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?

Pupil Free Day Fun for Teachers

So you might be wondering what all of us teachers do on your pupil free days.  Well, today we got to do art!  We learned all about our new art program that we just got this year.  It is called "Arts Attack."  Here are some of our teachers completing their line monsters.

This is a picture of my line monster.  He has a saw blade nose and flames for hair.  We had tons of fun and leaned how to do some great art projects that I can't wait to do with our class. They are planning to display all of the teacher art in the auditorium.  Be sure to look for these great masterpieces. 

Have you ever done an art project that you just loved.  Tell us about it.  Who knows, maybe we will try it in our class???

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:

Day 2 Still Cancelled

Day two of school was another uneventful day... at the school site that is. Again, school was cancelled due to horrible air conditions, not to mention the fact that part of the hillside was still on fire, and many students were still evacuated from their homes. Laura and I decided to go down to school to check things out. You could still see smoke high in the hills above school.

Oh…we also learned how to order pizza when you are evacuated. The trick is that the pizza guy cannot get past the police and if you leave the evacuation area in your car, you cannot return.

In this picture you can see the pizza guy on the right. He pulled up and we thought, “Oh no! How will he deliver this pizza?” Well, just then, the guy who was in the black car in the middle (just to the right of the police car), honked his horn to get the attention of the pizza guy. That’s right, he drove his car right down to the police security line and waited for the pizza guy to bring his pizza to the intersection. I tell ya, that is creativity.

For more entertainment and clean air, Laura and I headed back down to Glendale today. This time we went to my favorite burger joint The Habit. Oh my goodness it is so good. I love the BBQ Bacon Char Burger…Yummy!!!

Also while we were out I picked up one of these babies. Now I am ready for the real "Day 1" whenever that may be…