President Obama's Chicago home

This picture was taken under duress as the secret Service agent was watching us and rushed us away , not before Terria took the pictures and was well worth it, thanks to Terria for risking taking a bullet for the cause and this picture will be one of my favorites of all time. The Orange home in the middle is the President's home when he's away from Washington D.C

So Many Miles,Going Home Tomorrow

Over the past 3 days we have covered 1100 miles of driven roads and highways through the heartland of America. In our travels from route 66 in downtown Chicago to freeways leading us to South Bend Indiana and the University of Notre Dame. This venture to ND was incredible, so many good pictures were taken and so many lifetime memories will me maintained forever. We have caught 2 Baseball games ,one at Wrigley watching the Cubs and then we drove to Detroint,some 4 hours away and watched the Tigers in their new digs at Comerica Park and had a very nice time in the motor city. after the game we wentto a local Mcdonalds in the shittiest part of town and then washed up and cleaned up a little and changed into dinner clothes. . we then went to the Detroit westin Hotel, 2 blocks from the ghetto and checked in for our 5:30 reservation which we were seated right at the reservation time and started off with a drink...2 diet sodas, not drinkers but we enjoyed the coolness of the drinks, we then looked through the menus and came to our final selections, we started off with the most incredible Scallops and devoured them quickly, munching on bread we waited for the Ribeye with carmelized onions and blue cheese topping to come, Terria had an amazing fish platter with sides of rosemary fries and creamed corn to die for. We savored the flavors and the amazing company that we shared and finished our dinner with smiles. Our waiter Mike , an amazing young man with personality and food knowledge suggested some dessert selections. I chose the chocolate torte not knowing what to expect, Terria enjoyed the butterscotch creme Brulee which looked amazing when it came to be served. We dug into what was the best desserts we have ever eaten ,mine was the deadliest chcolate anything I had ever eaten...period, Terria claims hers was to die for as well, not being a huge. Fan of Brulee I am not a good judge of that, she says it was and enjoyed it so it was awesome for us both.

After the amazingly incredible meal we shared together we headed ba ck to Indiana for what would be a day to never forget for me at least. we headed back towards South Bend and the famous university of Notre Dame. we were tired so we stopped at a small motel about 30 miles outsideof Sout Bend, we slept well and hard and woke up refreshed and excited at the days plans to see the College I always waned to attend as a. Child and still follow them today! we get the to College after a little searching and watch the eyes get hugs like that of a child in a candy store with $50 in my pocket, in total awe at my dream college I took pictures of everything that I knew to be notorious and of importance. started off with the new Joyce hall next to the old athletic and con voca,tion center where Notre Dame ended UCLA's Basketball streak of 88 games on that very court, I remember crying as a kid watching Bill Walton and Dave Meyers miss relatively easy shots for them to win the game and watching then Keith Wilkes grab the ball and throw in the air in disgust, yeah I was at the plae that replacd that old arena but it was still there attached to the new one.As we entered the Arena we saw a Baton Twirling contest being waged on center court,really cool stuff watching thick legged girls throwing sticks in the air and catching them. we headed out of the gym and went to the attached Athletic store to buys hats and T shirts for family and friends that all had The famous ND emblem on them. I then went to the football stadium and took pictures of it from a few different angles, took pictures of what they call Touchdown Jesus and wall across from the Stadium with a jesus pictured with arms spread to appear to signal a touchdown, whatever the signal may be either a religious Gesture of a real touchdown signification who knows?????lastly I was able to get a few great pictures of the Golden Dome at the University.....Awesome so far!

