San Diego

On arrival to San Diego we were picked up and welcomed by Mike (AKA:milkman).  He and Jill (you may remember from a few blogs ago being at their wedding) started are visit off with some delicious crepes.

That was me standing and watching Mike cook in his fashionable apron.  I figured if I didn't look, I didn't have to help.

Yummy in my tummy.

After watching MSU beat up on the wolverines we headed to La Jolla to walk along the water and catch the sunset.

The boys are back in town.

Jill, Mike and Vanessa quickly became friends.

Of course we take a ball wherever we go  (I am referring to Mike and I), but as you can see the girls were quick to join in.

Jill is a natural.  (Come back here ball!)

Ah, a frisbee, a great new weapon to attack Steve with.

Wow, we all look good.  Such a nice group picture

We headed out of town were it is a little slower and we could just "STOP" and enjoy the scenery and each others company.

I was trying to move to fast, which can get you in trouble and the youngest sheriff in town had to lock me up.

As a pedi cab driver, I see this guy as competition.  He should bring this into central park.

We went on a hike above the vineyards and apple orchards.

This was an excited bunch.

We stopped for wine tasting.  This is Mike's wine tasting face.  Jill is a not to be messed with wine taster.

We are so classy.

The next day we needed a day to chill and hang out by the pool.

That happy face is because there is a hot tub next to the pool also.

Vanessa and I took a part of the day to see San Diego's big park, Balboa park.  It was time we stopped and smelled the roses.

Some beautiful architecture around the park.  Most built in 1917 for an exposition to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal.

We met up with my cousin Kirk to do a walking tour and learn about the history of the park.  That's right, turns out I have cousins everywhere.

This guy at the end of the hall was just chilling and playing music.

Ranger Kim lead us on our tour. He was incredibly knowledgeable.

This was after Kirk took us to one of the best mexican diners I've eaten at.  Salsa bars rock.
New best friends.

While doing Pedi Cab tours I met a really nice family (the Taylors) from just outside San Diego.  They have horses, pigs,   a goat and are an incredibly nice family who welcomed us over to meet up with them and see their life.  Outside of San Diego any direction within an hour are different worlds.

This was a massive pig.

We had a lot of laughs just catching up.

I like that we can see everyone's teeth.  That is a happy crew.

That's right.  The family pig made a guest appearance inside the house to have a picture with us.  That is a strong little devil.

Alycia was actually a Rodeo queen and can change from dress up to getting dirty on the ranch like superman in a telephone booth.

That's right, more cousins.  Tristin, Jessie and Lily met up with us a few times.  Had to make sure we saw all of the Lloyds on this trip.

Mike treating the crew out to dinner for pizza.

Jill was a fan of the Chocolate cake!

I always tend to make friends with those under 5 yrs old...they understand me best.

Our stroll through Encinitas where we got a shop to carry www.sarisak.com     Although there wasn't as much sun as we had hoped, we still had a great visit.

On our final day we had a field day full of activities and games.

We managed to get the whole crew together.

I am guessing this was the Michael Jordan look.  The comparisons stopped there.

This was not for a tennis model shoot as we would be lead to believe.

I got to end my trip playing an intense match of tennis against Mike G.  I'm still sore 5 days later.

Mike's wife Stacey and Jill.  Vanessa was taking all of these awesome pictures.

Milkman was an incredible ball boy and took his job to a whole new level.

Thank you Mike, Jill, Kirk, Tristan, Jessi, Lily, G, Stacey, the Taylors and everyone that made our trip in San Diego so much fun and memorable.  We had a great time and will have flashbacks as we head up the Californian coast.

Santa Fe, Camping and adios NM, the LLoyds and Galanters

On our way up to Santa Fe for the day, Aimslee, Sally, Vanessa and I stopped at the "Tent Rocks" to do a hike.  New Mexico is a state that has set aside more protected land than almost any other state.  Thousands of years ago it was said that New Mexico was under water.  Anyways, it was an awesome hike and here are some pictures from it.

You can see why they are called tent rocks.

This was a natural walkway we took through the rocks.

We are so cool!!

We hiked to the top and has this incredible view.

If you offer to take other people's pictures, then they are obligated to take a group photo for you.

This guy worked for the State and helps keep the walkway in working order and safe.

As the sun was coming up and it was warming up we finished up and then headed up to Santa Fe to spend the night with Aimslee.

Full of old adobe houses, art galleries and a lot of character, Santa Fe is something quite unique in the middle of nowhere.

It's a different life for pedi cab drivers here than the likes in NYC.

Locals selling hand crafts.

Vanessa getting close with the local on Burro Alley.

The oldest church in the country.

That night we went over to Aimslee's friend house.  Needless to say they are very artsy...and quite incredible at that.  This was the kitchen that he build...and decorated.

One of Roland's paintings.

The bathroom he build and designed.  This was a night full of inspiration for Vanessa, who is a great artist with a lot of potential as well.

Just hanging out and discussing the ins and outs of the world.  This is Carlos.  His housemate, Roland, is the artist.

The next day after listening to Aimslee's friend Maria Jose put on a mini concert for Vanessa and myself (she was awesome.  marjieldanse.com  ), we headed out for a couple nights of camping and hiking.  The first night we went to Bandalier National Monument.

You can see all the old ruins below.

Our setup for the first night of camping.  Vanessa is always fashionable...even when camping :)

Made a delicious dinner over a campfire and then hung out watching the full moon, stars and drinking tea.

The following morning after breakfast of oatmeal cooked in coffee/hot chocolate----it was terrible, we headed to the The Jemez mountains and stopped off at a hiking trail along the way.

Vanessa being one with nature soon after she went #1 in nature.

We went in search of the hot springs.

After hours of hiking we finally came across them....I was thrilled!!!!

We both took in the hot springs for everything they were worth.  We had it all to ourselves for a short while until the ever prevalent large man with a big belly, who likes to go naked came to join us.  Coincidentally, we were ready to go by then.

This was our camping location for night #2.  Just in the national forest, we found an spot with an incredible view for the night.

After getting back the next night we fell asleep fast in anticipation to our horse back riding trip the next morning with Carol, Christopher and Keara (who was our photographer)

Carol looking good.

Vanessa on her first horse riding experience.  She was a bit shaken at first and didn't feel in control of the horse.  After instructing her to be stern and let the horse know who was in control (I said to be firm with the horse as if it were me), she very quickly had control over her horse.

This was a favorite destination for us when eating out.

Yum!

New Mexico was awesome!!!!!   Vanessa has great memories from her first visit there.  The land of enchanted.  A big part of that is having such great family there.  She said "I knew I would like your relatives, but I didn't realize how much"   Thank you Carol, Rich, Bobbo, Danny, Keara, Christopher, Sally, Abe, Aimslee, Angel and New Mexicans for treating us so well!