Monkeys in the Snow, Oh No!

What is wrong with these monkeys? Don't they realize that there are piles of snow sitting below them? Why don't they care? I guess they don't like snow...

Last week on Valentine's Day, Laura and I went on a romantic date to the LA Zoo. We have passes so we were able to go on nice date for practically no money (which is good when you are trying to buy a house). They had put snow in four of the animal's cages. This was the chimpanzee's, but they also put snow in the cages of the black bear, tiger, and snow leopards. None of the animals seemed to care about the white fluffy stuff. Most were passed out asleep on the ground. I thought at least the snow leopards would be having a good time. Nope, they were also fast asleep.

We had a fun Valentine's Day. We also went to dinner and saw a movie. We paid for both of these with the gift cards that you (my students) gave us for Christmas. So I thank all of you for helping us to have a great time.

Oh...guess where we went for dinner?

Here I am at Outback Steakhouse enjoying a delicious ribeye steak. It was so juicy and delicious! I love that place.

Winter Trip to Mammoth

Before Christmas, Laura and I got the chance to go to Mammoth for a couple of days. We spent most of our time in the small town you see in this picture, Crawley Lake. Laura's uncle lives there. We went with Laura's parents and with Sandy, their adorable border collie who you've met before. I called her snowdog the whole trip. You will see why later.

We did all sorts of fun things on the trip. We did not ski or snowboard but we did go snowshoeing, site seeing, shopping, and of course had plently of snowplay. Here is a great video of Laura having fun in the snow.

Haven't you always wanted to do that? As you can see, we had a lot of fun in the snow, even though it was so cold the whole time we were there. Since we had the snow dog with us, it was my goal to get her to play with me in the snow. This dog usually spends her days laying around the house sleeping. Let's just say that the snow wasn't her favorite thing. This video speaks for itself.

Did you go on any interesting trips over break or do anything exciting? Tell us about it.

No dogs were harmed in the making of this blog post

We are ready for the holidays!

Today, Laura and I decorated our apartment for the holidays.  We decided not to get a tree this year.  We had two reasons for this decision.  First of all, our apartment is very small and there is really no room for a tree.  Second, we are trying to save our money to buy a house.  We need to save every penny in order to make it happen.

Instead of a tree we hung our ornaments from some garland.  Doesn't it look nice?

Can you tell that there are ornaments hanging there?  We actually collect ornaments wherever we go.  That big red one, that looks like Mickey's head, is from our summer trip to Disney World.  Laura also took a piece of white ribbon and strung small round ornaments on it.  She is very clever.

Here is my contribution.  I decided that since we cannot hang lights from the outside of our apartment, I would hang them inside.  Here they are hanging from our track lighting.  They actually wrap halfway around our entire apartment.  We are definitely in the holiday spirit now.  Oh, that other Mickey-looking thing is our advent calendar.  Yes, we are a bit obsessed with Disney.

Tell us what you have done to get ready for the holidays.  How does your family decorate?  Are there any unique traditions that your family does?  Tell us about it!

What did you do with your extra hour?

Last night was Daylight Savings time. This is when you change your clocks either one hour ahead or one hour back. This time we set our clocks one hour back leaving us with extra time do whatever we wanted. Rather than sleep that extra hour away, we decided to go on a day-hike with our dog Sandy. Actually, she is Laura's parent's dog. We are dog sitting while they are in China. Check out this great shot of our burned up mountains which rise high above the Crescenta Valley.

I have been wanting to check out some of the trails in the Verdugo Mountains, which we can see every day from our classroom windows. First, we ventured up a small trail in the back of CV park. I always see this trail when I run at CV park but have never gone up it before. We found out the it leads to a small waterfall which only runs when it is raining. I would not recommend going up this trail because it is hard to tell where the trail goes. This is Laura with Sandy.

Here I am walking Sandy down the CV park trail. We decided to go and check out the Whiting Woods trail, which I read about on the Internet. This trail is actually a fire road so it is not easy to get lost.

Watch the video below to see how our day went.

Tell us what you did with your extra hour on Sunday. I hope you didn't spend it playing video games. The great thing about living in Southern California is that you have so many things you can do in nature. Whether it is a day at the beach or a hike in the hills, get outside and use some of that energy!

Isn't she cute?

My Favortie Restaurant

For years now my favorite place to eat out, when I don't mind spending a bit of money, is Outback Steakhouse.  Luckily, they recently put one in Glendale which makes it so easy for me to get there.  I just love their delicious bread, salads, sides, and of course...steak!

