Category Archives: Blogs

Yosemite, Spring 2006

Well I’m back from my family’s annual spring trip to Yosemite Valley. I spent three nights in Upper Pines with mom and dad, my sister Becky and her kids, and all the dogs.

For the first time ever we made the trip in May. Usually we make it around Easter, because that’s when my parents (both teachers, retired now) had the time off.

The problem though, is that trout season doesn’t start until the last Saturday in April. So I was all set this year to do some fishing. So I get up there and the water is higher and faster than I’ve ever seen it in my life. Some parts of the valley were flooded out. It was awe inspiring. But unfortunately this made fishing impossible.

So I spent a very relaxing three nights roasting marshmellows by the fire and going for walks. No pictures this time. Honestly, how many times can I take pictures of the same !@#$ing things I’ve seen every year, several times a year, all of my life?

All that said, it’s still good to be home.

The First Annual Reno Golf Getaway

Last week I spent three days in Reno for our first annual Reno golf getaway. We played three different courses: D’Andrea, Red Hawk, and Lakeridge–and stayed at the Silver Legacy hotel on Wednesday and Thursday night.

What a week. I slept less than 3 hours each night and was drunk every day. And amazingly, each day of golf I played progressively worse.

Dave and I stayed out half the night, each night, playing craps. I managed to break even for the week–so I’m happy with that. But Dave… didn’t do so good.

Wednesday night we’re at the craps table and Dave is fucking fucked up. Hammered. Really, really drunk. He’s betting $50 on the hardways but the damn guy keeps hitting ’em. When he wins he slings $5 chips at each dealer at the table, and gives two to the pitboss because “he’s wearing a suit”.

This goes on for awhile until Dave has over $1,000 in chips in his pocket, plus more on the table. Holy crap. Don’t lose it all, Dave!

So I turn to him and say, “Dude. Let’s be smart. Let’s cash out that grand, take it up to the room and stash it. Then we can come back and gamble with what you’ve got left.”

Dave is drunk and not listening to me. He loses big a few more times, but still has that grand in his pocket. I suggest we cash out a few more times and Dave finally caves in. So we start off for the cashier.

I turn my back for ONE second and Dave is gone.

I figure maybe there is another cashier and he was headed that way, so I wander the floor looking. Can’t find him.

So I think, “Well maybe he’s already up at the room.”

I head up to the room. No Dave. I throw in a dip and crack open a beer. I wait. No Dave.

Finally I call him on the cell.

“Dave. Dude. Where the fuck are you? I’m up at the room having a dip and a beer. Where have you been?”

Silence. After a long pause…

“IT’S ALL GONE DUDE. I LOST IT ALL.”

Dave, you fucking jackass.
When I turned my back he went right back to the craps table. This time he bet $100 and $200 on the hardways, and lost it all in a matter of minutes.

I sleep for a couple hours and then it’s time for day two of golf.

Red Hawk golf course sucked. The people were not very friendly or accommidating. We were an hour late teeing off due to bad scheduling and the backup.

Drinks were extremely expensive. We all had doubles every time the beer cart girl came around, and tipped her so good every time she ignored the rest of the course and its players, and just followed us around.

Red Hawk the course was just punishing. Brutal, even. Every fucking shot was in the sand trap. Bunkers were everywhere, strategically placed so that every shot was almost guaranteed to go in. I was pissed. I shot somewhere around 110.

Night two at the casino and Dave is up $1,000 at craps. Think he lost it all again?

Day three of golf at the most beautiful, nicest course I’ve played in a long time. Lakeridge golf course is an old course with mature landscaping and beautiful scenery. We smoked cigars and basked in the sun and had an enjoyable round. I played the worst of the three days of golf, and ended up with a 120 something. But I didn’t care. It was one of those days where nothing could bother me, and it just felt damn good to be alive.

So after Three nights of 2-3 hours of sleep and three days of booze I’m ready to come home. I finally walk in the door at 10pm on Friday night, and sleep until noon the next day.

Click here to see the pics.

Camanche, redux

Friday night I drove out to Dave’s again.  His wife was still in Hawaii and wasn’t coming home until Saturday night.  So, the boys had one last day of freedom.

We stayed up until 2am or so drinking beer and watching Howard Stern On Demand on Comcast cable.  I can’t say that i’ve been a Stern fan in the last 10 years or so–all the commercials on terrestrial radio really turned me off.  However, since he’s made the switch to satellite I must say that he’s the best he’s ever been.  I don’t think I’d spend the cash on a Sirius receiver and subscription…  but, there are other ways of getting the show…

Saturday morning we drove out to Lake Camanche again.  This is a beautiful time of year at that lake.  The days are warm, but not yet scalding hot.  In mid-summer it’s well over 100 degrees every day.  Saturday it got up to the low 80s.  After the morning fog burned off it turned into a breezy, cloudless day.

Once again, we could see the bass in the backbays and shallows.  The water temperature was in the low 70s and it was sooo clear.  In places where our sonar read 20 feet deep we could see the bottom.  So we could see the fish swimming around the boat.  However, getting them to bite was another story.

I managed to catch a nice bass on a red and black speckeled Gulp! plastic worm.  No weights, just dead-stickin’ it.  Every once in awhile I’d twitch it, mocking a dying or injured baitfish.  The bass hit it pretty hard and gave a good fight.  It was probably 2 or 3 pounds.  Not my biggest, but still fun to catch.

We packed up and left around 6pm.  I was worried about traffic in Stockton, until Dave reminded me it was Saturday.  I never know what day it is any more.

Have you ever seen those little taco trucks on the sides of roads and on street corners?  Dave stopped at one just outside of Stockton.  Let me just say–it was boomin’.  Delicious.  Awesome.  I had those little tacos on those little corn tortillas with lots of pickled radishes and carrots.  Al pastor.  The best.

Finally back at Dave’s house we spent 15 minutes or so cleaning up the boat and putting her away.  I love that thing.  Last summer we had a blast–sometimes fishing 3 or 4 times a week.  With summer right around the corner those days will soon be returning.

I can’t wait.