2011 Orange County Fair, a brief visit

We are having our kitchen renovated so for the last three days we have been eating out or bringing in take out food. I did not realize how important a kitchen is until ours is temporarily out of commission LOL.  For a change,  I thought it will be good idea to go to the OC Fair and try their food since this year's theme is Let's Eat. It was a disappointment: the food is so-so and costs a lot more than comparable food outside but what the heck, this is at the fair.                                   

It is OK to stroll inside the fair and drink your beer or wine as long as you are of legal drinking age.

                                     

Inside the Ice Museum

                                    

When the Young Ones Go Cruising

My college age niece and nephews from Northern California decided to reward themselves with a 4-day cruise to Catalina and Ensenada after the school year ended successfully for them (meaning no "D" and "F" LOL). Except for the youngest, they all live away from their respective homes to shorten the commuting distance to their schools and places of work. They all work and study hard, unfortunately, they also party as hard, if not harder. The young ones really know how to have fun.

At the completion of their cruise, some of them stopped by my place before driving back home. They told me I missed out on all the fun. I think I did. But then, I feel I'm too old for their kind of fun and I will just be acting like the Papa Killjoy that I am.

Here are some of the pics they took which they generously shared with me.



                                     

Most of them are first time cruisers. You can see from the face of this guy how surprised and excited he was to find out that this is their boat.

Long Beach

Catalina Island

Some of them decided to explore Avalon with rental bikes. I bet they did not cover much ground, they probably decided to hang out at the beach instead.

A section of the beach at Avalon, Catalina Island

This pic was taken at one of the watering holes in Ensenada. The girl in black is my niece and the others are girlfriends of my nephews.

That's one of my nephews getting a lesson in unconventional beer drinking.

I do not know the girl lying on the bar but I know she was not yet drunk, otherwise she would be down on the floor instead LOL.

Get off the pole guys, that's for the bikini dancer!

That's my Irish sister-in-law probably wondering where the boys are. I'm glad that there were elders with these guys to keep them in check....to a certain degree.

I asked them how much they lost at the casino. They said they won. Yeah, right!

Most of these guys are first time cruisers. I'm sure they'll be cruising again, hopefully in celebration of a graduation next time.

If it is any consolation, you know that they will just walk back to their staterooms instead of driving their cars to get home.

Relax! They are just babies.

We've been on this short cruise a couple of times before. It is a cheap and fun way to spend four days away from home. I would have joined them but my wife and I are already booked to go to eastern Mediterranean this August.

See you next cruise! I'll be there for sure if I can take the pole dancer home.

My neighborhood park

 I feel lucky that I live in a residential area that is only a 5 minute walk to a four-mile square county park. When I am not traveling, I usually go to the park to take my daily two hour walk. At a moderate walking pace of 19 minutes per mile, give or take half a minute, I easily cover 6 miles a day. The only thing is....it is all level ground. I used to do my walk/hike at national parks where the change in elevation is enough to wear me down if I do not take long breaks. Nowadays, especially with the ever rising cost of gas, I don't feel like driving an hour or two just to do my daily walk, besides I am getting too old for those strenuous hikes.

A few months ago, the local park authority added a series of exercise stations along a section of the 3 mile walking trail inside the park. I decided to give it a try. I've been on it for a month and a half now but my progress is disappointingly slow. The course is not as tough as in some of the other parks in the county that I have visited but it is a decent start for a physically inactive oldie like me LOL.

I find this hard to execute.

A month and a half and I still can't pull my body up to chin level! I need to lose some weight!

I can do 30 push ups at the lowest bar setting.

No way Jose, I can't walk with my arms to the end and back!

Maybe I should just take a vacation to Libya and join the rebels so I can do my run and duck exercise LOL.

Better still, I'll just strengthen my arms by casting a heavy rod during the day and lifting mugs of beer at night LOL. Have a nice weekend or what remains of it!



Day 6-8, Cozumel, At Sea and Home

More pics of the cruise ship, the happenings within and the departure for home...and if you say, "It's about time you end this @#*&@"% series, I'm with you LOL.

 

After sailing overnight, we arrived at Cozumel with other cruise ships with the same idea.

These phone booths are fast becoming an extinct specie in the light of cell phones and such.

I wanted to take this pic to show to my sister, who is partially dependent on a wheelchair, that cruising is something she could  do and enjoy, among other things. All cruise ships are handicapped-friendly and at their ports of call, there are means for them to go where they want to, either assisted or on their own.

                                    

One of the friendly Pinoy bartenders who made sure that I didn't get thirsty LOL. Thanks for taking care of a kababayan.

I don't know why I took this pic but it looked good when I saw it.

The place where I left some of the extra weight in my wallet.

A parting shot when I was leaving the ship's casino to call it a night.

A feeble attempt to take a night shot with a cheapy point and shoot.

A Starbucks inside a cruise ship! Give me a break!!

At the Boardwalk

The 2nd parade on the ship. We made sure we had a good spot this time.

There she is!!

                                    

I am beginning to associate the sight of airports with the inconvenience and invasive nature of security inspections - carry-on x-ray, body scan, pat down and God knows what they will think of next. Is it really worth it?