Titles of favorite all time books for Count Ferrari

This is a posting to show which titles were most impressive to me over the years.

In no particular order except when noted...(eg.. the top 8)

Top Ten:

1.  Tom Jones, History of a Foundling,   Henry Fielding (1749?)

2.  Catch 22                          Joseph Heller

3.  Tale of Two Cities           Charles Dickens

4.  The Postman                     David Brin  (Horrible movie)

5.  The Breach                       Patrick Lee  (any books by this guy are great!)

6.  The complete Gulliver's Travels       Jonathon Swift

7.  Snow Crash                       Neal Stephenson (all good books)

8.  Double Whammy                Carl Hiasson (any fiction by this guy is good.)

9.  Harry Potter, all of them      JKK Rowling

Honorable Mentions:

      Battlefield Earth               Scientologist L. Ron Hubbard (Do NOT watch the movie, sucks)

      Dead Red Fred (?)            If anyone has read this please try and leave a comment with the real title.  It is a story about some kids who find a desiccated alien in a cave who can still project thoughts. I recall they take him home and get him going again or ???

      Hard Drive                       Sci-fi smuggling and class war.  Hard to find this title again.  Big fun in smuggling and war done on a private basis with stashed fighter jets coming out to play and hovercrafts doing some high speed smuggling.

      Richard Sharpe series        Napoleonic soldier, A favorite series!  Sharpe starts out in the ranks and ends up through a series of books as a Major in the British Army.
      Lord of the North series (Uhtred of Bebbinburg)  Viking wars and raids
      The Archer (story of the slaughter done to the French  knighthood at Agincourt.
          all by Bernard Cornwell, one of the best story tellers out there.

      Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin series  Napoleonic British Navy   by Patrick Obrian

      Captain Bolitho series   By Alexander Kent                      Napoleonic British Navy

      Jack Reacher series                      by Lee Child

      The Black Tiger at .... series (Jr High reading)

      The complete Sherlock Holmes     by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

      Atlas Shrugged                             by Ayn Rand

      Stranger in a Strange Land                           black author  about a black man  living unseen by most Americans.

       EZ Rawlings is a detective.   author Walter Mosley (any)
       Elvis Cole, World's Greatest Detective  series           Robert Crais
       Spenser , tough PI with tough friends series               Robert Parker
       Stephanie Plum, whacko skip tracer girl in NJ series    Janet Evonavich
       Dune  
       Harry Potter series                JKK Rowling (anything by her)
       The Hobbit (et al)            Tolkien
       Ender's Game
       Lonesome Dove

      Kiln People, by David Brin

      The Gray Man by Mark Greaney, there are about 3 books with the Gray Man, he kicks butt!




     

Zihuantenjo for 2014 (xmas)

Vacation is an odd term to describe this trip as what I am getting away from?  It will suffice for the nonce.

Here is a link to a couple other previous visits if you care to see more photos, including a photo tour of our BnB in 2011 (click here).

I am sipping my first cup of joe on morning #1 and discovered I made it a bit too strong. Maybe only use 4 moderately heaping teaspoons of coffee next pot.  Not too bad though.

Putting any clothes is almost too warm at 8:00 AM.  I had intentions of getting up for a run, first thing, but that was foiled by sleeping in until 7:30.  The sun has already gotten to the streets by then and is a bit tough to deal with.

​My computer freaked out and did some unexpected moving of my typing and sent off an incomplete thought.  Ah, the joys of the unexpected​.  Perhaps a main reason for a 'vacation'. 

One of the new things on this trip was booking 1st Class on the plane for down and up instead of just coming home in 1st.  We used our points on the Alaska Visa card and our companion fare ($100 +taxes for the 2nd body).  This was a huge improvement in comfort although getting up at 2:30 AM to catch the 6:10 flight was tough no matter what the seat.

The best payoff for sitting in the front, besides the continuous screwdrivers for breakfast, was getting off the plane first when arriving at Z-town.  There was NO line at the customs desk and we zoomed through, then using our carry on luggage we got through the next screening of stuff while others waited for luggage.

I suspect we were the first to get away from the airport in a taxi as we knew the drill.  We were having gin and tonics with chips on our veranda around  5 PM.  Time for a nap and then headed out to get bug spray in town and have some dinner.

