DJ Flies Solo

I got back to FC the Sunday before last, as the wife remains in DC. I fell in love with my grandchildren during my visit. I’m sure no one has ever said this before, but they are the cutest bundles ever. I get to see them again during Christmas and the wife flies back to SFO Friday.  I was concerned about her flight but #1, who knows everything, told me many of the flights that have been canceled are regional ones, with the hub-to-hub flights mostly remaining a go.

I’ve kept myself relatively busy during my wife’s absence. I’ve racked up several trifectas and have spent some time at my new volunteer gig as well as donating blood on Monday. That sounds like a packed schedule for a geezer. I always donate the “power red”, which only takes half an hour and can only be done three times a year, so it fits my packed geezer schedule. This procedure gives them two units of red blood cells vs. one.  There are some height and weight requirements but when they see me walk in the door, they think to themselves “power red beast!”.

I saw a lot of #1 last week and we walked together on Monday, aiding me on another trifecta. He was here last week to re-do the frame on our living room picture window. In addition to knowing everything, he is a project-driven individual. I told him just to come in anytime in case I was gone.  This led to several visits and this week’s recurring nightmare that starts “Hide, he’s here again!”, which has caused me to trash the bed a few times. I’m not taking any chances, so the place has been locked up tight since he finished.

Moving on to politics, the Dems had a hell of a night on Election Day. Trump said that was because there was no Trump on the ballot. His takes are always so understated. The headlines today are screaming about some newly released emails saying that Trump knew about Epstein’s behavior. This comes as a surprise to exactly no one, but if it helps push him closer to oblivion or Hades, so be it. His aides are on him to stop pushing the narrative that America’s financial anxiety is fake. Even the kindhearted Laura Ingraham brought it up in a recent interview. She also asked him if the gold-plated items littering the Oval Office were from Home Depot. That one probably left a mark. 

In Kardashian world, Kris Jenner celebrated her 70th birthday at a big bash hosted by Jeff Bezos and all her closest friends were there, but it seems they deleted all the pictures with Meghan and Harry. I will need to follow up to get to the bottom of this, but one headline did say Meghan was in “networking mode”. We also found out recently that Kim did not pass the bar exam. I thought she was a shoo-in. She put out a TikTok video badmouthing the four psychics that said she would pass.  I think they get paid in advance. Lastly, it looks like Kylie and Tim may be no more, but I am getting conflicting info from my sources.

I wanted to let you folks know that I’m struggling a bit in my football pool.  I’m in a six-way tie for 22nd place, with 98 wins vs. 105 for first place. I’d give you my week 11 picks, but I expect to spend the rest of the day analyzing the situation before I submit them. I am pretty sure I’m safe picking the Patriots over the Jets for TNF. If you got any inside skinny for me, send it along.

Traveling Man

I started this post yesterday morning at the charming Ocean Palms Beach Resort in Carlsbad. We attended TCG's younger son's (aka Sonny Boy 2 aka SB2) beautiful wedding on Saturday evening.  I admit to tearing up during the ceremony. I regret bringing only one tissue. During the cocktail hour the village crammed into a 1970 VW bus that doubled as a photo booth. After a few near injuries, we decided we would do two separate sessions, boys then girls. This was followed by a delectable dinner and many poignant speeches from the parents and siblings. The desserts were killer, especially the churros. I'd say the evening was flawless except for #1 bugging me about my blog.

Before we departed the Ocean Palms, the wife went out to get us some takeout breakfast. She brings me breakfast every morning. NOT! TCG, Katie and her sister joined us. TCG and Katie had some golf outings lined up, including nearby Aviara, which is a stone's throw from where my mother-in-law lived for many years. Since we were just discussing SNL's The Californians on Saturday evening, we let them know we were taking THE 5 to the airport.

Today will be the only full day we will be home, as we head to DC tomorrow, where I will be starring as D POP as well as a supporting role in Top Chef. We expect to max out their freezer. I'm still scared of infants, but I think I'll be able handle baby holding duties as long as I get settled in a comfy chair.

Of course there is a plethora of political news, celebrity news and football news to discuss, but I am a busy man so you will have to wait for my next post. That means you #1 and JB.

Hugs

Trifecta

It’s 1pm and I haven’t eaten lunch yet. Why? Because I was completing the trifecta, the stretch/walk/swim routine I do to keep this dad bod, or D Pop bod, in optimal shape.

