One Of The Best Weekends Ever

             

I had a good one this weekend. Actually I had a great one. I couldn’t have asked for a better three days. Nothing compares to a great weekend that requires minimal planning. It started on Friday as I exited work early. Normally I am a certified workaholic. It takes a lot to pull me from my desk. I am addicted to getting a commission check and making our clients happy. But Friday was a half day for me because I had some big plans to take care of.

Firstly I had set up some concert tickets to see one of my favorite bands Matt and Kim at The Fox Theater in Oakland. My lady and I had planned to drive down to Oakland on Friday and stay at The Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square. I know when most people think about Oakland, not too many kind words come to mind. But we were pleasantly surprised at the kindness Oakland showed us while we were visiting. The Waterfront was a beautiful but dated hotel overlooking the Bay and Marina. The service was excellent and our room had a great view. The room had a sea theme, and rightly so, since we literally were perched over the marina.  After resting in the room for a few we went and had dinner at Miss Pearl’s restaurant. It was a southern seafood inspired restaurant.  We met the chef Eddie Blyden and to say he was a nice man was an understatement. The original version of the restaurant was a San Francisco staple thirty years ago and it has since moved on to Oakland. The food was good, the service was great, and the bread pudding was amazing. After dinner we got ready and took a ride downtown to The Fox Theater. The Theater was beautifully decorated. This was my first time at the venue but it will not be my last. I got us some seats in the balcony because I don’t do the standing room only thing at concerts. I want a safety nest to return to if things get wild in the crowd. We had some great seats in the Loge area which was in front on the general balcony seating. Matt and Kim put on a great show and Jamee and I were super impressed by their high energy and crowd engaging act. Matt can sing and play keyboard but Kim can sure play some drums. She was amazing.  After the show we literally walked out of the venue and hopped immediately into a cab and were back in our hotel room within ten minutes and tucked away in bed.

The next morning the sun was blasting through our balcony. Someone was telling us it’s time to get up. I ordered a pretty stunning room service smorgasbord of food and we decided to eat overlooking the water. We are pretty lucky just to be able to enjoy each other’s time with a great view. After breakfast we got ready and said our goodbyes to Oakland. We proceeded back towards Berkeley and made a stop at Golden Gate Fields. Horse racing is my game of choice. You can keep table games, slot machines and all other sports bets. Horse racing is where it’s at. I think in another life I may have been a dogfighting or cockfighting fan but nowadays I will stick to horse racing. My girl is a horse racing fan too and ever since we hit a trifecta on the Kentucky Derby she has been hooked. I reserved us a box and we hung out for about 6 races before we hit the road home. I didn’t win any money but after last week’s trip and winning about 600 buck I didn’t mind breaking even. When we got back to Sacramento on Saturday we sat down to witness the SF Giants take it to the Tigers in game three of the World Series. It was one of the best games I have seen and it was a prelude to witnessing them clinching it the next night.

On Sunday I woke up early and hit the links at Cherry Island. It is a tough course and I was playing against my golfing arch nemesis Steve Lanterman . He usually beats me but today I finally got the up on him during the back nine and I never let off. The course is one of those that play with your ego. You can go for the legendary shot or you can play it safe and set yourself up for the next shot. I can’t hit that far so even when I am going for it all it looks like I am going for the safe play. After golf I went back to home base and proceeded to nap for the remainder of the day until the SF Giants Game was on. We witnessed the Giants winning their 2^nd World Series in 3 years. The game was fun to watch and included the usual torture that a Giants game brings to your stomach. After watching Sergio Romo strike out the greatest hitter over the last 40 years and win the game and the World Series it was officially an end to a magnificent weekend  

I am going to catch a Shark this weekend



The view from the house



        I have a Bachelor Party to attend to this weekend. This is one of the 1st real ones I have ever been on. I have attended a couple but I usually don't end up staying for the whole thing. But this one is for Nate Trivers, my sister's fiance, so I am going all out. We are going to go to Santa Cruz for the weekend and staying in a great beach house that was bought by Lloyd Bridges for his sister. It's called the Sunny Cove Retreat. It looks great and I am excited to be right on the beach. This will be two weekends in a  row that I have been able to stay on the Coast. Last weeks trip was in the 60's , but this one should be a little warmer, hopefully.

        Something I am truly excited for is the chance to go Deep Sea Fishing. I have never been so it could be a puke fest for me but I am excited nonetheless.  I have been talking about it for weeks. I am catching a Great White Shark. Say what you want but when I get that thing on my line I am going for it all. No catch and release here people. When I do land it I will tell my girl to clear a space in our 725 square foot house to mount my monster shark. Hopefully our boat doesn't end up like a scene out of Jaws. Have a good weekend everybody and hopefully I will have some fish stories to tell when I get back.





View from the Front of the House





Road Trip Weekend

Hydesville

         I just got back from a great road trip over the weekend . I travelled north from Sacramento to Humboldt County. My main purpose for the trip was to visit my Dad's family and to hit the horse races. My grandma and grandpa live up there as well as my uncle Chris, his wife Patti, and their two boys Payden and Parker .

         First, the weather was amazing. The highs were in the 60's and it was pretty cloudy except for a little sun on Saturday. I was excited for the cool weather because Sacramento has been in the high 90's for the last couple weeks . So it was time to break out the jeans and sweatshirts. I try to plan a trip to Humboldt County at this time every year because it is during the County Fair and the Horse Races. It has to be the biggest weekend for the county and the people watching is spectacular. I had to roll solo this time because my girl was at my sister's bachelor party .



Ferndale Horse Races



        I left on Friday morning and was excited for the sights. It is great to drive away from the big city into the wild. I usually take I-5 to Woodland , Go Highway 16 West through the Capay Valley, Link up to Highway 20 west around Clear Lake , and get hit 101 North and take that all the way to Eureka . I usually give myself 6 hours but I have made it in as little as 4 and a half hours . My plan was to hang out on Friday with my Grandpa Bob and Grandma Lois, and hit the Horse Races and Fair on Saturday with Uncle Chris and his family.

Joe Villa 1968

        Everything went great and when you're not drinking you have a ton of money for betting and fair food. I thought I had tried everything when it comes to fried foods but the Humboldt Fair had a half pound of fried bacon dipped in a brown sugar and mustard sauce. It was one of the most fantastic foods I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. Hanging with my family in Humboldt is like getting the VIP treatment. They know everyone and we had the hookups to it all .

        The best thing about the trip was I met a lady whom went to school with my Dad and she gave me a picture of my pop's senior high school picture. It brought a lot of old memories back and it made me thankful for the time in my life I got to share with him . So I  thankful to everyone that took care of me this weekend and put out the great hospitality. Until we meet again Humboldt !