Virginia City

Yesterday was a crappy day in Tahoe so we decided to head for the desert to escape the cold weather. We headed east over the mountains through a winter wonderland. Within half an hour we descended the snowy landscape to the dry and warm Nevada desert. We visited the old gold mining town of Virginia City where we shopped, toured an old mine, and rode a historic train through the desert.

Separated At Birth

Could it be possible that Barbie the Horse and Tammy's dog Cracker were switched at birth? They both take their sweet ole time doing things, shy and beige. I mean, they do look like twins, don't they?

Horseback Riding In Tahoe

Today Brian, Renee and I went horseback riding along some trails. I rode Willie, Brian rode Ace and Renee rode Barbie. Barbie was extremely slow as you can tell in one of the pics below. She kinda reminded me of Cracker. We had to stop about 5 times for Barbie to catch up with the rest of the group. Barbie kept on stopping along the way to munch on grass, take a dump and pee.

Road Trip Around Lake Tahoe

Yesterday we got up early and took a 72 mile road trip around the entire perimeter of Lake Tahoe. Before our trip we stopped at the Rubicon Deli which is hidden inside the Tahoe Tree Nursery for some good ole sandwiches. I highly recommend this place if you want pheonominal food! Once we had our sandwiches we started our drive. We stopped along many viewpoints and parks along our drive. I was amazed at how blue and clear the lake was. It made for some good pictures. This roadtrip is a must if you ever find yourself in the area. The views of the lake are spectacular. Below are a few of the pics I took.

Emerald Bay

Here are some pics of our recent hike around Emerald Bay. The water in the bay is crystal clear and is a brilliant emerald color when the sun shines on it. We took the mile long trail down about 500 ft to reach the bottom. The hike down was easy but was rather difficult coming back up. Below you can also find a picture of a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel that stopped and posed for a picture.

D*** In A Box...

1: Cut a hole in a box
2: Put your junk in that box
3: Make her open the box ...

Hiking In Tahoe

Last Monday we took a hike up the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Squaw Valley. We saw some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. At times we found it hard to breath since we were not used to the altitude but it was still well worth the trip up. Below are some pics of our hike.

Day 1 Of Vacation - Reno

So, we flew into Reno, NV, last Saturday and we were looking forward to see some of city sites, but let me tell you, we were very disappointed. I had this vision of Reno being like a mini Vegas but boy was I wrong. The city was kinda dead. Everyone must have either been at the air show or at a big party that we didn't get invited to. We did manage to lose $50 bucks playing the slots and hung out at the local Starbucks when Jules and Renee arrived before heading out to Tahoe.

My First Movie Production

As some of you already know, I arrived in Reno today to start my week long vacation visiting a few parts of the western US. Brian and I arrived early this morning and we have since been waiting for Diddymoppers and her husband to arrive. It's taken them HOURS!!! During that time I decided to make my first film and it's debuting here tonight on Lui5.com . Thanks to my friend Joe who mentioned that most computers today come with Windows Movie Maker, I decided to make a short vid of my flight from Chicago to Reno. Let me know what ya'll think. Who knows, I could be the next Steven Spielberg or something like that.

Apple Unveils New iPod with Wi-Fi

CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Apple's latest iPods today at MacWorld. The new iPod Touch was the showstopper at today's event. This iPod is similar to the iPhone but without the phone. Along with the iPod Touch, Brian.... I mean Steve also showed off the new Nano which boasts a larger and brighter screen with video capabilities and upgrades to the Shuffle.

Mushrooms Galore

I took a picture of these mushrooms outside of work the other day. It seems like the recent heavy rains in the area has produced a proliferation of mushrooms.

I Finally Have Electricity

Yes, I finally have electricity after being in the dark since last Thursday! These past few days have been pretty crazy. It started out with a tornado warning last Thursday. Me and others at work were told to hunker down in the bathrooms until the "all clear" was given. That was not fun because someone had just used the bathroom so you can imagine the stench. Then came the high winds, lightening and biblical floods. I mean, there was standing water everywhere! We were asked to leave work because the standing water had started to creep towards my building. I gladly left, only to sit in traffic while a 2nd round of storms hit the area. It took me a good 2 hours to get home when it normally takes me just 30 mins. I finally made it home only to find the lights outs. I was living the Amish life for roughly 4 days. Most of the food in the frig and freezer had to be thrown out and worst of all I had no internet, no light, and NO TV!!! The lights finally came back on early this morning and what a relief it was! Below are some pics I took of the flooding and damage caused by last Thursday's storms.

Brian And The Fortune Teller

What do you think the fortune teller told Brian? Fill in the blank below.

The fortune teller told Brian _________.

Cool Globes

Last Monday I took a trip downtown to see the Cool Globes art exhibit on Chicago's lakefront. The globes are intended to inspire people to take action against global warming. Below are a few of my favorite globes. My whole set of pictures can be seen here at the following link: Click Here!

Happy Birthday Brian!

Thanks to Angie Love for providing the cutest baby pic in the world to adorn Brian's birthday cake! Mucho love and Happy Birthday Brian from me and your friends from the Depot.

What Are These Two?

These two guys were spotted outside of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Any guesses on who or what they are?

Trip To House On The Rock

So last weekend we took a road trip to House On The Rock in Spring Green, WI. I've never been to such a weird place in my life. The house itself is rather dark throughout and one can see many weird things like serpents, dolls enjoying a ride on a carousel, half human-goat mannequins, giant octopus', doll houses, the world's largest canon and many other odd tchotchkes. Below are some pics I took inside the house. You can see my whole set at the following link. Click Here

Brian standing in the infinity room.

A black person eating watermellon. (That's just wrong.)

Stuffed frog playing the violin.

Brian smelling an elephant's butt.

I'm not sure what these creatures are.

Dolls enjoying a ride on a real carousel. FREAKY!!!

An octopus playing music.

Scary giant clown.