After a lot of action the last three weeks, Tracy and I are pretty wore out. John and Katie arrived Thursday night as our second straight weekend visitors. Thanks for visiting John and Katie, we had a great time!
Friday we hit up Disneyland for Tracy's birthday. Tracy got free admission for her birthday and we got two-for-one tickets now that we are SoCal residents. That means we get to hit up the Adventure Park for free within the next month! Two theme parks for $69 for two people ... not a bad deal.
We had a fun time celebrating Tracy's b-day at Disneyland. It just so happened that John and I wore similar outfits so it was an ongoing joke all day (see photo slideshow below). After hitting up Space Mountain in the morning, we made our way through the park and hit up all the major rides. Except for Mr. Toad. John was bummed when the ride shut down after waiting 20 minutes in line. I don't think he missed much from the Toad though! We ended our day on Space Mountain again. After giving Tracy a hard time for all her giggling early in the day, the tables were turned. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't stop laughing on that last ride. It was a blast. Tracy in turn gave me a hard time! Disney was actually a pretty cool time. It definitely surpassed my expectations.
On Saturday, we hit up some wine tasting again. John and Katie had dog sitter drama and Tracy was still kind of celebrating her birthday, so everybody was anxious to take the edge off with some wine. We hit up the largest winery here South Coast before moving on to the smaller Robert Renzoni winery and Leonesse Cellars. Unfortunately, Tracy's camera took it's second significant cement drop in 8 days and is no longer in operation. Oh well, the price we pay to "taste" some wine.
After wine tasting we hit up Old Town Temecula for some of the most bland mexican food I've ever had. Dirt has more flavor than the refried beans at The Bank restaurant. And the dirt in the desert has more moisture than the carne asada. I thought it was hard to screw up mexican food. Think again. This place seriously sucked. The margarita's were strong, but not strong enough for us to overlook the terrible food. In all honesty, I could probably crap out a better tasting dinner than The Bank could make and sell for $10.
Thankfully, we didn't let the poor food, broken camera or sprained ankle crazy lady dog sitter drama ruin our day. We enjoyed a jacuzzi and a few more cold beers and the day still felt like a relaxing vacation day.
On Sunday we took the Ortega over to Huntington Beach. We hit up the candy store on the way, a must-stop Dan and Miranda introduced us to. Then, we ate mexican food that didn't suck at Wahoo's. I'm guessing Wahoo's actually tastes the food it cooks, opposed to The Bank. Wahoo's is highly recommended, the food was excellent. After some shopping and hitting up the pier, we dropped off John and Katie at John Wayne airport so they could pick up their rental for the remainder of their vacation in San Diego.
Thanks again for visiting. We love seeing friends and family making the trip to spend time with us.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Recent Fun in the Sun
We've had several visitors here over the last two weeks. Check out a little slideshow of some of the action.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thanks Dan And Miranda!
After a fun-filled five days, Dan and Miranda made the trek back to Minnesota today. We enjoyed the visit, and we hope you will make a return trip in the future.
It was a packed week for them as we got started in San Diego Wednesday night at Croce's restaurant and jazz bar named after the famous singer Jim Croce. It was a nice night in the Gaslamp as we ate on the patio and enjoyed the outdoor patio heating. Next up was a trip to our favorite Irish pub The Fields for a few pints ... one day after St. Patty's day unfortunately.
On Thursday, Dan and Miranda were on their own and took the scenic Ortega -- Tracy's commute route -- to Orange County for sushi. They managed to score some great candy halfway through the Ortega at a quaint candy store too! Naturally, we made it the Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Gophers hoops team disappoint in the second half after Tracy and I got home from work.
Friday was a fun day as Dan and Miranda split up. Not to worry, only on activities. I guess this is pretty common for them on quick vacations. I took a vacation day from work and so Dan and I could play a Robert Trent Jones' designed Murrieta course called SGCA. Miranda headed up to Hemet for a fun horseback ride in the mountains and scored a nice sunburn too! Dan managed to thoroughly smoke me in our round with rented King Cobra clubs no less. Dan penciled a 97 for his first round out this season with rented woods he struggled with. I shot a 110 and it felt like a 125. The front 9 on this course was really tough, and I really got my monies worth with a front 60. I'd say the $35 green fee cart included (a great deal found online) was utilized most on the front side.
Saturday was highlighted by wine tasting in the Temecula valley with one of Miranda's co-workers based in L.A. and her friend. I believe their names were Michelle and Jamie??? The six of us had a good time and Tracy ended up buying two bottles. It was pretty evident that Dan and I were over the whole wine tasting thing three wineries in ... we managed to hit five of them. Saturday night featured a rowdy game of Blokus, Dan won three of four games. Either he's a genius or we're really stupid. I'm hoping for the genius angle.
Sunday was pretty chill. Well, except for the fact that Tracy's car failed the smog test before it was even tested because of a check engine light. The Jetta had a bad thermostat that Tracy was aware of, so Dan and I replaced it. That's the second thermostat replaced in the apartment garage! Tracy has her license test on Tuesday, and to get the plates your car must have a passed smog test on record. Kind of last minute, but we never could have guessed about the check engine lights causing an automatic failure.