We went to Daniels Restaurant on the Playa  Principle (sp) where we found Jimi Mamou, our favorite blues musician, playing and we sat with his wife Judy and 4 other friends who were in town.  I suspect we were the youngest at the table.  Jimi is over 75 now and still playing 3 or more nights a week.

Lori and I danced there and in the gazebo at the  town square, showing off all our moves to applause in both venues.  We both had salads at Daniels which was EXCELLENT.  I had a 'Princess Ensalada'

​which was lettuce, covered in croutons, tons of bacon crumbles, grilled sliced chicken, avocado, and grapefruit around the edges.  This needs to be a staple for me at home.​

​

 On the downside of our sojourn was the fact I had not packed a swimsuit, mistakenly having put in two sets of jogging shorts.  We had to shop and found a stylizing pair of swim trunks at Anbifios which had a large selection at pretty tall prices for a guy from Arlington.  I chose a fine set with blue plaid, four pockets and a stretchy waist band and tie strap for $675.  (pesos)

I had to go back the next morning for them.  Lori was having some stomach issues (only lasted the morning...thank goodness).  I did some other shopping getting two nice belts for another $800 and had to go back to the Cambio Store (Money Exchange) for another infusion of pesos.  Also I stocked up on basics like microwave popcorn, salted nuts, potato chips, cranberry juice, and limes for our cocktail hour.

We got to our favorite beach bar around 1PM and discovered some exceptional sand sculptures.  A full sized (30') nurse shark and other creative sand events.  Who knows how long they will survive.

Sand sculpture left behind after a movie shoot?  A fine life size nurse shark!

The water is warmer than most of our visits and cleaner too.  Love it!

I swam my two laps out to the ropes and floats  that keep the ski boats and jet skis off shore and noticed I was tired from that.  More swimming is needed.  1.7 beach laps of walking and greeting old acquaintances we have seen many times.

Our first day on the beach gave us a bit of color.  We had slathered with a 45 spf and it was a good thing.  More color on our bodies each day.  One can pick out the newly arrived by the white skin.  Now, on the 4th day, we both have enough color to take out a Hobie for a sail without worrying about getting too much sun (still with plenty of sun screen).

We are no longer the only guests at our B&B.  Two other rooms have inhabitants.  Got in a good swim today.  I think it tired me some because I took a one hour nap after cocktail hour.

Tomorrow I will watch the Seahawks play at a beach Sports Bar.  That will be a first for me.  One of the other guest here is from northern CA and figures it will be a blowout for the Hawks... We shall see, as they have played down to some of their competition this year.

I woke at 6:42 and it was just getting light out.  I got in my run this AM and was drenched when I got back.  Sweat from running in the warm moist air.  All that working out took less than an hour, hopefully I will not gain too much weight down here.

Last night we took the local mini bus to town.  Cheap at $8.5 each and we got the last seats.  A taxi would be $50 for the same ride but is needed for coming home as the buses seem to stop at 7:00 PM.

Lori did some shopping at the two Mercados but no buying, so no lugging of bags.  A good thing.

I was camped out in front of the main church waiting and saw a party with a girl in a very fancy dress waiting.  She was having her Quintessa (sp?) party for turning 15.  What a program with a lot of pomp and decor!  Unfortunately, no photos from me but there were at least two pros shooting it.

A new sight for us, the army was in town last night supervising the city, as Saturday is apparently pay day, so there was squad of about 10 with two trucks, one with a fixed mount 50 cal. machine gun and belt feed.  One doesn't see that in the streets of Arlington!

We ate dinner at AnY's and had tortilla soup overlooking the bank and the squad of army dudes.  Tired looking weapons with wood stocks was interesting with only one dude with a side arm.  The army took off halfway through our meal so a non-event.  I did caution Lori to hit the ground if any firing started.  Not needed advice, thank goodness.

Later we saw two large trucks from the State Policia come past our view with several officers.  I have to say walking across the street I was able to look down the barrel of a 30 caliber machine gun which was pointing forward and down a bit.  Very disconcerting.

 It seems the government is making a point of saying 'keep it cool' around here.  I am good with that.

Exercise for the boy on this trip is a priority as ski season will hopefully be in place on our return.  After dumping the prescribed statin drug,  due to leg cramps, running is OK again.  One must arise pre 7:30 AM or it will be too sunny for serious work.

