May 3, 2006

Jump

Today...well, yesterday as I write this...was the first day of the Grow Up conference. The changed things up just a little bit this year by starting the conference on Wednesday night rather than Thursday morning. Looking at the schedule it doesn't seem like they've added anything extra, but there is some more breathing room between the end of the sessions and the breakouts which is good since the general sessions never get out as scheduled.

The conference opened with the stomp group performing a song with grinders (not the subs, the tool) then performing a skit. The skit used plastic tubes which, of course, were used to make music. During the course of the skit they played "Jesus Loves the Little Children", "Old McDonald" and a copule of other songs.

After stomp, the band opened by singing Areosmith's "Livin' on the Edge" flawlessly. During the chorus they showed statistics on the screen:

Sobering...even more so with the music.

After the opening, they shared who was represented at the conference:

Reggie Joiner's talk tonight was fantastic. He opened with a story that I'll share later. His focus was "the clearer the Church is in its mission, the clearer you can be in yours." He talked about the purpose of the church being to shine for God, that we are not called simply to exist, but we are wired to experience what God has designed us to be. We're not designed to do church, but to BE the church.

One point I enjoyed - "Just because you're moving doesn't mean that you're alive."

The entire message focused on our purpose being to illuminate God - to share who God is and what he has done. He ended the message with communion. I'm not sure that all were able to participate since some denominations have differing thoughts on communion, but it was neat to be part of a communion service where 54 different denominations were represented.

We closed the evening with great worship music and, of course, ran over time.

Posted by Jesse at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2005

Catalyst: The Voyage Home

Atlanta traffic is much worse than I thought. The first time I was here I had no problem leaving the conference and heading to the airport. Last time, we almost missed the plane. This time, I buffered a bit - the conference was closer to the airport and I chose a later flight. Never the less, I was once again running up to the edge, getting to the Budget counter at 7:00 for an 8:00 flight.

I made it to the airport proper at 7:20 and wasn't looking forward to the run for the airplane. At check-in, I was told that the plane was delayed to 8:45....after security, getting a sandwich for dinner, I got to the gate around 7:50 to find that the time was now 9:45. Our plane was still on the tarmac in D.C. because of weather.

No problem, this will give me a little decompression before getting home. I may even have time to enter some thoughts from the actual conference. Plus I got to hang out with some members of a church in Culpepper who were waiting for the same plane.

We finally took off a little after 10 and landed at 11:50. We then had to wait 10 min for them to get the stairs for us. Add in the shuttle from the terminal and it was 12:30 by the time I got to luggage claim to find Teri and Kevin waiting for me....an exhausting trip to say the least.

(I'll be blogging more about the conference, but from here it'll be out of sequence)

Posted by Jesse at 5:27 PM | Comments (1)

Atlanta and a smile

Coke Bear
Coke Bear
While in Atlanta last week, I stopped into Coke World. I debated about taking the tour and finally did. It's pretty much the same as the one in Las Vegas and not really something that is all that interesting to do alone unless you are really into Coke memorabilia.

At the end of the tour is the world of Coke, which hosts Coke products from all over the world. I think I tried each kind of the foreign ones and many of the ones from the states. I enjoyed having Mello Yellow again and may pick it up once in a while. I also learned that Nestea has a "southern blend" iced tea that is basiclly sweet tea. Pretty good if you are a tea drinker.

Of the foreign drinks:>

Stoney Ginger Beer - South Africa - Ginger
This one was kind of harsh tasting. If you like the taste of beer, you might like it. But for me...yuck.
Japan - Apricot
Yeah, an apricot soda. Tasted very much like apricots and was pretty tasty, but fruit that taste like the fruit isn't generally something that you want in a soda.
China - Apple
I don't remember this one that much, but I don't believe it tasted like apples or like soda, nor was it very good.
Fanta - Central America - Fruit Punch
Again, too fruity for a soda and a bit too sweet.
Lychee mello - Thailand - Lychee Nut
The design of this one looks like Mello Yellow and the soda itself is a close resemblance, although less yellow. The taste is no where close, this is gross.
Kin Cider - Korea - Lemon Lime
Another yuck. Lemon-Lime is definitely the taste, but much to strong. I guess we Americans are just addicted to sugar.
Krest - Madagascar - Ginger Ale
Not too different from the Stoney Ginger beer, but certainly not something I would choose to drink.
Fanta Tropical - Kenya - Citrus
This wasn't too bad. Again, too fruity and was kind of like drinking sparkling Orange Juice
China - Watermelon
There are some tastes that work in candy...apple, grape, cherry, watermelon. Some transfer well to soda, like grape and cherry. Some, like apple, don't. Watermelon is in the don't category.
Mezzo mix - Germany - Orange Cola
Orange cola must be a tricky thing. There's a difference between soda that taste orange and soda that taste like an orange. The first is okay, the second is not. Mezzo Mix fits into the second.
Fanta Lemon - Israel - Lemon
Of all the ones I've said taste like their fruit, none hold a candle to this. Fanta lemon taste like a fresh squeezed lemon. Just enough sugar so you don't gag on the bubbles, but not so much that it loses its pucker power. I like it, it was good, but you really couldn't drink to much without making yourself sick.
Fanta Orange - China - Orange
Not much different than the orange we have, just less sugary. Kind of taste like the soda they give you for a glucose test.
Fanta Orange - Germany - Mandarin Orange
Tasted like an apricot orange mix. Yuck
Beverly - Italy - bitter apéritif
I've never had a drink of gas, but I would imagine that it taste like this. The first thing that it's you isn't the taste - your first thought is, my mouth is on fire....no it isn't fire, it's full of acid eating away my cheeks...so you swallow to get rid of it and now your throat and stomach feel like you swallowed turpentine. That makes you want to puke, but you don't because you've only had a small sip. As drinks go, this is something that you should try - it's really hard to describe, but it is gross and you will have the taste with you for a while, even after you drink other stuff. (So try it last)

Posted by Jesse at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)

A few shots from Atlanta

Water Garden
Water Garden.
This is actually a test post from flickr. I've got a few photos from Olympic park and one from coke world.

