I got a chance to go to Santa Barbara last weekend for my old roomate Kenn’s going away BBQ.  I had a good time.  I don’t really get a chance to go to Santa Barbara anymore so it was nice to make a trip down there and the weather was pretty nice.

It was also the first time I got to take the dogs to the beach.  Even though Adam had a broken leg and I had to carry him around a lot, it didn’t get him down.  I could tell it was nice for the dogs to get out and be somewhere besides the house.

I was also nice for me to go away for the weekend.  I feel like I’ve been traveling less and less and trying to spend more time taking care of business at home.

I don’t have any photos from the trip, but if anyone sends me some I’ll post a link.

There was a post on Digg this morning from Mail Online linking to details about the world’s largest cruise ship being built.  Every cruise I’ve been on has been pretty enjoyable and I always look forward to going on my next.  It’s like a city on water, and this latest cruise ship is no different.

In the picture to the left you can see that there is a built in rock climbing wall on the ship.  If you click through you can see some other cool things like a very modern bar setup between decks, an interior shopping mall, and an open amphitheatre.

All this stuff seems pretty cool.  The article says it will be traveling the Caribbean which is one of the places I’ve traveled to a couple of times and enjoy it very much.  I wouldn’t mind taking a trip on this boat, but who knows what the cost is going to look like.  It doesn’t look like it will be ready until late 2009 so I guess I have a little time to save some money.

I’m back in Nor Cal from my short vacation in So Cal.  I got to go to San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, LA, and San Diego.  It was a good trip and I got the chance to drive through different parts of California and visit friends throughout the journey which was nice. Read the rest of this entry »

I just checked into my room at Tower23 in Pacific Beach.  I’ve stayed in some nice hotels before and I’m not too easily impressed.  I have to say this hotel is pretty good though.  It’s probably its IKEA-eske look and feel that I’m used to at home.  What’s nice is that it’s a small hotel on the beach and I think I like that better than some of the really large hotels you might stay in Vegas or something like that.

I got my car vallet parked so I’ll see how that goes and make some comments at the end of my trip.  The desk attendent had an accent that was hard for me to understand, but I think that’s probably just me.  I have a terrible time with accents.  He was helpful and patient with me which I appreciate. Read the rest of this entry »

I got a chance to take a tour of Alcatraz with my buddy Dogg and a couple of other people.  I hadn’t gone for a long time so it was pretty cool going out there and checking it out.  You pay for a ticket and that includes admission and a ferry that leaves from Pier 33 which takes you to Alcatraz Island.  The weather was pretty overcast which was surprising since it had been really hot and sunny all week.

The ferry ride takes about 20 minutes or so and you can take some great pictures of San Francisco from the boat.  When you set foot on the island there is a small bookstore and a brief introduction about the island.  They offer guided tours at certain time intervals and also an audio tour which I think most people take.  As you can see from my photo, there are quite a few people on the island to explore.  We decided to take the audio tour which lasts about 2 to 3 hours depending on how fast your move through different sections and if you decide to pause the audio at times. Read the rest of this entry »

I like living my life well organized and to a schedule.  I feel like I’m more productive in whatever tasks I try to accomplish in a day.  As I’ve written before when I get into a routine things seem to happen much more smoothly than if I try to do something without a plan.  I always feel like I’ve wasted time if I haven’t used my time productively.  I guess I’m not a real believer in “free time” since I’m always making an attempt to always be doing something.  When it comes to planning trips, this is no different. Read the rest of this entry »