en Route to Italy

Christmas day. I never thought i would ever travel on Christmas day. I left the 60 degree raining weather in San Francisco and arrived in Frankfurt Germany - 10 hours later - in which the Pilot sarcastically described the weather during our landing as "A Tropical -9 Degrees Celcius." A three hour stop over isn't too bad with the first hour occupied by transferring gates. As I sat on a small round table looking out the panaramic window facing the snow covered tarmac, enjoying a free espresso is as relaxing as it can get at the airport.
The flight over wasn't too bad. A bit turbulent, but the free vodkas I had made all things better.

Pre Packing

It's Christmas Eve and I can't believe how fast this year went by. To End the year, I'll be in Naples, Italy. As I'm currently preparing my bags, I had the urge to pop this song in.

Wine Tasting

I went to Castello di Amorosa in the Napa Valley today for a private Members Only Event. I invited Phil, his wife - Kana, and their Dotson - Haru. We had a blast drinking several different types of wine. The winery was making fresh bread from their outdoor Wood Fire Brick Oven, which was really good. The bread was topped with salt, pepper, rosemary and other herbs as the inside of the bread had chunks of olives. It was SUPER GOOD! I ended up purchasing 7 bottles of vino and an additional 2 for Phil & Kana.

Not So Silent Night 2010

I went to the Not So Silent Night Concert on Friday and was very excited to see the Smashing Pumpkins. Other bands that played were My Chemical Romance, Phoenix, Black Keys, and Broken Bells. Of the 5 bands that played, my top two were Phoenix and The Smashing Pumpkins. The Smashing Pumpkins is one of my favorite all time bands. They played "Drown" which is one of my all time favorite tracks by them. I was quite surprised when they played it because I've I never heard it played to the masses. The track is one their very first songs and was released on Soundtrack entitled "Singles" in 1992. I remember hearing it for the first time when one of my sisters friends played it for me back while I was in High School. I don't remember her name, but when she found out that I listened to Alternative music, she went to her car, grabbed the cd, and let me listen to the album. I copied that specific song to a cassette tape.

The other songs the Pumpkins played were Landslide, Today, Bullet with Butterfly Wings(their opener), and closed with Tonight.

Black Friday: First Session

Some people like to stay home on Black Friday and do nothing. Others enjoy the shopping and gripe about the long lines. Myself, on Black Friday, I enjoy the lines at a Ski Resort. It’s been a few years since I’ve gone snowboarding on Thanksgiving weekend – due to insufficient snow. This year was different and awesome. I ended my snowboarding season last year at Montana’s Big Sky Resort on their last day and I began this year’s snowboarding season at Alpine Meadow on their opening day - November 26. They had awesome snow. On the first run, I knocked the cobwebs out of my system by trying to grab some air from a small kicker and crashed into a friend of mine by taking his legs out. Not major though.

After the morning session, I was hungry and thirsty by noon – 12:08 to be exact. Typical style of what I like to do, I ended up kicking back with a few shots and beers till 3pm. I enjoyed two more runs before I called it a day.

NYE Destination: Italy Bound

A couple months ago I was pondering on my next vacation. Well, here we are 2 months later and it’s going to happen. I’m headed to Italy on the last week of December. I leave Christmas Day and return on the 3rd. New Years Eve in Napoli.

http://wackymango.blogspot.com/2010/09/italy-and-spain-in-my-mind.html

Baseball Stuff

They say a Picture is worth a thousand words. I was in Vegas when Brian Wilson struck out Ryan Howard resulting in the Giants winning the 2010 MLB National League Pennant, and eventually winning the World Series. This match up is every kids dream - one of the best hitters vs. an elite closer. The scenario that one says to him/her self, “full count, game tied, bottom of the ninth….”

In this case: The tying run on Second Base and the winning run on First., Full count, 2 outs.

Wedding in Cabo San Lucas

I attended a wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on October 10, 2010. The wedding was Picturesque. I'll post more on Cabo later.

Fantasy Football

Picture taken from http://www.nfl.com/

I'm going to admit it, my Fantasy Football team isn't great. And with any Fantasy Football league, you'll have a lot people talking smack. What makes it fun is when it back fires. Here's what I wrote on my Fantasy Football Leagues' Cover Story:

In an article published last week entitled "These Mangos are bad"(with a picture of rotten mangos), Fantasy Player Jeff Martinez stated,

"Thanks Goodness Bear and I have a bye week this week....oh wait, we're playing the Wackymangos? Oh yeah we do have a bye week....get it guys? Cause they suck!!!!”