My favorite item on the menu to order is the ribeye steak.  This is by far the greatest cut of steak in my opinion.  It is so juicy and flavorful.  I sometimes like to order the prime rib instead.  If I am in the mood for spiciness, I order my prime rib "Outback Style," which means they sear it with tons of spices.  They recently added a wedge salad to the menu, which I love.  It comes out as a whole wedge of uncut lettuce, covered in dressing, grape tomatoes, blue cheese, bacon, and red onion...so tasty. It is fun to chop up.  I also like to order the loaded baked potato as one of my sides.  And I have to have a side of Tigerdill dipping sauce, which is Outback's take on the classic horseradish sauce. This is the ribeye below...yummy!

When I am really hungry or with a group of people, I have to order their famous appetizer, the Bloomin' Onion.  It is like having onion rings but way better.  They literally batter and deep fry an entire onion and bring it to your table.  It is too much for just my wife and I to eat.  I wish they offered a half onion for couples.  Come on Outback.  Think about it.  You could sell half to my wife and I, and the other half to the couple sitting across from us...

Well, now that you know all about my favorite place to go eat, tell us about your favorite restaurant.  Do you have a place that you love to eat at but don't get to go very often?  What do you like to order when you go there?

My Summer Vacation

I keep talking to my students about this awesome video that I shot on my vacation to Disney World this summer. Laura and I went to this "escape from reality" for seven days in August. We visited every park that Disney has to offer (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and both water parks, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon). It was a busy and exciting trip. Here is one of the best rides that we went on. It is called Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. After riding it the first time I wanted badly to go on again and tape the experience. Here it is:



Yes, that was me screaming...

My Hero

I have been promising my students that I would post the picture of me with my hero John Muir.Actually, this is not the real John Muir. This is Lee Stetson, an actor who portrays John Muir. He can often be found in Yosemite giving presentations as the great John Muir. We went to his show one evening during our spring break trip to my favorite place. He was telling some of Muir's famous stories at the Yosemite Lodge. This was my second time seeing him perform.

The real John Muir is my hero because of what he did for California's most beautiful places like Yosemite and the Giant Sequoias of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. He helped see to it that these areas would be protected. This led to the creation of the first State Parks in the United States.

John Muir also started the Sierra Club, which my parents have been members of for about 40 years. I too was a member in high school and enjoyed going on trips with my parents to see many of our state's most beautiful locations.

3rd Time is a Charm, Our Last Cancelled Day

Well, today was our last "day off" due to the Station Fire. This was a less eventful day. No more fires could be seen on the hillside thank goodness. The two pictures below are "before and after" shots of the hillside above school. In the first photo, which I posted two days ago, you can see the lush green hills as the fire was approaching from the other side. In the second photo, taken today, you can see that the hills have been turned completely gray. Hardly a plant was left standing. It is a bit hard to tell from these small images but if you click on them you can see it a bit better.

We are all very lucky to still have our houses and our school to return to. Others in this fire have been less fortunate. I think we are all excited to be returning to school and a bit of normal life.

Just for fun I have added a time lapse video that Laura and I made from our backyard. The news kept showing time lapse videos so I wanted to see if I could get some press with mine. So far I don't think it has been shown on any news stations but it has had a lot of views on Youtube. Check it out:

I Got a Tree!

Look at the newest addition to my tiny apartment.  Today Laura and I went out to get a tree to celebrate the holidays.  The problem is that we live in a small apartment so we had to get a small tree. Luckily the CCY had just the right sized Noble Fir.  We ended up with this great four footer.  We just finished decorating it.  Doesn't it look nice?

How does your family celebrate the holidays?  Tell us of any unique customs or traditions that your family does to make the holiday memories last.

Yes, those are my lovely socks...

I Met Huell Howser

On Sunday I got to meet one of my many childhood heros, Huell Howser. That's right Huell Howser. Are you more surprised that I met him or that he is my childhood hero? Huell Howser is best known for his T.V. show on PBS, "California's Gold." I used to watch this show every weekend. One of the reasons why I love California history is because of this great program.

Huell has been just about everywhere in California interviewing people about anything he can think of. I am pretty sure that there isn't a place I have been in California that he has not done a show on, or at least it seems that way. His travels inspire me and make me want to go to all of the same places.

I got to meet this man because he was speaking in Irvine and my wife's parents got tickets for us all to go. In his speech he talked about his life and how he ended up in California doing a show about California. He was very funny and had a great outlook on life. I was honored to get the chance to speak to him and shake his hand.

Have you ever met someone famous who you admire for their accomplishments? Post a comment and tell us about it.