Saturday, July 23, 2011

The Simmons Family

To day we had a great family outing. Patty, Ben, Dante and I were in Langford at the casino to see Gene Simmons and his family. We got there around 9:30AM and got into a shorter than expected line up. Patty made a new friend with a woman in front of us in line that lives in Duncan. Dante made friends with everyone. It was such a nice day so good thing we got Dante's hair cut yesterday. His KISS tee shirt that Patty made for him probably kept him a little warm but we had lots of cold water and I took him for lots of walks to a shady cool area.

The event was running about an hour late but everyone in the crowd was taking it good. It was supposed to start at 12:00 but apparently they were stuck in traffic. They had a magician and held some contests then they had some KISS karaoke. Some 7 year old got up and stole the show. When they finally arrived Ben and I tried to gey closer to get a better look. There were tons of ppl so Ben climbed up on a railing and I handed him my camera and went back to the line with Patty and Christa. Thanks to Ben who got some nice shots especially the one of Shanon's butt!!

Once the line got moving it moved real fast. There were no autographs allowed and they took the picture for you and gave you a web site to retrieve the photo to download. When we got to the front of the line the guy asked us Dante's name then when it was our turn he said Dante take your family up. He then walked over and told Sophie to look at what we had and her and Shanon both went awwww and started to pet Dante then Sophie actually held Dante. Their photographer took a photo or two. Then when Ben got to Gene with Dante, Gene got down close to Dante talking like he was Talking to a baby and touching Dante's whiskers going ooooh you got a mustache don't you puppy your so cute. They took a picture of that too so hopefully they post them with our family shot and when we get them I'll post them here.

I have to say that they are one good looking Family Gene is even better looking in person and oh so friendly. You don't get much time but they all shake your hand and say hello and smile like they mean it. Was a long time in the sun but very worth it. Would do it again in a heart beat!




























Monday, July 18, 2011

Today after work Patty and i went shopping. We left one store and we were on our way to another when I spotted a blue herron in a marsh along the hwy. After we had finished shopping and had gone home I decided to take a drive back to the marsh to see if the herron was still there. Surprisingly it was. I took a few photos even though it was too far away. I then took a walk to see what else was around. There were some ducks and geese that were way to far and I did see a rat but it got away too fast for a shot. Plus it was so close it startled me at first but then as I swung the camera around it was gone in a flash. I did get a few shots of slower moving things.

















Monday, July 11, 2011

On Saturday I went down to Langford to pick up Ben and spend the day with him. as most of you know Ben has gone off to college and left us behind in Duncan. The plan was to go into Victoria and rent us some scooters and bomb around town all day stopping for sights and lunch. New laws in BC now make it mandatory that you have at least an N license to be able to drive them.

Our second choice was to go kayaking which Ben has done a couple times and I had tried but didn't like how tipsy the kayaks felt. We ended up getting one double seat kayak for us for a couple reasons. It is way less tipsy than the single which made me feel better and also I could rest and let Ben do most of the paddling to save my shoulder. Now if you listen to Ben he did most of the paddling which is not true. He did do more than me but that's because I was taking pictures.

We took a guided tour which was nice because they showed us where and when to cross the mouth of the harbor. Lots of boat and plane traffic so you have to know when its best to cross. Now Ben and I can go again by ourselves and won't have any problems. we went out of the Fisherman's Wharf to where it opens up into the ocean leaving the harbor. There was our guide and his buddy and Ben and I. We hung out around some rocks where they were some seals and watched one eating although we couldn't tell exactly what it was he was eating. It was just off the naval base. We came back into the harbor and over to a spot where there were some of the biggest house boats I've ever seen. Then we crossed and took the kayak back. It was a nice trip and the water was pretty calm which was good.

We left Victoria and headed back to Langford where we grabbed a bite to eat and went to the go carts. The go carts were crazy fun but Ben and I couldn't get into a good race because there were so many other carts out on the track. Ben did try to spin me out once but it didn't work because we were in a crowd and hitting them kept me straight. I guess Ben will have to try and pay me back from the last time we had gone there another time. It was a blast and Id like to do it again and maybe take Ben to the races at the speedway afterwards.

Keep up the good work at school Ben your making me and your mom very proud. 85% average so far! This week he is going to actually get to do some practical work. I know that's what hes been waiting for. Thanks again for the good time Ben gotta do it again some time!