You know what, to save himself from embarrassment, his team might as well have been on a bye week. Choosing to pick the low bearing fruit fallen from a tree, he forgot to look at the others that were growing and ready to be ripe. The TWO TIME BACK to BACK Champs pulls off one of the biggest upsets in League History. Predicted to lose by 30, the Wackymangos mistaken second draft pick - LT - and Defensive Team – Patriots – scored more than half of the their total team points.

We tried to contact the Wackymangos' GM “The Genius,” but could not reach him. We later found out he was busy taking a Sh*t.

Got Miles

It has traveled with me for over 200,000 miles and I'm sad to say that it's getting replaced - my travel bag. So many memories. Rain, sleet, snow, and the hot sun. Cobble stones, rocks, dirt, sand; it's been through it. Why am I replacing it? The zipper broke. I've got to hand it High Sierra, they make awesome bags and they hold their warranty. I sent them an email and after a few quick instructions - cut the decals off the bag and mail it to us - they sent me a new bag! I'll miss my old bag but, I can't wait to start traveling with the new.

Smart Phones

I've been holding back on a "Smart" Phone. I had one a few years back that ran Windows Mobile and I hated it. It constantly crashed. But with today's technology the mobile smart phones has improved 10 folds. But even with the huge improvements, I'm still holding back till next year because of the phone wars. It seems like every month, a new and better phone is released, so I might as well wait. No need to rush. Besides, I don't want to get addicted to a mobile device. Being detached from the world is refreshing (I'll go on a rant on this subject on a future post).

Italy and Spain In My Mind

As I sit and watch Anthony Bourdain’s new episode on the Travel Channel: Madrid, I can’t help but think to my self that I want to return to Spain or Italy in the near distant future. The food, wine, and people - I love it all. I don’t mind returning to the some of the same cities that I’ve gone to in both countries:

Venice – Waking up early in the morning to enjoy a pastry and espresso by the water while watching produce and other items being delivered by boat to the shops and restaurants.
Lake Como –Relaxing at the wine bar and enjoying the even slower pace of life
San Sebastian – Tapas / Pintxos bar hopping
Madrid – What I consider the NY or Spain, because it's the busiest city in Spain

And then there is the new – the place I’ve not yet visited in Italy & Spain:

Italy – Cinque Terre, Jesolo, Sardegna, Napoli, Palermo
Spain – Sevilla, Granada, Malaga

If things work out, I may just head out during the last week of December. Until then, I'll have to enjoy those thoughts in the back of my head.

Ron's Experience in Pamplona

From my previous posts, Fiesta de San Fermin is a festival that's indescribable. I'm sure there are other festivals that may be just as wild, but when you've got an assortment of generations that attend this fiesta, it makes it that much more special. So last year, a couple of friends had decided to come along on my second go around. A year later, I finally found some time to put this video together.

31 Hours

My first full video documentary on my travels. Living in the airport for 31 hours traveling from Sydney to Los Angeles to San Francisco to Honolulu. All three legs were delayed so it was nice flying out of SFO to Honolulu in First Class. What wasn't captured was the mess I dealt with at LAX. The ticket agent at United could not find my reservations and sent be back to the international terminal to speak to the other airline (Quantas). After a few backlashes, I was able to talk to his manager (United) in which she found my reservation. After issuing my boarding pass, I was told to run to the gate as my flight was about to leave. Running through security, I almost fell flat on my face. When I got to the gate, I was told the flight was delayed. JERKS! IDIOTS! I highly doubt the flight delay notice occurred 5 min prior to departure. Especially if the plane wasn't even at the gate. LAX SUCKS!!

Absent

I've been busy with all sorts of stuff. I've got tons of stuff to post, but I just haven't had time.. So in the mean time.. Enjoy Janet. It's one of my favorite Janet Tracks.

4 Bottles, A Magnum, and a Barrel

I went to Napa with a good friend of mine and accompanied by his wife on Sunday. It was an extension of my birthday in which he unexpectedly treated me out for lunch at Ruthurford. We had their awesome cornbread for appetizers. I had a Ribeye cooked to perfection - med rare- as my main course. Our original appt. at Caymus was scheduled for 11:30am but do to unforced circumstances, we didn't make in time, which is how we unexpectedly ate at Ruthurfords.

After lunch we headed over to Caymus to see if we were able to get squeezed in with another group. Apparently Caymus sticks to 10 people (max) per tasting and they were fully booked for the rest of the day and several weeks to come. As I spoke to one of the workers, I asked if there was any thing they could do, he responded with, "how about I give you guys a taster." I responded with, "that would be awesome, thank you so much!"
He opened a door and said, "Follow me."

