Mega Tourist Day Video

On Monday, we did a power tourism day. It started off with a trip to the redwood forest (Muir Woods) with Jim, Brandi, Logan, Reece, Lisa, Tim, Katie and Me. We took the main trail out, but chose an alternate path back. It was a little steeper, but the kids kept up and we had a great time. We headed back to San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge, and got lunch at In and Out Burgers. Tim, Lisa, Katie and I got on a tour boat to Alcatraz, and Brandi, Jim and the kids stayed back at the Pier. By the time we got back from Alcatraz, the shore party was worn out, so they headed back to the hotel in Oakland. T,L,K and I took a break at the Hard Rock, San Francisco and our bartender Vek mixed us up a custom made shot with Cabo Wabo and X-Fusion Liqueur ....nice. Then we went to the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39 and had a lot of fun there. We finished up the day by going back across Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito for dinner. Woody recommended Ondine/Horizons and said he had hoped to have the rehearsal dinner here. Great recommendation Woody! The server told us the Beatles, the Stones, Janis Joplin and other famous celebs used to go there all the time.

Pier 39 Friday August 8th

Some pictures from San Francisco

San Francisco August 8th at Pier 39

Mema, Vaughan, Tom, Pam, Matt, Ben, Lisa, Tim, Liz, Steve, Brandi, Jim, Reece, Logan, Katie and Mark..... all down at Pier 39 on a chilly, windy Friday afternoon in San Francisco.

More to come...

50th Birthday Lake Cushman Video

Here's the video footage from our weekend camping trip in Lake Cushman, Washington.

50th Birthday Weekend in Lake Cushman, Washington

To celebrate our 50th birthdays, my high school buddies, Dave Garcia, Jerry Essenpreis and I planned a weekend camping trip to Lake Cushman, Washington. Dave has property near the lake with a full assortment of camping gear, including tents, floaty-toys, a campfire thingy, a boat, a tricked-out Winnebago, a camping stove, gas grill, running water, electricity and cell phone service. Thank you Dave, for inviting us to your beautiful spot in the woods.

The weekend started Thursday night with champagne at Dave & Liz’s house. The next morning, we were on our way to Lake Cushman. We stopped for provisions along the way and got to the site by mid-morning. After unloading our gear, we hooked up the boat and went in to Hoodsport to get our fishing licenses. We spent the afternoon cruising Lake Cushman and fishing (soaking bait). Later we went to Model T’s in Hoodsport for dinner. We played some pool, ate fried clams, had a shot of Patron, ate some pressure cooked broasted chicken, drank some ESP and then played a strange game of horseshoes. Since there were just three of us, Dave played “Floater.” Jerry scared some guests eating outside with his wild throws, but by the end of the evening, they were telling us jokes and laughing. We finished up around the campfire at around 1:00am.








Next morning Dave made us breakfast then we headed to the Hood Canal to drop in the crab pot. Unfortunately, the tide was too low and we couldn’t get the boat in, so we stopped off at Patti’s Seafood and bought two Dungeness crabs and a dozen large oysters. We threw that stuff in the frig back at camp, and reset to go fishing on Lake Cushman again. After a little hiccough with the battery, we were back on the lake. Still no fish biting, but it didn’t matter. Jerry and I took a swim and Dave played the watchful ship’s captain. After pulling the boat out, we stopped at the local market called the Lake Cushman Grocery. The array of video cameras in that store would impress the CIA but the most memorable part was the unpleasant disposition of the owners, so we began calling it the “Grouchery.” Later, back at camp the mega-feast started. First chips & salsa, then cheese and crackers, then oysters (raw and roasted) then grilled crab and finally enormous steaks and baked potato. We were all over-stuffed and didn’t last too long that evening.

On Sunday, we decided to go hiking in Staircase (part of the Olympic National Park). We hiked in a couple of miles to a place where Dave and Jerry said they usually crossed the river and headed down the other side, but the bridge was washed out. We walked a little further up the Skokomish River until we spotted a huge tree that had fallen across. We found our way down to it, and crossed the river. It took us a little while to find the trail on the other side, but we made it back without injury. This place was really beautiful. When we got back to camp, the wives had left messages that they wanted to have a barbeque when we got back to Poulsbo that evening. We decided to pack up the camp and head back so we could have a nice relaxing evening. Jerry’s wife Ruth put out a great spread and after dinner we played “Ring-toss” (washers).

I had a really great time and I want to thank Liz, Dave, Ruth, Jerry and especially my wife Katie for making this possible. You guys are very special people.

Weekend at Mom's

From Mark:

I had a business trip to Philadelphia for SCTE trade show (Cable Television Engineers). The show went well, and then I visited an old business friend at his house in Lumberton, New Jersey. He and his wife made steak and lobster on the grill (awesome). Later that evening I drove to Delaware to visit Mom. Got there at midnight, but we were up until 3:30 am talking. Saturday morning, made scrapple, bacon and fried eggs. Then I did a few projects, and we went to the beach. Before we left, brother Woody called to let me know cousin Mary was passing through Chicago and wanted to stop by(unfortunate timing) He also laid a little picture homework on us (results below). Mom did a great job walking out to the edge of the water where we camped out for a couple of hours. I caught a few good waves, and then we headed back for a rib roast dinner on the grill. After dinner, we pored through old photo albums, then took a carrot cake break, and now I'm finishing my homework.....

