Elena Hams it up in Ballard

Good friends who I met when living in NYC were up in Seattle recently visiting from LA. Their daughter, Elena… Well, she likes the camera

My Brother-in-Law is Now Known as the Bunny Guy

Hat tip to VideoGum. Though, regardless of how sad it is, it is funny.

The 900 Mile Loop Through Texas

With family…

My parents invited me to join them on a trip of nostalgia, visit’n, relax’n, eat’n and driving, lots and lots of driving.

We started off our trip by flying into Houston and visiting the Houston Memorial Cemetery to see my Grandpa and Grandma’s burial spot.

Grandpa & Grandma McGrew

From there we stayed with Jap and Louise Lott, who were longtime friends with my Grandpa and Grandma and are still close friends with my immediate family.

Jap & Louise Lott in front of their Houston area home

Jap flew P-51′s in the Pacific Theater during WWII and has stories upon stories upon stories to tell.  Honestly, I never get tired of listening to any of his stories.  Louise is my 1st cousin twice removed.  They have been married 65 years and are still going strong.

Dad & I at the Battleship Texas

On our single full day in Houston we decided to visit the San Jacinto monument, where the Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico.  Which is commemorated by a huge monument (below) and the Battleship Texas [Dreadnaught Class] (above), which of course had nothing to do with Texas independence, though it did have a lot to do with WWI and D-Day and the Pacific Theater during WWII.

In a word, it was bad-ass!  Unfortunately, we arrived after the Battleship Texas closed to visitors for the day, but we were able to hop the gate and get on board anyway (does that make us stow-a-ways?).  While doing so, we met a volunteer who had just retired from 20 years in the Navy at the age of 37 and was volunteering on the Texas.  He was able to give us a great short history of the old lady and truly loved what he was doing.  We also met the ship’s curator whose life long dream was to be, well the curator.  She shared with us that the voters of Texas approved $25M to place her in drydock and give her a major overhaul.

Washington DC Eat Your Heart Out

As I understand the Monument at San Jacinto is just a tad shorter than the one in Washington DC…  Though, I am guessing it is bigger in other ways.  Afterall, everything in Texas simply IS bigger.

From Houston we headed for my parent’s home town of Yoakum Tx which is about two hours from Houston.  My Grandfather’s place is about seven or so miles from town and is over 400 acres, with a beautiful house placed right at the top of the hill with views of the surrounding farm all around.

View from the House of the South Pasture

A view from the Timber (Western edge of the Ranch)

View of the Shop and Northern Pasture from the yard

It is absolutely amazing out at the Ranch.  There is something about the fact that the place as been in the family for three generations, not including my father and me.  My grandfather (or Granddaddy as we call him) was born on the place and still lives there and works cattle.  I guess it is the one place I have always called “home” even though I have never lived there for more than a few months at any given time.

Whenever I head down, I make sure to walk the pasture, play with the dogs, and soak up that hot Texas heat.  I don’t care what time of year I go, it is always a small piece of paradise.

There were cousins, Aunts, Uncles, friends and all assortment of family that joined us.  Usually on the back deck overlooking the “flat” and creek drinking cold perspiring bottles of Shiner Bock.

Just a few of us.

Just a few more of us

It is a close family and I love nothing more than getting together and talking (in the shade of course) about the past, the present and the future.  With the addition of two new grandkids, the future discussions are just a bit less about politics, the economy, and of course ranch economics.

Sloane, one of the two new additions to the family.

I don’t think I ever saw my new Cousin-Once-Removed, Sloane not smile.  I think it is a permanent fixture on her cute little face.  I am guessing that she will grow up at the rodeo roping cattle and riding horses, just like her parents Tommy and Courtney.  To be honest, this just makes me a bit jealous!

As for the rodeo, we made that too:

City Boy Enjoys a Bit of the Country (and learns not to wear flip flops to the Rodeo)

We were in Yoakum for my Mother’s High School reunion, which also coincided with the annual Tom Tom festival.  Tom Tom was always a big event in Yoakum and has the Rodeo (above), parade (below), dancing (below) and a lot more in order to celebrate the annual tomato harvest.

View of the festivities from the dance floor

The "New" Edition Polka Band is tearing it up

Tom Tom Parade down Yoakum's Main Street

It was a great trip, I was able to see Jap & Louise, Grandaddy & Barbara, Aunt Linda, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Corliss, Uncle Owen, Aunt Kay, Uncle Mike, Uncle Howard and Cousins: Michael, Meredith, Wendy, Courtney, Jennifer, Rachel, Bret, and a slew of 2nd cousins, spouses, etc.

It was amazing seeing everyone and I thank you all for your hospitality and generous use of your homes, food and time!

Most of all, thanks Mom and Dad for inviting me to join you both on this amazing trip.  I cherish the chance to take this trip and to spend this time with both of you.

More photos will be forthcoming…  These photos were all taken with my iPhone.

Best quotes of the week:
“If you can remember when you lost your memory, then you haven’t really lost it”
“If arrogance and intelligence are a recipe for disaster, then my arrogance and stupidity are an excellent match”
“If I have to stay in this place any longer I am going to go crazy”
“I am eager to get to work so that I can get some rest”
“That rancher found the best cross-breed; oil and cattle”

900 Mile Texas Loop:
Houston >> Yoakum >> Cuero >> Yoakum >> Kerrville >> Austin >> Houston

Trout Everywhere Now Live in Fear of Me

After years of wanting to learn to flyfish I finally had the chance to go yesterday with a friend of mine, Brian Harper.  We headed up to Lost Lake at Larrabee State Park, which is about a 4.6 mile hike in.