My two friends and I looked at each other with a large grin as he took us through a door behind the cashiers counter. We entered a large dark room that appeared to be holding cell filled with barrels of wine. He walked away for a min. to pour us our tasters as we whispered to each other in amazement. When the guy came back with our glasses, he turned the lights on. We were struck in amazement. The guy then said, we usually never take anyone back here. He then pointed over to a room that was visible with a large window and said, “That's where our tastings are held.” As we finished our glasses conjugated around an upright barrel, we all asked the guy a few questions. As he answered our questions and gave a brief background history of Caymus, he poured us another glass.
Although we didn't get the full 5 tastings at Caymus due to our tardiness, that private tasting was better that what we had planned. The gentleman who had assisted us was FANTASTIC!

After Caymus we headed off to Castillo Di Amorosa. We did the castle tour and had a great time at the wine tastings there. We took some fun snap shots inside the castle. With my friends emphasizing that it was my birthday to the tour guide, I received a couple more tastings than allowed. Our host enjoyed our company as our sarcasms made her laugh. During the tour I had noticed a couple used French Oak Barrels that were lying around with a for sale sign. After a few inquiries, I had two barrels purchased along with a few bottles of wine. I gave the other barrel to my friend.

Just another Friday

Off The Grid from RJ Atengco on Vimeo.

Sydney Bound

Posted for July 1
With my flight leaving for Sydney at 7 pm, I've got my afternoon planned for another go around in the downtown area. I ran into Luke in the Hostel lobby in which he approched me and said, "first to pinch and punch on the first of the month." As he phycially pinched and punched me, I laughed outloud and thought to my self, "what the hell?"

Heading to downtown, my first mission is to look for an electronic store. I forgot to pack my charger for my video camera. As soon as I found one, I headed off to a beef pie shop that I saw the other day. Located in a little alley I enjoyed my beef and bacon pie with a long black coffee for breakfast.


After breakfast, I went to Brevile St. The area reminded me of Telegraph Street in Berkely mixed with a little bit of Haight Street in San Francisco. Lots of botique shops. There are tons of spots with an out door area to enjoy coffee and people watch. I stopped by a couple records stores to take a gander and saw a couple interesting records such as a A Tribe Called Quest's "Rare and unlreleased Instrumentals."


I headed back to St. Kilda at about 3pm to grab a quick bite at a fish and chips spot then to the Hostel where my shuttle took me to the airport - Sydney bound. BTW, the fish and chips was pretty damn good. The shop fries their food in a Healthier rice oil which gave the fish and chips a different flavor.

I arrived in Sydeny at about 8:30 and got to the hostel at about 10pm. As I settled in my room, I met my 2 other room mates from Spain - Jesika and Mikel. After a quick introduction and chat I headed for the streets for some food. I ate a spot called Pepper Rice and had a sizzling plate of rice topped with corn and beef on the side. I headed back to the hostel and crashed after my meal.

Day 2: Part 2 Downtown Melbourne

Posted for June 29
I walked the city area for about 5 hours finding my way to the Port area which is filled with restaraunts, a Shopping Mall, and thier AFL Stadium The main downtown area is similar to any other metropolitan down town area. Filled with people moving like ants -shopping, working, and hanging out.

As I walked though downtown I came accross an alley way with people doing Graffiti. I spoke to a guy who was supervising and got a little info. The city allocates funds to Graffiti projects. Specific area are maintained and assigned to the real graffiti artists. Melbourne defines can art in two differnt interpretations:



Graffiti (unaccepted by the government)- unorganized can works with no thought in to a piece - aka Tagging
Street Art (accepted by the government) - Pieces such as the one shown in the picture

After exploring the downtown area, I found a spot that served ramen. I ate and headed back to the hostel.

Yarra Valley

If you're looking for something to do, you can never go wrong with a Wine Tasting Tour. This will be my 3rd international wine tasting tour. Go figure, you'll probably get a little tipsy (or sh*t face if you're a light weight); and any time you you get a bunch of intoxicated people together, you'll meet people. That's exactly what happened. I ended meeting a couple folks from my hostel. They were both down to earth. They seemed like really good friends who've known each other for years, but it turns out, they met in Thailand earlier this year. The gentleman - Luke - is from the UK who's been traveling for 8 months now. He decided to quit his job and just go. The gal - Mal - is from Sydney who came down here to Melbourne to hang out.
The tour covered 4 wineries and a huge lunch at a botique winery. The wines that we went through were good. Not the best, but good enough. The region where Australia produces a higher quality of wine comes from another region - the Barrossa Valley which is located 8 hours from Melbourne and and hour away from Adelaine. The four wineries we visited were:

De Bortoli - Family owned and one of the largest exporters of wine in Australia
Train Trak - A botique winery that caters their wines to restaraunts
Yering Station - The oldest and first Winery in Victoria
Domaine Chandon - I thought they were only located in Napa

In my opinion, of the four, Domaine Chandon had the better wine. I purchased 2 bottles of their Shiraz which is only made in Australia. Accoring to the wine host at the winery, the Shiraz is not exported. I also found thier Rose to be quite tastey.
When i got back to the hostel, I had dinner with the 2 folks that i had met on the tour. We ate a place called Clay Pot. The food was good. We shared a mixture of tapas and 2 different clay pot dishes.


