Things in Moab can be a little different...

I'm not going to tell you what I did on Sunday and Monday in Moab, for that I'll direct you to Jen's blog, she'll tell you all about it. Let me say thought this place is magical, there is a vibe here, if you've lost it, your MOJO that is, here you can re-gain it.
Here's a short list of things we have noticed, or realized are different in Moab than most other places:
Deodorant is completely optional - encouraged, but optional
Wearing a bra is also completely optional - not encouraged, but optional
It is not necessary for one to do one's hair, ever, regardless of appearance, length, color, etc...
Leave your socks in your drawer at home, you shouldn't wear them with sandals
People speak Jeep, don't start talking like you know what you mean, unless you do
Squealing your tires while turning going 2 MPH in a parking lot is cool
Squealing your tires while taking off from a stop light in an import car is not cool
Body damage whether on your person or vehicle is a badge of honor
ATVs and unlicensed "Off-Road only" vehicles do not seem out-of-place on the streets
No one cares unless they're over 44" - Your tires that is
Bicycles yield to motorists, not the other way around
Having a dog(s) is not required... but encouraged
Granola is something you eat, not something you are
It is OK to drive 7 miles in a little over 5 hours
There are no thieves here, lock nothing up, nothing ever gets stolen
Sand in your hair will soften it, once you wash it out
It is OK to spend $2,ooo on your weekend, it is also OK to spend $20 on your weekend
Hemp has it's own religion / following here
Negro Bill is a place, not a slang term for an old black man
Potato Salad is also a place, not a picnic accoutrement
Indian art is something you should go see, not buy
Don't ask the locals where to go, they'll never tell you anywhere good anyway
Wear browns, greens, tans...not reds, yellows, oranges
Socks, once stained with red sand, will not lose that stain
Jeepers, Campers, Euros, Off-roaders, ATV-ists, Bicyclists, Hang gliders, Motorcyclists, Hikers, Kayakers, Boaters, River Dogs, Climbers, Artists, Backpackers, Shutterbugs & Tourists are all welcome in Moab!

Moab = Jeep (Saturday)

We woke up this morning with Jeeping on our minds, Jeff & I that is. When you're renting something, in the back of your mind you've got this internal clock going tick-tock-tick-tock... I guess since we've been doing Moab for 6 years now, and have had several multi-trip years, and including the fact we've Jeeped or off-roaded many many times, the ladies had no interest in going this morning. So we took others, screw them - did I say that out loud?

So Jeff driving the yellow 4 door Jeep & me in the red 2 door, we headed off. Jeff had his dad, his son, and 2 nephews. I had Scott, my daughter and her cousin. We wanted to do Hell's Revenge, even though we've done it 3 or 4 times. We can get through it pretty quickly and have mostly mastered many of the obsticles. The thing that makes Hell's Revenge nice is it's mostly slickrock, which is my favorite medium for crawlin'.

Toward the end my mind made a colossal shift for one reason or another. I remembered that this is a rented Jeep, one I wouldn't have to fix if I were to tear it up. So for the last couple of miles Jeff and I raced to the bottom. Now with most 4x4-ing it's hard to describe, or properly convey just how hairy & scary it can be. Pictures don't do it justice either. It really is something you must experience first hand, kinda like skydiving. All I can say is Jeff & I were haulin' somethin', that somethin' was ASS.

No way would I ever drive my own vehicle like that. Rocks and ledges that were up to a foot in size meant nothing to us. I kept trying to pass Jeff, then he would try to pass me etc... All of us were laughing uncontrollably!!! Scott later on admitted that he was scared, later on Jeff admitted that he thought I was going to rear end him. That is the true measure of off-roading, when you can scare your passengers.

To bad as we left the trail and headed down the canyon I hit a huge pothole. About ten feet away from it my mind said - You'll have to slow waaay down or speed up to "make" this pothole, but it was too late, we hit it full force. I think I might have even pooped a little in my pants. Here's my prideful carnage! Jen was none too happy with me, maybe she shouldn't have taken Tanner's word for the events that transpired as literally as she did???