#1 and Barbie came by for dinner Monday night.  I had two NFL games to watch but the wife overruled me.  We whipped up the fantastic recipe below, but I lost both of those MNF games. I currently stand at 60–33, 5 games out of first place. What the hell is going on in the NFL anyway?  The Giants take out a tough Chargers team as well as the reigning Super Bowl champs but can’t beat The Aints! I’ve decided I need to pick at least one upset weekly going forward, which is the Jets first win in week 7.  Jaxon Dart will continue to throw darts this weekend vs. the Broncos.  That’s a tough pick, but I’m going with Denver. This guy is a Denver fan and he’s good for a few chuckles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nctZNMhL_lk&t=1448s

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-marbella-updated-7609227

Here’s this week’s picks.  It is not safe to count out the Chiefs since they opened a can of whoopass on my boy Wolv’s Lions. That will be one of their few losses this year.  I was tempted to take the Jags over Rams but didn’t.  Will that come back to haunt me? And I’m afraid the home team is just too banged up.

Pit LAR Chi Cle KC Phi NYJ NE Den Ind GB Was Atl Det Sea

Anybody need more cowbell? Your federal government in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Tus_ch_aA&list=RDE-Tus_ch_aA&start_radio=1

Back in Beautiful Foster City

I’ve not slept well for the past couple nights, ever since JB announced to me that it has been 11 days since my last post. I also saw a hit yesterday from Winslow, AZ, where #1 and Barbie were standing on a corner, so I decided it was time to get in gear.

The big news is that, as of September 27, we are grandparents. LGMG came through it well and has been home for about a week, but the two little ones, a boy and a girl, are still in the hospital.  They are both doing well but need a little more time to develop as they were premature. LGMG’s parents are there now, and D Pop and Grammy will be heading east at the end of the month.

We were on the last leg of our Utah national park tour when the twins arrived, about to set off to Vegas. The Vegas portion went well enough, but it is tough encountering so many desperate people in one place. I made some money playing blackjack at the $10 table at our hotel, The Westgate, only to give it back the next morning. I also put a C note on the Colts over the Ram, which I would have won if not for the foibles of WR Adonai Mitchell. We had two fantastic old school dinners at Piero’s and Top of Binion’s Steakhouse.  Both joints featured the bucket o’ martini. When we got back to SFO, The Hotelier went back to work and the rest of us went back to doing nothing.

We were back for a few days when we were generously invited to dinner at another classic old-time place, The Iron Gate in Belmont, by the parents of The Banker. They are in their 80’s but are moving faster than I can.  They split their time between Florida and New York, with regular visits to the bay to see the kids, grandkids and great grandkids. We had big fun, great food and were among the last to leave.

I see that MAGA is up in arms about the selection of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl half-time show. Mike Johnson wants someone for a broader audience, like Lee Greenwood, the 82-year-old who’s been making hay with his corny, nationalistic tune for over 40 years. I don’t think Mike has his finger on the pulse of the nation.  How about Zach Bryan? Or maybe Mike should stick with what he’s good at, like taking healthcare and food away from kids.

Everybody has their problems.  Hollywood is pooping their pants over Tilly Norwood, Pam Biondi wants senators to apologize to Trump for trying to impeach him, Kristi Noem got triggered by a guy in a chicken suit and I’m pissed that Hilaria Baldwin got voted off Dancing with the Stars. Hilaria said she is not a “nepo wife” but she might not have a grasp on the definition.

We’re putting on a tapas feast this weekend for the driveway cocktail gang, including gambas al ajillo, marcona almonds, jamon iberico and tortilla española.  I bring this up to point out that I have been making tapas long before it was hip.

There were a lot of upsets in week 5, so I took a bit of a beating along with lots of other folks.  But the week 6 picks below are golden.

Phi Den LAR Dal Ind Jax LAC Pit NE LV TB GB Det Buf Was

DJ Takes a Break

I'm sitting in my hotel room at Zion National Park while my wife, The Hotelier and Janet tour the park. My legs are a bit leaden today, so I took the day off.  I saw Zion yesterday during our drive through and I'll get to check it out further tomorrow.

Our first destination was Moab, which will be the most hopping place we'll be until we arrive in Vegas on Saturday. We made a stop at the Utah state liquor store before arriving at our B and B. They spare expense by not refrigerating the beer. The place was busy and some patrons had caked mud on their Jeeps. The B and B was comfy and all rooms had an Italian name. I believe ours was Cielo something, but you already know I'm a lousy blog note taker. I just referred to ours as number three. I was able to memorize the access code however, so I'm sometimes useful.

