Roadtrip California style

THANK YOU to my sister! These items were sent to me quite some time ago, but given the fact that I have done nothing but work, work, work...I just barely got to the P.O. Box this week!

The only information I got with these little goodies was that they were not to be taken out of order. Apparently they made sure to put all of them in baggies,and marked not only the dates, but the TIME as well that they were collected.

So this is a post about a recent road trip "California" style. The event was a celebration of sorts for my nephew Rick who was finishing up his high school career. They ventured down from the Sacramento area to Southern California, hitting several very COOL spots. They are as follows:

June 3, 2009

6:50 a.m. McDonald's in Santa Nell parking lot

8:15 a.m. Colinga Avenal Rest Area

9:47 a.m. Grapevine Jack in the Box

June 4, 2009
1:32 p.m. San Diego Zoo

June 5, 20009

8:48 a.m. Imperial Beach

5:30 p.m. La Jolla Beach

June 6, 2009

5:40 a.m. HAMPTON INN Kearny Mesa San Diego

8:13 a.m. McDonald's Newhall

10:11 a.m. Lost Hills Exit

11:53 a.m. Rest area with No Name

So, there you have it. A fun road trip that I didn't get to physically go on, but got to enjoy through the efforts of my sister and her family! Thank you for including me on your journey! Oh and thank you for not charging me extra for the very cool seashells.

Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud

THE DIRT ON BASEBALL...

Hours before a game, beneath major league baseball's newest stadium, one of the sport's oldest rituals is under way. Two Washington Nationals batboys are rubbing brown "gunk"on dozens of new balls, toweling them off once the wet dirt cakes. Only when they're done can the umpire yell, "Play ball!"

Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud has been helping pitchers get a grip for 70 years. After a wild pitch killed a batter in 1920, a tacky substance was sought. Shoe polish and tobacco juice didn't stick. What did was the feldspar-rich clay found in a NEW JERSEY swamp by player and coach R.A. "Lena" Blackburne. In 1938 it became a big-league staple, and in 1968 it made it to the Hall of Fame.

The company reaps six harvests a year from two holes in secret spots, filters out debris, and adds a "magic" ingredient for extra grip. Aged for 6 weeks, two three-pound vats are sent to each team-a season's worth of joy from Mudville. -Jeremy Berlin National Geographic

Well, there you have it! Last year when this article came out, I immediately headed down to the Owlz office to see where I could get my hand son this "dirty" little mud wonder. Enter Brett Crane, official "I'm the guy you go to" for the Orem Owlz. He had just sent back the remainder of the minor leagues' mud to the League offices. So, basically I have been waiting for A YEAR to finally get to see, and smell the official mud that will start the Minor League baseball season.

I swang by the office this afternoon to pick up our season tickets when there it was, the little bucket from heaven...uh...New Jersey, or was it Mississippi...uh, Delaware? Oh okay, the dirt is from New Jersey! This season will be one to be remembered, and if I play my cards right, I hope to have my hands right in the middle of the whole muddy tradition. (If you know what I mean)..Come on Brett, hook a sister up! Thank you to the entire Orem Owlz staff and especially that great "go to guy" for giving me a little mud, and sharing in the BIG adventure in the Pioneer League.

for more info click here : www.baseballrubbingmud.com and www.owlzbaseball.com

Pineapple HEAVEN!

I am not for sure what it is these days, but...

ALL the friends of our family seem to be going to HAWAII.

Take the Dabling family:

Bart

Janice

Sienna

Tyler

Cody

Chelsea

Gentry

Gee, I hope I didn't forget anyone. Bart and Janice became our friends when we first got started working at none other than The Brass Hearth (now Ruby River) in Provo some 25 years ago. They had kids the same age as us so we traded baby sitting services among other things. They took their family to Hawaii this past couple of weeks as well as caught a couple Rancho Cucamonga Quakes games. (Thank you for the pic of Andrew Gentry!) In return for really doing absolutely nothing...They brought me back a PINEAPPLE. YUM! Oh, did I mention they also brought me back some D.I.R.T. / beach S.A.N.D. Yup, and it is BEAutiful! In addition to the pineapple and the sand, I also got a really cool bracelet. WOW! Glad I got remembered on their journey. Thank you Dablings! Hey, isn't time for a road trip to Idaho Falls?