The park was nice, I was especially enamored with the water gardens - there were several on one side of the park.

Posted by Jesse at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)

October 6, 2005

Catalyst Day 1.2

Louis Giglio spoke during the second session, and as is his passion, he spoke on worship. Not leading worship, not on leadership at all really, but on the question of "How are you going to live?"

He talked about the fact that Paul, who wrote the majority of books in the New Testament, is seen as a leader, not because of what he did, but that he lived every portion of his life for Christ., no matter what happened or was happening.

Worship is revelation and response. God reveals and we respond, it's that simply, yet that complex. Louie addressed that we have mangled worship by becoming consumers rather than 'consumees', someone to be consumed.

We get a great song, and we get stuck on i, sing it until we're sick of it, then look for the next great song. We're infatuated with the experience, not really worshiping at all, our services have become consumer worship. Paul said, "I am being poured out like a drink offering.” Here’s me. Use me up."

Cosumers ask, what's in it for me, consumees say I'm in it for you.
Consumers look for style, enjoy-ability, my preference, experience, segments, now. Consuming worship seeks sacrifice, cost, what God requires, action, life, eternity.

Posted by Jesse at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

Catalyst 1.15

After Andy finish speaking, the band played "Kyrie" by MR Mister and did a really good job with it. The song seemed to tie in, but I didn't really get it...not that I ever really got the song...so I decided to find out who or what kyrie eleison was. Turns out it's Greek for "Lord have mercy."

Kyrie eleison down the road that I must travel.
Kyrie eleison through the darkness of the night....

Before each segment and after some, Reggie and Lanny did introductions and announcements. Things always tied back to what was said or was going to be talked about. I won't be able to remember all the things that were done, but we did get in the Guiness Book or world's records (I'll address that later).

One of the things being talked about during the weekend was influence. I can't remember how it tied in, but in our "goodie bag" was a piece of gum. Before the break, we were all to chew the gum and they tried to get everyone to blow a bubble at the same time....it didn't work.

Posted by Jesse at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

Catalyst Day 1.1

I missed most of the pre-speaking portion of the fiorst session looking for a way to get more dry. But I did get a seat in time to enjoy a little of the music and to see the first speaker, Andy Stanley.

He began the conference by talking about integrity and how it ties to your leadership ability. There's a lot to take in from the talk - he used a story from 1 Samuel, and while he angled the talk toward making decisions as a leader, there's more than enough there to talk about integrity. My be the next sermon I work on.

Highlights:

  1. Your leadership ability has the potential to take you further than your character can sustain you. - This can get leaders into trouble.
  2. Our commitment to integrity can be easily eroded by our love of progress.
  3. The excuses we use when tempted: (1) God promised it. (2) I deserve it.

This is why we must surround ourselves with others that will hold us accountable. When we start to make decisions in a vacuum and the decisions are emotional, there's a fog that can interfere with out judgment.

The main point is that in order to know that the opportunity is of God, it should be weighed against:

The temptation will not necessarily be to divert from your goal, but to take a shorter route. The temptations of Christ we not to gain something other than what he was sent for, but to get there faster.

Posted by Jesse at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)

Tammy Vs. Katrina

Tammy tried to ruin the day, but in the end, Katrina made things better.

As I left the hotel I checked about getting a new room. Nothing was available until after housekeeping went though so they would let me know when I got back. The conference center is 12 miles away, the conference started at 8:30, so I figured leaving at 7:15 would give me time to swing by somewhere and grab something for breakfast.

By 7:45 I had breakfast in hand and headed for The Arena at Gwinnett Center. Frustrated was the keyword of the rest of the journey. I finally got into the parking lot at 8:33. The mist from Tropical Storm Tammy had turned to rain and that had now turned to a downpour. Of course, a sprawling parking lot stood between me and the entrance. I took f running and was met about half way by a Catalyst volunteer, with an umbrella, who walked me the rest of the way.

Too late, I was soaked. I bought a shirt, changed, and found a seat (and later took off my socks). As it turned out, they were starting late so I didn't miss anything. There was much to take in and I'll try to cover the actual conference in another post.

During lunch, I took a run to Wal-Mart (I'd never make it to the hotel and back in time) and picked up some socks and underwear. By then, my pants were mostly dry. Things were looking up and the rain wasn't pouring down.

I spent the evening in a bit of traffic and taking in The Mall of Georgia before heading back to the hotel.

Katrina, at the front desk, checked on a new room for me and apologized that it would be on the 6th floor. Not sure what she had against the 6th floor, she wound up giving me one on the 5th.

Much better.

Posted by Jesse at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)

Catalyst: Day 0

I have a partial entry that I started on the plane, but that'll have to wait.

I left DC yesterday to attend Catalyst, a leadership conference tied to Injoy. I got to Atlanta early so I spent some time downtown checking out Coke World, Underground Atlanta, and Centennial Olympic Park. After that I headed for the mall, walked around, picked up dinner, then checked into the room.

When I got to the room something didn't seem right. The room smelled odd, but I didn't think anything of it. I don't usually stay at Holiday Inns so I just figured it was the way they smelled. After some TV and CoH, I went to bed. That's when I could smell that it was a smoking room and spied the ashtray. Yuck.

I figured I'd try to switch rooms in the morning and just deal with the smell, no biggie. Allergies decided it was a big deal and the night was rather restless.

Posted by Jesse at 9:09 AM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2005

Random Chance

We're currently at about 35,000 feet on our way to a conference in Alpheretta GA. On the way through the screening process we happened to get in the line of the Xray guy that wanted everyone to take their shoes off - which many people we finding annoying and it was making his the longest of all the lines. When I got to the front, he said, "Sir, I recommend that you take your shoes off to avoid a delay."

