Little Sister Comes West
Would you believe it? The third Cold Lampin' entry in 2 weeks? At this rate
I may catch up to the present in about 4-6months.
Last summer (June '06?) Little Sister Ellen and everyone's favorite Dane, Mel
(here pictured at the fire lookout on top of Mt. Tam, came out to visit for awhile.
First item of business was a trip to the Tourist Club. This place is pretty much
as close to my version of heaven as can be legally allowed here in the corporeal
world.
The experience begins with a drive out of the city into the Marin Headlands
and then halfway up Mt. Tam. A short hike through the redwood trees to Mt.
Tam brings a little gingerbread house into view...
As you get closer, the sound of happy voices and clinking glasses floats
through the trees...
...and finally, you arrive at the hallowed grounds and a sunny deck of picnic tables
filled with beer drinking hikers opens up before you. It's enough to make me
shed a single tear.
Followed by two or three more tears once the first pitcher is bought and
poured.
Anyway, Ellen, Mel, Taryn (recently moved to San Jose at this time,) and
I made the trek. Here Ellen and Taryn show off their injured thumbs. Ellen
actually lopped off half of hers while cutting vegetables and still has an
assymetric thumb to this day.
It's nothing that a beer and beautiful view of Mt. Tam can't cure.
Mel fell in love with the place and even wanted to cut short our later trip to
Yosemite in order to come back for another beer before they had to head
back to Wisco.
Mel, Ellen, and Taryn raise a glass for "Philly '06!"
Let me take this moment to once more reiterate... I really, really enjoy
beer.
The next day Ellen, Mel, and I drove up to Sonoma and Napa to visit some
wineries.
We did a bunch of tastings and toured the caves at one of the wineries.
Undisputed highlight of the trip = the illustrated demonstration of the Burning
Bung Hole. It's a hole bored in a liquid-tight wine barrel that is capped with a
large cork-like object called a bung.
It was impossible to prevent the inevitable, near constant "burning-bung-hole"
comments that occurred over the next 7 days.
Ellen and Mel at my favorite overlook of SF and the Golden Gate Bridge.
That night we met up with Frymoyer at Finnegan's Wake and played some
vicious games of Egyptian Rat Screw. Here Ellen display's her legendary
card-holding technique made necessary by her severed thumb. Frymoyer
still only refers to her as "Clamp Claw."
The next day we drove to Yosemite and camped for our first night just
outside of the park. Here Ellen shows off her diet of Grape-flavored Smirnoff
Ice and dried apricots. Mel and I learned the hard way that this combination
is Ellen's go-to method of triggering a violent case of "Burning Bung-Hole."
I was so pumped about my new day-pack that I did a little prancing about
the campsite, sipping off the camel back.
After setting up camp we decided to head into Groveland for dinner.
We ended up eating at The Iron Door, which is apparently California's oldest
continually operated saloon. Just as we were finishing up with our pub grub,
the employees set up a karaoke machine and people started filling the place up
in preparation. Always up for a little karaoke, we hung around and ordered a few
drinks...
...flash forward 3 hours later, Ellen and Mel have sucked down their fair
share of beverages and I was completely sober because I held the car keys.
The bartender was a complete nutjob. He was totally scattered, nervous-
looking, and sweating. At times he seemed to be muttering to himself.
I swear he must have been tweaking the whole night.
What is Ellen's natural reaction to an obviously unstable bartender? Get him
to drink straight from the bottle of Jagermeister as he works behind the bar,
of course. Notice the expression on Mel's face... even several sheets to the
wind, you can tell she is still able to think, "This is not a good idea." Ellen, on
the other hand, looks absolutely delighted with herself.
Why stop there? The next obvious step is to get him up on top of
the bar for the "Rump Shaker."
Being sober, I had to take a self-portrait demonstrating my concern for
where this night was headed.
Being not-so-sober, Mel was even able to demonstrate the same concern.
