Monday

We went to Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Building for dinner. Some of the members of my staff decided to run through the Olympic fountain (which is allowed) and yes they did get wet, even though they where trying not to. This was a good bonding dinner.

Tuesday

Wednesday

We went to Stone Mountain. We had dinner and watched a laser, music and firework show. It was amazing becasue there was lightning ...(update later)

Quick Lesson from Wikipedia - Stone Mountain is a granite dome located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. It is the world's largest exposed mass of granite. At its summit, the elevation is 1,683 feet and 825 feet (251.5 m) above the surrounding plateau. It is well-known not only for its geology, but also for the enormous bas-relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world. Three figures of the Confederate States of America are carved there: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. The mountain was the site of the founding of the second Ku Klux Klan in 1915, and the Klan was intimately involved in the design, financing, and early construction of the monument. However, they were not the originators of the idea.

Thursday

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. Despite the name, it is not a whale. Because of its size, it is impossible to weigh accurately. Newborns have been found measuring 21-25 inches, and the largest accurately measured whale shark was 40 feet, 7 inches, although there were reports of a 60-foot whale shark in 1925.

Leafy sea dragons can be found in the southeastern Indian Ocean in southern Australia and the southern part of Western Australia. This beautifully camouflaged creature can be found close to reefs with kelp, feeding on mysids and other crustaceans.

The beluga whale is found in the arctic and sub-arctic regions of the world including Russia, Alaska, Canada, Norway, Greenland and other northern European countries. It is typically found in shallow waters to depths of 3,000 feet. It feeds on a wide variety of fish, often suction feeding animals off the ocean bottom such as crabs, clams and worms. It is an opportunistic feeder known to prey on about 100 different kinds of primarily bottom-dwelling animals.

... to name a few






I never missed my husnband more in my life.

The day (yesterday) started with a Block Yard Sale At the "Estates". My parents participated. It was pretty cool. I loved the fact that the community got together at once. We walked the neighborhood and I picked up some ribbon for Christmas. I think I want to get a smaller second tree and deck it out Victorian Style. We'll see.

We got my dad a Coltrane CD (Jazz) and I framed his Harley Plate for the bathroom. He had it on the wall, however it needed a little more formality. He has distressed clay tile on the floor, A thin black stripe that goes around the walls, what I call Harley brown and gold on the walls, Orange and Back towels ( that we got him a while back), a Black toilet seat, a wall set that holds hand soap, Soap and Q-Tips (that we purchased) and a Harley Clock that Lucy got him. It's a neat Bathroom.

Friday- We went out to pick up a piece for my dad's birthday gift out in Redlands. There was a detour that took us past the county museum. In grade school, we used to visit this museum about once a month part of a program called GATE. There was a banner outside that read "FIVE SUNS - Mesoamerica". We decided to pop in. We paid our $12 for the both of us and went in. The first exhibit we went to was called "Living on the Edge, Natural Disasters of San Bernardino County". It was pretty good. It seems like fire is our biggest treat, next to the sleeping fault line that run trough our city *cringe*. The San Andreas Fault and the San Jacinto Fault run right though our area. I need to get ready for an earthquake. I always say I am and never do it.

• Personal disaster supplies kits
• Medications and eyewear
• Supply of water, food, and snacks
• Blanket/pillow/air mattress or sleeping pad
• Change of clothing and a jacket
• Towel and washcloth
• A few family pictures or other comfort items
• Personal identification and copies of household and health insurance information.
• Pet food and water / leashes and carriers

Then we proceed to go into the featured exhibit. I what a disappointment. The space was as large as the bottom floor of my parents house, minus the TV room. Pretty big, but that big when you put it in prospective of a museum. The colors of the exhibit were orange and green (very Miami) and there was Ivy everywhere. Ivy is native to Europe and the Atlantic Islands. Not found in Mesoamerica, at least not pre-colonization. (Poison Ivy is not related to Ivy of this genus) There was a large photo of the Pyramid of the Niches (El Tajin) on the wall, on the photo it stated that Aztecs discovered chocolate. OK, that's good information, however the region were the Pyramid of the Niches is located was Totonacapan, home of the Tonoacs that defended themselves from Aztec military incursions from the mid-15th century. Misplaced information. In addition the information was so sparse it made itself somewhat invalid. Cacao trees originated in South America (Aztecs are in North America), the Mayans as well as other Central America peoples cultivated them and brought them north. The Toltecs and Aztecs began to cultivate them as well and the Aztec word for the tree was Cacao.

The artifacts were nice, clay pottery and photos. The piece I did fall in love with was the Stela from Guatemala. It was beautiful. A true treasure.

We walked out of there and went on to the rest of the museum. I like the display of Native Americans in the Area, Mojave to Valley, it flowed from case to case until we hit " Our African Culture" It was out of no where. There should of been more to the display then a glass case in the middle of San Bernardino County Natives and the History of San Bernardino. top of that they displayed West African instruments and threw in a Mbira, which is found closer to the East Coast then the West.

OK, I'm done. The Bird Exhibit was great, minus all the spider webs on the Ostrich.

After looking at my photos in a different format, I saw two small specs on the lower left. I blew up the image and low and behold... people. I was there! I saw how great and magnificent this place was, but this photo really puts it all in prospective. Holy Crap! We went far!!!