View from the Sourthern End of Lost Lake

We ended up crawling, slithering, and jumping to that floating island you see out in the water.  There was a log that was sticking out from the shore on the left and we were able to make our way to the “island” where we spent a little over 4.5 hours trying our hand at the fishing.

Man, this is too much fun!

Giving it a go.  I am sure my technique was all wrong my skill at acting (thinking like a fly) were all off, but it was a great time.

Hey, I must be a natural at this.

With this first catch, I think I became hooked.  Now I have to go out and get the gear… (yikes)

There were a lot of similarities to sailing (another one of my favorite past times).  Essentially you are trying to deal with as many variables as possible to ensure the best possible outcome.  I was trying to correlate the change in wind patterns, change in temperatures and intensity of sunlight with fish activity and location.  The tracking spreadsheets I could have fun with…  This doesn’t even take into account; types of fly, sinking vs floating line, type of leeder, weight of the rod.

Oh, I am going to have a great time.

Twitter Screwing up Direct Messages

I just sent a direct message via Twitter to a good friend and it ended up going to someone else entirely. Fortunately, it was a close friend.

This is unacceptable.  People send confidential information via the Twitter Direct Message (DM).

Has this happened to you?

Fans Bash new Star Trek Movie

This pretty much ruins the Star Trek movie for me… :-/

c/o the Onion

How are these chickens smarter than I am?

How is it that they are smarter than I am?

As you can see I built a two level coop with an attached (enclosed) run and have built a much more klugy run along the side of the house, which is what they were escaping from…  Since improved with stakes (so I hope).

Now is not the time for a concussion

I have been waiting patiently through the Fall and Winter for the beautiful Spring weather…  Now that I have a concussion, I have been told to take it easy for no less than five days.

No tennis, skiing, biking, etc. I just may start wearing a helmet at all times. Actually, since I already do for skiing and biking, maybe I can pull it off while playing tennis as well.

Happy Anniversary Marissa!

I can’t begin to say how excited I am to have been married for the last three years to Marissa. It is far eclipsed by how thrilled I am to experience the years ahead.  I could never imagine meeting anyone as intelligent, beautiful, engaging, caring, and simply amazing as you are!

Let there be more skiing, sailing, biking, running, and just about everything else.

Love you babe!

A Brave New World

Marissa and I are thrilled to be hosting some friends in our home for the week.  Chris, Tanya and their almost two year old Chase are in from Hawaii and adjusting to the cold weather and lack of sunshine… They are a lot of fun and a big help. I was able to convince Chris to help me move the chicken coop and to build a new chicken run… Little did he know that we were moving them to right outside their bedroom window.

The big news of the weekend was the baby bonanza that we hosted at our house on Saturday.  This was our first experience of having 12 adults, 9 children, 3 chickens and one trip the Emergency Room all in one night. It may take some getting used to, but I think this is now becoming our world.  As our friends start to have kids and more kids and in some cases even more kids, we will have to expand our worldview.

It was a lot of fun, especially watching the kids chase the chickens around the yard and essentially tackle them.  The chickens of course, were less than amused.

Spiced Rum Recipe

I am looking for a spiced rum recipe. I have the starter rum, but need some ideas for how to spice it up Any suggestions?

Another Hobby

Marissa and I have decided to take up Telemark Skiing, because what we need is another expensive hobby…   We have been fortunate enough to have friends lone us their skiis so that definitely saves some money and we just bought boots at 45% off.

That being said, now we need to learn. And learning to tele simply isn’t easy.  This site has some great instructional videos for getting started.

Wish us well, because having tried it two times, my thighs are still burning!  Also, one suggestion to other newbies; don’t attempt the diamon or double diamond runs with your friends on your second day.  Give it some time to get used to not having your heal attached.

It will be back to the green and blue runs for you!

Blago Gets It on Letterman

David Letterman roughed up ex-Gov. Blagojevich in his interview with him tonight. Here's the first exchange after his introduction:

DL: “Well, you’re on in the worst way.”

Via Drudge…

Not the brightest idea

A friend and I went on a nice little hike this past Sunday to a frozen Lost Lake in Larrabee State Park

This could have been much, much worse.  The wind was picking up, which you can see in the video, the snow was starting to come down hard, and we were loosing daylight.  On top of that, my friend had just fallen into a frozen lake…  Needless to say, he was (and we were) very lucky to have brought an additional pair of pants.

So, always be prepared, know the conditions and don’t make the mistakes we made.

Top 10 Lessons for Living Through A Zombie Attack

A number of friends know about my (Nathan’s) “Zombie Plan.”  What would you do if the Zombies attacked? (Or if there was an earthquake or other natural disaster?)  One friend sent me the following:

1. Organize Before They Rise!
2. They Feel No Fear, Why Should You?
3. Use Your Head: Cut Off Theirs.
4. Blades Don’t Need Reloading.
5. Ideal Protection=Tight Clothes, Short Hair.
6. Get Up The Staircase, Then Destroy It.
7. Get Out Of The Car, Get Onto The Bike.
8. Keep Moving, Keep Low, Keep Quiet, Keep Alert!
9. No Place Is Safe, Only Safer.
10. The Zombie May Be Gone, But The Threat Lives On.

And one more from me:

1. Always have chickens handy. –Luckily, we do!