Family in Phoenix & Sedona, Arizona – May 1-3, 2010

My niece Kristal lives in Phoenix.  We had lunch last Saturday morning at Thefarmatsouthmountain.com, an organic farm with three restaurants, including a breakfast cafe, where we ate al fresco.  It was conveniently located between her place and where I was staying with friends in Laveen.

Then, on Monday, we drove up to see Uncle Danny Stief (of Sedonatalkradio.com).  He gave us a great tour of that stunning area, explaining to us about the vortexes and other metaphysical anomalies in the area (making Kristal’s name quite appropriate).  We had lunch and then Kristal and I drove back to Phoenix in time for me to catch my flight back to San Francisco.  On the way to Sedona, however, Kristal and I were talking so much that I forgot to get gas, and so to be sure we didn’t have to walk in the desert heat, I let the car coast down a mountainside for about eight miles to get to the next town to fill up!

Sedona is magnificent everywhere you look, with it’s vortexes and it’s manmade and natural monuments.  It was great to see my uncle, who is a talented singer, and touched Kristal and me with a few live performances of Elvis songs.  It was the first time Kristal and he met each other, so I was glad to facilitate their meeting and for us all to learn more about other parts of our family.

I’m also glad to have a nice base tan from Arizona last week for the two weekends in NYC I’m going to enjoy later this month!

Phoenix Phurfest 2010

Some of us did the Dining for Life at Alexi’s Grill in downtown Phoenix Thursday night.

I got a nice tan at the pool parties at the hotel, saw a lot of old friends and made some new ones.  I got to speak a little Italian, Spanish and ASL (something I’m definitely an extreme amateur in).  I really like the dry heat and climate of Phoenix, not to mention the wonderful topography that is visible from almost every horizon.

The luau they we had was amazing with authentic dancers and a fire/sword tosser.  The music gave me chills and the dancers were stunning.  Unfortunately it started to get dark toward the end of the video, but I’m so glad I got the video footage that I got.  The (authentic?) and exotic buffet was awesome and I got to wear my barely ever-used Hawaiian shirt.

Also see my blog on going to Sedona with my niece to see my uncle.

Montague Gilligan Hayden’s new Doggie Door!

My friend Ed worked diligently in getting this installed for me. It’s the smallest doggie door they have available on the market (it’s more for cats, but there was a picture of a Yorkie on it, so we knew it would be appropriate for him). He’s already gotten used to going in and out by jumping up several inches. Ed had the brilliant idea to call it the “Montague Expressway” after a highway that connects both sides of the Bay Area near San Jose, so you can see the sign that we posted for Monte’s benefit.

Guest rooms galore at Hotel Hayden

Not only do we have a semi-private living room area with a pull out queen size bed, but now we have a bona fide fourth bedroom for guests with a bed set up in the basement where the landlord’s son used to stay.  It’s actually quite cozy, and I’m so glad that we have so much space to accommodate people if they want to visit us.

I’ll be videotaping a video tour of the new place soon.

Protected: Friday, April 23, 2010 – East Bay

East Bay Adult Male Party Page on Friday, April 23, 2010 @ 7:30pm

DISCLAIMER:  This is at my new house at 914 Blossom Way, Cherryland CA 94541 and the hot tub *IS* now set up.  Cherryland is an actual census-recognized area in north Hayward.

As in the past, this is a no frills, no theme, no pressure, no attitude, social party for men where there are opportunities for more than just strictly socializing.  Bring towels, snacks, drinks if you wish and remember no swimsuits needed for the hot tub!

Also, I can accommodate some overnight guests.  There are several options of where to sleep now that I have a bona fide fourth bedroom and pull out couch in the living room, so ask me about that, if it makes it simpler for you.  Moreover, some of us might even go to brunch the next morning.

This page is NOT navigable from my public site, nor is it indexable by any search engines.

To RSVP with a picture and/or comments on carpooling requests/offers, please respond here or email me directly through this site.

Hello from Vallejo, California!