Grand time

Kinda strange to think about coming back from our second vacation in two weeks.
But we just hit Grand Lake which is basically a tradition for our family every summer.
Had a great time. Tried out a new thing ... rowing. This ain't your normal ol' rowboat. This is like real rowing. My sister-in-law and I did it and got pretty addicted. You use very little of your arms and work mostly with your legs. It was a blast (sorry no pics but I was sure I was gonna get dunked ... never did though).
The weather was incredible. Got sunburned worse than I have in a long time. Who knew?
Happy to be home now ... for awhile.
Here are some pics ...

My mother-in-law, Ruth; my sister-in-law, Greta; and my lovely wife.

The boys loved to play by the water and Alex invented a cool pontoon boat from water bottles that he could let go in the lake and bring back with fishing string.

My wife is a hottie!

Boys, sand, sun and water ... what else do you need?

The whole crew on the bridge between Grand Lake and Shadow Mountain Lake.

Seattle

So, we've been gone a long time. Spent five days in Auburn, WA (suburb of Seattle) with my sis' family and then five days in Ocean Shores, WA, for a family reunion.

Here's a quick rundown ...

Total rounds of golf ... 3

Average golf score ... NASA computer still tabulating

Total hours spent whale watching ... 3

Total whales watched ... 0

Punches my neice gave me ... 1,453

Times my youngest nephew called me "Uncle Matt" ... 2 (still pissed)

Total amount of rainfall on trip ... 0 (shocking, I know)

Amount (in pounds) of sand in our clothing from Ocean Shores ... 32

Amount I won at a poker table in a OS casino ... $53

Amount my sister won ... $160

Amount my dad lost ... $140

Time at table ... about 4 hours (don't figure my hourly wage)

Hours of video shot ... 4

Number of pics ... not many but here they are ... (sorry for the crappy pics but my camera sucks)

Andy, Alia, Aiden, Austin and Alex cost us so much on this trip that we had to have them become spokesmodels for the money.

Andy, Alex and Austin at the EMP (Paul Allen's music thing) posing next to a Gene Simmons costume.

Tracy and the boys at Pikes Market.

Alia in a rare moment when she wasn't punching me.

School daze

In high school in the San Fran Bay Area, I went to concerts a lot. Now, not so much.

But when Poison and the Spin Doctors were signed up to play the Greeley Stampede, I begged Tracy for tix for my b-day and she hooked me up (as well as my buds Dan and Dono). And then, days before the show, Dan worms his way into three backstage passes as well. It was set for a freakin' awesome time (I love the funk rythmn of the Docs and Poison is OK, too).

The pass:


I had images of drunken groupies backstage, but, sadly, it was not to be. "Backstage" at the Stampede means you get to hang out in the dirt and wait for the bands to walk to the stage.

This is what I'm talking about ...

(Hard to believe the girls stayed away from them, huh?)

Dono was still excited ...

But no groupies, so this was the only boob they got ...

But we saw a couple interesting things. Like, the Docs apparently used Van Halen's old sound equipment (see below) ... I picture there's a store where all hair bands buy and sell equipment ... It would be a fun place to visit...

And you know those "HUGE" walls of speakers at a concert? Well, a look behind the curtain reveals there were only six or so speakers (it was still plenty loud, tho!). Kinda sad to know this...

So, the Docs were late in starting because two of the four guys in the band were lost (only us cool backstage people knew this ... woo hoo!). And then, this cab pulled up and Chris Barron, the lead singer of the Docs popped out! The day is saved!

OK, at this point of the story, I should probably also note that I was rather intoxicated. I figured I'm going to a metal show, Dono was driving and WTF, right? Anyway, drunkedness equals bravery and it helped a lot because it gave me the cojones to walk up to some of these folks and get pics. Here's me with Barron on his way to the stage ... and the bass player (after the show)

And below is the drummer. His name is Aaron. From the stage, I thought he looked just like me. Upon closer inspection, he's not a twin but could be a long-lost brother (except he has rythmn which means he's not a blood relation)...

During the Docs show, I stood close to the stage. Like I said it was loud, but I haven't been up front at a show in years. The funniest part was a song that featured the phrase "big, fat, funky bootie" several times. The hearing impaired person had to sign the words and it cracked me up as apparently the sign word for "bootie" is pointing to your ass. Here's a video (I was drunk so I straigtened it out a couple seconds in ... gimme a break)

The Docs did a great show and then we went backstage again (because we are so cool!!!).

I also want to comment on my attire. I was able to fit into my "Don't Blame Me. I voted for Bill and Opus" shirt from the '80s thanks to losing part of my fat ass so that also made the night special.

Anyway, we were waiting around for Poison and Dan spotted Rikki Rocket, the drummer, standing by a bus. He was far away and if I had been sober, I probably just would have watched. But I was drunk and said WTF and went over to him. Super nice dude (even with eye shadow and mascara!). A pic:

For Poison, Dan, Dono and I went back to the seats which were in the 4th row of the arena floor (behind the pit I stood in for the Docs). Poison put on a great show and we were screaming and bouncing around like it was 1987 all over again.

After the show, we went backstage again (because we're that cool). Nothing really going on but I got this pic that sums up backstage at the Stampede pretty well.

All in all, it was a great night. And, yes, Dan, next time I'll take the pics so you can get in them with the famous people. Sorry about that.