I thanked him and said that they've made it through just fine before. I passed through and didn't set the alarm off - as I knew I wouldn't - and surprise, I was selected, by him, to be randomly searched. No big deal, we had plenty of time at the airport.

It random selections like this one that make the airlines less safe, not more. Instead of randomly selecting people, he was picking people based on a criteria he decided upon. That makes the process less than it should be. It's not that I was belligerent or disobedient, had he asked me to send my shoes through the belt, I would have. But he didn't, he recommended it.

Posted by Jesse at 9:39 PM | Comments (2)

November 6, 2004

Wi-Fi Hotels

For the travelers among us - well, at least for Mark - Hotel Chatter has posted a list of the best and worst hotels when it comes to WiFi. The article mentions the best places to get it free and how they connect. Of course, hotels vary even within the chain and I had a very good experience at a Hilton (listed as worse) as well as a bad experience in a Hilton on the opposite coast.

Best: Kimpton, Omni Hotels, Marriott Residence Inn, Best Western, and Holiday Inn & Holiday Inn Express
Worst: Marriott Flagship, Fairmont, Hilton, Hyatt & Hotels that charge for access in the lobby

Posted by Jesse at 7:22 PM

September 28, 2004

And that is that....

This morning started a bit later than the rest of the mornings, which gave everyone a chance to sleep in. I went to a seminar on student leadership, then headed over to see if there were any give-aways for the general session. There wasn't, which isn't surprising, I don't think they ever give anything out for the last session.

We had to catch the shuttle before the session would barely be started so we skipped the session, grabbed our bags and are now sitting in the John Wayne airport waiting for our plane to begin boarding in an hour or so. I like the layout of the terminal. It's a smaller airport, but because of Disney - or stars - it's serviced by all the major airlines. Sitting in the terminal, you can look out across all the runways and see all types of planes - both large and small - taking off and landing.

I think our plane just pulled up, but there's still 45 minutes before we can board. One plus about this flight is that we don't have to change planes in Chicago. We'll layover for an hour, but when we get off we won't have to mess with the car seat or stroller, which will be quite nice.

Posted by Jesse at 2:37 PM

September 27, 2004

Commitment to a 10

The Anaheim Hilton has cards in the room that claim they want to be scored a 10, especially in three areas: Likelihood to return to the property, likelihood to recommend to a friend, and overall satisfaction. However, they'll not get a ten from me, and I didn't bother complaining about it because I know they really couldn't do much about the main problems I had with the hotel...and some that developed later.

The biggest problem was that on their website, it claimed that the hotel had wireless access. (On the individual room amenities page it said broadband in each room, which it did have.) However the wireless system was not working. According to the hospitality desk, wireless had never been fully working in the hotel, since it was installed. Most other Hilton's that I've stayed at have had free wireless access, I'm not sure why all of So.Cal feels the need to charge for this. It's likely that I could have gotten the broadband for free rather than paying the $24 fee had I complained. However since it said the service was $24 for 3 days and I signed up and got the service for the same price for a full week, I felt a little better.

My second issue was one of housekeeping. They did a great job of making up our room, but in terms of being a 10, there were some spots in the room (like behind the wicker couch) that had not been vacuumed in a long, long time. Usually I wouldn't care, but if they want to be a 10, they need to pay more attention to the details and train all of their people to be that picky.

Lastly, the elevators were plain screwy. I know that the crowd of 3,500 people all on the same schedule made things a little hectic, but there was always a long wait for the elevator. When we left this morning I waited more than 15 minutes for an elevator that I could fit all our luggage in (I only skipped 2 elevators). During that time, only 2 elevators came by, and one was going up. It was all but empty so I assumed it would stop back on the way down, but it never did.

Overall I was happy with our stay, and I'm glad that they are committed to being a 10, but they fell a little short - more into the 8s I would say.

Posted by Jesse at 10:35 PM | Comments (4)

September 26, 2004

Just a small update

I woke up early for a seminar that turned out to not be nearly as informative as I had hoped, but it was at least more helpful then the one I attended yesterday. After that, I decided to try to make today a bit less hectic and to enjoy the conference, but also enjoy being away.

I wound up skipping the speakers for both of today's general sessions, but the rest of the sessions were good. We also had a long time for dinner, got some pool time in and were able to both go to this evening's comedy club.

The afternoon seminar was very informative and helpful and I'm looking forward to going tomorrow morning.
As with most posts this week, I'll end by saying...more details later.

Posted by Jesse at 2:46 AM | Comments (1)

September 25, 2004

A Post Too Far

My intention had been to make regular entries about the convention, but I don't know if that'll happen, at least not to the extent I had hoped. I still intend to write each day, but I was hoping to be able to detail some of the sessions. It's likely that I am not going to do that for several reasons....

First, the days are jam-packed. I knew that from last year, but it also seems that I had more energy last year. Maybe it;s the hotel...anyhow, the time seems even more pressed.
Secondly, not that you readers don't count, but Kevin and Teri are here and spending time with them will be the focus when I have extra time, not blogging.
Third, I have school work to do tonight, and again have some things due Sunday as well as again when I get home.
Lastly, the underlying theme that God is sending me is that I need to reduce the hurriedness in my life (more about that later) and spending time blogging on top of all else certainly won't help me relax.

So, sit back, enjoy - when I have time I'll add a convention category - and I'll certainly have updates, some in depth, some not so much.

Posted by Jesse at 3:20 AM

September 23, 2004

A Walk in the Park

After getting checked in, we went in search of food, then came back to the hotel to take a much needed nap. We set the alarm for 3 pm so we could leave for Disneyland by 3:30 and get to the park by 4. I woke up about 60 minutes later thinking that we had overslept, but was was delighted to see that there was still 45 minutes left. Woo Hoo!