After we finished with ND, we drove to Inndianapolis, a 3 hour drive with a few detours and sight seeing of Americas heartland in Indiana of fields of corn for 100's of miles and bio fuel head quarters I thinK? we drove to view the vaunted Indianapolis race track where they race Indy cars and Nascar at the huge 2 1/2 mile oval ,we find it no thanks to signage, California has the best signage anywhere, Indy had nothing indicating where this famous landmark was, no offramp signs but my navigator Terria had it covered and pointed me in the right direction thanks to her Blackberry Navigational skills. we found it and toured it through gates and fences, took a video of the enormity of it all and will share most everything I took. When I can get home to my own Mac computer and share the videos and pictures easier from the friendly confines of my own lapper. Indy was cool. But in the damn ghetto like everything else in these parts. We noticed a sign on the offramp for Butler University and remembered it was in the city of Indy and got instantly jazzed about the possiblities of seeing the famous and historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, built in the early 1920 and the scene of great Basketball and the gym used in the Movie Hoosiers and still being used by the Butler Bulldogs. we were able to get into the gym and take pictures and videos of this incredible facility, much more amazing to me than most eveything of the day,tough to choose what was more impressive to me the University of ND, or Butler University??. Glad I got the chance to experience both and will never forget the trip to these awesome Universities!

while in Indy we did also cruise through and see the Lucas Oil Stadium ,home of the Colts, and the Conseco fieldhouse ,home of the Pacers . On our way out we even ran into the AAA indy ballclub having a game in progress which was a state of the art facility and looked awesome, much nicer than the delapadated facility that we passed by which I assumed was the old ballpark but a. Trip of nastalgia for me to see an old ballpark let to go to ruins ,very sad for me!

today we did the touristy thing and took the tour bus throuout the city, essentially saw every inch of the city, allot of history in the great city of Chicago and we were tired after a good lunch and an even better rest of the day of learning a little bit more amazing history of the great city of Chicago. we have plans to forego the Cubs game and spend some time at the Navy Pier tomorrow afternoon, then head to the airport by 5 ish for the 7 something flight back to LA I have had a great time with Erria andthe act that she has been up to everythi I wanted to do is testament to how amazing she truly is. Thanks Honey for the grestest trip ever, at least til the next one we take together. miss my Boys and family and will be glad to get back home and to work and back to the gym, eating poorly and missing the gym will be good to get back to the routine of being better to my body. love you all ,thanks again
Terria Lynn you are awesome!
Cubs game and

Chicago Day 2

Day two of Chicago has included so much starting with a trip via L train to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play the Marlins. The train was packed and the feeling of sardines came to mind for the 15 minute trip from the station near the Hotel to the field. Once at the shrine called Wrigley field we entered the seating area and were in awe that this field nearly 100 years old seemed to take us back to that era if only for a moment.

The game started and I had taken a few pictures of the field and the surroundings and was so much in awe the game was inconsequential even though my favorite player thatbI spoke of highly to Terria before the gsme started, Mike Stanton then went on to hit two long Homeruns to prove my point, the Cub fans were very good and stayed to the end of an 11-3 game and they are die hard loyal fans fillingnthis stadium with a team thats 20 games below 500. The game ends and we rush to the L train depot and this is where it gers really interesting

we board the train that had too many people on it already and added 75 more, how the hell was I going to make it with some strangers armpit in my ear and mine in somebody elses face but I managed to make it without killing anyobody and got out and. Took a huge breath and felt like I was liberated from a Sardine can. The half mile walk back to the hotel from the station was a welcomed event and strething the legs a little felt good.

Tonight we are relaxing and getting amped up for the 4 hour drive to Detroit in the morning, catching the 105 Tigers white sox game. Hope to getbthere around 1030 or so and drive a little bit in Detroit and take some good pictures of the area and then head to the game and enjoy another game and another great experience together with Terria. After the game we are headed for a nice Dinner and then head towards Soutg end and the city which houses the University of Notre Dame. We will then t ake a tour of the campus and some more pictures of the the College I always wanted to attend and play for.

Then we make a quick detour towards Indianapolis for more site seeing,heading back to Chicago on Monday to do some city tours via the double decker bus,so touristy but a good way to ge a rundown of the city and things that we. Dont know about the windy city. so more pictures incoming and hope to see everything that we want to see. More things as they happen......A very good time. For sure

Day Off, Trip Ready!!!

