On location from sunny California...

Well I finally made it.  Just a quick tip for anyone traveling to the U.S., you really do need to be at the airport 2 hours before departure.  I only gave myself an hour and a half and ended up being plucked out of the security lineup to go through customs, it was the final boarding call for my flight.  No duty free, crap.

One thing I didn't miss about CA was the traffic, it's rush hour 24/7.  It rained all day on Saturday, which is unusual for this time of year, but it gave us an excuse to go shopping.  I have a thing about shoes, so the first stop was Nordstrom Rack and I didn't leave empty handed, a good start.  We dropped into a liquor store called "Bevmo", where they hold wine tasting on the weekend.  We sampled six different wines for $2.00 along with some cheese, crackers and olives.  I picked up a couple of bottles of California wine to take home, some great deals to be had, I chose a Hidden Cellars Petite Sirah at $16.00 and got the second bottle for 5 cents.  I kid you not. 

And check out this pic of a daily visitor to my sister's house, it ain't no sparrow!  He's been dropping by for a few years now.

Peter the peacock

We spent the balance of the afternoon sipping Sangria and watching the latest Disney movie Up!  Highly recommended, Moey gives it a big two thumbs up, it's suitable for all ages. My sister and I are both foodies, so last night we feasted on cream of shrimp bisque and for the main course, shrimp and smoked mushroom quesadillas.  Delicious.  Oh, and we managed to catch the Habs/Kings game on TV.  The boys played a pretty good game last night, I was waiting for them to blow their lead in the third, but they managed an insurance goal and got the two points.

It's lovely and sunny out as I write this, we're off to Laguna Beach for a late lunch this afternoon, and then on to Anaheim and my beloved Captain Koivu.  I also will be meeting up with a fellow commenter from the Four Habs Fans site, it's a small world eh?

Pics and recap of the game will be posted tomorrow morning, along with a restaurant review.

On location from sunny California...

Well I finally made it.  Just a quick tip for anyone traveling to the U.S., you really do need to be at the airport 2 hours before departure.  I only gave myself an hour and a half and ended up being plucked out of the security lineup to go through customs, it was the final boarding call for my flight.  No duty free, crap.

One thing I didn't miss about CA was the traffic, it's rush hour 24/7.  It rained all day on Saturday, which is unusual for this time of year, but it gave us an excuse to go shopping.  I have a thing about shoes, so the first stop was Nordstrom Rack and I didn't leave empty handed, a good start.  We dropped into a liquor store called "Bevmo", where they hold wine tasting on the weekend.  We sampled six different wines for $2.00 along with some cheese, crackers and olives.  I picked up a couple of bottles of California wine to take home, some great deals to be had, I chose a Hidden Cellars Petite Sirah at $16.00 and got the second bottle for 5 cents.  I kid you not. 

And check out this pic of a daily visitor to my sister's house, it ain't no sparrow!  He's been dropping by for a few years now.

Peter the peacock

We spent the balance of the afternoon sipping Sangria and watching the latest Disney movie Up!  Highly recommended, Moey gives it a big two thumbs up, it's suitable for all ages. My sister and I are both foodies, so last night we feasted on cream of shrimp bisque and for the main course, shrimp and smoked mushroom quesadillas.  Delicious.  Oh, and we managed to catch the Habs/Kings game on TV.  The boys played a pretty good game last night, I was waiting for them to blow their lead in the third, but they managed an insurance goal and got the two points.

It's lovely and sunny out as I write this, we're off to Laguna Beach for a late lunch this afternoon, and then on to Anaheim and my beloved Captain Koivu.  I also will be meeting up with a fellow commenter from the Four Habs Fans site, it's a small world eh?

Pics and recap of the game will be posted tomorrow morning, along with a restaurant review.

Shark bait?