Our first mistake was going to the Moab Brewery for dinner that night. The Hotelier got the steak sandwich special, which was not special at all. I got the pulled pork. Besides for being room temperature, it reminded me of dirty mop head. I also felt the ABV of their house IPAs was a tad low. The ladies fared better with fish choices. 

The next day was Arches. We did some hiking and saw many arches, including Double Arch and Sand Dune Arch, which was my favorite. I had to scoot through a small crevice at Sand Dune. It took this geezer some effort, but I made it. Once in there, you feel like you are on another planet.

We hit the road Monday to Capital Reef Resort in Torrey, with a stop at Canyondlands on the way. That place made me feel real small. The various colors and the towering monoliths tend to run together in my head, but all are impressive. What was not impressive was the level of service we recived at the Capitol Reef Resort. My wife called to see if we might get in around 2pm, as opposed to their 4pm check-in, and got a non-committal response. We got more of the same when we arrived. After sitting by the pool for a bit, we brought out the big guns: The Hotelier. He patiently explained he had a little experience in their business and suggested they touch base with housekeeping to move things along, to no avail. We ended up getting into our room around 4:30, for which we received a 10% discount.

Torrey was a pretty small place but we managed to get some pretty good meals. We walked into the Broken Spur the first night and were told the wait was two hours, so we headed to the Rock Reef Cafe. I did not expect much but my enchiladas were good and the two waitresses with a ton of tables did and excellent job. I'd be pulling my hair out if I was in their shoes. The next night we planned better and hit the Broken Spur at 5pm and only waited 20 minutes. It would have been nice to have a bigger table but many were occupied by two people. The food was good though. We also patronized the Wild Rabbit Cafe for breakfast and lunch, which were great, the Shooke coffee roastery for our morning joe, and the Chuck Wagon to get our traveling sandwiches.

Tuesday was Capital Reef, which is described as "a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles." I couldn't have said it better myself. We did a bit of driving there, including a few miles on a dirt road. I sat with a group of Japanese tourists as the others took a hike. We encountered tourists from many countries at all the parks. I feel that welcoming people from other nations is a good idea. We also stopped at the Gifford House, which is famous for their pies. We snagged a couple right before they ran out. On the down side, we couldn't locate the Capitol Dome, which The Hotelier was hoping to see.

We spent a bit of time on the road yesterday, with a stop at Bryce. It was pretty crowded, but we got to see a lot. One of the benefits of traveling with DJ, and probably the main reason The Hotelier and Janet joined us on this trip, is that I have a handicap parking placard. Even those spots were filled at our first swing through Sunset Point, but we found a parking place on our second time through. My fear of heights kicked in there and at times at the other parks.

OK, I'm off to grab a sandwich and do a brief walking tour of Springdale. Don't be too harsh when reading this post as I do not have access to my Word editor.

 

The Reviews Are In

I got a lot of input from my high school buds via our WhatsApp chat group regarding my blog.  I really appreciate their feedback.

UK: I never miss a post.

TK: I have DJ’s Detritus bookmarked on my iPad

Dream: DJ’s writing, while inferior, is his unique creation.

4M: radio silence

JB also chimed in.  She is not part of the WhatsApp group, because we don’t allow girls, but she said “You are hilarious.  Can I borrow $5,000?”

Cinema icon Robert Redford has passed away.  My favorite movie as a kid was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Redford and Newman teamed up on The Sting as well. Two super dreamy dudes. In those pre-internet days, you didn’t see stupid articles like the one below because a savvy newspaper editor would say “You want me to waste space on that?”  I didn’t click but the only detail you need to know is that he was elderly.

We had big fun in FC last night at Tina’s surprise birthday party.  This was not the type of surprise where you gather in a room and the guest of honor is ushered in.  It was more like a series of friends showing up unannounced at the door type of surprise. The Banker pulled this one off expertly.  As people often are, he was concerned about his chimichurri, but there was no need. It was an excellent blend of herbs, garlic and red pepper flakes and paired well with the precision-grilled medium rare steak and tasty sides. After the plonk that #1 and I came with ran out, he brought out the good stuff. The whole affair was enlivened by the presence of their two adorable grandchildren.