I woke up just a bit before 3 and got ready - my right eye is totally bloodshot, and the left doesn't look much better, I look like some kind of junkie.
So we set off for the park, passing a 7-11 on the way. Just short of the park, both Teri and I decided that we should have stopped for water - too late now though, we forged ahead. There's something about the sun in California that just seems to make it more draining then in MD - perhaps we're further south and that is the cause.

I was worried that there wouldn't be enough time to do what we wanted to since 4 hours at a theme park can seem pretty short. As it turned out, we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit, Kevin, while overwhelmed didn't get overloaded and 4 hours was just right. The park is much smaller than I expected and the majority of rides seemed to be focused on the small children (toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary school). Of course, that's likely why North Point uses a Disney philosophy when it talks about KidStuf and family ministry.
We went to every "land" in the park, and double tracked over some a few times.

My biggest observation - take away - is that the park is quite small. It's also very expensive. While I am used to theme parks getting top dollar for the souvenirs, Disney is a bit over the top. For instance, mouse ears, which is a paper cap, with thin plastic ears stapled on were $7.00 - anything made of cloth seemed to be at least $20. The food prices, were not as bad, just theme park prices. On a positive note, they did sell fruit as well as the traditional candy of most parks.

I don't mean to sound like I didn't enjoy our time there, Kevin had a blast, and so did I. I went hoping that he would have a good time, and his doing so means I did as well. You can read his blog for more on that.

My goal/enjoyment focus of theme parks have really changed, and I think that I would be happy if I were to never go to one again, at least, not alone. I'll be happy to go with Kevin, or other kids, but for me alone, the love seems to have been lost. When we went to King's Dominion last year, and now, with Disneyland, my focus and enjoyment was on those I was with - perhaps that'd be a good thing for many parts of our lives.

Posted by Jesse at 5:36 PM

September 22, 2004

Flying the Friendly Skies

This morning finds our intrepid travelers on the way to the National Youth Workers Conference in Anaheim, CA. I woke up this morning around 3 to fit in getting dressed, last minute stuff, and to get to the airport by 5, yes, 5 am!

It's been a little while since I've flown with United, but it's been one of the more pleasant trips in recent history. We're currently cruising somewhere near the CA border, about an hour from touchdown. Our layover in Denver allows me to cross one more state off my list, but Colorado is somewhere I want to have a chance to spend a bit more time then just the hour at the airport.

When we disembarked the plane at Denver, we had to wait for the stroller, which wasn't too bad since it was considerably cooler in the walkway then it was on the plane. Unfortunately, the heat and motion took a toll on Kevin and while we were waiting he "had a reversal" and threw up on his shirt and socks. Hearing the tell-tale signs I was able to hold him away from me so I wasn't in the line of fire. We cleaned him up and stopped by an airport gift shirt - he's now sporting a "I need a Hug - Colorado" shirt.

I'm looking forward to the conference (and to get away from these two loud kids traveling with their grandparents) and some time with Teri and Kevin. I know that our time will be somewhat limited since Teri wants to be able to make certain seminars - as do I. The conference has stuff going on almost all the time. Late night options run until well after 12, and morning options start before 7. I don't see myself going to any of the early morning stuff, but if last year is any judge, I'll be fairly busy the rest of the time.

We will have some time today, though. Youth Specialties has discount tickets to Disneyland and we're arriving a day early to take advantage of some twilight passes. That'll get us into the park after 4 and until close, which will be more than enough time for Kevin - and likely plenty of time for us as well.

The conference officially starts Friday, but I signed up for a Critical Concerns Course, which is an 8 hour course running tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning. I'll post more about that later since I can't remember the name of the course right now. They offer 7 or 8 and the one I attended last year was quite good.

More from ground zero later.

Posted by Jesse at 9:41 AM | Comments (1)

September 18, 2004

A Day Away

After working a half day to day, I came home and packed up the car and headed off to the BCM/D's Minister's family retreat. It's at the Willow Valley resort in Lancaster and is a pretty nice facility, save for the fact that there is not Internet connection.

When we arrived, we changed and headed for the pool. Kevin absolutely loved the water park which was designed for kids and enjoyed time in the kiddie pool as well. After cleaning up from the pool, we headed to dinner. I meet up with several area youth pastors and we dined with BJ, our pastor's daughter. The food was outstanding. I had salad, two plates of dinner, and a ton of desserts including cherry pie, cookies, brownies and brownie cupcakes. Kevin ate a ton of food as well. Everything from shrimp and crab to mashed potatoes and french fries.

After dinner, Kevin went to play with kids his age and we went to a conference and worship time. All in all a very good day, and quite relaxing to boot.

Posted by Jesse at 1:59 PM

September 6, 2004

A Turn for TiVo?

Mark already pointed this out, - Newsweek will be running a story about TiVo and Netflix partnering to deliver movies to the home via broadband connection. There's speculation about what movies would be available. Some are saying only old movies, some think all. Either way, it should boost TiVo's stock a bit tomorrow and again when the story goes to the stand, and it's a needed boost.

TiVo was at an all time high around $12 earlier this year and has dropped to just under $5 in recent months. Many are saying they are in trouble since DirecTV will be using other DVRs in addition to TiVo and they have no cable deals. We'll see, but I don't think they'll be going anywhere anytime soon.

Posted by Jesse at 8:27 PM

September 4, 2004

The Life of David Gale

Just finished watching this movie. While there wasn't any real use for the Kate Winslet character plot wise, using her as a viewing device was very well done. The movie held my attention, kept me thinking and was quite suspenseful.

However, it did seem to have quite a few holes, had a somewhat clumsy ending, and all in all wasn't really believable - but then again, most movies are just a touch outside of reality, which is what makes them interesting.

I'll leave the whole death penalty issue for some other post.

Rating 3 stars out of 5

Posted by Jesse at 11:03 PM

August 28, 2004

The Missing

We watched The Missing this afternoon. It's listed in IMDB as Drama / Western / Action / Thriller, which made me think it didn't know what it wanted to be, but it held those pretty well. Not a bad movie, but not exactly a must see either. If you have the time, and you like westerns it's worth a watch.
As a movie, it's simply average.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Posted by Jesse at 11:07 PM

May 26, 2004

SD7: The Voyage Home

To blog or to sleep....

