State Fair and Greek Festival

As August draws to a close, there are two events that Nancy and always attend - the State Fair and the Greek Festival. We lucked out this year by picking a day to attend the fair that was just perfect - temperature wise. That's a big deal in Sacramento during the month of August. It is usually very hot when we attend the State Fair (I remember some 105 degree days) and that means more indoor sightseeing rather than outdoor ventures. This year we were able to do both comfortably. We had some great barbecue ribs at an outdoor eating establishment and we barely broke a sweat during our meal. We also saw some interesting exhibits at this year's fair. The Hollywood exhibit was especially noteworthy (probably due to our Governor's influence) and the "Back to the Future" exhibit brought back at lot of fond memories of Michael J Fox.

While at the fair we saw the Fab Four perform. They are as good, if not better than the other Beatles knockoff group "Rain", and as usual they provided a wonderful nostalgic performance for young and old alike. I met "Paul", actually his name is Artie, at CES in Las Vegas this year. He was staying at the South Pointe hotel where Dave and I stayed and I got to talking to Artie about the robotic Gibson guitar that I saw demonstrated at CES. Being a musician, an extremely talented guitar player and singer in his own right, he was very interested. When I saw him at the California State Fair this time we renewed our conversation and discussed our plans for this year's CES. Unfortunately, I will probably not attend this year's CES, but I do hope to see Artie again in Vegas at some point in time.

You can see the larger pictures of all our recent ventures by scrolling down to the bottom of the blog page. Today we went to see the movie "Elegy" at the historic Crest theatre in downtown Sacramento. Cruz and Kingsley are magnificent in their "May - December" roles in the movie. If you like film that doesn't rely on computer generated graphics and constant shoot-um-ups and car chases, then you will enjoy Elegy. After the movie we walked over to the Greek Festival and had a delicious meal and listened to some Greek music. All and all, a most fun day!

To see a short video clip of the Greek Festival click on the below link:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=GreekFestivalDancing.flv

Phoenix, Arizona Trip

We had a great time during our short stay in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago. As usual, Southwest Airlines was right on schedule for both the departure and the return flight. Actually, to the minute both ways. We like Southwest. For the trip to Phoenix we got seats next to the emergency door. The seats are only two across and because it is by the emergency door you have a significant amount of extra legroom. It's as much legroom as first class on some airlines. It makes for a more comfortable flight.

I rented a Chrysler 300 for our transportation around the Phoenix area. The particular model we rented was just OK, but I wouldn't give it all that high of an overall rating - say, compared to a Cadillac DTS. I like the Caddy better. Our Chrysler 300 only had thirteen thousand miles, but it ran like a car with many times that amount. I'm going to have to rent the Mercedes S550 that is is available from Dollar Rental at some point. Phoenix has one. I really like the looks of that car. It should be fun to drive for a day or two.

Our lodging at the Embassy Suites was nice and as always we enjoyed the breakfast that comes with your reservation at all Embassy Suites. The omelette's are especially good and they are made to order. That's a nice touch and it saves the hassle of having to find a breakfast place near the hotel.

We saw a play at the Phoenix Theatre during our stay. The play is an outstanding musical that is headed to off Broadway after it's Phoenix debut. The performance is titled, "Unbeatable". It's about surviving breast cancer. "Unbeatable" is a very inspirational play with an exceptionally talented cast.

Prior to our attendance at the Phoenix Theatre, Nancy and I enjoyed a special meal at Donovan's Restaurant. The restaurant is located in a very nice area of Phoenix - the Camelback Road area. The service was impeccable and the food - a cut above most establishments. If you are a wine connoisseur, not my thing, you would enjoy the meal even more. They have a wine cellar that has every wine known to humankind. The restaurant is in the same class as Ruth Chris or Morton's. It was definitely a memorable meal.

