The Roaming Wagon

Any guesses where (or what) this is?

The winner of this contest is only entitled to the singular joy of making me mildly impressed. 
Best of luck! 

Verterans Day in Santa Monica

Not only was I not expecting to see this on the beach, but the homeless guy who insisted on arguing with the memorial's organizers over the actual number of dead veterans was too good not to watch. 

(actually, I found the number of homeless people sleeping on the beach shocking)

A Better Car Tale

In my continuing quest to be associated with all things having to do with car collecting I hauled a Jaguar XK120M up to a specialist in Blackfoot, Idaho of all places.

This place is actually located 15 miles or more outside of Blackfoot. It sits out in the middle of a field and as near as I can tell it used to be one of those ill conceived, self built hillbilly mansions. The interior is now gutted and contains all the trappings of proper garage. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but outside there were, literally, 50 cats or more. You may, in fact, have called it a heard. The man and his crew are geniuses though  and I can't wait to see what they do with it.

On a side note, the iPhone failed me on this trip. I had it look up the most direct route from Ely to Blackfoot and it led on a winding and tortuous route down supposed highways that turned out to be barely paved. Have you ever wondered what is hanging out in the Northwest corner of Utah? Well I now know.

FYI: TV is NOT Real

A month ago or more I put up a 1980 Volkswagen Caddy (Rabbit Pick-up) for sale on the inter-web. I got a quick response from an estate buyer in Southern California. I mentioned that the person I was selling this truck for also had a significant stockpile of vintage car parts. The guy got excited and we set up a day for him to come up and get the truck and then go picking in the warehouse. In my mind this was going to go just like the History Channel show "American Pickers", i.e. this guy would come up and be excited and load up his truck with a bunch of stuff and I would be left with a big stash of cash and it would all be done in about 45 minuets (not counting commercial breaks). Well, the guy was tired and a little cranky due to the fact that he spent all night on the road and my time estimation was way off. He spent ALL DAY pawing through stuff. He did load up his truck with a bunch of junk and he did leave me a big stash of cash, it just took forever and wasn't nearly excited as I had imagined.

Live and learn I guess.

Nevada Day (orthodox)

As many of you may (or may not) know, as of 1998 Nevada Day has been officially celebrated on the last Friday of October. However, today is the actual Nevada Day. Enjoy!

State Motto: All for our country

State Locomotive: NNRy Locomotive #40

Nevada State Tartan: Yes, we have one of those

Things I have a Severe Soft Spot for

This is by no means a comprehensive list. I just need to air some of these. I wish that I had at least one good reason for liking any of these items as much as I do, but I don't. Don't judge me:

Gas Station hot Dogs-

The longer that a hot dog has been on one of these roller grills the better it is. I don't go for any of the other stuff, like the jalapeno cheddar dog or bahama mamas. Just the good old beef dog that has been quietly waiting for me all day. Mmmmmmm

Mariachi Bands-



Yes people, that just happened. I'll pause while you regain your composure. ----------------  I don't care what they're playing or where I find them, but a live mariachi band is something not to be missed. (stay tuned for the report on the planned trip to Baha)


Station Wagons-

I have no idea why I love these. Some of you might find this soft spot particularly odd as you know me to purchase and drive Volkswagens almost exclusively. Once again, I can't explain it, it just is like the phases of the moon and the changing of the tide. My parents recently bought one of these:

I love it. Granted, as cars go this one has some glaring deficiencies. The interior rattles, the finishes feel cheap, the seats are insufferable, and did I mention I love it.  L-O-V-E   I-T!

Really Odd Music Videos-

Is it black and white? -Check
Does it have two hags of questionable gender cackling and rolling tires down the road? -Check
Mariachi Band? -Double Check

I can't resist, just one more-

Poached Pears as Dessert Guests

(Please Note: I am a terrible food pornographer.) 

Perhaps it was the bag of pears I insisted on picking at the church ranch; perhaps it was the concussion that I inflicted upon myself while I was folding laundry; most likely it was the suggestion of a fellow foodie that drove me to try and poach pears.

It took a good half hour of haggling over which pears were in the sufficient state of ripeness, not to mention a good hour the night before at the grocery story trying to procure the correct spices. The spices in which the pears were poached smelled fantastic. The chocolate sauce made with baker's chocolate, cream, and a little honey was,... well I won't cheapen chocolate with poorly chosen adjectives. In the end, while it looks decadent, I ended up with a pear in my ice cream and chocolate sauce. It wasn't bad, but it didn't thrill me. I'm willing to try again so I if anyone has a great recipe for poached pears please share.