Sand from the following locations:

Kamaole Beach, Maui Lahaina Beach, Maui Waikiki Beach, Oahu

New Happy Place?

So quite some time ago, I did a google search of the word dirt. YES, YES, I know, there is a lot of smut out there when you type in the word dirt, dirty, dirtier, dirtiest, blah, blah, blah.

But, this time, when I did the same thing, I found a new happy place to visit! The site is called The State Dirt Company. The cool thing is, should I get closer to the end of my journey here on this earth...(no pun intended) I can now PURCHASE some dirt from lots of different states. Now don't get me wrong, I am in NO HURRY to check out as of yet, however, when my time comes to be in the ground instead of collecting it, I want to know I have dirt from EVERY ONE of the states in the

U S A.

Check them out here: http://www.statedirt.com/ I even have some dirt in one of those little jars they sell the dirt in! Go figure! :) P.S. Not that my birthday is coming up anytime soonly, but YOU did ask what to get me right? Shopping. Simplified. Send Soonly!

Don Pedro Lake, California

Let me just start by saying this...
I found it very funny that the delivery of this soil sample in the mail came to me in UTAH, from CALIFORNIA, in a bag from a guy who is JAPANESE(Yamamoto), with a label that says Made in MEXICO and yes,with a return address of ARIZONA.
Thank you my friend, for sending it my way. There is no confusion as to who YOU are!

JUST GOES TO SHOW YA...DIRT TRAVELS!

Don Pedro Lake is located just west of Sonora in Central California. It was collected from the shore at Flemming Meadows. Another fishing tourney was the purpose in the trip, unfortunately, my dirt sample was the only TROPHY received that day! Better LUCK next time? Thank you for the dirt, and for once again including me on your adventure!

Athens, Greece

Thank you to Janet Grandy! She lives down the street from me and has always been an absolutely wonderful example to my family. She is always the first person to bring in a meal, or write a get well note, or share the wonderful items out of her garden. I am never surprised to hear my family talk about a "random" act of kindness shown by this amazing woman. She recently returned from Athens, Greece and was so kind as to bring me some dirt from her travels. The story she shared with me about the dirt is as follows:

Hi Brenda,

The story about the dirt I scooped up in Athens, Greece goes like this. You know how much I love gardens, so while in Athens, I went to the National Gardens which used to be the Royal Gardens that belonged to the Royal Family. They no longer have a Royal Family however. I scooped it up with a spoon under a Wisteria Bowery. When I came through customs in New York, a cool African American Customs Agent wanted to know how much soil I had and why. I told him around a cup and that I collected it for a friend that collects soil from around the world. I explained to him that the soil was not going to be used outside, but that it was going to be put into a glass jar. His response was, "Well, I don't think that a cup is going to hurt anyone in Utah, so go ahead".

Love the story Janet, and LOVE the soil. Athens Greece is on my list of places to visit someday when I become rich and famous. Right now, I feel pretty RICH for having friends like Janet to share in her journeys with me.

Black Beach Hawaii and Meagen's Beach

A L O H A H A W A I I

Even Steven has been a friend of the family for many years and has come to be one of my favorite people that travel. Mainly because he always brings me back some soil from wherever he goes. His latest trip was no exception.

Black Beach Hawaii. WOW! Was this dirt B L A C K. Now I can honestly say that I have seen some different colored dirt and sand in my time, but this truly was the darkest black sand I have ever seen. He said it was that dark because it was still wet from being in the bottle, however, even after it had dried out the darkness was unchanged. The other dirt he brought me was in contrast, quite light in color. Put them together and they looked like salt and pepper.

The second bottle of sand was from a location known as Meagen's Beach. OBVIOUSLY I am going to L.O.V.E. this place because that's my oldest daughter's name. Both of these locations were vacation spots for Steven. He has traveled more and more over the last few years and I look forward to him bringing me a little part of his journey. THANK YOU and on a side note...Steven, see you at the park!