I kinda didn't know what to do,... fix it or use it,... so what the hell, let's head back out and do another trail. Not so smart. I guess I didn't realize that the whole shock was snapped in half! I figured it was just bent - YEAH RIGHT - We headed up to 7 Mile Rim but we only saw 2 miles of the rim before Scott and I heard a clunk. We both did that movie head turn when driver & passenger look at each other with a "What in F*#K was that" look. We stopped quickly to see that the shock was indeed snapped in half and resting against the muffler. We don't want the broken shaft to puncture the muffler, so we headed back to camp. HaHa,... I just said Muff & Shaft in the same sentence!!!

Here's where I think it gets funny. We went back to camp and I removed the shock. I start to think, where am I going to find a Rubicon rear shock on a Saturday over Memorial weekend? I know, I'll just go to one of the other Jeep rental companies and get one. The first place I went the guy said "The only place you'll get one of those in this town is Farabee's" Guess where I rented the Jeep from, yeah that's right, Farabee's!?!? So I went to Farabee's, pulled my hat down reeeally low (as a disguise... lol) and asked for a shock. They had one, only $50.00. I went back to camp, put it on, and returned the Jeep an hour later, suckers!!!

That night we went to Eddie McStiff's for dinner and my ribs sucked, so I complained. If you complain at Eddie's you'll get a free sundae I learned :-> Well we still gots lots of stuff to do so I guess we'll blogg ya later!?!?

Vacation post Days 1&2

As you may have read on Jen's blog we didn't get out of town on Thursday like we had hoped to do. It was raining like crazy, but more important to me was the wind. Driving an RV is like pushing a sheet of plywood through hurricane force winds. Combined with the fact it's not a good idea to sleep where it's below freezing, this will cause your pipes to freeze and costly repairs to ensue.

We left at about 4:30am the next morning and it was still raining and eventually snowing up in Flagstaff. All in all the drive was OK, it's nice for me ladies to be able to get up, walk around, get food / snacks, go pee etc... It normally takes 8 hours to diver to Moab, in the RV it took almost 9.

When we got there everybody was already there, Ellis-Linda, Scott-Polly, Jeff-Kim & Mindi - Brian couldn't come due to work, bummer 4 him. We "set-up" camp, although the RV makes setting up awfully easy! Later that night (after Pasta Jay's of course) we picked up the rental Jeeps. Now it was almost 6 so we couldn't do a major trail, that's OK, Fins 'n Things is always fun and quick. After that we went over to a "new spot" I had spied on Google Earth.

SIDE NOTE - If you haven't tried Google earth yet I highly recommend it. It flies around and lets you see anything in the world from an aerial view. If you want to go see the pyramids you can, interested in seeing the Great Wall of China, again, you can!

We didn't find what we were looking for but we will go back when we're more prepared to take on water crossings, besides it was too cold to run around in the river. I don't like my posts to be too long so I'll post about Saturday another time - Ta Ta For Now!?!?

Travelin' man...

So excited...
Can't concentrate...
Mind on Moab...
Tonight I found out which RV we're going to be taking on our vaca. It's kind of like the movie RV, meaning it's kind of a rolling turd. Don't get me wrong I'm glad and excited to have it, but when I started down this RV road I envisioned something a touch nicer. When I went in to it this afternoon the heat from the day had melted the adhesive on a cabinet door and it was just hanging by a single screw :-). I get to bring it home tomorrow to pack it up even though we won't be leaving until Thursday night.
I just had a thought, maybe I shouldn't broadcast that we'll be gone on vacation, oh well.
My only fear is that RV might end up standing for Ruined Vacation. I hope nothing goes too wrong, I know we'll have problems, I just hope they are not too much to bear - That sound you hear is me knocking on wood.
I haven't had a vacation this long since Jen & I went to Europe when she was pregnant with Megan (11 years ago). It's a good thing to, lots going on at work n all. I'll be glad when I'm away and can concentrate on things other than real life...Wish us luck!

Oh and keep an eye on our house!?!?

Hehe Haha

That's no Subway Jared

Jen reminded me today about a story that I just gotta reveal. Back-in-the-day in the S.L.C. (047 reprezentin') I worked at La Mesa RV. I worked with a guy who was a detailer, he lead the team that washed and detailed motor homes for delivery. All-in-all he was a good hard worker. He had fallen on tough times in the past and he let me in to his world from time to time.

Anyway his name was Jared, and everytime he came in to the room I would kinda sing "That's Jared" after the "Jared, the galleria's of jewelry" jingle. Jared loved it, I think he liked the attention 'cause not many people were his friend for some reason.

