Rango!

Horrible picture I took but Ma, The Sibs, Club S and I are going to watch “Rango”. I’ve heard very mixed reviews of this movie but I’m going with the fact that I love both Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp and the animation looks really, really good in all the previews I’ve seen. I’ve heard the animation is even better than a Pixar movie and -that- I just absolutely, positively had to see for myself.

Team Voltron 2010! (delayed a little)

We never got a Team Voltron trip last year so this trip to Phoenix to see the granparents is an ever so slightly delayed Team Voltron trip. Here’s a brief rundown of the past.

Gilroy Garlic Festival ’04 (Which was pre 606 and thus, not linked here)
The Strawberry Festival ’05
Ensanada Cruise ’06
Utah ’07
Sonoma Wine Country ’08
Minnesota State Fair ’09
Glendale Chocolate Affaire ’10

Yes, the Glendale Chocolate Affaire. We didn’t even know it was here but if we’re on a Voltron trip and there’s a food related festival or fair around you better believe we’re going to hit it up. We got stuff covered in chocolate and fair food. We introduced Zade to a fried Snickers and we introduced Myya to indian fry bread. I got some of the best hand squeezed lemonade I’ve ever had and about a pound of fudge. This trip was a resounding success by any ruler you’d care to use.

Now to plan for Team Voltron ’11, who knows what shenanigans we’ll get up to this year…

Happy birthday to me!

Culver City for my 35th birthday with the sibs. Just for my birthday, downtown Culver City is having a block party. There’s drink specials and free tastes all over the place. I don’t know how the sibs managed it but I’m glad they did.

Pavlov’s cat

Seriously, my sibs are out of control. The second they hear the 606 alarm they come running. Generally by the time I look at the phone, stop the alarm and then look back up, a pose has been struck.

Wine tasting for Dad’s birthday

We took a trip to Temecula for some wine tasting. Color me surprised, I didn’t know there was wine in Temecula and I didn’t know it could be so good. We went to 3 different wineries and a wine and cheese pairing and had an altogether great day.

I’m not going to bother mentioning 2 of the wineries because although they were good, they lacked something. A personality, a soul, that je ne sais quoi…something. Longshadow Ranch, on the other hand, was fantastic. Mike served us up, gave good conversation, was entertaining and didn’t make us feel rushed in any way. Exactly what I want in a wine tasting. On top of that the wine was excellent too.

Not a bad vacation

We’re having another slow day. Recovering from the marathon tour of the elqui valley yesterday. I’ve got work to do and the sibs have a fairly serious amount of lounging and napping to do.

Hello from Pisco Elqui!

Pisco is the national drink of Chile (unless you’re talking to someone from Peru in which case there’s this whole controversy). It’s an alcohol distilled from grapes and put into a pisco sour which is served at pretty much every restaurant in the entire country. We’re touring the valley where they grow and manufacture pisco and seeing a couple plants. We’ve also been to fresh fruit stands, artisan fairs, museums, ice cream shops, parks and all kinds of various touristy bits of the elqui valley. We are at the final stop in a town called Pisco Elqui, the birthplace of pisco.