Back from Manteca where it was One hundred and four freakin' degrees yesterday.

Today it was a balmy 96, but about ten degrees hotter down on the astroturf they played on. Emmett caught for three innings and we was a totally drenched rag and feeling sore and crampy now.

However, he was pretty awesome at catcher. The opposing team had runners at second and third in almost every inning but didn't score when he was behind the plate. We had a trick play pickoff that finally worked, where we faked a throw down to second, the pitcher intercepted it and went immediately to third where we caught the guy in a rundown. Even more exciting we had an actual collision at home where Emmett was an immovable wall and the (rather big) kid who ran into him was dead in his tracks.

Collisions at home rarely happen in Little League because they're illegal and the runner was promptly kicked out of the game. He apologized to Emmett since it was unintentional - he tripped on a seam of the artificial turf and went plowing forward headfirst.

So we won two out of four games, which is not bad considering (a) it was a Pony League tournament with different rules (b) a junior sized field (bases were ten feet further apart, and the mound was four feet further back), (c) we were missing some key players and (d) they were rusty and hadn't played for a month. Also the two games we lost were close and probably could've won them with some better play.

The main thing to remember though is: Manteca is Satan's Bunghole. Hot and desolate and the only reason to go there is to play on Little League replicas of major league fields. We played on Fenway yesterday and the Polo Grounds today.

104 degrees! And I had no air conditioning or even a fan in my car. Fortunately I took the southern route home (since the Bay Bridge was out) and got back to the blessed, cool air of San Francisco in only 80 minutes tonight.

Manteca: 104
San Francisco: 68

Also...

Erin! (now with extra exclamation)

Your new haircut sounds gorgeous.

A couple had sex in one of the two restrooms for so long that it created a noticeable backup in the potty line.

I've been in 7 weddings (one of these days it'll be mine) thus far and I've attended one that unfolded like that. The closest I've come is being followed by a grooms drunken aunt who tried to molest me on the dance floor.

yick... just yick

ha. We were at the Summer of Love Concert in SF. While there were outfits that had to be seen to be believed - I think the behavior was more decorous than at that wedding. I did find out that certain kinds of smoke in my face is way worse than the usual form of smoke . Instant asthma. Something I haven't done in along time and now, I guess I never will again.

The main thing to remember though is: Manteca is Satan's Bunghole. Hot and desolate and the only reason to go there is to play on Little League replicas of major league fields.

According to my tv, it is also the place to buy an RV.

I don't think I've ever been to a wedding where somebody didn't have sex. At my wedding it was my ex boyfriend with my sister's best friend.

eta: oh that was upstairs. The new step-brother-in-law and his future wife were going at it downstairs possibly simultaneously.

:( I never got sex at a wedding... Course most of the ones of recent were Lesbian ceremonies.... go figure why I didn't

Yeah, suddenly I'm feeling kind of gypped.

anyone care for a shag then? To make up for all those unshagged weddings we attended?

Back from our weekend on the Olympic Peninsula. The caboose B&B was comfy and whimsical, with lavish breakfasts. We spent yesterday driving about halfway around Olympic National Park, including a visit to the Hoh Rain Forest and the actual Pacific coast (with crashing surf!), not merely Puget Sound or the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The weather was gorgeous, upper 60's and low 70's and more or less sunny.

On the ferry back today, I realized I was turning into one of Those Seattle People. There I was at a window with the Olympics on my left, the Cascades in the distance to my right, the Sound before me with two other ferries and an assortment of sailboats sharing the water, and all I could think was that there just COULDN'T be a better place. I really, really hope we can find a way to stay in the Northwest for keeps. We've occasionally discussed the possible advisability of moving closer to our families, both for financial and family reasons...but after this weekend I don't want to. I want to stay here with the mountains and the rocky coast and the cool deep greens of the forests and the ocean and the islands.

It took me awhile, but I love it here.