Other than that, it was a really great week spending time with my brother and Miranda. I can't recall the last time that we got to hang out so much. On the car ride home after dropping them off in San Diego Sunday night, I already started to miss them. I guess it hit me that I don't know the next time I'll get to see them. Now I know what my dad has gone through the last 25 years with all his brothers in Idaho.
Well, I don't want to bore you too much here. We'll post some pictures tomorrow. Tracy has a bunch of good ones from the week.
Now, we look forward to John and Katie's visit starting Thursday night!
It was a packed week for them as we got started in San Diego Wednesday night at Croce's restaurant and jazz bar named after the famous singer Jim Croce. It was a nice night in the Gaslamp as we ate on the patio and enjoyed the outdoor patio heating. Next up was a trip to our favorite Irish pub The Fields for a few pints ... one day after St. Patty's day unfortunately.
On Thursday, Dan and Miranda were on their own and took the scenic Ortega -- Tracy's commute route -- to Orange County for sushi. They managed to score some great candy halfway through the Ortega at a quaint candy store too! Naturally, we made it the Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Gophers hoops team disappoint in the second half after Tracy and I got home from work.
Friday was a fun day as Dan and Miranda split up. Not to worry, only on activities. I guess this is pretty common for them on quick vacations. I took a vacation day from work and so Dan and I could play a Robert Trent Jones' designed Murrieta course called SGCA. Miranda headed up to Hemet for a fun horseback ride in the mountains and scored a nice sunburn too! Dan managed to thoroughly smoke me in our round with rented King Cobra clubs no less. Dan penciled a 97 for his first round out this season with rented woods he struggled with. I shot a 110 and it felt like a 125. The front 9 on this course was really tough, and I really got my monies worth with a front 60. I'd say the $35 green fee cart included (a great deal found online) was utilized most on the front side.
Saturday was highlighted by wine tasting in the Temecula valley with one of Miranda's co-workers based in L.A. and her friend. I believe their names were Michelle and Jamie??? The six of us had a good time and Tracy ended up buying two bottles. It was pretty evident that Dan and I were over the whole wine tasting thing three wineries in ... we managed to hit five of them. Saturday night featured a rowdy game of Blokus, Dan won three of four games. Either he's a genius or we're really stupid. I'm hoping for the genius angle.
Sunday was pretty chill. Well, except for the fact that Tracy's car failed the smog test before it was even tested because of a check engine light. The Jetta had a bad thermostat that Tracy was aware of, so Dan and I replaced it. That's the second thermostat replaced in the apartment garage! Tracy has her license test on Tuesday, and to get the plates your car must have a passed smog test on record. Kind of last minute, but we never could have guessed about the check engine lights causing an automatic failure.
Other than that, it was a really great week spending time with my brother and Miranda. I can't recall the last time that we got to hang out so much. On the car ride home after dropping them off in San Diego Sunday night, I already started to miss them. I guess it hit me that I don't know the next time I'll get to see them. Now I know what my dad has gone through the last 25 years with all his brothers in Idaho.
Well, I don't want to bore you too much here. We'll post some pictures tomorrow. Tracy has a bunch of good ones from the week.
Now, we look forward to John and Katie's visit starting Thursday night!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Our First Visitors Are...
Dan and Miranda. We are really looking forward to this Wednesday when Dan and Miranda arrive in town for a short stay here in California. Dan's on spring break and Miranda is celebrating a new position at Ameriprise. We'll pick them up in San Diego Wednesday night and hopefully it will feel like a four-day vacation here in Murrieta. The weather looks sunny as usual, and temperatures will be in the low 80s.
It sounds like it's been a long winter in Minnesota, and I guess Tracy and I have taken our weather for granted a little bit. I've been biking 70 to 80 miles a week with a co-worker for the last three-plus weeks. It's things like that that you take for granted when you're not spending a winter in Minnesota.
After Dan and Miranda visit, our friends John and Katie are here the following weekend. It just happens to be Tracy's birthday on that Friday so we've planned to go to Disneyland. And then Laura and Tim (Tracy's family) visits over Easter. We look forward to seeing all of you!
It sounds like it's been a long winter in Minnesota, and I guess Tracy and I have taken our weather for granted a little bit. I've been biking 70 to 80 miles a week with a co-worker for the last three-plus weeks. It's things like that that you take for granted when you're not spending a winter in Minnesota.
After Dan and Miranda visit, our friends John and Katie are here the following weekend. It just happens to be Tracy's birthday on that Friday so we've planned to go to Disneyland. And then Laura and Tim (Tracy's family) visits over Easter. We look forward to seeing all of you!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Final Vebe Visual Logo
Tracy and I brainstormed a few logos and type sets and finally came up with a logo design we like. The double arrows represent the V in Vebe and the V in Visual. In the trendy version, we will use a drop shadow on the arrows to set them off from the blue background.
Oh, and Tracy wants me to mention the significance of Vebe, the name she came up with. It's pretty simple, really, it's the V for the first initial of my last name and the B for the first initial of her last name. V B or Vebe. It's definitely grown on me. We are putting together an entire corporate design or CD manual with our fonts and design. Once we get this deal launched, we want to approach the local wineries with design proposals ... they don't advertise enough, so we think we can fill a niche for them at a fair price.
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