Wet Weekend

It's raining cats and dogs! At least that is what the console on my Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather station I got for Christmas says. As of this posting, we have had 4.95 inches of rain at the house. Considering the drought conditions we have had, we really needed the rain, but it is putting a damper on my activities.

No cycling for me. I haven't ridden since December 8th. With the holidays and the cooler weather, cycling has just not been a top priority.

Another thing the wet weekend and this past week's general cloudiness has kept me from doing is trying our one of my other Christmas gifts. Julie got me a Meade LX90GPS telescope. I had set it up on Friday night, but just as I was getting all of the alignment completed, the clouds rolled in.

Weather Update...it has been raining cats and dogs...since I began writing this post we have received another .36 inches of rain, a total of 5.31 inches for this storm event. This weather station is so cool!

Two Reviews for This Weekend

This weekend I will tell you about two restaurants Julie and I have dined at. One we have been to before and the other is a new experience for us.

I'll start with the new one...The Harbor Room at the Riverview Plaza Hotel in downtown Mobile. The Riverview is currently going through a 64 million dollar renovation. From what I saw, they have done a great job. The final part of the renovation should be finished shortly, a new crown and spire to top the hotel tower. From what I understand, it will be of similar design to the crown and spire on the recently built RSA tower a couple of blocks north.

While the food was fantastic, the service was mediocre. I was considering one of the salads on the menu, but wanted to learn a little more about it. I asked the waiter..err bar tender, yes, I think we were relegated to being served by the bar tender for the evening, "Can you tell me a little more about the Benton's Bacon and Potato Salad?" and he replied "what do you want to know, it is Bacon and Potatoes on top of vegetables." Not quite the detailed description I was looking for. Besides this incident, the service he provided was pretty slow.

After checking the menu out, Julie decided on the filet ($32) and I decided on the seared scallops ($25). When we ordered, I was informed they were out of the scallops. It would have been nice for the hostess and/or the waiter to inform of of the several items that were not available this night so we wouldn't have waisted our time deciding on items we could not get. Since they let me down on the scallops, I just order the aforementioned salad ($9) and I ordered the Rock Shrimp appetizer ($14) as my main course.

All I can say is that the salad was spectacular. It was a small mixed green salad, topped with cubed potatoes, large chunks of thick cut bacon and a small over easy egg. Delicious! Julie's filet was supposed to be a 10oz cut and I must say their scale must be off. If it was less than 16oz I would be surprised. It was huge, and very tender and flavorful.

As ar as desert, we cannot comment on, as the menu didn't seem appealing to us, so we passed.

In summary, the food I give a 10, but the service maybe a 4.5.

Next is Noell B's, also in downtown Mobile, which has been open for a little while now. When it first opened, as you can tell from their outdated website, they were primarily a sandwich shop. The first couple of times we went their we had various sandwiches, which were ok. But for those of you that have read this blog in the past, you know how I tend to favor Lenny's Sub Shop for sandwiches.

Tonight, we decided to try their entrees. We stared with soup. Julie had a cup of Tomato Basil and I had a cup of Chicken Tortilla (both $4.99). For our entree, Julie had their special of the night which was Shrimp Pomodoro over pasta and I had the Chicken Marsala ($20.99) served over herb roasted potatoes with house vegetables. We opted for desert tonight as well. Julie had their Key Lime Pie and I had the Fried Bananas Foster (both $5.99). All of the food was excellent.

The service was great. Our waitress, Addie, was humorous, fun and attentive to our needs. I only have one complaint which hadn't been a problem in the past. The layout of Noell B's has an open bar area connected with the dining room. Tonight there was a large crowd gathered there drinking, prior to the Jethro Tull concert around the corner at the Saenger Theater, and several of the crowd were smokers, which I don't have much tolerance for.

Food gets a 10 and service gets a 9.

Food Critics???

Julie and I eat out so much that a friend suggested that we should write about our dining experiences on our website. If you have been a reader of our blog, you have likely seen ramblings of various restaurants we have dined in. At my friend's request, I will do my best make posts of our dining excursions.