Right now, I'm sitting next to a sleeping Kevin on a red-eye to Philly. We're expecting to get in an hour early so that should prove to be an interesting time with him. I'm going to be headed to sleepyland myself as soon as I finish out my thoughts on today's events.

Since we were 95% packed last night, there wasn't much to do when we got up. we wondered down for breakfast, then packed the truck hopped in and...had nowhere to go. Our flight didn't leave for 12 more hours.

We headed to Viajes, a native american sovereign nation to visit their outlet mall. It had the typical stores fo most outlet malls, nothing special, but a decent way to kill a few hours.

Back in San Diego we took a quick trip to Coronodo to see the ocean, then headed to Hillcrest and Pizza Nuvo for dinner (have I mentioned how good wood-fired pizza is?). As expected dinner was quite tasty. After finishing it up, we headed to the park to give Kevin some play time and have a fitting end to our vacation.

As the sun started to set, we headed back to Budget to return the SUV. When we arrived at the Fastbreak I talked to the checkout person and showed her our free double upgrade coupon. She took it and said that we could get a full size SUV if we were interested, so we did. I'm glad, we had so much space while we traveled, however it did take a lot of gas. We filled in once for just over $50, then when we returned it, we had to put in 3/4 of a tank, which ran another $45. Anyhow, we got the SUV and she said to keep the coupon.

When we returned the car, they said that a receipt would need to be printed inside. I went inside and the guy said our you putting it on the same card? Yes. Are you Jason Williams? No. Hmmm...you know it's nice when you rent a car and get it for free.

I asked what he meant and he said that the rental was free. Cool.

I know some other interesting thoughts were to be had about the day, but my head is beinging to hurt and it's almost 3 am back home so it's time to sleep.

Posted by Jesse at 3:32 AM | Comments (1)

May 25, 2004

Wi-Fi at Westfield

Right now I am sitting at an outdoor mall waiting for Teri and Kevin to finish their browsing. Our primary goal was to stop here, hop on the 'net and see if we could get an earlier flight home, then check for directions to another mall.All the earlier flights are sold out, so we'll continue with the red-eye and be home early tomorrow.

In the mean time, here I sit. It's nice to just sit back, enjoy the fresh air (over the smell of the various fast food and other surrounding things), and listen to the birds. It's a little chilly....

The accss is $3 a day, or $20 for the month, but it's a neat concept and worth the cost. I get good signal strength from just about anywhere (but not from the parking lot).

Technology is a neat thing, it takes so little to amuse me. Speaking of amusing, time to go find the family.

Posted by Jesse at 1:15 PM

May 24, 2004

SD6: Buy some of my junk

Today's action took our family south of the boarder to Tijuana, Mexico. It was about what I expected, but easier to cross the boarder than I thought it would be.

We took a shuttle over which dropped us in the heart of the tourist portion of the city. From everywhere there were people holding things out and asking us to come into their store "for the heck of it," so we could "buy some more junk." They even offered free and valet parking for the stroller.

We only spent a few hours there, not much to see or do once you've walked a block or so, so we bought some junk that we'll throw away in a few years and headed back to the bus stop. The bus dropped us off at customs and we waled through and got on the bus to go back to the parking lot.

After lunch we went to the park and let Kevin play on the various equipment for about an hour, then headed back to the hotel. Teri got in some pool time and I took a long awaited nap, then back out for dinner.

Today was the day for overpriced meals. For lunch we went to the City Delicatessen; being a deli, I thought they would have deli type prices, but it's a place that's trying to be chic. Most of the sandwiches were $8, another $1 for cheese, and another if you want fries...$10 for a ham sandwich? No thanks. I had pancakes and Teri had a hot turkey sandwich. The food was good and I got some cookies from the bakery as well.

For dinner we ate at Sammy's Wood fired pizza. It too was over the top price wise. Their deserts run around $7.95. Teri and I split a pizza and Kevin got a kid's pizza (which is very well priced; 5 inch pizza for $3.95 including drink). Of all the food that we've had out here, I think I'll miss the wood-fired pizza the most. Something about the way it's cooked makes for an outstanding crust.

Tonight, we have some down time. Most of the stuff has been packed, we're both had our fill of going places and we're just sitting here, blogging, and enjoying the sounds of babbling coming from the other room where Kevin is supposed to be sleeping.

Posted by Jesse at 1:53 PM

May 23, 2004

SD5: The highlight reel

The trip so good you do it twice.

We took a trip to La Jolla to see Children's Pool Beach. It's a beach that is protected from the ocean so the waves aren't very rough. Parents used to take their children there (thus the name), but now it's home to harbor seals and sea lions. Kevin wasn't to happy with that part of the trip so we didn't stay long.

Then, the day went into highlight mode. We went to Sea World and saw the polar bears, which was closed when we went before. We also got to pet and have our pictures taken with one of the clydesdales, then we stopped by the sea lions, otters and dolphins on the way out.

We grabbed lunch, brought it back to the hotel and took a short break. Then we headed to the zoo. I wanted to see the Orangutans again and we traveled around a bit as well. Many of the animals were very actives, including the Oranutans, the Gorillas, and some of the bears. One of the orangutans was against the glass and Kevin was able to point out his feet and tried to kiss him.

Kevin was also only a few feet from the Rhino as it did a little bit of pacing. It was a good day for him to see many of the animals that were not as active when we went on Wednesday. We also went to the children's zoo so Kevin could pet the goats again.

On the way home we stopped at a park and let Kevin play on the equipment for a little while before heading, once again, to the Corvette Diner for out anniversary dinner. Again, this was a great choice. Kevin really enjoys the atmosphere and we enjoyed the food. They brought us a slice of cheesecake to help celebrate our anniversary and all of us got little paper hats, which Kevin really enjoyed.