I hope not.  Historically, the California road trip hasn't been a huge success for our boys.  Perhaps with the presence of "moi" maybe the Hab's fortunes will take a turn for the better this time around.  If that's the case, I'll have to make it an annual event.  It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Yesterday on the Four Habs Fans site, somehow the discussion turned to Tweetie Bird and Sylvester.  Warner Brothers had some great cartoon characters, probably two of the most popular were Wiley E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, or  a.k.a Crosby versus Ovechkin.  Bear with me here, but doesn't it always seem that whenever there's a much hyped clash of the titans match between the two, Ovie goes down in flames, while Sid comes out on top smelling like a rose.  Just think about last year's playoff run between the Caps and Pens.  The Pens destroyed them in game seven, and most recently, Russia versus Canada in the Olympics.  It's quite amusing if you really think about it, the hockey gods love Sid, he was born with a silver puck in his mouth.  I'm sure when Sid scored that winning goal in overtime, Ovie was busy making phone calls to ACME.

Off to finish the packing, my Koivu Duck's jersey was the first thing that went in.  Enjoy the weekend, I know I will!

Shark bait?

I hope not.  Historically, the California road trip hasn't been a huge success for our boys.  Perhaps with the presence of "moi" maybe the Hab's fortunes will take a turn for the better this time around.  If that's the case, I'll have to make it an annual event.  It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Yesterday on the Four Habs Fans site, somehow the discussion turned to Tweetie Bird and Sylvester.  Warner Brothers had some great cartoon characters, probably two of the most popular were Wiley E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, or  a.k.a Crosby versus Ovechkin.  Bear with me here, but doesn't it always seem that whenever there's a much hyped clash of the titans match between the two, Ovie goes down in flames, while Sid comes out on top smelling like a rose.  Just think about last year's playoff run between the Caps and Pens.  The Pens destroyed them in game seven, and most recently, Russia versus Canada in the Olympics.  It's quite amusing if you really think about it, the hockey gods love Sid, he was born with a silver puck in his mouth.  I'm sure when Sid scored that winning goal in overtime, Ovie was busy making phone calls to ACME.

Off to finish the packing, my Koivu Duck's jersey was the first thing that went in.  Enjoy the weekend, I know I will!

Desperately Seeking Sunshine........

This is by far my least favorite time of year.  Christmas is over, three long months of winter to get through before hearing the sweet sound of birds merrily chirping, a sound that I love because it's a sure sign that spring is in the air.  It's been a very gloomy and damp couple of weeks, not overly cold, but just grey and bleak.  The Habs dismal performance over the weekend did little to lighten my mood.  It's time for a pick me up.  A big dose of good old vitamin C, not out of a bottle or a juice container, but the real deal.  So I'm off for a long weekend in March to la la land (California).  It's been four years since I've been, I need my fix.  Sunshine, warm weather, the beach, my favorite restaurant and outlet shopping. Heaven.  And an afternoon  visit to the Honda Center to see my beloved hockey team suck in the flesh.  If you happen to tune in to watch the Habs play the Ducks on March 7th, keep an eye out for the nut in the Duck's Koivu jersey cheering the Habs. That lightly tanned, well fed nut with a smoking hot credit card would be me.  Am I there yet?

Desperately Seeking Sunshine........

This is by far my least favorite time of year.  Christmas is over, three long months of winter to get through before hearing the sweet sound of birds merrily chirping, a sound that I love because it's a sure sign that spring is in the air.  It's been a very gloomy and damp couple of weeks, not overly cold, but just grey and bleak.  The Habs dismal performance over the weekend did little to lighten my mood.  It's time for a pick me up.  A big dose of good old vitamin C, not out of a bottle or a juice container, but the real deal.  So I'm off for a long weekend in March to la la land (California).  It's been four years since I've been, I need my fix.  Sunshine, warm weather, the beach, my favorite restaurant and outlet shopping. Heaven.  And an afternoon  visit to the Honda Center to see my beloved hockey team suck in the flesh.  If you happen to tune in to watch the Habs play the Ducks on March 7th, keep an eye out for the nut in the Duck's Koivu jersey cheering the Habs. That lightly tanned, well fed nut with a smoking hot credit card would be me.  Am I there yet?