I've posted a scanned postcard picture, along with one of my own, from our visit to the Rosson House in downtown Phoenix. Additionally, there are some other pictures taken in Phoenix that are posted to the right and at the bottom of the blog page. Rosson House was built in 1895 and the Victorian is a historical landmark. The docent would not allow any pictures to be taken of the interior of the house, so I have none to post. It would have been nice to have some interior photos and some video footage as well. The city has done an excellent job of keeping the house authentic to the period and the tour provides a wealth of historical background about Phoenix. It is a very worthwhile endeavor and highly recommended if you should happen to visit downtown Phoenix.

We may do one more short excursion before winter arrives. We're considering Houston or Dallas as possible outings. Time will tell.

New iPhone Takes Pretty Good Pictures For A Cellphone

The specs for my 3G iPhone camera are not all that great, but if the lighting is not too bad, it takes pretty good pictures. Nancy took the picture of me that you see posted to the right and at the bottom of this blog page. The iPhone is certainly an amazing technological marvel. Jobs has done it again! I forwarded the State Fair picture, unedited, using the iPhone to connect with the AT&T 3G network, and it went directly to my Apple Mobile Me site. When I got home I was able to view the picture on my Regza HDTV using the Apple TV device that I recently added to our media room entertainment system. This is some way cool and really fun technology to play with. I already love all of my new toys. You can do a lot of creative things with the latest products from Apple. More on the Apple TV at another blog posting.

Family Outing to the Sacramento Zoo

The below link will take you to a slide show of pictures taken at the Sacramento Zoo.

http://community.webshots.com/user/jimdaviselkgrove?vhost=community

Hot August Night Gathering at Paul Carter's House

When it comes to cooking vittles on the barbecue grill, Carter is "The Man". He certainly didn't disappoint at his latest gathering - appropriately named - Hot August Night. Paul had three grills going at the same time and each was filled with beef, pork or chicken. With Carter's knack for getting the seasoning just right, producing a tempting aroma of smoke and barbecue that encircled the patio area, it was difficult to wait for the grill to reach the perfect temperature where your meat can be cut with just a fork. It took a little while, but it was worth the wait. Of course, Paul also had all of the side dishes that you would expect to accompany the outdoor meal - corn on the cob, salad made with vegetables from Paul's own garden, rice, bell peppers, onions, dips, chips and a nice array of desserts. The open bar was set up in his garage and there were plenty of beverages to choose from - both alcoholic and non alcoholic.

I lost track of the number of people who attended the gathering. The guests kept coming in and out at various times. My guess is that there were around twenty five people who attended . Paul was the perfect host and he had several activities available to be enjoyed by the young and not so young alike (darts, video games, digital picture albums and more). Great food and great company were the hallmarks for Carter's first annual Hot August Night gathering. So, now we're only four months away from Paul's tenth annual Lighting of the Lamps get together - a Christmas tradition. The December gathering is always great fun. Thanks for your hospitality Mr. Carter. We appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Sharing A Special Meal With Sir Thomas and Lady Wendy

Nancy and I had some great meals this week and we didn't even have to do any of the cooking. Tuesday night we visited with Tom and Wendy, to enjoy a very special Chinese dinner. It was a terrific way to jump start the Beijing Olympics. Wendy's Won Ton soup was out of this world. The ingredients blended together perfectly and the taste was scrumptious. We had a wonderfully prepared fruit bowl prior to our main course and we capped the meal off with a delicious peach turnover prepared by Sir Thomas. After our meal, Tom did a demo of all the great features included in his new Apple TV device, a very impressive gadget, and we watched a few You Tube videos on his Vizio HD TV. Thanks, Tom and Wendy, for a great time. We really enjoyed the evening.

A Smart Move?? Lots of People Think So!

I saw two new "Smart" cars in the parking lot of the B Street Theatre, while on a recent outing with friends. The Smart looks cool, but the car's size can create some rather scary moments when driving on a freeway. For more information about the Smart, click on the link: http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/622/going-small-a-smart-experience/;_ylc=X3oDMTE4MXNyNDllBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5BHNsawNzbWFydC1yZXZpZXc-