Ridin the Rapids and Stimulating the Economy

Unfortunately I am not as skilled as Matt on our new kayaks.... 2nd trip down Minnehaha creek and I end up tangled up in a fallen tree with a snapped paddle and almost sunk the kayak... for those not familiar with the creek it is an intense kayaking experience.......................

Obama Rama 2008!

We tried, full heartedly we tried... Obama accepted the Democratic nomination tonight in St. Paul at the X. G, Davio and myself joined the masses attempting to gain access to the event. Blocks and blocks of people lined the streets, 5-6 people deep, I can't even count the blocks. It is the most people i have ever seen waiting in line in my life. All waiting for one single, solidtary man well that and change and hope and a new America. Unfortunately, we did not make it into the Xcel, only 20,000 lucky people did. We listened to Obama's speech on the radio on the drive home, Dave with goosebumps, G with a few tears and myself with a lot of woo-hoo's. It is time for change and one of the few times in my life I can say I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN - now get to it Barack! Barack the vote! Obama for your Mama! Barack my World! Obama Rama coming at ya!

Made from the same mold

Big Graduate = Big Apple

My kick-ass friend Ali and I celebrated the end of my MBA in New York City last weekend. It was a ton of fun and a ton of walking - 25 miles to be exact! We a saw all the main sites, most popular for us was all the HTMs - Hot, Tranny Messes. Holy shit does NYC have a lot of them, but to Ali's point what better place to be if you are a HTM. NYC is truly the city that never sleeps, the epicenter of noise and the place of where fashion is whatever you want it to be. Though must-have's right now are definitely scraves, ballet flats, skinny jeans, leggings... still!, a hot light jacket, safari dresses and horrible 90's heeled shoes. Obiviously we did some people watching. Oh and the men are goregous! Gay, but goregous. And anytime you want a picture with a bull's balls just visit Wall Street, an American attraction sadly, a giggle for all. Next time I do NYC, I am bringing a fat wad of cash and doing some major shopping... until next time. Oh by the way the TSA says "no snowglobes allowed, spread the word".

Puerto Rico - Old San Juan the great door hunt...

From Rincon to Vieques, from Vieques to Old San Juan. After meeting Jesus there is not much else you can do but relax! So the rest of the trip was spent in Old San Juan on the main island. The Spanish fort city is absolutely beautiful and where Matt and I found our shared love of doors and doorknockers. Yeah true geeks I know. But you can't help but love the city's winding streets and colorful doors and loads of character. We are pro-photographers in training afterall and we have the 100+ door pictures to prove it ;) We enjoyed the city so much that we went back twice until the cruise-shippers invaded. The views from the fort look out over the ocean and are breathtaking. It was also a great day for flying kites and the fields around the old fort were filled with children flying kites, very nostalgic. The rest of the time we did nothing but hang by the pool, play cards, consume as many mojitios as possible and catch up on cable tv while Matt gambled. My love for cable tv was fulfilled with my latest addiction real life housewives - for real could it get any better? It was the prefect ending to an awesome trip. Ah... can't forget the tourists, I don't know if anyone else has noticed how photo-obsessed Asian tourists are....dinner on a terrace across from a table of 6 early twenty-somethings.... it started with flash and then anther and another followed by five more then a lull.... then the drinks came out another 10 flashes... then pictures of each other.. pictures of themselves... wait the apps are out... another 10 flashes.... we made a bet, end of our entree half way through theirs, He bet 20 I went with 50 more flashes...by the time we finished dessert and coffee they were well over 50 flashes..... it was hilarious at one point we were both crying with laughter. You've got to catch the scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and you'll know exactly what I mean.... Cheap entertainment, right? Adios San Juan. Adios Puerto Rico. From Vieques to Old San Juan...From Old San Juan to Minneapolis....

Puerto Rico - Vieques, where we met Jesus

Vieques was the definitely the highlight of Puerto Rico. Small island off the NE coast of Puerto Rico's mainland. There is virtually nothing to do here but beach, drink, beach and drink some more. The island is beautiful as is the people and the town. So beautiful in fact that Jesus even makes an appearance, well for holy week of course. The town has a really awesome tradition for Good Friday.... The people parade around the island following Jesus, throwing stuff at him and beating him. It was a HIGHLY anticipated event especially for Matt and I since we had never been in such holy presence before. And what else to do after witnessing such holiness? drink! the whole town went nuts. Duffy's will long live in your minds and hearts - it was the best damn burger we ever had - in the span of 2 days we managed to eat 3. Beyond Jesus and burgers there is the bio-bay, hidden beaches and awesome restaurants. We have never and probably will never again experience anything like the bio-bay. Basically, kayaking at dark in a bay that lights up with any movement in the water. Picture those glow sticks from the 4th of July dumped in a lake and swimming in it.... every drop of water, every movement turns a florescent blue. It is indescribable and truly magical, or according to Matt phsycadellic. The hidden beaches are a result of top secret marine bombing tests on the west and east ends of the island. In the last seven years the marines have turned the land over to the US Wildlife Reserve who have since opened a good portion of it up to the public. The beaches were beautiful, anything from snorkeling, to body surfing, to just plain old beach bummin it. Good or bad, probably a little bit of both the island has a ridiculous amount of people from New England, vacationers, inhabitants, whatever. The good of it is that there is an awesome selection of gourmet dining restaurants. We ate like kings and queens!

Puerto Rico - it was rough few days in Rincon

It already seems like forever ago... March brought a serious bad attitude as a result of never ending weather and so we ended up in Puerto Rico, it was awesome. We flew into San Juan, rented a car and drove to Rincon. It was dark by the time we made it to Rincon and the streets are seriously jacked up... no luck finding our hotel. After what felt like hours of searching and pure fustration we ended up with a police escort... which still makes me giggle, Matt's biggest concern was whether or not we had to tip the policia, wouldn't that be bribery? My only concern was to start my vaca with a beer as soon as possible. anyhow, Rincon is a small, sleepy surfing town on the West side of the island. The place we stayed at was awesome, small little guest hotel, maybe 5 rooms, with a full kitchen and private deck that was directly on the water. A few days before we arrived Rincon expierenced a massive swell "biggest waves we've seen since '68", which brought crazy-ass surfers, literally 25 foot waves and then some, surfers were towed out by jet ski, cars were lined up and down the road with people watching, taking pictures, video taping, none the less it made for good entertainment. There isn't much to do in Rincon which was exactly what we wanted... by day - hidden beach exploring and by night - the biggest event was figuring out how the hell to play with an Spanish card deck ohhh that and listenin to the waves, soakin a sunburn, drinkin a Corona and contemplating Jack Johnson or Bob Marley. all in all it made for a tough couple of days.........