Took today off to prepare for my trip later this evening and have a few things  want to do. First off wanted to have breakfast with my wife in the house today, Check that one off,very good Honey thank you! secondly Terria is going to get her nails done while my food goes down a bit, when she returns going to the gym for part 2 of the plan of attack for the day. After that  want to head out for an hour short ride just to stretch the legs of the bike and get me out there doing what I love to do as it will be a week til I can do it again.

Yes we are looking forward to our trip and have so many expectations as to what we will see and what we will do while there, the plans of driving the city and countryside of adjoining towns and sites is really appealing to us both and we hope we can fit in the plans we have and see what we want to see while there. Really nice to get a red eye flight which arrives at 6 am Chicago time and allows us a full day and nothing wasted on that first day there.Get the rental car and head out and see the sights and sounds and look for anything we can find.Can't check into the Hotel til 3 so we can spend the day getting accustomed to the city of Chicago while waiting for our room to be ready.

Tim and April were nice enough to offer up a ride and pickup to LAX for the trip and that really is cool for us as we won't have to park the car and get a ride back to the car, we have both dropped off and picked up at the airport so we have no problem asking somebody to do the same for us as a seemingly fair trade for everybody, there was talk of a trip to Norms in Santa Monica on the way which as most know is a freak show of LA's finest ghouls and ghostly looking people for the admission price of the cheap dinners at Norms, a good deal and we shall treat the McCarthy's for their kindness by treating them to a show and some grub for their efforts of getting us to the airport on time!

I really didn't need to take today off from work but I figured I wouldn't have to rush and wouldn't forget anything and could rest up a bit and take it easy and be bright eyed for tonight when we get on the plane at midnight, losing 2 hours in Chicago will put us there at 6 am and right into their Friday morning rush hour which should be nice to compare to LA's rush hour to say the least. But it will be nice to drive and see the city the way it is meant to be seen, the pulse and heartbeat are always during the rush hour so I will enjoy the ride and the drive through some historical places and even some shitty ones if I get a chance. Hope to get some good pictures to post here and some nice videos as well, the day is short and the chore of getting ready using procrastination as a model will take forever at this rate, but time is on our side...yes it is!

Winding Up To Vacation

A rather stuffy and humid day today at work, had very few customers this morning and waited for the 1130 lunch bell as there was a going away lunch for our director today. I chose to get my own lunch and then head out to the driving range and hit some golf balls,  all went very well.  Today marks a very short countdown to getting out of town tomorrow night and heading to Chicago for a little R&R with Terria.

Let's see, a whole lot of political garbage going on in this country right now ,the Republicans fighting the system and the Democrats allowing the bullshit to continue, just hit em with a hammer and make the pests go away is all that is needed.  Other than that the world is full of shit right now, the guilty people being set free (Casey Anthony) the new milleniums version of the O.J trial, all the more idea of the bullshit that can happen in a jury trial, put simpletons on the stage and allow them to do what they do best, think like morons! So enough of the negativity that surrounds and engulfs this country's everyday!

After work I need a workout to loosen a tight body and get myself ready for a long night tomorrow night on a red-eye flight at midnight and an early arrival in Chicago which will allow us the chance to tour the town before we check in at the hotel at 2 or so, regardless I am looking forward to a good trip and a fun time with my Wife, never have been to Chicago and hear it's a pretty cool town, I will go off my program one meal at a time and enjoy a meal a day that is really bad for me and try to workout everyday to keep me in the groove. Cannot wait to see Wrigley field and Soldier field in Chicago, even the United Center and the Sears tower , but it will be interesting to something for the first time and not be at odds with the clock, just enjoying the new surroundings with my Terria and hanging and traveling the surrounding areas to venture and see new shit!