This is why I love my sister. Good times.
Not content to just sing karaoke, I also busted out some wicked air-guitar
solos.
This is the last picture taken of the night. I think at this point Ellen had
convinced all of the bar-staff (including the unstable bartender visible to her
left) to come up on stage and join her in a rousing version of "Sweet Caroline."
It may-or-may-not be true that at one point I bet Ellen $20 dollars that
she wouldn't perform an auditory demonstration of her "burning bunghole"
into the mic after performing a song. It also may-or-may-not be true that she left
the bar with a extra $20 bill in her pocket. It also may-or-may-not be true that Mel
has the whole thing caught on her cellphone video recorder. This is why I love
my sister.
Here is a picture of Ellen and Mel the next morning. As the sober member
of the party, let me state that a campsite is not the most convenient place
to be extremely hungover. I'm sure Ellen and Mel can fill in the details.
Poor Mel (and Ellen for that matter) had a hard time appreciating the stunning
natural beauty of Yosemite due to the previous night's activities. She was well
deserving of the "get-a-load-of-this-fuggin'-guy" finger.
By the time we had toured the valley floor and gotten a good view of El Capitan,
Half-dome, and the falls, the two ladies had rallied enough to...
...make the short hike to the top of Sentinel Dome.
This quick and easy hike has huge payoffs for such little effort... great
views of Yosemite valley (including Half Dome right behind Mel and
Ellen"...
... excellent opportunities for flashing "West Coast" gang signs...
...and sweeping views of the high Sierras.
Real purty.
On the way back down the trail, Ellen reached the natural conclusion of
her Smirnoff Ice/Dried Apricot diet.
The next day we hiked up to Vernal and Nevada Falls...
...and were joined for the day by Flood who is currently stationed nearby
at the Lemoore Naval Air Station.
The next day we headed down towards Kings Canyon and Sequioa
National Park.
Ellen and Mel looking good overlooking the Sierra crest.
Lookin good.
We ended up at the largest living creature in the world... the General Sherman
Tree.
It's pretty dang big.
Anyway, good times as usual when little Sister is around.
I may catch up to the present in about 4-6months.
Last summer (June '06?) Little Sister Ellen and everyone's favorite Dane, Mel
(here pictured at the fire lookout on top of Mt. Tam, came out to visit for awhile.
First item of business was a trip to the Tourist Club. This place is pretty much
as close to my version of heaven as can be legally allowed here in the corporeal
world.
The experience begins with a drive out of the city into the Marin Headlands
and then halfway up Mt. Tam. A short hike through the redwood trees to Mt.
Tam brings a little gingerbread house into view...
As you get closer, the sound of happy voices and clinking glasses floats
through the trees...
...and finally, you arrive at the hallowed grounds and a sunny deck of picnic tables
filled with beer drinking hikers opens up before you. It's enough to make me
shed a single tear.
Followed by two or three more tears once the first pitcher is bought and
poured.
Anyway, Ellen, Mel, Taryn (recently moved to San Jose at this time,) and
I made the trek. Here Ellen and Taryn show off their injured thumbs. Ellen
actually lopped off half of hers while cutting vegetables and still has an
assymetric thumb to this day.
It's nothing that a beer and beautiful view of Mt. Tam can't cure.
Mel fell in love with the place and even wanted to cut short our later trip to
Yosemite in order to come back for another beer before they had to head
back to Wisco.
Mel, Ellen, and Taryn raise a glass for "Philly '06!"
Let me take this moment to once more reiterate... I really, really enjoy
beer.
The next day Ellen, Mel, and I drove up to Sonoma and Napa to visit some
wineries.
We did a bunch of tastings and toured the caves at one of the wineries.
Undisputed highlight of the trip = the illustrated demonstration of the Burning
Bung Hole. It's a hole bored in a liquid-tight wine barrel that is capped with a
large cork-like object called a bung.