Daily early AM workout will either be a walk or a jog walk on alternating days to start with.  Then a walk up and down the mile long beach.  We are realizing about 1.5 circuit walk a day on the beach.  Then there is the swim which is put off until later in the day followed with a walk on the beach to dry off.

The swim is maybe a 400' lap out and back to the ropes with floats which are tethered out in front of El Vira's.  Two of these laps were a serious test of breath and muscle the first day but getting easier.

Unexplored experience:
Talking to other gringos on the beach resulted in a conference about what to do.  This couple, Tim and Donna, who own a marina up in the Gulf Islands and a 1982 Baltic 42 had been seen running on the street in the early hours by the Count so when encountered on the beach it was easy to start a conversation.

They recommended a 'Floorshow', family friendly, of cross dressers put on by a the Transgender/Gay/Lesbian community at a pub called El Pueblito, near the Mercado, downtown.  Two shows on Thursday night, one at 5:30 and one at 8:30.  We found out about it at 4:30 and were only going to be here for the one Thursday but it did sound interesting.

Beach report:

The beautiful white sand beach was beautiful for the first day or so and then a bunch of headless (80% or more) bait herring washed up for the next 4 days.  Thousands of them and the local beach crew were out picking them up several times a day.  Then there were no more.  A mystery with several theories.

a.  Tuna going through a school knocking the heads off and then having a leisurely meal.

b.  Warm water currents making a fish kill (Doesn't explain the missing heads)

c.  Trawlers off shore renewing their bait on long lines with lots of hooks.  The sheer number of fish makes this suspect but does explain the uniform size of bait fish and the lack of heads.

d.  other ideas?

Meal costs:

Friday:  Daniels, two salads and one limada and one agua con heilo = $317
Sat:  Elvira's Beach Bar = $230, AnYs, two Sopa de Tortilla and two beers = $237
Sun:  Elvira's Beach Bar (dinner)= $535 for Camarones Diablo and clam chowder and ensalada plus wine  La Perla Sports Bar (on the beach for the Seattle Seahawks vs the 49ers) = $200 for carne asada tacos and two cervasas.

Mon:  Lunch was at Daniels = $135 for omelette, quesidillas, and limeada.  Dinner at Paty's (on the beach) = $310 for cheese and onion enchiladas in verde sauce (spicy!) and shrimp cocktail in a sweet tangy sauce, french fries with two glasses of wine (happy hour 5-7 with a 2/1 deal and we arrived at 6:57)

Tues:  Hanging out at El Marlin at the far south end of Playa la Ropa = $225 for some most excellent dorado deep fried fish sticks, quesidillas, liminada, and two Negro Modelos.  Very cheap and good!
Dinner at El Vira's in town = $200.  Had to dance to Jimi Mamou again, he was playing at the Barracruda (hangover, not the fish).

Sailing was $300 for an hour on a Hobie cat.   Great fun in SUPER warm water!  One hour was plenty.  Surfed in on a large wave that surprised us but managed to keep it straight on to the beach.

Wednesday:  We ended up at Daniel's and we both got the salads again.  $285 (?)  A small day on the beach at El Vira's cost us about $180.  Had to dance to Jimi Mamou again.  Excellent!  No cover but donated $100 to the kids

Thurs:  $505 for coconut shrimp at Lety's with mixed salad and limenada.  $95 at El Vira's

Friday:  We changed to La Perla for the day hangout, found the best beach bathrooms and had a good lunch with beers and limenada $250 while we each had EXCELLENT massages for $200 each.
Dinner to be salad somewhere.... Had to dance to Jimi Mamou again..
Lori had a salad and limenada while I had a limenada =$108
CF also had a hot dog at the stand by the basketball courts.  Supposedly ranked #1 in the world.  It was good with bacon and all kinds of condiments.  $15

Saturday:  El Vira's $205 for fish tacos, chips and pico de gaio, limenada and two beers.

Road Trip to Landsailing World Championships 2014

Count Enrico and the media team go to the desert.

This is a story of a true road trip done by serious semi professionals in leisure studies.