Did get a text from my Friend Chancey and he is now out of work and will work on writing the book that he has wanted to write his entire life, now is the chance for him to do and i wished him well and hope to see him soon! The rest of my friends are all doing well, Nevarez has put in his order for pictures of the Notre Dame Campus and the Baseball stadiums at Wrigley and Comerica in Detroit so that will be done, the same for my brother Rich who wanted me to do the same and take good pictures. So i will and i know the time will fly by rapidly and try to squeeze as much in as we can and may miss some things along the way but as i always say to anybody who knows me "It's not where you're at , It's who you're with that truly matters" So true, i will be with my Honey and the rest is extra and I'm enjoying it all. Living the blessed life and the Dream, I am the Gregasaurus and continue to act accordingly... Good times... Still

Good Day!

The day is halfway gone and finally get my first sense of food for the day! been very slow and uneventful and the ways it usually is .Speaking of the way it usually is the same people are not at work today which can shift the brunt of the work towards one or two people in the office  Not that big of a deal with the ethical question arises to give the job to somebody who wants to come to work and that can make it to work on a daily basis. What we do is not that difficult and we get paid well for the little we do!  So as await my Chile verde Omelette and the "galloping Hen in Ventura I am without Terria today ,she and the sister and nieces and nephew went to the water park for he day n leave me to my own wits as to what to do with my time after work...let's see, the gym, the driving range and whatever else can do to make the day go well without my Terria. Well the food here I am out and am going to enjoy this monstrosity                                            

Drink, Drunk, Stupid!

June gloom has given way to July as the sun peaks through for an attempt at another perfect southern cal day ! The trip to the Keynote was somewhat comical as Brandon and I laughed a little and thought a little, reflected upon some of the people there last night and how I recognized their drunken asses from 25 years ago at the Black Angus and how they are the people they were back then,drunks and somewhat pathetic people that drink too much and act really stupid!

Alcohol has played a really important part in my life,my father was an alcoholic for most of his life, save for the last 10 years of his life. The scourge embittered my thoughts and ruined part of my childhood in the fact that my dad was a mean person when he drank, quite the opposite when he wasn't drinking. This always stayed with me growing up how it changed people and who they really were. So much that when I drink, or used to drink it would change me and make me too happy and too friendly with others and not an acceptable trait to have in my book. So I quit drinking about 2 1/2 years ago and never looked back, here I am today having more fun being myself than that person that alcohol made me out to be.

I just don't see how people can drink so often and so much, the pains of recuperation are horrible these days , and I remember my last drunk fest at my sister Linda 50th birthday party I got hammered, both Brandon and I drank  at least 15 mixed drinks and then proceeded to be dropped off at the Keynote for a half dozen more and dammit did I feel it for the next week. Well I am so glad I don't do that anymore and enjoy the fact that I am the worlds designated driver for the rest of my life from  here on out.

As  said the drinking issues within my family and that are visible to me on a daily basis have ruined and re shaped many lives, what I saw at the Keynote last night was a reminder that the answers fall not within that bottle of brew, but somehow looking deeper inside to find that missing piece that alcohol supposedly replaces. Beer and drinks taste like shit, regardless of what kind or mix...period!, they taste like ass and the feeling that you get from them only makes us regret what we said or did the night before  if we can remember what was said or done?   There's a time for everything and drinking is ok if you can moderate, too many stories of the inability to moderate and then get out and try to drive the streets  which is another story altogether.

I am so glad that I don't have to worry about this anymore, never truly had a problem with it but could see one brewing if I wasn't careful and diligent with my own honesty about the potential to be one of those guys who drinks too much and fucks up  his life too much, I don't need the help,I'm capable of making my own mistakes without the assistance of alcohol God knows I've tried to sabotage the goodness I have and am capable of producing, and need no further assistance in the process. Looking forward to another great day and a ride,breakfast,the gym and a great day spent with my Terria to enjoy and hold the goodness ever closer to me!!!!