Tapas:
Sting ray, octopus, calamari, string beans, eggplant, portabello mushroom, and a tomatoe mixture.
Clay Pot dishes:
Morracan Clay pot - Seafood ebmeddded on top of seasoned cuscus topped with finely grounded mint.
Cajun - A gumbo seafood mixture layed ontop thick rice

The Morracan Clay pot was my favorite. After dinner we headed back to the hostel. I had a beer then called it a night.

Australia: Day 2

I went to bed early last night due to Jet lag, 17 hours ahead. I crashed at 8pm. I got up at 8 and headed to Down Town Melbourne. First stop: The Victorian Market.

It’s not as dope as the market in Barcelona, but it’s good enough. And at that, It’s probably the second best market that I’ve seen. It’s a Market that sells fresh Produce: Meat, Sea Food, Chicken, Fruit, Vegetables and clothes and souvenirs. Not having breakfast yet, I headed straight for the food section and had a pastry called Burek stuffed with meat. I expected beef, but it tasted like lamb. None the less, It was Freaking Good. Made fresh. After that I headed to the fish area. I walked around a bit and saw Australian oysters. The light bulb in my head lit up instantly. After seeing everything the market had to offer, I picked up 6 oysters, then headed to the meat area and picked up 3 dollars worth of Serrano Prosciutto from Spain. Then a bottle of Wine and bread. Instant Breakfast but not breakfast food. Freaking AWESOME!!!

With the weather being cold and light rain, I picked up a couple Japanese type bomber hats. Super warm and comfy.

After the market, I walked the city. The market is just 5 min away from the main down town area.

Sunny Warm Weekend

When the weather is great in Downtown San Francisco, there is nothing better to do that enjoy the weather with wine, cheese, and good friends at the park and beach. Aquatic Park and Bakers beach. I've got to keep reminding my self to apply sun screen, because after both events this weekend, I got a sunburn on top of a sunburn.

Gangsta Tear Drop

So on my way home from work today I had a gangsta tear drop roll down both of my cheeks as I sipped on an orange/cream flavored icy drink. Adams song came on the radio and thought of a good friend of mine who passed away. She was huge Blink 182 fan.
When you lose someone close to you, it's difficult to move on but when you finally do, you will never forget and will always remember the good times.

Breakfast

After a long day yesterday, I got up at 8am and headed to the Northbeach area for Breakfast and enjoyed the Awesome weather.

A Full Day: Time Line

May 29, 2010: I woke up at 6am Central Standard time. Had Breakfast. Jumped in the pool and hot tub at the hotel. Then left Bozeman Montana at 11 am


Arrived at SFO at 3pm PST. Got home at 4:30. Chucky Cheese for my Nephew's and Cousin's B-Day at 5pm.



Giants Game at 7pm. Passed out at 2:30 am, May 30, 2010.

What a long day!

First things first

So I'm back in Montana for work. As soon as I got a chance to hit up the grocery store, this is the first thing I purchased. I'm trying to eat it in moderation, but it's just so damn good.

Moving Block Party

I attended the Bay to Breakers this year. Not as a runner, but as a drinker. I’d have to say that this is one of the best events held in San Francisco. It is probably one of the only events in which drinking in public is allowed on a span of 7 miles. After the marathon begins, the party follows. A mass of people in costumes and floats walk through the city like a heard. In every corner or house, you’ll find people dancing to the music played by a DJ. As the herd marches, alcohol flows.

I travel to places for events such as these and it’s quite amazing how all this takes place in my own backyard. Too bad it occurs on a Sunday. Next year, I may have to take Monday off work.

I met up with Rob at his apt on Nob Hill and we trekked towards Golden Gate Park meeting the herd on Van Ness. As soon as we caught up with the masses, adrenaline kicked in and the alcohol ran through our system like Niagara Falls. We killed our first bottle of Grey Goose when we got to the Pan Handle area and decided to purchase another one. Half an hour later, Rob was hanging off a tree. He tried several times to break a branch. On his 3rd attempt, an environmentalist began yelling at him, “your hurting the tree!” Rob laughed at her as he fell off the tree then ran off. That’s when I lost him. 2 hours later, I got a phone call, “dude, where are you, I just woke up under a tree.”