I suppose I can begin with a post on tonight's dinner, though it may seem a little unfair to highly promote it as it was at the clubhouse of Steelwood Country Club, where the lodge Julie manages is located. Here is a link to their current menu. In the event you read this and the menu has changed, I will describe what we had.

For starters, Julie had Shrimp and Grits ($12), six gulf shrimp over smoked Gouda grits and Conecuh sausage gravy and I had the Steelwood Caesar Salad ($8), crisp romaine hearts, house made dressing, croutons and Parmesan crisp. For our entrees, Julie had Roast Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus ($32), served with buttermilk mashed potatoes, and fresh asparagus and I had Pan Seared Grouper ($30), served with pistachio butter, sun-dried tomato basil gnocchi and sauteed spinach. To finish the evening off, Julie had a flour-less chocolate tort and I had a triple chocolate cheesecake.

Two thumbs up, way up, on tonight's meal. If any of our friends out their would like to have dinner here, Julie and I would love to dine with you there.

For Sale 2004 Pontiac Bonneville

For Sale 2004 Pontiac Bonneville

For Sale: $12995.00 I bought this car new in August of 2004. It has been a great vehicle. Great fuel economy for its size and power. Averaged 28 mpg on our last trip even while running about 78 miles per hour. It is also a very comfortable car for highway travel. It currently has just over 66k miles, most of which is highway mileage from the various trips we have taken as well as Julie's use of it to commute to the lodge which is in Loxley. In January 2007, I put new Bridgestone Turanza tires on it as well new brakes all the way around. Click on the image or text to the left to view detailed pictures.

Julie Has a New Ride Too!

Julie officially owns a new Yukon. I say officially, because she has been driving it already even though she hadn't officially purchased it.

The Friday we were leaving town to start our vacation was when she decided on which one she wanted. Most of the new Yukons on the lot have the optional captains chairs in the second row. Because of the dogs, she wanted to have the standard second row bench seating. In the color she wanted (Sonoma Red Metallic), the nearest one with the options she wanted was located in Morrow, GA. Our local dealer was going to let us take one of their Yukons to Morrow (Atlanta area) to trade for the one Julie wanted. Unfortunately, there was no one available that day in Morrow that could authorize a dealer trade. Our dealer made arrangements to have the vehicle ready for Julie to pick up on Monday when we returned from vacation. So, on our way to the beach house we made a stop in Morrow on Friday night to visit her new SUV.

On Monday, when I attempted to contact our bank to make arrangements for the purchase, I realized it was Veterans Day and they were closed. The dealer let Julie take the Yukon home anyway and she completed the purchase today at lunch.

Our plan now is to sell my Pontiac Bonneville. I dropped it off at my brother-in-law's last night so he could do a detail job on it. If you ever need a car detailed, Tim is the guy to go to. He is very meticulous when he details a car. He detailed our Pontiac Vibe when we wanted to sell it and it looked practically new. I can't wait to see how the Bonneville looks when I pick it up tomorrow.

Back From Vacation!

Vacation - November 2007 - Figure 8 Island, NC

Here are some images from our latest vacation to our beach house in North Carolina. I have some great shots of sunsets over the Intercoastal Waterway, sunrises over the Atlantic Ocean, a few shots from the North Carolina Aquarium in Pine Knoll and a few shots showing the effects of beach erosion with some of the ocean front homes.

My New Ride

Last Tuesday, we picked up my new ride, a new 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650. We purchased it at Halls Motorsports here in Mobile. The folks there were friendly and helpful, unlike what we experienced at other dealerships in the area.

Saturday we rode it back to the dealership to look for more accessories. They had a live remote event going on and they were very busy. We enjoyed BBQ and picked out a jacket and gloves to order for Julie.

Today, after my Sunday morning bicycle ride, Julie and I met Tom King who has a Suzuki Boulevard S50 and rode with him to Dauphin Island and back. It was pretty windy going across the Dauphin Island bridge.

We have put about 150 miles on it so far and it has been a blast. We may end up getting a second one as well if Julie decides to get her motorcycle endorsement for her license.