It was overreaction Thursday on Laurel Ave. in San Carlos today. I was early for my acupuncture appointment, so I was sitting in my car when I heard an F bomb go off.  A lanky middle-aged dude was having a conniption because somebody backed into him.  The last thing I heard him say was “there’s no damage but I’m still f@#%ing pissed”. Calm down bro! Maybe he was a high-strung Silicon Valley executive, but The Exec would never act like that. On a side note, I told my WhatsApp boys that my acupuncturist sometimes plays this song when I’m on the table. Gosh, what a joker I am!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugDXpdjmpgw&list=RDugDXpdjmpgw&start_radio=1

As I’ve mentioned previously, I sometimes get heat from readers if more than a week goes by without a post. I understand that I brighten their day, but I need to let them know it may be a while before my next one. DJ, aka Nature Boy, will be exploring the national parks of Utah for the rest of the month, along with the wife and the Hoteliers. We wrap the trip up with a couple nights in Vegas. I have to double check with The Hotelier, but I believe he said our ridiculously overpriced Vegas dinners will be his treat. And yes, I did post during my France trip, but we need to acknowledge that was a Herculean feat, given I had to spend a great deal of time partaking of French food and wine, enjoy the countryside and sleep 10 hours a night. Take heart, October is not that far away.

In my absence, you can make some dough with my week 3 picks.

Buf Atl GB Jax Cin Pit Phi TB Ind Was LAC Sea Dal SF KC Bal

CHARGE!

My wife and I are a great team.  We have established a good record doing the Connections and Sports Connections puzzles in the Times. More importantly, we recently collaborated on getting her new EV charged. It is amazing what two utterly clueless humans can do when they put their heads together. We first plugged into a regular outlet at home and figured out a full charge would take about a week. We then went to the Tesla chargers by Target.  We fumbled around trying to figure it out until a Tesla employee who happened to be there explained that the V2 chargers there were not compatible with other makes. We downloaded the Tesla app to figure out other places. We went to an apartment building but couldn’t make it work.  Then we went to large complex on Bounty and drove around for quite a while.  If the cops were there, they would have thought we were casing the joint.  We finally located the charger but should have taken a hint when the sign said EV parking vs. EV charging.  We plugged in and the charging time showed up as 7 hours plus.  We gave up for the day.  After some research we found V4 chargers by Piazza and got from 50% to 100% in about 20 minutes.  Monday morning the electrician is coming to install a new 50-amp outlet in our garage. We just finished clearing space for him, which led us to throwing out some junk and putting other stuff on Facebook Buy Nothing.

We headed up to the city Thursday afternoon in the new Hyundai. #1 let us stay at his duplex on Corbett, since we had several activities into Friday afternoon.  I’m repaying him by posting this blog. We took the Wig kids #2 and #4 out to dinner at La Ciccia.  The white anchovies, grilled calamari and tomato appetizers were all a knockout. I went with the gnocchetti for the entrée and was not disappointed.

Friday morning we went to the Presidio to pick up our girl. She is in town for the wedding of her brother-in-law.  It was a bit foggy, so we are hoping for better weather for the big event today. We had the opportunity to chat with AG, her dad and her aunts before we headed over to breakfast at Home Plate on Lombard. After a few sips of my $6.50 cappuccino, I dipped my toast into my over easy eggs. I clearly went at it ham-handedly, as a jet of egg yolk landed in a two-inch circumference on my black jeans. I was dismayed, as we still had to go to the DeYoung for the Paul McCartney photo exhibit. I managed to make myself look presentable, we dropped the girl back at the Presidio and I didn’t see anyone pointing and snickering at the DeYoung.

Since it has been close to two weeks since my last post, I guess I should go back a bit.  On the 4th, we went into the city to see the Valkyries at the Chase Center.  I was unaware of the complex of restaurants and bars there, but we picked a winner with Kayah, a Burmese place. The place was hopping, and the service and food hit the mark.  When we got to our seats to see the game, it did not seem crowded, but by tipoff it was packed. We bailed about halfway through the last quarter because I didn’t want to be one of 10,000 trying to get on the T after the game. We made it easily to the Caltrain station and heard that the Valkyries pulled out a victory become the first expansion team to make the playoffs.

Back home, on Sunday, we took in the Plaza Suite matinee with lots of other seniors at the Hillbarn Theater. We thought the actors did a good job, but the material was dated. We therefore bailed out after act two.  They tried reviving it on Broadway, but the reviews were not great.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/theater/plaza-suite-review.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

I’m sending out good vibes to a couple pals that had bike accidents recently. One of our Belmont friends had to have surgery and is currently in rehab.  We’ll visit him tomorrow. I also got word that Dr. Joe spent some time at the ER on his birthday after going over the handlebars, injuring his shoulder. Best wishes to both for a speedy recovery.

On a completely different topic, I’ve been having bad dreams about the Secretary of the Treasury kicking my ass.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/scott-bessent-threatened-to-punch-colleague-bill-pulte-in-the-f-face/