It was a nice relaxing day and repeating some of what we did already added to the relaxing atmosphere.

Posted by Jesse at 1:49 PM

May 22, 2004

SD4: L.A. Confidential

Today's trip took us to L.A. - more specifically Hollywood - to see the walk of fame. While we were there we also took a trip into Beverly Hills and drove down Rodeo drive....most likely the last trip I'll ever take to L.A.

The walk of fame is pathetic. Teri said it's like Baltimore meets Vegas, which is a close description. It's like someone had an idea to bring tourist, but forgot that of they only looked at the ground, no one would go in the stores. As a result, many of the stores are vacant, and there is trash all over the place. I'm sure they clean it up for the emmies, but I would venture to say that it is neglected the other 51 weeks of the year.

Being from the DC area, I though I knew what traffic was...I had no clue. We may have the second worst traffic in the nation in DC, but it isn't even half of what LA was like. EVERYWHERE we went was backed up. And not just the city. When we left traffic didn't break until we got out of LA county.

The only upside was lunch. We went to Mel's Drive-In, which is no longer a drive in. As expected, it had a Hollywood price, but the food was OK and the portions were generous. Teri had the biggest salad I've ever seen.

Posted by Jesse at 1:46 PM | Comments (1)

Going to Church

Sundays are usually spent in church so instead we decided to go on Saturday night. We planned on going to Saddleback since it was between San Diego and LA. They have a 4:30 & 6:30 and we decided to spend some extra time in LA and go to the 6:30 service. The traffic kept us from being on time, but we got to the church at 6:40. We checked Kevin into All-Stars and headed to the worship center.

The pastor had just started speaking and the message was pretty good. We filled out a Information card and in return received a free tape of the service. They have a pretty big campus but I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.

They were having a program a little after the service called "Laugh on Purpose" where they have Christian comedians perform. The cost was only $4 so we stayed. The first comedian was pretty good and had a few jokes about some of the things that we noticed about the area. He took about an hour and after that Kevin was ready to go so we didn't stay for the other ones.

Posted by Jesse at 1:45 PM

May 21, 2004

SD3: I would walk 500 miles

Today we took a trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was not originally intended to be opened to the public and knowing that takes the irritation out of having to do all the walking that is involved. There are quite a few steep hills and in order to see all the exhibits, you need to double back a few times because not all the paths loop.

It's a great park to visit if you get a chance, but be prepared to walk. The first thing that we did when we got to the park was to head for the monorail to tour the park. The ride last about an hour and the best view is from the right side of the tram. If you get to the park early, take the ride early - the line grows longer as the day goes on.

We had lunch in the heart of Africa, which had a good view of some of the animals and the wrap that we ate tasted good to boot. We went to two shows, the elephant show (which is not impressive at all) and the bird show, which was more talk than flying but it was entertaining.

We saw a majority of the park, skipping the long walk out to see plant landscapes and skipping Dino Mountain (cost $2) that has animatronics dinosaurs. I'm glad that we brought binoculars it allowed us to get a better view of some of the animals.

Despite the walking it was an enjoyable day. It was also a wise choice to make this the third park of the three. We weren't concerned with seeing a bunch of animals one right after the other and the shade provided us rest from the glaring sun of Sea World.

Kevin enjoyed the Gorillas who were out and about a few of the times that we passed by their habitat. The two of us also paid the $2 to be able to feed the lorikeets. They give you a cup of nectar and when you enter the aviary and hold out your arm, the bird will land on you and eat out of the cup. All of us also took turns feeding a giraffe, again at $2 each.

For dinner we went to Pizza Nuvo, which is said to be kid friendly, really wasn't. The pizza was outstanding, Teri Kevin and I polished off a 14 inch pie. I also had 5 sprites to help with the jalapenos that were on my half of the pizza.

Posted by Jesse at 1:44 PM

May 20, 2004

Ruby's Diner

Westfield, the operator of the local outdoor mall was on my list of hot spot providers so we decided to take a look and see if there was anything there for dinner. Turns out there was a great diner (but the hotspot was for a fee).

Ruby's is themed like a 50's diner, complete with red "leather" booths and black and white tile. They're doing a strawberry promotion and had a wonderful looking belgian waffle, but alas, breakfast is only until 11. She offered a few drink choices and I took her up on the cherry coke and I am glad I did. It wasn't a Cherry Coke that we've come to know, but coke, with cherry flavoring - it was fantastic.

Kevin had a corn dog from the kid's meal, Teri enjoyed a Ham & Cheese melt, and lacking breakfast choices, I had a Ruby scramble. The scramble is eggs, potatoes, choice of meat, green peppers, and onions all stirred together and topped with cheese. It was quite good, but we'll have to try them again for breakfast.

On the kid friendly scale, I'd say this is a good choice for kid's of any age. To top it off, it was economical, about $25 for all of us.

Highlight: The Cherry coke is worth the trip from anywhere near San Diego.

Posted by Jesse at 11:42 PM | Comments (1)

SD2: Knees on fire

We got ready to to head to Sea World this morning and made sure that everyone put on sunscreen, I however forgot my legs. Sea World involves alot of sitting in the sun and after the first show I realized that the top of my legs (just past the shorts) was beginning to get burned. I applied sunscreen then and every little while thereafter, but it was to late, they were already burnt.

Sea World is a neat place, but it is a bit costly for what's available. They space out the shows (currently there are 5) so that you can go to each one, one right after the other. To get decent shows, you need to get to the stadiums about 20 minutes early and each show is just over 20 minutes. Travel time between stadiums is also 20 minutes which doesn't leave you much time if you want to make all the shows. Basically, you sit in the sun for 20 minutes waiting, then sit watching the show, then walk to the next place to sit in the sun and wait. That really sucks your energy level and after a few shows frays your nerves. It'd be nice if they were able to set some more time between them, but I don't think that's an option. Most events have 2 shows so there may be a better plan of attack.