Interbike 2007

Another Interbike is now behind me. This was my third Interbike with SmartEtailing. Each year it gets better and better. This year's company fun night was an evening at Creative Cooking School of Las Vegas, where we learned California Fusion Cuisine.

Here are some links to images from this year's event:

Alison Rockwell's images.
Ben Wilson - SmartEtailing at work and play.
Ben Wilson - Interbike 2007.


The entire SmartEtailing Staff:

Long Time...No Post

Sorry it has been so quite around here lately. I haven't taken the time to make any post because quite is not what it has been like in our lives.

Back in May, I received a promotion. I am now the Client Support Department Manager for the company I work for. This came as a big surprise to me. Though I had aspirations of eventually attaining this position, I figured it would have evolved via an assistant manager position. This promotion came about because the current manager had the opportunity to start in a newly created position at the company. He and I worked closely together over the last 90 days or so to help ensure a smooth transition.

One of the first tasks for my new position was staff recruiting. As Jerome was leaving the department, and our company is continually growing, there became a need for additional staff. This has been challenging, and a bit stressful as the entire recruiting process has been done remotely. It is one thing to do face-to-face interviews, but it is entirely different doing interviews only via phone.

The process has been long and drawn out, maybe to long in some candidates minds, but I want to make sure I make the best decisions as to who will be the best fit in our job environment.

I will try to get some other posts soon, to fill you in on everything else that has been going on.

Until then...

Almost a LAMB

Yesterday I participated in the Spring LAMB Ride. I typically participate in this ride twice a year, once in May and again in October. Last Fall it was held in November and it was not a good day as far as the weather was concerned.

For yesterday's ride, you couldn't have asked for better weather. Though a little on the windy side, it was to our advantage for most of the ride. The ride has two starting locations, depending on rider ability. I departed my house at 4:43am to make the ride to Cadence120 to meet anyone that was leaving from there. It ended up being a waisted trip, as no one was there by 5:15 for the start.

Last Fall, as the 5:15 group headed south to the Laurendine Road and Rangeline Road start, we had riders join us at several spots along the way. Yesterday...nobody. I had to make the trip to the 6:00am start all by myself. Luckily I had a great tail-wind and aside from the uphills, I was moving along over 20mph.

I arrived to find seven other riders ready to roll. Unfortunately, none were planning on making the entire loop. We headed toward Dauphin Island with the wind pushing our backs. We picked up two additional riders just south of Fowl River. We made such good time that we arrived at the island at a few minutes after 7:00. Three of the riders had planned on riding to the island, take the ferry to Fort Morgan, and ride toward Gulf Shores, but turn around in time to take the next ferry back to Dauphin Island. Since we arrived so early, they decided not to wait nearly an hour for the ferry, so they headed back to the north.

The riders that joined us south of the river had parked one of their vehicles at a family member's home in Robertsdale, as they didn't think they would be able to make the entire loop around the bay. They had room for at least two other riders, so Tom and Jimmy who had planned on riding back from the island decided to continue on.

Along the way, Jimmy's bike shorts started falling apart, so we made a detour that added several miles, so he could stop by a The Bike Shop in Foley to purchase some new shorts.

After the Robertsdale group turned off, Felicia Beth, Cindy and I continued on to Daphne, where Cindy was having a friend pick her up and Felicia Beth's husband, Ben, was going to pick her up. Usually we have our lunch break in Fairhope at the Subway, but now that Lenny's Sub Shop has opened up in Daphne, I figured it wouldn't be too much farther to have a much better sandwich.

Even though I love Lenny's, the extra distance, though short, was not pleasant. We were all very hungry and the hills between Fairhope and Daphne made the wait for lunch that much worse.

I now had a decision to make, to continue and finish the loop by myself, or to hitch a ride back with Ben and Felicia Beth. For safety's sake, I am not a big fan of anyone riding by themselves. That, plus the fact that the cleat bolts for my new time pedals are pocking slightly through my insoles, I decided to finish the ride in Daphne as well.

I still got a full century in, total mileage for me ended up at 103.61.

New Paint Pictures are Posted

Update...Use this link to see combined before and after pictures.

