OMG I'm going to Dublin again!!!

Wait. Dublin? Ireland? I don't think Ireland is anywhere near San Francisco. This just in......there is a Dublin, California. Really? Yes, really, and I've never been there. But our friends, Brad and Kyra Busam live there. And we're going to visit them. Well, we're going to try. See, Brad and Kyra are expecting their first baby right around the time that we get around their part of California. So, we might see them or we might not. Or, better yet, we'll see a new baby along the way!!

If I wander around long enough, maybe I'll become great too......

Yes, folks. The greatest golf player of this (or most) generations, Tiger Woods, was a graduate of Stanford University. The school is also the alma mater of several great people of our time. People like, Sandra Day O'Connor, Sally Ride, The founders of Hewlett-Packard, Ted Danson, John McEnroe and yes, even Fred Savage! Fred Savage! The Wonder Years kid. He went to Stanford? He was that smart? Who knew.

Anyway...

Our journey will take us through Palo Alto to visit a friend, so maybe I'll have a chance to wander the campus. Like I said, maybe I could become great just by walking around.

Make A List and Check It Twice

No, I'm not talking about Santa Claus. I'm talking about the obvious things needed for a Road Trip of this magnitude. Here are some other things that I thought would be important (in no specific order):

• A map of Northern California - or better yet, someone that knows their way around much better to drive us.
• Lots of music - several Road Trip type CDs. Maybe even a book on CD or something, though, sometimes those can be boring, which would eventually put one of us to sleep, which isn't a good thing if the one falling asleep is driving.
• Several SD Cards for the countless numbers of photos that I am sure will be taken of some of the most random things along the way - besides pictures of all the important stuff too. Extra Mini-DV tapes for the grand movie experience that will be our vacation. When completed, it will rival such travel epics as Lord of the Rings, the Star Wars sextet (yes, that's a word) and National Lampoon's Road Trip.
• Video and digital cameras.
• Battery chargers. So, this is probably the most important one. Two Phone Car Chargers. Video Camera Charger. San Diego Chargers. Digital Camera Charger.
• Laptop and charger. Of course, this laptop won't work without its charger, so you sort of need to bring it. And this is only so I can continue updating this wonderful blog. Adding pictures and possibly video so that you can all view and be jealous of where we happen to be at the time.
• And did I mention a map?

Rosebud.........

The life and times of Charles Foster Kane in the movie Citizen Kane were long rumored to be based on William Randolph Hearst. There were plenty of commonalities, most of all that they both had large homes. Kane's was called Xanadu. Hearst, on the other hand, did not have a fancy name for his large acreage. Instead, it is just known as Hearst Castle (though, that's not a bad name, either). And that will be one of the many excursions on our trip. Sounds like fun. I wonder if there will be a moat and a drawbridge and turrets, etc . . . . .

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Yes, folks, baseball. The American pasttime. 162 games of pure madness. One team could be great at the beginning of the season and in last place at the end. Of course, being a Diamondbacks fan, I have to wonder. Sometimes they're good and sometimes they just stink. But, this entry is about going to a team that some might not consider a great team right now - The San Francisco Giants.

They have some good players, but on a whole, they are not really a great team in the NL West. But we are going to see them, mostly because I have a hope to see all 30 baseball stadiums in my lifetime. I have 4 down right now, so this will just take one more off of the list.

Note to self: Pack the baseball glove (just in case).

Opening Post

So, coming in August, Joanna and I are going on a world tour. Well, not really. We're just going from Rancho Cucamonga to San Francisco and beyond. Along the way, we'll decide what sort of random things to post here. We'll be stopping several places, such as Aquariums, beaches and everything in between.

Bookmark the page now, because August is just around the corner (even if it's only the middle of June). I might even add some updates of some of the fun activities that we're partaking in - at least the ones we know about.

So, that's it. Bye for now.