Here and There Blog

Well, who knew? Dmitri Mendeleyev of Russia wrote down and set in place in 1869 what would haunt me more than 100 years later. Dmitri has a statue here in St. Petersburg. I only saw a photo op of statue with snow and I ran off to snap the picture. Upon returning to my group, I asked, so who is that statue? They pointed to the big wall on the side (previously un-noticed by me) and replied "that guy, who did the table." Sure enough, to the right was a big, giant periodic table. But before I could do anymore, our hitch-hike luck had worked and a car was ready to take us to the next work stop.

Baltica 7 really isn't a good beer. More along the lines of standard Central and South American stuff but it's local and I had to have the photo. I didn't even drink in the bar but preferred the warmth of my hotel room. Tonight I'm so tired from lack of sleep that no beer will be needed at all.

The upside of Russia in the winter is the lack of tourists and hawkers. No one to fight to get to the statue, no one waving stuff in your face. Well, a little bit of the latter but still, I was able to walk up to Catherine's statue with no hassle as the snow continues to gather about the square.  This is the thick, fluffy, stuff. It comes down in the nice big flakes and without wind the cold is survivable when you are wearing the many, many, layers of jackets and hats that I had on. Saw a few women looking stylish in short skirts, stockings, and boots. Anything for fashion! 

Woke up to snow. Brrrr!!!!  That's not fog on the window but fresh snow and the stuff is still falling. That's St. Issac's Cathedral on the left.

Dining in Istanbul is a treat, especially when with friends. We had dinner at Poseidon, a seafood restaurant where the fresh catches are on display as you walk in.  This was the most fun looking fish but the one I ate (or it's fish brother) is on the far left.  Not so much a sardine fan but the jumbo shrimp were looking good.  I have no idea what the big fish are along the wall but I'm told this is not the season to eat them.  These are some big fish!

Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Beirut. All places I like preferably when it's warm. But business goes on even in the winter so off I go again today. My flight should have left 10 minutes ago but in the wondrous world I live in, the plane broke down and all connections were going to be missed. I'm now rerouted to a later flight to Frankfurt, the airport that just dealt with a two day strike. Russian winter - today the high is 34F and snow. What an improvement from a week ago when the high was 3F. Good thing since I've forgotten my brand new cold weather jacket twice this week with yesterday watching it drive away in another car and me back to REI to buy one again. Pictures later this week. The next 48 hours will be the world of airports/flights/customs.

I had a 6:30 am flight out of San Diego recently and after clearing security I plopped myself down at 5:30 am at the gate to wait. I kept hearing a bird and was looking up in the vents, at the windows, and could not figure out where the chirping was coming from. Then I looked at eye level at the across from me and this little guy looked as sleepy as all the travelers. I think the chirps were more of a half hearted effort to greet the day but like me, all he really wanted was more sleep!

Sometimes it's okay to go where the tourists go. When you want a filling breakfast but not a buffet and it's a sunny day, then Old Town San Diego has plenty of choices. Of course parking is not fun and the lines are long so choices 1 and 2 are out but Cafe Coyote has parking and tons of seating. So you end up there.  A Foursquare check-in netted a free quesadilla appetizer. Score! Huevos Estrada. I should have loved it. Cheese enchiladas topped with scrambled eggs and sour cream. Too bad it was so covered in sauce it was like eating soup. Such is Cafe Coyote but again, parking is free and easy and seating is only a few minute wait. Still the tortillas are good and I left plenty full. Old Town is an easy place to stroll around and let the breakfast settle. We wandered around the outside Whaley House but not ghosts came by to greet us. Adios!

It never gets old. This coaster madness was inspired by Deadmau5 at the Grammy's. Other than that, a normal beer night at Karl Strauss with an Oatmeal Stout for me.  An a Red Trolley Ale for AussieMac. (less than amused that I made her do this) 

 Sometimes it's okay just to reflect on life and enjoy the moment. 

