iRobot

What is that soft humming sound in the background? Is that a remote controlled airplane? No. Hmmm, Wow – your house, your house looks so clean, and vibrant. Did you just vacuum and sweep? You did! Oh you sort of did? How does that work?

iClean…. Barely… I mean it does… I’m getting lazy though.

Well, wonder no more. I’ve done it. I feel like a Japanese business man, coming home to find my house clean, my toilet warmed, my laundry pressed. I bought a robot.

It doesn’t have a name yet. We’re still getting to know each other. Our personalities. Our likes and dislikes (it likes pet hair and dirt. But hates when it can’t find its home to rest and recharge). I think something like … R2D2 or maybe just the generic Roomba name it came with is a little too predictable. Perhaps my robot will be named Harold or Inspector. He’s no Jetson’s Rosie, but he does the job, and he does the job well!

If you’ve ever watched Arrested Development you might be familiar with the earlier generation of this robot. A Robot is seemingly a luxury for the rich, who typically have maids to do this sort of thing anyway. But a friend of mine introduced me to a site called Woot: www.woot.com/. Their moto is: “One day, One Deal”. They sell refurbished or discounted technology equipment. And this little site allowed me to adopt my new best friend. Biff. No – too bulky of a name. Jerry, Ruben, Roo? Well, whatever we call him… I’m delighted that he’s mine.

Is it wrong that I like to watch him sleep (sweep)? Such a sweet 'lil guy.

Camping for Independence

Whoo – hooo – the long holiday weekend and the only thing on the agenda is a great camping trip with our friends. So, we pack up the car (and by pack I meant stuff into every crevice of our 1995 Ford Explorer) and head up to Gross Reservoir just up the canyon. We’d been warned that one must have a 4 wheel drive vehicle with SUV clearance in order to get to the camp site – but little did I realize that you REALLY needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle with clearance – I’ve never been on safari, but I have been on the Disneyland Indian Jones’ Ride, and this scared me a whole lot more than the ride at Disneyland (that includes the giant boulder of doom and snake that can turn you to stone). To make matters slightly more treacherous was the fact that it was raining on our way through this dirt road (if it can be called a road) and the occasional slippage added to the suspense of possibly rolling down the sheer drop offs on the way to our campsite. Yes, I realize it may seem like I’m exaggerating, but really I thought when Michelle told me about the road that SHE was exaggerating. It was scary enough that I let out occasional “yipes” – and Steve was laughing like a maniac, having more fun than he has ever had in his life. (That’s a quote by the way).

We finally arrive at the campsite – as noted by the large American Flag flying out front the road. As AJ stated, “I’ve never been so happy to see the American Flag!” Just about as soon as we pull up, the rain subsides and we absorb the breathtaking views of our camp site. We found later that locals call it the “peninsula”; a beautiful little piece of land cradled by the pristine waters of the reservoir. It had the shape of a mini-Florida hanging out in the mountain lake.

We set up camp and were lucky enough to have delicious hot dogs and bratwurst waiting for us courtesy of Kirsten and James who had traveled up earlier in the afternoon to claim the epic spot. We all settle in to dinner around a magnificent camp fire. Friday morning we awoke to one of the most gorgeous days on record. Light fluffy clouds sprinkled the aqua sky, the smell of fresh rain still lingering in the mountain air. Steve and I headed out for a ride in the boat (also courtesy of Kirsten and James) with the dogs swimming around on the shore. After a wonderful breakfast of bacon and bagel sandwiches, A.J., Kirsten and I took the dogs for a long meandering walk on the “road” and found a deer leg lying all by itself. Kirsten’s dog decided it was just the cologne he needed and proceeded to roll all over it. Thankfully none of the dogs wanted the leg as a treat – and it was left as a reminder to all - pack the food up for the night – lest we become the next meal for whatever had taken 95% of this little animal. The rest of the day was like any other day of camping. Lots of sitting around by the fire, eating snacks, reading, fishing. The dogs would play (and there would be some attempted humping – apparently Delilah is quite the little heart breaker… Lety’s dog “Blue” would not leave her alone!) Steve, Michelle and Alex all caught beautiful fish. Michelle’s was the largest Rainbow Trout of the bunch. And, the fish that Steve caught was delicious that night for dinner.

We played lots of ladder ball, horse shoes, the guys invented a golf game – and later we played Home run derby, which is basically just slow pitch, and if you get a home run you get a point. Very fun game! The wiffle-ball is key in this game though to avoid having to run too far. A bit of excitement came when, while making dinner, we heard a loud “boom”!! directly up the hill from us. I looked up and we couldn’t figure out, but some vehicle was on its side. I screamed up “Hello!!! Are You hurt? Do you need help” – and sure enough there was no answer. So Steve bolted up the “road” with AJ and her cousin close behind. Alex ran to get the car and head up in case they needed extra help. Turns out this dumb ass was riding his ATV drunk and flipped it on the “road”. AJ’s cousin (Nick) goes to give him some water from the water bottle that was on the ATV and the whole thing was alcohol. But the guy wasn’t dead – or dying, so I guess there is a lesson to be learned here. Some minor bleeding from the head and probably a broken collar bone, and I would say this guy was pretty lucky. Alex drove to his camp and got his people… who later we learned did indeed have to get him to the hospital. Oh the excitement!

That night a few of our other friends surprisingly showed up at around 8pm (although we can’t know for sure, since no one wore a watch or had any concept of time over the weekend). We enjoyed another evening of campfire, good friends and great times. Oh, and the dogs has a blast. I’m glad I got Delilah this awesome glow in the dark collar – for a black dog at night is not so easy to find (artistic rendering of the collar below).
Oh I love long weekends. Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July – I know we did!

The views from our camp.

On our hike we found some amazing wild flowers and sights.