I was visiting my good friend John in San Francisco and while we were there we went to a Giants baseball game. I’m not really a baseball fan, but he is and logically he is also a huge Giants fan and since I was in town on vacation it sounded like a fun thing to do. I was actually the one who suggested it, as John knows that I’m not a huge fan and wouldn’t have brought it up on his own. It was a beautiful day and the best part of the whole event was when I got up to go get us a couple of hot dogs. There was this beautiful man in line in front of me and I don’t know why but I loved the way he ordered his nachos. He turned around and we made eye contact and he almost spilled his drink into his nachos. I don’t think this was because he was stunned by me or anything, it probably has more to do with how crowded it was an the fact a guy bumped into him.

Anyway, he kind of hung out for a minute while I ordered the hot dogs and then when I was finished he introduced himself to me. His name is Tony and he asked if I was really hungry because I had two dogs. I liked this and new the point of it so I quickly mentioned that one of them was for my non-romantic friend. He laughed and said that was kind of a sad way to refer to anyone, as non-romantic. I really liked his sense of humor, oh and his face and he ended up walking me back to my entry area.

Tony asked for my phone number and suggested we have coffee or diner or something while I was in town. I was eager to accept though I felt bad that I would be taking away from the time I spent with John. He didn’t care of course and only made the joke that I was in town a day and a half and got a date and he hadn’t had one in a year. I told him it was because he was non-romantic but he didn’t get it. I didn’t explain the joke we just enjoyed the rest of the game. The Giants won by the way, if that means anything to you. So, the next night I went out with Tony and we basically just hung out down along the Embarcadero. It was really an enchanted evening and while I didn’t want to sacrifice any more of my time with John, I told Tony I would return and find a place to stay that wasn’t too expensive. I can’t wait to return to San Francisco and to my cute nacho boy Tony.

After a few years had passed since I graduated with my Bachelors of Science degree from Arizona State University, I wanted to expand on two of the elements of humanity that intrigued me. The history of our species, my first degree was in Anthropology, and art. I had been painting my entire life and while I have had success in the art world, I just wanted something more. I wasn’t particular designed to sit alone in a painting studio for hours, I wanted to be more involved in the world.  I had also been fascinated for some time about the Canadian city of Vancouver, so I decided to apply to the graduate program at the University of British Columbia . On the day that I received my acceptance letter, I figured it was time to start making plans for the move, even though it was a few month away. Not knowing exactly where to start when it came to looking for a place to live, I went online and found what I needed to at this site, check here . I found the information extremely helpful, I wish these kinds of sites were around when I had first started college. It offered information not only on apartment listings, but advice on looking for a job and how to make sure that you find a great roommate.  As the time for me to move drew nearer, I rented my apartment before I had even left the states. It was very comforting to know that I had a place of my own waiting for me. After two years, I had my Masters of Arts in Art History. I now work for the Vancouver Art Gallery , and we are in the middle of the Leonardo Da Vinci show, The Mechanics of Man. I liked that city so much that I just decided to stay once I graduated. And now that I can afford to move to a bigger apartment, I am staying in this one for a while, because where I am at right now, just feels too much like home.

It was my first night in Columbus, Ohio; it was Tuesday night and my good friend Joan, who picked me up at the airport and took me to the hotel I had booked for the both of us. She thought I was crazy for booking a hotel room for us since she has a perfectly good apartment. I told her that I wanted to spend time with her and not with all her other four roommates. Plus, I booked us a luxury hotel and got a great deal, click here, if you’d be interested in finding a great hotel and a great price. We didn’t do anything Tuesday night, except talk and talk and talk.

Joan had to work during the day, so I was left to my own devices during the day. All I did was call room service for breakfast, caught up on some movies, then ordered room service for lunch. When Joan got off work, we met up with a few of her friends and went to a Karaoke bar. We ended up not staying there long, because Joan said it was time to go see Bob Larit play, he always played at K 2U Bar and Grill on Wednesday nights.

