London was spectacular; it was everything I had expected. This will probably be a really long post with a bunch of pictures but we did so much.

The trip started off slightly bad, on the way to the airport we found out that our plane was delayed at least 3 hours. We were supposed to take off at 4:30pm and by 5:30pm it was yet to arrive. I think we eventually departed at 8:30pm. I had this whole plan worked out where I got up at 2:00am the previous two nights so that I’d already be on London time and I’d be able to sleep through the plane trip but that didn’t work so well. It was nearly impossible to sleep on the plane.

We flew Virgin Atlantic, they provide you with the most amazing in-flight entertainment I have ever seen. They have something like 30 movies, 50 TV shows, music, games, and texting. It’s crazy, each person has their own TV and you can watch whatever you want at any time. I watched “The Flying Scotsman” (that was a great movie) and some TV. They also serve you free alcohol throughout the flight, free, completely free. I only had a scotch on the rocks but Lance had a JD and I think two Bloody Mary’s. They also serve some pretty good food but I didn’t eat mine on the plane, I saved it for later (I horded everything, especially the cheesecake).

We got into Heathrow around 2:00pm London time. Got our luggage, went through customs and found our way to the Tube. We changed the flat we were going to be staying at just prior to leaving San Francisco so we weren’t sure exactly what stop to get off at.

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So I woke Saturday not knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I had been trying all week to go to Yosemite but that didn’t work out. I was thinking of going to Santa Cruz for the day but it was so darned crowded. I was thinking that maybe I could go to the Giants game and get a shot at seeing Bonds’ 755 tying hit. I didn’t have a ticket and I didn’t have anyone to go with. What the hell, I’ll just drive up there and figure it out. I was just about on the freeway when I decided I’d call Doug Falk. I asked him if he was in town and what he was doing for the night. He said he was going to the Giants! And he had an extra ticket! Sweet deal. So I ended up going with Doug, Jeanne and Alec. We had a great time and the game was pretty good.

It was the first time I’d seen a Giants game since they played at Candlestick. I love everything about San Francisco, it’s so much fun. It got a bit chilly though. I wasn’t expecting the wind at night. I stood out in right field the whole game. The game was pretty slow until the end. The Giants rallied in the 9th to win 4-3. Barry did nothing whatsoever. Here are some pics:

Our original seats ($12.50)

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The other day I had a crazy idea. I wanted to bike up Highway 9 all the way to Skyline and camp out somewhere up there. It seemed simple enough. I went to Big 5 and bought myself a cheap and small tent for $20 and cheap sleeping bag for $19. I picked up a nice pack for $40 from the Army Surplus store. I also got a few other smalls things like a flashlight, duct tape, first aid kit, etc. All-in-all I only spent $100 so I figured if it got me through even just one night it was worth it.

I didn’t know where I was going to campout but I thought that I could just ride up there and maybe hike around Longride until I found a suitable spot. Here was my route.

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Max’s most recent phone message.

These are the things I need to live. They are in order of importance. They sort of define who I am.

www.ecreamery.com

Recently while watching “Secret Life of…” or “Unwrapped” on the Food Network I saw a company called Ecreamery were you could build your own custom ice cream flavors. It’s a bit pricey (around $100 for a gallon) but may just be worth it. What you do is pick a starting base of either 8% Gelato, 12% Classic or 14% Premium. Then pick up to two flavors of ice cream from the following:

Almond, Anise, Banana, Birthday Cake, Black Cherry, Black Licorice, Black Raspberry, Black Walnut, Blue Moon, Blueberry, Bubble Gum, Butter Pecan, Buttered Almond, Cardamon, Cheesecake, Cherry Vanilla, Chocolate - Dark/Liquor, Chocolate –Dutch, Chocolate Malted, Chocolate Merlot, Chocolate Mousse, Cinnamon, Clove, Coconut, Coffee, Cookie Dough, Cotton Candy, Cream, Creme De Menthe, Egg Nog, Espresso, French Vanilla, Ginger, Green Tea, Hazelnut, Hot Pepper, Key Lime, Malted Milk, Mango, Moka, Nutmeg, Peach, Peanut Butter, Peppermint, Pina Colada, Pistachio, Pumpkin Pie, Root Beer, Rum Raisin, Saffron, Sour Cherry, Spumoni, Strawberry, Tiramisu, Vanilla, White Chocolate, White Chocolate Macadamia, White Mint.

And stir in up to two of the following toppings:
Almonds, Black Licorice Pieces, Blueberry Pieces, Broken Cones, Brownies with Walnuts, Bubble Gum Pieces, Butterfingers, Candied Ginger Pieces, Caramel Ribbon, Cashews, Cheddar Cheese Pieces, Chocolate Almonds, Chocolate Chips – Dark, Chocolate Chips – Milk, Chocolate Chunks, Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Chocolate Espresso Chips, Chocolate Flakes, Chocolate Fudge Swirl, Chocolate Malt Balls, Chocolate Mints, Coffee Soaked Lady Fingers, Cookie Dough Pieces, Dark Chocolate Covered Raisins, Dill Weed, Figs, Frosted Oats & Marshmallows, Graham Cracker Pieces, Granola, Grape Jelly, Gummy Bears, Heath Bar Pieces, Honey Roasted Peanuts, M&M’s, Macadamia Nuts, Maraschino Cherries, Marshmallow Pieces, Milk Chocolate Covered Raisins, Mint Leaves, Mixed Nuts, Nestle Crunch Pieces, Oreo Cookies, Parmesan Cheese, Peach Pieces, Peanut M&M’s, Peanuts, Pecans, Peppermint Stick Pieces, Pineapple Pieces, Pistachios, Pop Rocks Candy, Praline, Pecans, Raisins, Raspberry Ribbon, Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, Snickers, Sour Gummy Worms, Sprinkles, Strawberry Pieces, Three Musketeers, Thyme, Walnuts, White Chocolate Chips.

That means there are 43,960,752 different possibilities. I whipped together a comibination of a 14% Premium blend of Banana & Peanut Butter ice cream with chocolate covered pretzels and Reeses peanut butter cup. Wow that sounds good. Now if only I had $100 to spend on ice cream.

Also today was the premiere of Ice Cream Wednesday! What a good way to start of summer with all of this ice cream.

Adam Allessandrini

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