On to the shows...

We wanted to see 4 of the 5 shows and had to skip to the late viewing for the last show in order to have lunch before 3. We ate at the Shipyard Cafe, which touts family style dinning and a chance to see some animals. While we were there they had a Macaw fly near our table, but that was the extent of it. The food, like most amusement parks, was over priced, but this seemed more than usual. They did have fresh fruit and salad ($7 for a garden salad) which was a bonus, but it took a long long time to get the food and really wasn't any more family oriented than any other spot in the park. The food was also a bit dry. Don't go out of your way to eat here, but you need not avoid it either.

We saw the dolphin show first and it was a good show with a special twist. Next up was Fools with Tools a sea lion and otter show. It was very entertaining, but really was the same tricks we saw at the zoo yesterday, just more showmanship. Kevin was in awe and really enjoyed the sea lions. Out side the stadium is a place where you can feed the sea lions and seals. It's $4 for 4 fish and you really have to take care that the gulls do not steal your fish. Feeding them is well worth the money if you are at all interested in the sea lions. They bark and carry on for the food making for an entertaining show.

The other two shows we saw were Shamu and the new Pet's Rule. Shamu was interesting but Pet's Rule was great. It's a show that involves all kinds of pets and displays a number of tricks that each of the animals can do. There was more than 30 animals involved in the show and a big hit with Kevin.

If you are traveling with a toddler, see Fools with Tools and Pet's Rule. The others may or may not be interesting for them. We sat in the soak zone for each show, but only got sprinkled twice. In the dolphin show we were about 6 rows back and slightly to the left -misted. For Shamu we were just right of center and 8 rows back - dry. Tools with Fools we were in the back of the splash zone dead center. Only the first row was able to get wet. In the best show we were second row in the center and was sprinkled as was anyone in the soak zone.

The penguin show was not worth waiting for and they closed the polar bears for a special event. It would have been nice to have notice of the early closing but none was given.

If you go, bring plenty of sunscreen and try to go when it's not to hot outside. There isn't much shade and you will be in the sun for each show you attend. And while I am pointing out the negatives, it's a Pepsi establishment.

Highlight of the day was being able to touch a dolphin. They have an interactive experience that starts at $140, but for only $4 for 4 fish, you can feed them and pet them at the dolphin petting pool near the otters. There's a chance that you can touch them as they swim by, but you can guarantee a touch by buying the fish.

Posted by Jesse at 10:59 PM

May 19, 2004

SD1: Corvette Diner

For dinner, even though we were exhausted from our trip to the zoo, we searched out the Corvette Diner. We headed into downtown thinking it was there, but it was well out of down town in what looked to be the part of town where the middle class lived.

The diner is great for kids. There's music (50's style), fun wait staff, magicians, and good food. We were seated quickly and out waitress walked by shortly after tossing a handful of straws at us. She returned shortly to take out drink order and let us know about the specials. As usual, I asked if they could make an adjustment to a sandwich on the menu and they were happy to make the change.

The restaurant is very service oriented and asks you to make sure that you ask for a manager or send your food back if you are not completely happy. The atmosphere allowed for Kevin to be as noisy as he wanted to without disturbing anyone around him. We paid around $35 for the 3 of us (they do have a kid's menu) and I had desert to go. We'll likely return before we go home.

Street parking is available; we parked 2 blocks away, on 34th, but I didn't feel completely safe returning to the car in the dark. There is also valet and garage parking for about $4.

Standout: Kevin had an Oreo shake with his meal and it was the best Oreo shake that I have tasted. The shake alone is worth going there for, but the atmosphere is a close second.

Posted by Jesse at 10:56 PM

San Diego vacation: Day 1

I gotta hand it to socalfreenet (I think that's their name, I'll fix it when I can) for setting up free hot spots around the city. There are some places that charge and some that don't, but San Diego out paces most places I've been.
It's a bit of a bummer not to have access at the hotel, but it's just not worth the price. We got a hotel that had two rooms so we could be awake in one room and still have a place where Kevin could sleep. The best priced place was Mission Valley Comfort Suites. Not a bad place so far and they have a free continental breakfast, but they charge $9.95 a day for Internet access, or $45 a week - about what we pay for a month.

Instead of paying out the nose, Teri and I will be roaming the city from time to time and connecting for free from the rental. So if you live in San Diego and see a man and woman in a white Explorer with darkened back windows, sitting on the side of the road working on laptops it's not the Feds, it's just us.

Our first jaunt into this today was outside a deli called Influx near downtown. The reception was okay and I was able to do everything I needed except download my mail. It's likely that I could have figured out that problem if I wanted to take the time, but it was time to eat and Kevin was hungry so we moved on.

Ok, on to the zoo...

The day started with a trip to the San Diego zoo. We got there when it opened at 9 and left around 5. There was a whole lot of walking involved, but it was well worth it. The zoo has a large number of exhibits and many different animals (although I'd say they have an excessive amount of birds). If you have plans to visit, start in the morning when they open. As soon as we entered we were greeted by two peacocks that we able to wonder around on their own. There was also a few other bird throughout the zoo that had the ability to roam.

Alot of guidebooks say to take the bus tour right away but if you are there early in the morning, spend your time seeing the animals while they are active and save the tour until mid-day when most of them are resting. The only animals you can see well from the bus are the larger ones and many of the interesting animals (such as the primates) are not part of the tour. If the tour isn't included as part of your admission fee (like with the 3 in 1 pass) I'd say pass on paying the $10 unless you really want to ride a double-decker bus. If you do take the tour, sit in the middle of the bus. When they stop at an exhibit they try to center the bus, which means that sitting in the front puts you past prime viewing. It's a wash as to left or right, both sides have their share of animals, although there are a few more on the left. You can stand on the bus and move a bit to take pictures or get a better view, so sides don't really matter.