I have finally posted the "after" images to go along with the "before" images. Enjoy!

The House Looks Great

Well the house is finally painted...and what a difference! Julie and I are very pleased with the results. I finished posting "before" pictures to our website. I haven't taken "after" pictures yet due to the fact that the yard man and his crew were unable to do their typical bi-monthly lawn care while the painter was here. Needless to say, the yard looks horrible. I anticipate them returning this week to do the yard. Once they are done, I will get some "after" pictures up. While you are waiting, take a look at the "before" pictures.

Home Repairs

Last month we decided on a roofer to repair the flat roof on our back porch. Out of all of the roofers that came and bid on the project, what impressed me most about Vance with Nu Roofs, was that he came out in business/casual attire, wrote out a very detailed estimate and even had a binder with photos of some of his jobs and details about his warranty.

It was decided that it would be best to replace the entire roof. While they were at it, Julie and I decided on added three "real" sky lights, as the home made fabricated ones that were there were not too pleasing to the eye. The roofer even agreed to replace all of the bad ceiling boards in the porch too.

Since at that time we had still been unsuccessful in finding a painter, I asked Vance, our roofer, if he had any recommendations.

The second day of the roofing job, Vance had arranged for two different painters to come by the house. These were painters recommended by some of his other clients. I was impressed by both painters, but mostly with Brian. Brian showed up in business/casual attire and even brought a photo book of other jobs he has completed. Something about him and the roofer just told me that these guys are reliable.

Brian can't get to us right away due to a back-log of work, but he was willing to come over to paint the fascia boards that the roofers installed so the roofers could finish with the gutter installation.

Hopefully next week the painting preparations will begin and our home will be transformed from a dull pastel yellow to "Spicy Hue" with Danville Tan and Ebony King trim. I can't wait to see the final results.

Bike Fitting

I broke down and did it...I had a professional bike fitting done to help me improve my bicycling efficiency. I have to say I had my bike set up about as close as possible to my new position considering the equipment that I had on my bike.

Before the fitting, I purchased new Time RSX pedals, based on the suggestion of Gulf Coast Cycle Fit's David Field.

The results of the fitting he did for me require that I acquire a new zero setback seat post, a shorter, higher angle stem, and for better overall ergonomics a new handlebar. For the seat post, I choose the Thomson Elite. For the bar and stem, I went with Ritchey WCS Classic.

Tonight I swung by Cadence 120 and picked up some new Faux Carbon handlebar tape from Giant in silver which should look pretty sweet on my Elite! I will let everyone know how the fitting and new parts affect my overall performance.

No...I haven't died...

...I have been very busy with work and life in general.

I have been riding as well. For those that are interested, I have been uploading my ride data from my Garmin 305 to Motion Based. No sense in creating extra work entering the information here when it will upload instantly when I plug the Garmin into my PC.

Work...I believe this past week has been the busiest week I have experienced since my career change and I think next week will be the same or even busier. Depending on your viewpoint, this has not been a bad thing though. It certainly made the days go by fast! I have fallen a little behind in my normal duties due to special projects, but I hope to get caught up soon.

I learned recently that I will be traveling to another bicycle industry event. Next month is Frostbike...the name should give some indication of where this event takes place...in Bloomington, Minnesota. The average temperatures for the dates of the event are a high of 29 and a low of 13. I may need to buy some clothing just for this trip!

Life...Still working on getting the house painted. It truly amazes me how difficult it has been to get painting contractors and roofing contractors to one, come out and look at the project to work out an estimate, two, to actually call back with an estimate, and three, for those that I said "OK, let's do it" to come and do the job. I have been trying to get this done since last fall and I am still working on it.

I do have two paint contractors that have been calling on me that seem to want the work, but one has fluctuated his price by thousands of dollars which has sent red flags up for me and the other is about half the price of any of the other quotes I have actually received. I am all about saving some money, but can someone really do a quality job for half the price of anyone else? It is getting to the point though, that I may just let him do it, even if the paint doesn't hold up as long, for the price I can get it done twice as often!

My other life activity is calling me...it is time to hit the Xbox 360 for a little R&R!

Later...