All I Want For Christmas is Baseball

A little late adding this for the holidays, but...

Basketball bores me.  Hockey is fun only if Doc Emerick is calling the game.  Football has "gone soft" according to The Donald.  Can't wait for Spring Training...  Some hope, isn't there a World Baseball Championship this year?  Starting in Feb or March?

For Mom

My mother died just before Halloween a number of years ago.  I don't remember what the name of this plant is, but I put it in the ground about a week after her death.  Now, every year in late October, it blooms, the last blooming plant of the year, and a nice memorial.

Maui Wowie

OK, what follows are the obligatory pictures from our trip to Hawaii.  We decided to visit Maui this time, and it was well worth it.  First, we have the view from our porch at Lahaina Shores resort.

And the sunset...

Right next door was a wonderful bar/restaurant where we enjoyed a great lunch and a fun lobster feed.  From Betty's...

The little town of Lahaina is really cute.  They've done a good job of maintaining the whaler atmosphere of what's essentially become a giant tourist trap.  That said, I of course found the library.  Much of Lahaina is open air, you can walk right through the library and end up with a view of the bay.

We took a drive up north past the mega resorts onto a narrow road that led us to Honolua Bay, absolutely beautiful!

While up that way, we had lunch at the famous Plantation House restaurant.  I had to have the Mai Tai, of course (the prettiest, if not the best, on Maui).  We would return the next night for dinner, which didn't go well at all (but was comped, so they did the right thing by us).  The views are terrific, if not the service.

When in Maui, do as tourist do...  So we signed up for a sunset cruise (and the formal picture...).  We cruised by our hotel, caught a good sunset, and had a wonderful time (decent food, too many Mai Tais).

I decided I should look up the one person I knew on Maui, the saxophonist and general out there sort of guy, the infamous Fagioli...  He took me on a short hike to the SW corner of Maui, the really cool Le Parouse Bay.

Towards the end of our stay in Maui, we decided to blow it all out at the very renowned Lahaina Grill (rated in the top 25 in the US).

An incredible meal, super service, great wine, and birthday wishes.  And fabulous companionship, of course.

For our last full day in Maui, we went to the Maui Ocean Center with its extensive and wonderful aquarium.  Warning!  Shark Attack!

If you ever visit the aquarium, be sure to enjoy lunch at the Seascape Restaurant.  We had one of our favorite meals of the trip at this restaurant while enjoying views of the bay.  And the best Mai Tai on Maui!

Of course we want to return.  We've already booked a room at this can't miss resort.

How to Throw a BLT Party

Thanks to CameraGirl, we have more photos from the big BLT party.  To make a BLT, you need great ingredients... starting with home grown tomatoes.

Then there's the lettuce (artisian romaine from Costco), bacon (also from Costco), and good sourdough french bread, toasted.  Mayo, pesto, etc. is individual.

Finally, the complete sandwich...  not much left of this one.

And a good party has a featured drink...  so we called on Marsha and her famous Mai Tais.  Everyone enjoyed them...  maybe too many of them!

Oh bartender!

Friends and family enjoying the feast...

Can't wait for next fall and another BLT party!

7 Decades and BLTs

Nothing like combining a birthday party with a BLT party.  It's Fall, the homegrowns are in, and BLTs are one of the great sands of all time.

But then there is cooking the bacon...  10 lbs for this party...  But we had a French chef!

And the baconator...  Yep, microwave bacon is excellent, and much faster...

And then there's all the other prep involved, so we got a second French chef...

So then the guests arrived and "pigged" out...

Introducing the granddaughter to the wonders of BLTs...

A group gathered around the Mai Tai table...

Live jazz accompanied the feast...

Maybe more pics coming soon...

Thanks to Marsha for the Mai Tais, Jane for the party planning, Harold and Jeff for the music, Lacey for the bacon, and everyone who showed up.  And for this birthday card...

Car Porn

Art Deco influenced vehicles...  from my visit to the Peterson Museum in L.A.