The McGuffin (the pearl or idea the trip revolves around) is documented in a couple of places.  As Count Ferrari is now a Hobby Journalist, the documentation of his exploits may need to be done.  The articles are a ploy to weasel into the confidences of the unknown.

Please note this article is the ramblings of the 'Writer' 5 months after the fact of the road trip. It took place July 8-16, 2014.

On this trip we had assembled a very fine journalistic crew.  A writer (c'est moi) Count Ferrari (CF), a photographer the Rear Admiral,( RA) and a creative director (CD)(Joe Cheeta).  We all obtained kitchen passes in advance from our spouses and had motel reservations in Austin NV 6 months in advance as we knew they would be sold out if we had just shown up looking for a bed.

Count Ferrari, the Rear Admiral and Joe doing the selfie
We are at Crater Lake OR for this shot.

Guess who the photographer is?

The Uboat on the playa!

All other accommodations were done on the fly and the value of a good smart phone for travel was eye opening!

The planning was done online as research about landsailing was done.  The When, Where, How, and What were covered.  The Why, not so much.  The Who was a bonus that came as we got to the event and met them.  They were  amazingly helpful folks in the fastest form of sailing anywhere!

Planning article:  Link to planning article

Resulting article:  Link to Landsailing article

Bonus article:   Find a Sailing World, November of 2014 and you will see many articles on Sailing on the Fringes.  Eric Sorensen wrote a fine article describing the remoteness of the venue and partially describes the very international community that came together for this regatta.  The editor of this rag actually emailed and asked for one to be written and paid for same!

Day One:

The plan was for the Uboat to pick up the Braindamage Island boys so a ferry was taken from downtown Seattle and they were collected.  There was the usual "What do we need" conversation in terms of umbrellas, coolers, wine, etc...  More wine was chosen.  Fewer umbrellas.

The car was loaded with the trunk and 4th seat filled with stuff.  The auto leveling suspension kicked in and we headed south to cross the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and head for Cayuse Pass and then Chinook Pass.  See the photo below.

Our lunch snack with brews and  Dungensess crab caught on the previous day.
Mt. Rainier is in the background.  We are parked roadside and had a great time!

Documentation of lunch. Photographer siting in the Mountain, while the
Creative Director sets the table.

With the Rear Admiral at the wheel (he likes to drive the Uboat) we wheeled down to Yakima WA where we found our favorite Mexican food at the Taco Bus.

Some of the best Mexican food you can find.
Approximately 1 mile south  of the exit just after Yakima Speedway.

From here it was a sprint down to the Columbia River where we found a motel that would take us.  No great feat as we had Joe doing the 'smartphone' reservation thing.   We stayed in The Dalles and played some disc golf in the park on the hill.  

Disc Golf at The Dalles:

The Rear Admiral playing the Dalles disc course.

Lots of lawn, excellent views of the Columbia basin,  and great targets but the tees were elusive.  Joe got his first taste of disc golf.  Joe was granted a learning handicap for a par 5 while the RA played at a par 4 and Count Ferrari played at the usual par 3.  As memory serves, it was Joe taking the round but soon he will graduate to a par 4 handicap.

Some sort of first nation fishing dock just under the Bonneville dam and just outside our 1st motel in The Dalles.

We woke and hit the road after the breakfast provided by the motel.  That breakfast thing is one of the filters we looked for in accommodations.  Some were much better than others.  All were convenient.

I recall taking a jog in the AM and then hitting the road with the Rear Admiral taking the wheel.  He found a fine straightaway in Central OR that was good pavement with a slight down grade.  Count Ferrari noted. from the back seat that  the speedo was at 135 MPH!

A fairly common observation of the Uboat's data center.

We did stop for a photo session somewhere near Mt. Hood where there was a farm that was done and waiting to be photographed.

One of near 100 photos taken by both the photographers.

One of the best things was Mt. Hood in the background.

More Disc Golf:

The Creative Director shows off his 'moog'.  One would think goggles and sunglasses would be
too much.  I think it resulted in a found disc.

After that there was another disc golf course near Madras, as memory serves.  A fun course with hills and dry plant vegetation.  One would not want to try and make a living farming here.  Having the smart phone to navigate with was helpful but it still took a bit to find the course and tee #1.