The Cousins

Left to right: Elan and Tony's boys, Mike and Anthony (youngest Joe couldn't be there). Frank and Rhonda's sons Frank-Henry (top) and Eric (bottom). Frank Aceste, Joe Aceste (top), Buddy and Patsy's daughter Amanda (daughter Courtney was taking finals), Claire-Ann, Buddy, Rhonda (top), Patsy (bottom), Frank & Rhonda's daughter Marie (thanks Frank) and Mark.

Master Bathroom Finished

The master bathroom project is finally complete (except for a few finishing touches). We started over two years ago when Katie bought the furniture style vanity cabinet at Costco (Four years ago if you start with the skylight and pocket door installation. In March of 2007, we bought the tile. I started gutting the old bathroom at the end of April, removing a wall and a door that divided the space in two. I took out the old shower, the old toilet, the old vanity and all the old tile. I opened up the floor and moved all the plumbing. The toilet moved over seven feet to another wall with hot and cold water, and the shower drain moved from the west side to the east. Then I built a short wall for the shower fixtures, added two junction boxes for lights over the sinks, a junction box for the make-up mirror that Katie's sister Lisa gave her, a water proof light over the shower, an eyeball light over the toilet, a new main light switch on the south wall, a four-gang GFI by the two-sink vanity, a double-gang GFI by the toilet (for future butt blow-dryer) and a combination heat-lamp/exhaust fan. I also built a custom make-up vanity with a GFI outlet too. Then, I tiled the whole thing in travertine.

Katie is the master designer, and she picked out all the colors and materials including all the rubbed-oil bronze fixtures, which really make the whole thing look amazing. She also provided the artistic input for all the tile work.

Geppetto is Free

We found him on our fence post, very sick and cornered by the dogs. We nursed him back to health and set him free last Sunday, June 9th.

Last Day in Paradisus

We decided not to go on any major excursions and just enjoy the resort for our last full day. The storms the night before made the ocean pretty ugly, so we spent the morning shopping at the flea market on the beach. We both decided our stay was too short and there was a lot more to do.


Sunrise Thursday 6-5-08


Our tower from our outdoor seating at the private Royal Service restaurant




The jewelry artist on the beach, and his dutiful assistant. He made a turquoise necklace and earrings for a good price plus four Mojitos.

Wednesday afternoon after golf, we headed down to our private Royal Service pool. We met several young newlywed couples, all who could have been our own kids, and after a few shots of the local beverage "Guara" a distilled sugar caine spirit, we were all laughing and telling stories. We had no official dinner plans, but one couple invited us to join them at their table at the private restaurant for the royals, called Gabi. Another couple invited themselves too. Well, either we can out drink them, and they all passed out, or they decided to ditch the old couple (We chose to believe the first reason), but we were the only couple that showed up at a table for six. We ended up having a really great dinner and we got a serenade from some locals....

The next day we went fishing....

Mark's Mahi - Katie's Shark

The first fights of the day were good ones!!!

We left the hotel at 7am after a quick five minute breakfast and headed off to Tamarindo to meet the boat. At about 7:30, the cab driver let us out on the beach in front of the Pescador restaurant (a very appropriate name), but when we asked him "where do we go?" all he did was point to some young locals at the water's edge. The young men then pointed to our boat, about 200 yards off shore. It wasn't the prettiest in the harbor, but it seemed ok.

The captain started out with a disclaimer that they weren't bringing up many sailfish at all, but Mahi and Yellowfin were still being caught. I suggested that we try half the day on billfish and if we have no luck, turn to what's eating. So we head out....

The tropical storm Alma that hit last week washed thousands of tons of debris in to the ocean. About 15 miles off shore, we start runing in to it. Huge full grown trees uprooted and bobbing in the surf (unfortunately a lot of man made debris as well). Dolphin fish (not Flipper), also known as Dorado (of gold) or Mahi Mahi (Hawaiian word) love to hang out and hunt around floating stuff. We came upon an enormous tree, which you can see in the video, and the action started...



... and look! Katie caught a bull shark !! (remember them Liz?)

Viewer discretion advised!!!

Caution - Be advised this is not for the faint hearted...
Katie's Dorado/Dolphin/Mahi Mahi:

Flipper Serves Sushi - Day 4 Costa Rica

Flipper brought us Sushi !!





Yes, exciting. But what about the billfish. Well, while I was sliding the last piece of sashimi in, the captain started yelling. The two deck hands were jumping from pole to pole because a big fish was attacking all the baits. We hooked it. I played it for about four seconds and it threw the hook. The captain said it was a Blue Marlin. Small, about 180 pounds.... but it would have been my biggest fish ever. The rest of the day turned out to be a long boat ride. Five minutes before we left for shore, Katie spotted a sailfish. The captain turned around, but we couldn't raise him.

It was still a great day !!!

Paradisus Video

Our Resort!

This is a highlight video of the Paradisius resort. We didn't get video of the great golf course, the awesome resaurants, the iguanas or the main pool, which is the largest in Central America according to our butler (yeah, we had one... it comes with the Royal Service upgrade)

Costa Rica - Paradisus Playa Conchal (Shell Beach?)

Birthday dinner at the Mexican place

Snorkeling at Playa Conchal




Howler monkey !!!!