The past year with ESI

The time I have spent with this company has afforded me the opportunity to see a great deal of this country.
It has also given me the chance to visit my parents, my sister, my inlaws in Ohio, a couple of Navy buddies, and even scout the Mountains of Wyoming.
Plus, my parents came out and visit me.
Sorry I have been away for so long.

Puerto Rico

Hired on with a company that works on military bases all over the US,  and Puerto Rico. 
I worked on wash racks on the east coast for 2 weeks, then headed to Puerto Rico.

East coast trip in record cold

I have joined forces with a company that covers the whole US. Which means travel!
the temperatures have been in the single digits, and sometimes negative.

We are working with water most of the time, and it is freezing on my hands. The temperatures are so cold it hurts this morning, it was -4 degrees. Yesterday it got down to  -26 with the wind chill.

Riding in the snow

There was snow in the Mountains, and we wanted to ride, we thought we were past the snow by being closer to the desert, but we were wrong, and found ourselves in 64 degree sunny weather, and there was plenty of snow on the ground.

Getting snow

Well after Christmas, we got a arctic blast that broughht us some snow.
Sydney threw a couple friends in the car, and headed to the mountains.

She ran into a lot of town folk looking at the snow. Most of the roads were backed up, so she stopped in Pine Valley.

Grandma and Grandpa in town

Got a chance for the 3 generations to golf together. We golfed Eagle Crest Friday, and Mission trails today.
Scores could have been better, but it was casual golf as the photo shows.

Projects for the weekend

We had a stereo receiver that was just sitting around,  so I acquired a pair of marine speakers, and Sydney and I pieced together some speaker boxes out of some plywood given to me by a neighbor. We cut,it, glued,  and then nailed it with the air nailer.

I spent a little time on the dirt bike. I had to have the radiator tight welded, put on some new grips, and tried to soften the seat by drilling holes in the base, and putting the cover back on.

Glamis 11/21/14

Made our annual thanksgiving trip out to Glamis. However we were only able to stay for the weekend. Went out with friends from San Diego as well as Colorado. To start the day we made a short trip out to Oldsmobile and Comp. Hill. Later on we ventured out to China Wall for a 14 mile round trip.

Kim and Eric wedding ( not what you think)

Went to a wedding last night of our friends Virgie and Freddie's daughter.
Her name is Kimberly,  and she married Eric Anthony Dolton.
What a wonderful couple. They are so happy, funny, and energetic.  We sat with some friends from Kim high school. Took a few pictures.

Finished another helmet

Said I would never do it again, but here it is:

A young lady from a local travel team batted her eyes at me and asked me to please paint her a helmet like I have in the past.

I couldn't say no.

PV. Pine Creek hike

Had to get out of the house and get some exercise even though it was a little warm. We took off in the morning and hiked about 2 miles in and 2 miles out through rough terrain. We crossed a creek and we saw some cows

Tool box

I had been shopping on Craigslist for a toolbox that I could put my telecommunications tools in, and maybe some ammunition. I just didn't feel it .was necessary to spend money on that at this time. So, I was walking through the shipyard and saw this toolbox that needed some work.  I took it home and cleaned it up, and put some plastic in the sliders so the drawers work better, and painted the top with a black rubberized paint.here is a before and after.

Back yard getting closer

I had a couple days off of work and decided to catch up on the construction of the back yard.  So I added some gravel, finished the bricks, put a coat of urethane on the bench and bought a vine for the trellis.

Evening ride on the Kat

I worked on the bike, and replaced a few items in the Carburetor. Once it was up and running, Sydney insisted we test it out ( it would be irresponsible to not test it). We rode over and got some gas, and stopped by a Jamba juice/ Starbucks were a few bikers gather, and we were off to the Poway area. Miramar rd. East to Scripps Poway pkwy, then to 67, back down Poway rd. about 25 miles, We had the Go-pro mounted, and it looked something like this.

Picked up a new bike to flip

I shopped the items at the auction, and this one seemed to make sense. I figured I could pick it up for $1,000 or less. Well, I got it for $800. after fees, it was $890.
The bike is in great shape, and I was able to take it for a ride almost right away.  We put a battery in it, and off i go.
The bike rode fine. But I noticed it leaked a little. I have taken the carbs apart, and adjusted them several times. I found a few parts that needed replacing due to age. In the mean time...
Sydney got her street bike license, and she wanted to take it for a spin. We took the back roads over to the coast and rode along the coast for about 12 miles, and she did great. She followed me, and eventually lead. I worry about her, but I want her to ride as much as possible with me, because one day I won't be there, and she will need to have good habits.

Replacing a fence post

Removed an old fence post that was rotten and broken it was a wood 4x4 Amber helped me put it in a metal fencepost. Bob and I did all the work, but here is where Amber contributed.

Turkey hunting Lake Sutherland

Sydney and I went hunting Saturday morning after she had won a drawing to hunt on the Water district of San Diego owned Lake Sutherland. We had to meet at the gate to the Lake at 4am, we signed in, along with 4 other hunters. we climbed in a rental boat, and headed across the lake in shear darkness, We landed the boat, in one of the fingers at the North end of the lake, near the dam.
We walked our way toward the canyons, and saw some tracks in the sand near where we were set up.
 unfortunately, that is all we saw.
On our way out we saw 8 deer as we hiked to the boat, and we saw a couple hen turkeys as we drove out.  what a wonderful day, Sydney got to drive the boat, and did a great job. She even maneuvered it into the slip. BTW, boats don't have brakes!

Ceveche'

Put together one of my favorite dishes Ceveche. It is a Mexican salsa/Pica de gallo with seafood.
We changed the traditional recipe a bit. It goes a little something like this;
in separate bowl, combine Cooked shrimp, and Imitation crab meat, and soak in lemon juice. let soak for 1 hour.
In larger bowl, combine chopped tomatoes, Cilantro, chopped onions, chopped scallions( a lot of green), Jalapeno peppers, serano peppers salt and pepper, garlic powder, and Olive oil.combine with contents of bowl of shrimp, crab, and lemon juice.
Chill for at least 1 hour. serve with corn tortilla chips.

1/2 pd shrimp
1/2 crab meat
1 1/2 cup lemon juice

4 tomatoes
1/2 large onion chopped
scallions ( to taste)
1 /1/2 Jalapeno pepppers
1 Serano pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp Olive oil