Affordable Drifting

And so it officially begins. The World of RC Car Drifting. Since it would be very impractical for me to get into drifting at this point in my current life, I'll settle with RC Cars for the moment. I've been trying to set up my RC for months and finally did something this week. I went out and got my wheels and tires - set up with a stretched look. With a little help from a friend of mine, my RC's internal gearing - I'll post up the pic at a later date - is ready to go. After painting the body, I'm looking forward to run my car later this week.

Breakfast at the Port

It feels good to sleep in. For me - sleeping in means getting up at 7:30am (I usually get up for work at 5am). As soon as I got up, I got ready and headed to the Ferry Building in SF for some breakfast. After scoping the scene, I chillaxed on a bench facing Treasure Island for about two hours enjoying a pastrami sandwich, coke, Salumi cone, and coffee. The eastern winds was blocked by the Ferry Building making it a nice and warm spot with a fantastic view overlooking the east bay.



The Pastrami sandwich was just ok (it definitely isn't comparable to Katz Deli in NY), but their homemade mustard made it tasty. The Salumi cone from Boccalone was overpriced, but delicious (the Salumi is a bunch of cured meats that range from prosciutto to salami). There were tons of tourists and locals hanging out. A great spot to people watch and soak in the morning rays and sea breeze. After lounging on the bench, I walked around a bit more and came across a cooking demo held by the Executive Chef from the Hyatt SF. He prepared scallops with a puree made from asparagus, fava beans, butter, and other vegetables. It smelled good and looked good.

After watching the cooking demo, I headed over to the Embarcadero where I parked my car. On my way I saw some kids on a skateboard getting excited as they approached the area. With San Francisco being a Mecca for Skateboarding I can understand their excitement. I got flashbacks of my high school years when my friends and I hung out at the Embarcadero to skate. Since then, citations are being giving for Skateboarding in the area.

Car Show

I went to a mainstream import car show this weekend. It's been a long time since I've attended one of these events. Aside from the cars, it's filled with Vendors for performance parts vendors, booth babes, Dj's, on stage performances, and models. With that being said, I was taken back in time when I saw a set of old skool Toyotas. As stated in the past, over 10 years ago, I owned a 1972 corolla. I raced it and sold it due to the fact that I used it as my daily driven car - very impractical. The blue celica in the back is moded with honda V-tech motor. Awesome!
There was also an old skool Skyline present. My pics didn't turn out well due to the ropes that gated the car from damages that may occur from spectators. The picture above is a clean eye catching 510.

Delayed and Cancelled

My flight home from Montana was long. For a short flight it, it was a long travel day. My first flight out of Bozeman was delayed an hour. Then, when I got to Denver for my connecting flight to SFO, my flight was cancelled. With all these delays, what does one do at the airport? Hang out at the bar. The Airport at Bozeman has an awesome view of the landing strip with the mountains in the background. I should have taken a photo of it, but I got caught up drinking and talking to the friendly folks bartending. Due to expansion, it’s sad to say, that particular bar will not be the same.

Yellow Stone

I went to Yellow Stone National Park yesterday and found it truly amazing. If you’re a nature buff, this is a definite must place to go to. They just opened up the roads earlier this week. In addition because it’s Natural Forrest Week, the entrance was free. The standard fee to get in the park with a vehicle is $25.

So after a 2 hour drive from Bozeman, I got to the park.: my Sanyo HD camera and Panasonic LX2 on hand and ready to go – so that’s what I thought. As I got the North side entrance, I came a across a gate with an induction plaque from Roosevelt. I started to take pictures with my LX2 and noticed that the memory card was full. Craps! I forgot to unload the memory card before I left my hotel. So, I turned around and headed back to the nearest store, which luckily is right by the entrance. I purchased a new SD and was good to go.

First stop, the Terraces. Mid way through taking pictures at the Terraces my LX2 turned decided to turn shut down – yep, I didn’t charge the battery last night either. GREEEEEAT! I though about it the night before but figured I had enough power to last me all day – nawt! At least I my Sanyo! So, I purchase a new SD card for nothing, but at least, I’ve got another card for back up. Replacing the ones that I had stolen in Argentina a few months back.

Any case, with at least one camera working I was able to capture some stuff from Yellow Stone’s Natural wonders such as the Terraces, Geysers, Wild Life, and Terrain.