster than the last big, strong, fast guy without a little help; or even that they can compete with the newest biggest, strongest and fastest when you are well past your prime. Yet, I still have a little thread of sympathy for Floyd. I tend to believe in the inherent goodness of humanity (except when it slaps you in the face over and over as being otherwise). Maybe there is something purifying in coming clean. Who hasn't made mistakes? Well, now that you've hit bottom Floyd, the only way to go is up (unless you want to keep scraping the bottom, that is).

Stripped down to his skivies