I was often the first person at work in the morning, and had to open the front gate. One morning Jared was waiting for me in his beat up little Nissan Sentra. He was in tears and informed me that some personal things had come up and that he had to quit, but came to tell me this and to say goodbye. Kinda sad, I didn't pry, most of the times guys don't want to talk about what's going on right at that moment. We need to internalize things, work them out in our own minds, and when we're ready, we'll let it out.

The next day when I got to work I had a huge, and I mean huge, sports trophy on my desk. It was a karate trophy of a person I didn't know, a name I'd never heard, oh and by the way this person had taken like 3rd place. I have included this picture so you can get an idea of what the trophy looked like.

So of course I'm like "What the hell is this", who left their gimungous karate trophy on my desk. So I set aside without much more thought. About an hour later Jared comes in to my office and sits down. He proceeds to tell me what a great boss I've been, how much he looks up to me, and how sad he is to have left. He tells me he gave me the trophy and wanted me to have it. He said he worked really hard to get it (remember the name on the front of the 3rd place trophy was not his). I tried to give it back, I told him that the trophy meant far more to him than it would to me but he insisted I keep it because it meant so much to him for me to keep it.


That night I showed up at home with said trophy in hand. When Jen saw it she fell on the floor laughing he guts out. Here's a grown man, holding a 3 foot tall karate trophy in sparkly metallic blue paint. To be honest I felt guilty for years for having that damn trophy. I had it until we moved to AZ, then it had to go.

I know this story seems a little sad, on Jared's behalf, but it really was very funny.

Livin' the dream!

Today I got to live out what some men believe to be their biggest fantasy. I showered with 3 naked women! Two brunettes and a shy blonde, you'll see from the pic that she hid her face so the camera couldn't see her.

Did you fall for the bait??? Life as a dad with two daughters I guess?

PS - The tea party was nice as well...

Happy Mother's Day Jeni

Here's an ode to my lovely, caring, talented and wonderful wife and mother to our 2 beautiful daughters. On this Mother's day I want her to know how much I love and care for her. The last 12-1/2 years have flown by, and as the saying goes time flies when you're having fun. Thanks Jen for always being there, thanks for so many wonderful memories, thanks for all the smiles you've brought to me over the years. I hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Caveat emptor - "Let the buyer beware"

Jen and I are sitting down watching a little tube the other night when a commercial came on for Riviera pool builders. He's in front of the BOB (Sorry it will always be the BOB to me) in a Diamondbacks uniform saying he excited to be a part of the D-Backs blah blah blah... He goes on to say that right now his special is - drum roll please - with every pool built he'll give the buyer 2 free tickets to a D-Backs game.

I knocked over Jen on my way to the phone to get my 2 free tickets. I mean what a deal! Do you know how much D-Back tickets are? They are like eight bucks a piece, and you get 2! Pools start at about $15,000 but with the kickback on the tickets, I'm in. And I thought I'd never be able to afford sixteen dollars for a night on the town :-)

At work today an invoice comes across my desk. It is for some packing tape one of my guys has ordered, before I became the manager again. Get this, he bought 16 - 6 packs of tape, 96 rolls right? The invoice was for $972.45!!! That's like over ten dollars per roll for tape (BTW-I said that in my Napoleon Dynamite voice). I quickly look up Staples.com to find out how much tape is and it's only $2.10 per roll,FOR THE GOOD STUFF!

So I started asking questions to find out how / why he got scammed. If you've been a manager, or an owner, or a buyer you know the scam. Usually a lady calls up, acts very chummy, says she provides some product you order all the time, tells you it's come in off back order, and asks for a purchase order. Sometime they'll offer you a prize or gift for ordering. What A-holes!?!? The guy who gave the PO was new in the department at the time, so I feel like they took advantage of him.

Luckily I was able to call, and after a short fight got the company to take the tape back. When I brought this situation up to all the guys as a learning opportunity, a couple of them sheepishly asked "Do we have to return the Starbucks gift cards too?" WHAT :-{ Grrrrrrrrr. How dumb do you have to be to fall for the "Hey we'll give you 2 free $10 Starbucks cards if you buy a thousand dollars worth of packing tape!!!"

The rest of the day we all teased the guy relentlessly, hehehe...