Some nice art by the side of the road near our desert disc golf.  One would love to be able to think in metal sculpture as it takes to display in a grand manner.  The beauty of a road trip is taking one's time and noting the unusual!

After the disc outing we hoofed it down to Bend OR for a lunch on the river at a previously explored venue.  The smart phone truly helped as we didn't know the place but the river bends suggested it's location and we mostly drove right to it.  The atmosphere was mostly "yuppie" but the scenery was excellent with lots of bodies floating down the river on a beautiful day in July.  

 Crater Lake OR:

Departing Bend, we took a back road south that wound a bit but was nicer than the highway.  I had consulted with an OR highway patrol for scenic byways that AM in the Dalles.  /The goal was to get to Crater Lake as two of us had not been there before.  Truly, this is a scene to be taken in.

Crater Lake from the Eastern observation parking area.  It is a large volcanic cone that is now inactive.
Photos can be taken but don't do it justice.

Taken going down the backside from Crater Lake heading
south.

Crater Lake Lodge.  Nice but @ $250 a night?

We took off and headed down the mountain heading toward CA but stopped just short in  some town that had good BBQ and a strange motel suite, with one King sized bed in a separate bedroom room and two queens in the main room.

We took our 2nd night at Klamath Falls with a an odd suite that had a king size bed in one room and two queens in the other.  BBQ at a good spot was memorable and good food. Breakfast was good.  We iced our little cooler and took off to California.

We drove south and found a great store that was maybe 40-50% liquor and then other groceries.  A larger store and that was impressive to see all that booze lined up for cheap, compared to OR.  

Tule Lake Grocery.  A sleepy little town that sells a BUNCH of booze and some good cherries.

After getting some fresh cherries we headed out towards a Volcanic National Park, using Count Ferrari's lifetime pass acquired for $10 due to his age!  A worthy document to haul about in the car as it granted us access to many national parks on this trip.

Petroglyphs:

En-route we got a bit lost looking for the Petroglyph Park.  It was a faint suggestion on the map and by a fellow who was in our motel office in Klamath Falls.  Road Trip Rule:  Look for odd things...

This land was flooded back in the day and canoes came so the natives could leave messagees
scratched in to soft stone.

The dark stone at the bottom is the water mark.  

Oddness found:

You cannot imagine how many photos this old truck generated!

Volcanic Caves:

We found volcanic caves that actually had snow and ice at the bottom of them and it was pushing 90F in the parking lot!  We were very glad to have extra flashlights as it was very dark without them.

About to enter the Volcanic Tube

It is tough taking photos in the pitch dark.

An unusual rock bridge.

Note appropriate footwear and creatures of the dark caught in a flash.

We cruised south looking at the road map and the RA thought we could find a room near a resort lake that would give us some good views.  We found the lake and a resort but the only room available was marginal so we looked at the chart and headed to a town called Susanville that was a bit further than we wanted to go but the value of a cell phone came through as the CD made reservations for us and procured the last room maybe.  We arrived near 8:00 PM and found they didn't have a room with three beds as the girl had thought, but this is after we packed our stuff to the room.  Joe went down and negotiated a compromise where he kept the suite while the RA and CF went to a regular double room.  The place was packed! We are unclear on how he weaseled two rooms for the price of one.  There was a wildfire nearby and lots of firefighting crews were there.

CF went for a jog in the AM finding a minimal flow in the nearby so called river but a nice jogging trail.

We had our breakfast and headed out intending on a SE course to take us toward NV.  In no hurry we were looking for backroads and we thought we found one but it got to a gravel track that appeared to be limited in range.  We back tracked next to a large dry lake and checked our inadequate charts and phone navigations and tried another run over these hills.

We found a paved two lane that took us into the hills again and wound around.  The Photographer got out his Go Pro gear and mounted it on the hood for his first foray into cruising mode.  He took a shot every 10 seconds or so to make some sort of slide show.  

Sierraville:

We did see some very nice reclusive real estate ending up in Sierraville by chance and discovered the best pulled pork salad ever made.  This place was one of the best food sources we found on the trip!

One of the best eateries you will find anywhere!

Do NOT overlook a meal opportunity here!

Hangin' in Sierraville after a seriously  good lunch and being serenaded by the chef!

Count Ferrari on the left and the Rear Admiral on the right.  Photo by the Creative Director with his iPhone.