I was in Columbus about 4 years ago, that’s when Joan introduced me to Bob Larit at K 2U Bar and Grill. I really enjoyed his music, so much so, I bought his CD, I even friended him on MySpace. So, Joan was right about leaving the Karaoke bar! But, when we left that bar, the weather outside was a bit weird; almost Tornatic. But, we made it to K 2U Bar and Grill in plenty of time to hear him play.

Halfway through the first set and Joan went outside for a smoke, she came back in and said that the Tornado sirens were going off. Bob’s music made it hard for us to hear it. As the word got around the joint, the staff and all the clientele’s mood changed. Everyone’s attention was on the TV at the bar. Local news was covering the progress of the tornado. I looked at Joan and the look on her face was that of fear. The weather map was showing that the tornado was heading our way. That’s when Bob made the announcement about the tornado.

We decided to stay where we were, and hope for the best, many of the clientele ran outside to head for home. The storm was over within minutes, the tornado seemed to have missed us, at least where we were. The next morning, the local news said that the tornado never touched ground.

Nobody’s got Modesto’s goat was the original slogan for the city of Modesto, toward the beginning of the 20th century.  It was decided that this wasn’t appropriate, at least for publicity’s sake, but it is appropriate in terms of outlook and atmosphere.  Modesto is a lovely place to visit, close to San Francisco and not as expensive, but with plenty of attractions, and a very lovely setting.  It’s a perfect place to settle in for a nice romantic weekend, or a honeymoon, and enjoy wine-tasting, outdoor sports, and lots of live music.  There are plenty of excellent hotels here that will suit anyone’s tastes, and help you to enjoy luxury in a luxurious surrounding.

If your favorite thing in the world is music, there are plenty of interesting things in town, but the real die-hard fans should try to catch XFest, to be in on what really happens here.  This is one of the coolest music festivals in the country, with something for everyone.  Those who have tastes that run toward popular top 40 stuff will find plenty to enjoy here.  Classic rock and rollers will also be satisfied with the eclectic line-up that has some great bands from the past decades.  And hiphop and electronic music fans will also find plenty to dance to, and enjoy a spectacular time.

XFest is another name for the Xclamation Festival, and it’s been going on for 11 years now.  Billed as the Valley’s Biggest Party, XFest is mostly about the music, with over 50 bands playing.  It’s also about art, too, and one of the great draws here is that this is inspired to revitalizing the downtown area.  It’s a visionary venture to bring attention and people to any downtown area in the middle of the summer, and live music and local art are keys to helping locals and visitors to see all the wonderful talents that a place has to offer.  This is a chance to hear local and national acts playing in a beautiful place, and promises a weekend to be remembered.

We had a very early start this morning for Miami, luckily we packed our things last night, because we got to sleep-in just for a bit. We got our bags to car by 7:15am, which was a bit surprising because we woke up at 6:50! We drove for only two hours before we made a rest stop at this place called St. Lucia, we hung around there for about a half-an-hour, there really wasn’t much there, except a Dunkin’ Doughnuts.

We got back into our car for about another 2 hours all the while our little one watched ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ on the DVD player in the back seat, and stopped for a restroom break, then about another hour on the road, we stopped at the Dolphin Plaza Miami, for lunch. We spent about 45 minutes eating and did a bit of shopping too. I bought some Havaianas for $12.00! Then we got back into our car and drove for about 45 more minutes and reached Everglades National Park.

We took the 2 hour tram tour and boy was it hot and stinky, something we don’t recommend. Halfway through our tour, we stopped and the guide told us to get out and get in the water! Water that’s filled with alligators and snakes. We did it anyways. After the tour we made our way to our hotel in Miami, which we found to be very luxurious, but we only had about an hour to get ready to head out for a fantastic Saturday night out in Miami. Our hotel provided us with a babysitter for our little one.

We had dinner at this quaint Italian place, then headed for a club called the Cleavelander, where we had made reservations for the rooftop Contiki. After that, we made our way to the Mango, a nice salsa club, we danced our shoes off, literally, our feet were so sore, we had to take them off. That’s when we decided to call a taxi to take us back to our hotel for the night, well morning, by the time we got to our room, it was 3:30am! We’ve been up for almost 24 hours!