Without further a dew, it’s Blog Post # 32. Thank you to everyone who sent messages, e-mails, and social media posts with condolences along with appreciation for Blog Post #31 and my tribute to my Dad.

February was a short but eventful month. My wife and I did make it to San Francisco and had the best time possible.

True Story: We were at the airport and just passed the Burger King when an announcement came on the overhead, “Could Ron……Ronald McDonald please come to the service desk? Ronald McDonald.”

“Really? Shouldn’t he be in a storm drain somewhere making It 2: It’s That?” *(the rest of this joke was removed by the author due to questionable content)

Upon arriving in San Francisco, I immediately did as I said I would and sent a message on Twitter that said “Rice-a-roni.” If you’re wondering why, you’ll have to go back and read Blog Post #30. We then took the train to San Jose and watched our beloved hockey team (the Vancouver Canucks) lose 4-1. I was happy they at least scored one goal to cheer for. T.A.N.Y.

Once back in San Francisco, we did the humanitarian tour of Napa and Sonoma Valley. Here’s the photo I took after we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to Sonoma Valley.

We first visited Jacuzzi Winery and learned that they were also the inventors of the Jacuzzi tub. They also make high end olive oil. One person on the tour couldn’t stop talking about great olive oils and where the best ones were. I said, “I’m here for the wine. Last time I tried to buy Olive Oil, this one-eyed sailor with big arms got really upset.” The Jacuzzi wine was quite good.

We then went to Madonna Winery (no affiliation with the singer). There was no olive oil there and I can’t help but think that they missed the marketing boat. Like a Virgin Olive Oil….eh? huh?….yeah, that’s what I thought….brilliant!!

We made it to Alcatraz Island, a tourist must-do that was really enjoyable. The prison cells were so small (5ft by 9ft). How did people live like that? As my friend Jamie told us, “It’s just like your apartment in downtown Vancouver.”

Now that I’m back in my ‘prison cell’ in Vancouver, I’m moving forward with my writing and trying to get more of my work out into the world. My friend Ron, just started a beer blog (Why didn’t I think of that?!) and I’m honored to be the first to guest-post for him. It’s a short article I wrote on my favorite beer bar in Vancouver. You can check it out here:
https://thebeerblog.wixsite.com/thebeerblog/home/the-alibi-room-vancouver-b.c.-canada .

If you’re a fan of craft beer, give his site a follow on Twitter, Facebook, or join his e-mail list.

Words of Wisdom

1. Always learn from your mistakes of the past. My wife and I used to eat rotisserie chicken. Years ago, she got sick after eating rotisserie chicken and no longer buys it. She still won’t eat rotisserie chicken to this day. I don’t understand how she can keep drinking wine.

2. So many friends of mine are having babies or announcing babies on the way. It’s very important for you parents and would-be parents to update your budget and financial plan. Assess these categories:

1. Clothing
2. Food
3. Daycare
4. Housing
5. Education

If your math is correct, it should then look something like this:

1. #!$@!
2. s#@$!
3. #&@!
4. d%$@!
5. @#!!

It’s time for the ending jokes. I’ve mentioned a number of my friends in this post so I thought I’d keep that theme going. Enjoy!

My friend Rich and his wife just had a baby. We were all to meet up for dinner and drinks at his place. He texted me and said, “You can stay at our place if you can deal with the crying baby! haha”

”Oh Rich! There’s always been a crying baby at your place. Now, there’s two.”

”Lol…good one. If I get too drunk, you’re on diaper duty!”

”Umm….your diaper?”

“I’m just going to stop texting now. See you soon.”

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My best friend Corey is a relatively new Ultrarunner. He was telling me about an amazing race he ran up in the mountains outside of Tokyo. “I ran for 7 hrs up in the mountain covering ‘who knows how many’ kilometers… and finished. Twenty five percent of the people who started didn’t finish. I did it! Then we hung out in this cool mountain town with little eateries and multiple bars eating great food, and trying all these beers and great drinks. It was an epic pub crawl.”

My response: “That’s awesome! Good for you. Oh….and pretty good you finished the race too.”

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After returning home to Vancouver, I told my friend Dave all about the Jacuzzi winery. He looked at me, frowned, and said, “I’d never want to go there!”

“Huh?”

“I wouldn’t want to get myself into hot water.”