Next was routing that took us past Lake Tahoe where we stopped to admire the water and odd rocks in a park.  Following that we decided to make it to Fallon NV, our jumping off point to find the Smith Creek Playa and site of the Land Sailing World Championship.  

Lake Tahoe with some eye catching rocks.  Photo by the CD.

Oddness found:

That decision and the long daylight hours allowed to explore on the backroads some more.   This resulted in a very washboarded gravel road that took us past a site where serious destructive testing for the military occurs.

  

A tradesman in his van was flagged down for local knowledge on just where in the heck this road was going.  It turned out he was a refridgeration tech and he was servicing some building that would take the temperature to -50C with a full sized battle tank in it and then they would take it for a spin in the desert at over 100F to try  and break it.  We saw maybe 8 tank hulks and many other military vehices littering the acreage which turned out to be 3500 acres with a race track they zoomed the rigs around.

We got to the main office which was just closing and talked with an engineer and a dude who cleans up the messes.  Apparently one of the tests involved towing a trailer at over 100 MPH on the test track and it flipped and they had to do a full 'CSI' investigation, marking each bit of debris with numbered markers and photo everything.

The road turned to pavement about 2 miles past this destructo business and we found a motel in Fallon that had 3 queen beds in the same room.  Very unusual but perfect as one of us didn't have to sleep on a rollaway bed.

Arriving at Smith Creek Playa:

Joe jumping for joy!  The springs in his legs are still amazing! 

A look behind the scenes of a mighty leap by the CD.

We are maybe 2-3 miles from the turn off to the Playa but nature called.

The playa was our destination from Fallon and we took a remote 2 lane road past sand dunes and scrub lands in temps close to 100F finding the flagged entrance to the world's longest boat ramp and the entrance to the playa.

We had seen the RV city on the big lake bed for a few miles and all the boats rigged and waiting to be used with their bright colors.  There was a huge 50' x 100' tent for registration and awards plus flag poles for every participating country erected (maybe 16 countries?).  There was no qualification need to attend, just show up with your boat.

CF checked in with the President, Dennis the Prez and introduced our team.  It seemed we were the only media to show early.  Another video team showed after we left and a very excellent photographer had been retained by the NALSA organization. Carel (website needed) who would allow access to any of his photos and he took a LOT including drone videos.

Austin NV:

Our Cozy Motel in Austin NV was our base for three nights and it was COZY with wifi and AC and two beds and a small space on the floor for a pad.  It worked and was one of the best options in town.

Cindy the manager was happy the event came to town.

Across the street was a great cafe for breakfast with a spectacular bar and a very international group getting fed each morning.  The French and Belgians were a large presence in Austin. These two teams had each sent a 40' container over crammed with boats.  As I recall each team member put up $5000 Eu and for that was in a bed/fed and with his/her boat on the playa with all transport costs covered.

One of the racing marks for local races.  It is called a Cow mark.
The Uboat is in the background.

Each morning we would fill our cooler with ice, maybe get some more liquids and snacks at the gas/grocery on the edge of town and head out to the playa, about 35 minutes on a very lonely two lane road.  A noteworthy anecdote would be the jack rabbits that waited until the last moment to race across the road at night in front of cars.  They didn't make and we would see about 20 new bodies a day with the local beasties getting a feast each day off the highway.

After a hard day of interviewing racers, trying out various boats, inspecting the whole event we would usually get back to the motel around 10 PM, sack out and start again in the AM.

We did this for 3 days, taking off after the 3rd day, around 5 PM when the  racing didn't start due to lack of wind.  It was the hottest we had seen with the temps going triple digits as we drove off the playa.  It was 102 and went to 109F at one point.  We were all really glad the Uboat didn't have an issue with that.

We drove through Fallon to the end and found a car wash that appeared to be new.  It sure did work well for about $10.  We had a shiny clean car to run the freeway north again.  

The route home took us through Susanville around 8 PM where we stopped for dinner.  The RA found many signs to take photos of and we ended up with a good meal and respite from the road.  The freeway was the target and we did a dance with the cell phones, finally getting a spot to stop at 10PM north of Mt. Shasta.  Mt. Shasta had rooms but they were over $200 and we decided we could go on further.  We found a nice spot in Yreka.