The faded ticket stub reads 27 May 77 $1.50. That was the day that changed the lives of my group of friends forever. We were part of the original Star Wars fans who sat in line for hours, multiple time, memorizing scenes (still quoted today) and having a great time. I have almost every theater ticket stub from over the years for all the movies from various states where I've seen Star Wars . From parody plays to concerts, conventions and the like. Even though today with the new movies it's a love-hate relationship there was no doubt in my mind that I'd be seeing Phantom Menace 3D . And so I did. What can I say? It's still a disappointment in that it could have been so much better. Did 3D enhance anything? Not in the way I thought it would. The underwater scenes, lightsaber duel (still the best ever) and the pod-racing weren't better with 3D. Where it shown was in small details, the glowing lights on Queen Amidala's dress, the random scenes of Tatooine, the se...

What a fun wine day in Temecula Wine Country ! The red wines were the winners of the day. This top photo came from Monte De Oro winery with outdoor seating, award winning wines, and a decent selection for everyone. First stop was at Keyways. We tried new wines that we'd never had before. At this stop, it was best to go with tried and true varietals but we took the adventure tasting risk. Temecula is an easy day trip from LA,  San Diego, and compared to Napa, a total bargain. Tastings ran from $5 (with coupon) to $17. We ended up sharing tastings and that worked out well. If there were six tastes, we each chose 3 and still got to use and keep our own glass.  Nothing like a glass ceiling/floor to look down at the drinkers below.  Cheers!

Once the "all clear" is given by the bug company, the gas company has to come out and turn back on the gas, relight all the pilots, and do a general safety check of the house. All good and it's nice to have a neutral person look around who doesn't want to sell you anything. So the words "your hot water heater is toast" were not what I was prepared to hear and at the same time, I knew it was bad. Not, you might want to replace that soon but replace asap. Ugh. A call to the local plumber and $941 and 3 hours later a new hot water heater was in and ready to go. Monday brings a new garage door opener. The adventure never ends.

The termite treatment contract has tons of small print. I read and re-read and was still finding new stuff the day before the tenting. Important details that people should know: 1) If your house is not fully free-standing, you have to have your neighbor's consent for the worker's to enter adjoining yards. My garage wall is next to my neighbor's driveway. We share a common fence that had to be broken for the tent to wrap around my house. I'll see the damage later this week. It's a good thing I told the  what was going on. 2) Water and plants. If you want to not kill plants, you have to soak the yard around the house to a depth of 6 inches otherwise the poison kills the plants. This is a lot of a water and takes up to 4-6 hours of soaking. I'm pretty sure my plants will die. I'll let you know. 3) More water. This is used to fill up the basin of the tent to act a weight to keep it in place. They dig up your yard for the water to drain. 4) Electricity. ...

The refrigerator is nearly empty. Only breakfast remained.  The truck pulls up with the tubes, tents, poles, and everything to kill bugs and destroy your plants.  They work fast! When the house turned red from the tent color, it was time to go.  And there it is! The reminder to all area homeowners to get inspected.

I love the normal feeling of going out with friends on a Saturday night! It is the perfect anti-dote to Saturday nights spent working or being by yourself in a bug hotel. This weekend (where else?) Karl Strauss Carlsbad!  Cheers all around! I do apologize for going crazy over the Sloth comment!  Look at those great beers! And how disciplined we were not to take a sip until after the picture was snapped! 

Between the palm trees and the city landscaping, I can see beyond the panes. I don't ever recall seeing this much water before. It's like the ocean swelled up!  And at night, while I missed the sunset the fading red glow was still pretty cool. 

Signs that the palm trees are too big - you hear odd scraping sounds by the window. The sky is blacked out by palm fronds. A rain storm comes and you are convinced that the palm tree wants to break through that window to grab you from the house. Yup, Poltergeist messed with me and trees the way that Jaws ruined the beach for others. Luckily it is easy to fight back.    Nice, skinny palm trees waving up in the wind!