There is plenty of shade throughout the park and while it is a huge zoo, you can visit most of it in a day. The sea lion show is worth watching, unfortunately it was the only show that we saw. The cats sleep most of the time and the bears are most active in the evening, so plan you trip accordingly. There are also some steep and some very steep hills, but they can be avoided if you plan your walk and use the escalators.

The zoo is pricey, but it is well worth the cost if you have any children that are interested in animals.

Posted by Jesse at 9:53 PM

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

We took Kevin to the San Diego zoo today. It's dinner time now so I don't have time to blog much about it, but it was a very interesting zoo. Some of the exhibits are the best I've seen and some could use some help. All in all I enjoyed the outing and would gladly go again (though I am not sure if I would on this trip).

I'll blog more after dinner and upload it once we find a free hotspot.

Posted by Jesse at 9:07 PM

April 30, 2004

If you don't ask...

you'll be stuck with the no that you have. That's one of Teri's favorite phrases, I'd rather have something worded a little more catchy, but I don't have a nice phrase like that so I have to go with it.

Anyhow, I'm in the home stretch of coming home. I stopped in Alpheretta and picked up dinner, turns out I should have hurried here instead. It didn't occur to me until I hit the terminal that I should ask to be put on stand-by on an earlier flight, if there was one. I checked the departures when I got to the terminal, and there was a flight that was leaving at 8:04. Unfortunately, it was already 7:58 which means the doors were closed. No big deal, since I didn't ask for stand-by, we'd have to wait at the airport for my bags anyhow. However, quite a few people missed their connection, so there were seats available, so had I left earlier, I could have made it.

Anyhow, I had a middle seat when I checked in, so when I got to the gate, i asked for an exit row, or an aisle. She checked the seating and said all she had was an exit row window. Not knowing where it was, I took it. Turns out that it is the first row (behind first class). So, not is there more leg room from being an exit row, there will be extra space because there should be no seats in front of me. And the bonus, I'll be able to get off the plane nearly first and see the wife and kid.

Posted by Jesse at 9:19 PM

April 29, 2004

Yawn!

I'm so tired that I'm ready to cry. The conference is fantastic, which is the only reason that I haven't fallen asleep. Actually, I'm pretty up from the conference, so I'm beyond tired but I'm not sleepy.

I'll go into the conference in another post, I'm getting ready to head in to the last session for the day (then theirs a Kid Stuf presentation later on), then I'll grab dinner and head back to the room for TV and finishing up some work that I told my VBS director I would do last week. (Sorry Cherith!)

The tiredness is from a lack of sleep. I have a tendency to stay up, especially when I am away and alone. I decided not to go with this inclination last night but it was of no use, sleep was evasive. Then, about 30 minutes after I fell asleep someone decided to hold a meet and greet right out side the room. I fell back asleep later, only to wake up again later - I found up that the paper gets delivered about 3 am each morning. Hopefully tonight I'll feel more familiar to the bed and the environment and be able to sleep better.

Quick conference note: The between session music has been great. This morning was Surfin' Safari, Kokomo, and things like that. Right now is Black Water & Sittin' on the dock of the Bay. Very catchy and upbeat.

Posted by Jesse at 4:27 PM | Comments (2)

April 28, 2004

That stinks

Hmmm...I wonder if I should add a travel category....anyhow, on to what stinks.

Stink #1
It's 8:30 and I'm getting ready to sit down for dinner.

I took a jaunt to the mall, which was somewhat productive and delayed dinner a bit, but that wasn't to bad...but now that it's late and I don't have said dinner yet, it turned out not to be the best of moves.

Stink #2
I wanted to try out a place called Moe's Southwest grill. Sounded neat and tasty. When I got there, I found out it was a Chipotle clone. Not that it would be bad, but just not what I was in the mood for. Unfortunately, all the other places are back by the mall and not a run I wanted to make, so I went next door to Moe's to a place called Mellow Mushroom. Turned out to be a pizza place, but one that reminds me of the old scoop shop in D.C. Kind of a throw-back to the 60s. They have a patio so I figured I would eat out there and get some work done.

Stink #3
Customers with cigarettes. Welcome to the south I suppose. Anyhow, I don't want to eat in stink without air and I don't want to eat inside with the "Deadhead" style 60s music so I figured I'd get it to go...and hey, it's only 8:20, I can be back in the room and catch the end of Survivor during dinner.

Stink #4
I realized Survivor is on tomorrow, nothing but crap is on tonight.

Well, back in the room, the pizza is so-so, but topped with lots of goodies...jerk chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, green peppers, and onions.

Posted by Jesse at 9:19 PM | Comments (2)

Various Items

Hotel:
I've checked in and I have a first floor room right across from the pool. I'm thinking I'll take a dip before dinner, maybe it'll wake me up a bit. The wireless network is a nice feature, I'm going to find out later if I can use the computer outside. There's a nice patio downstairs and if tomorrow's like today, it'll be a nice place for dinner (unless dinner is provided by the conference). They also have remote printing, but I don't think I'll need to worry with that.

Rental car:
When I made a reservation for the car, I also downloaded a coupon from the Budget site for a one-class upgrade. When I gave it to them at the counter, she said that they were a franchise and that they did not take that coupon. Oh well, at least I tried. Then, she did her computer thing that she needed to do and said that they were out of compacts and were giving me a mid-size at the same price.
I'm driving a Dodge Stratus. Not to bad, but I have to sit pretty far back from the steering wheel and that's a little odd. When I pulled the luggage out I noticed that there was a glow in the dark pull tab for the trunk release in case you get stuck in the trunk. Is that a problem? Are there a lot of people crawling into trunks and getting stuck?

Other things:
I took a trip up to Dawsonville (or something like that) to the outlet mall that they have. Nothing spectacular. Picked up Impossible Creatures and a gift for Teri and Kevin.

TV stinks right now, and I miss the TiVo...best thing on is Swim Fan and that doesn't look that good. Time for food and or a swim.

Posted by Jesse at 6:04 PM