Gone for a week of fun in the sun. See ya when we get back .... its not like I would have posted anything here anyway ;)

Jamie's folks were camping in Yosemite and we joined them this past weekend. The drive up was a lot of fun... kind of like being in one of those sno-globes that you shake up and the snowflakes start to swirl all around. We had a super great time freezin our pants off and gathering around the campfire. The only thing colder than the weather were the hamburgers we bought from the grill in Yosemite Village. We cruised around in the Jeep and even went for a little hike up to a waterfall which was trickling down.

We had a blast over on the coast this weekend. It was Jamie’s Mom’s birthday Saturday so we went to Port of San Luis to pick up some tasty crabs for dinner. Ok so I don’t really know if they were tasty or not since crabs really aren’t my thing, but I hear they were great! On the way to the port we stopped at Avila Barn to buy some fresh apples and check out the wide assortment of barnyard animals on display. You can see from the photos below that the weekend was kind of like a trip to the zoo or something. That place had donkeys, goats, a crazy cow with mad cow disease or something and a goose that bit my toe through the fence. We also saw seals off the pier and a ton of shrimp being unloaded from a boat. Oh and this lady showed us a big smelly fish that her boyfriend had given her as a gift. Don’t ask me I just took a picture and kept on wlaking! One thing is for sure the weather is much cooler over there than here in Fresno. We were freezing this morning and now I’m practically sweating while I type.

So we got back from our cruise aboard the “Monarch of the Seas” last week and it was a total blast. I’d definitely do it again if I get a chance. It was a perfect ending to all the trips that Jamie and I have taken this summer. Although we are back to working full time and I am getting ready to start my last semester ever (unless a Masters in my future?), I was reminded just how much fun we’ve had as I was choosing pictures to put on the site.

The cruise lasted four days and three nights, but in reality the last day was just spent waiting around to get off the ship and collect our luggage. The first day we spent most of our time getting familiar with the ship and going through emergency drills. That is where I got my photo of Mark with his life jacket and where we first heard the phrase, “water activated light” (must be spoken with English accent). The second day we ported in Ensenada Mexico and took a tour to La Bufadora which sounded a lot cooler in the brochure than it actually was in real life. Even so, it was still a lot of fun to ride a tour bus through the city and country side. The third and last full day was spent out at sea. We spent a lot of time by the pools and got a nice sun burn, errr I mean tan. Jamie and I also happened in on an art auction where we found Andrew chillin’. We didn’t buy anything, but it was a lot of fun to watch people go crazy over the “mystery” pieces.

It really was the highlight of our summer to be able to spend time with my entire side of the family in such a festive, yet elegant setting. It was only possible because of my wonderful Grandparents who felt that the best way to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary was to take us all on a cruise

*yawn* wow it is early... we're just about to head out the door for Wild Plum a campging spot up in the Sierra Nevadas. See ya Monday!

Back from Vegas and not broke or anything. Just real tired … if I see another yucca tree this year I will have to puke. Next time we are flying or I am taking some Tylenol PM and riding in the back. We had a blast, walked a million miles around the place and saw some great stuff. Like Wonderboogie .. these guys are classic … just a group of white boys in 70’s style duds with afro wigs on. I was going to link to their website that was on their banner, but it doesn’t seem to work. You can catch a blurry photo of them below though.

Summer is in full effect and the vacations have just begun. Next up is a camping/fly fishing excursion to the Sierra Nevada’s starting next Thursday. This is the first summer with no summer school since back in high school and I am not wasting it.

Last semester grades are in and I actually got good ones. Even a “B” in calculus. Thanks in part to Allie for the help studying, check this photo of me and Al cramming at the grandparents house a few weeks ago.

Vegas Photos:

We drove up to Concord right after work on Thursday. Despite the bad traffic we were able to check into our hotel and make it to the Concord Pavilion just in time to see Vanessa Carton perform "1,000 Miles". Third Eye Blind played a great set, the only problem with it was that it was too short. The Goo Goo Dolls were the headliners and their set seemed to drag, but we had great seats right near the stage so we rocked out.

We woke up early Friday morning to take advantage of the free breakfast buffet at our hotel and then headed for Fisherman’s Warf in San Francisco. Traffic is crazy up there, but we found a shady looking parking lot that had one spot left for me to squeeze into. After paying $13 bucks and handing over my car keys (just in case the parking attendant needed to move my car) we were on our way. After walking a mile or two we found a nice parking lot right across the street from where we wanted to be and it was no where close to being full … oh yeah and it was cheaper too … doh!

We had a great time checking out all the little shops. We saw a million seals, some crazy people, Alcatraz island, sail boats, had lunch at the Hard Rock Café and bought a cool Puzzle Box.

We're back from Vegas and we still have the shirts on our backs. We had the best time imaginable at the Paris hotel. When we first arrived the concierge tried to tell us that our room had been given away and we were going to be stuck in a room with two queen size beds. I asked about upgrading and he told us that it would be about $200 a night for a petite suite (which was more money that we were looking to spend). Well by this time Jamie is about to burst into tears and I'm getting a little ticked ... then the guy behind the counter, Robert asks "what's the occasion?"…. "Our honeymoon", we both replied at the same time. Robert told us to wait right there and he left the counter and headed to the back room. A few minutes later Robert returned and said, "I'm not supposed to do this, but I have a soft spot for honeymooners. You will be in the executive suite which is my personal favorite".

The suite was amazing with two bathrooms, a living room, fridge, huge bedroom with a TV that pops out of the foot of the bed and a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower.

The four days went by fast and we spent a lot of time walking up and down the strip for what seemed like miles. We stopped in to see many casinos along the way and I still think that where we were staying was the nicest of all that we saw. We had dinner at the House of Blues and Planet Hollywood. One night we went to a show called Tournament of Kings where they feed you Cornish game hen and give you no silverware. During dinner a show is put on complete with jousting nights and even a midget guy running around yelling at you.

Well that was a great week’s worth of summer break (between summer school and Fall semester). Just got back from camping in Kings Canyon, where the fish were biting and the trees were smoking (darn forest fires).

The highlight of this camping trip will go down in history and will be re-hashed at every Canfield family event from now until the end of time. It goes something like this: Jamie and I are heading up highway 180 inside the Park almost to the campground when we spot her Brother and family fishing down in the river. We pull over have a quick chat and decide to head on into camp and set up our gear and they will meet us there shortly. So we get into camp and drive around looking for the old camp trailer that Jamie’s Brother had brought. We find it and begin unloading our stuff. After about a half hour we have our tent up and staked to the ground. Guitar, ice chest, sleeping bags, duffle bags and other assorted camping gear unloaded and set up. The others still haven’t returned from fishing down at the river, so we set out our folding chairs and have a snack. After about forty-five minutes pass we start to get a little ticked off that they haven’t returned. About this time Johnny (Jamie’s brother) pulls up in his truck and says “Hey Jamie, what are you guys doing!!?”…… Ya know .. I would have thought Jamie would have been a little bit more familiar with this old trailer that her brother was towing, but she wasn’t. Oh yeah that’s right we were set up in someone else’s campsite!! If we had video tapped this I would have to send it in to America’s Funniest home videos. We start to panic and realize that these people could return at any moment to find strangers have taken over their campsite… so we pull the stakes out of the ground toss the entire huge tent (still set up) into the back to the pick-up along with everything else we had already set up and in less than one minute we were out of there.

I just had to share this with you because it is something that we will never live down… oh and for the record I just want to point out that it was all Jamie’s fault!! hehe.