It was impossible to prevent the inevitable, near constant "burning-bung-hole"
comments that occurred over the next 7 days.
Ellen and Mel at my favorite overlook of SF and the Golden Gate Bridge.
That night we met up with Frymoyer at Finnegan's Wake and played some
vicious games of Egyptian Rat Screw. Here Ellen display's her legendary
card-holding technique made necessary by her severed thumb. Frymoyer
still only refers to her as "Clamp Claw."
The next day we drove to Yosemite and camped for our first night just
outside of the park. Here Ellen shows off her diet of Grape-flavored Smirnoff
Ice and dried apricots. Mel and I learned the hard way that this combination
is Ellen's go-to method of triggering a violent case of "Burning Bung-Hole."
I was so pumped about my new day-pack that I did a little prancing about
the campsite, sipping off the camel back.
After setting up camp we decided to head into Groveland for dinner.
We ended up eating at The Iron Door, which is apparently California's oldest
continually operated saloon. Just as we were finishing up with our pub grub,
the employees set up a karaoke machine and people started filling the place up
in preparation. Always up for a little karaoke, we hung around and ordered a few
drinks...
...flash forward 3 hours later, Ellen and Mel have sucked down their fair
share of beverages and I was completely sober because I held the car keys.
The bartender was a complete nutjob. He was totally scattered, nervous-
looking, and sweating. At times he seemed to be muttering to himself.
I swear he must have been tweaking the whole night.
What is Ellen's natural reaction to an obviously unstable bartender? Get him
to drink straight from the bottle of Jagermeister as he works behind the bar,
of course. Notice the expression on Mel's face... even several sheets to the
wind, you can tell she is still able to think, "This is not a good idea." Ellen, on
the other hand, looks absolutely delighted with herself.
Why stop there? The next obvious step is to get him up on top of
the bar for the "Rump Shaker."
Being sober, I had to take a self-portrait demonstrating my concern for
where this night was headed.
Being not-so-sober, Mel was even able to demonstrate the same concern.
This is why I love my sister. Good times.
Not content to just sing karaoke, I also busted out some wicked air-guitar
solos.
This is the last picture taken of the night. I think at this point Ellen had
convinced all of the bar-staff (including the unstable bartender visible to her
left) to come up on stage and join her in a rousing version of "Sweet Caroline."
It may-or-may-not be true that at one point I bet Ellen $20 dollars that
she wouldn't perform an auditory demonstration of her "burning bunghole"
into the mic after performing a song. It also may-or-may-not be true that she left
the bar with a extra $20 bill in her pocket. It also may-or-may-not be true that Mel
has the whole thing caught on her cellphone video recorder. This is why I love
my sister.
Here is a picture of Ellen and Mel the next morning. As the sober member
of the party, let me state that a campsite is not the most convenient place
to be extremely hungover. I'm sure Ellen and Mel can fill in the details.
Poor Mel (and Ellen for that matter) had a hard time appreciating the stunning
natural beauty of Yosemite due to the previous night's activities. She was well
deserving of the "get-a-load-of-this-fuggin'-guy" finger.
By the time we had toured the valley floor and gotten a good view of El Capitan,
Half-dome, and the falls, the two ladies had rallied enough to...
...make the short hike to the top of Sentinel Dome.
This quick and easy hike has huge payoffs for such little effort... great
views of Yosemite valley (including Half Dome right behind Mel and
Ellen"...
... excellent opportunities for flashing "West Coast" gang signs...
...and sweeping views of the high Sierras.
Real purty.
On the way back down the trail, Ellen reached the natural conclusion of
her Smirnoff Ice/Dried Apricot diet.
The next day we hiked up to Vernal and Nevada Falls...
...and were joined for the day by Flood who is currently stationed nearby
at the Lemoore Naval Air Station.
The next day we headed down towards Kings Canyon and Sequioa
National Park.
Ellen and Mel looking good overlooking the Sierra crest.
Lookin good.
We ended up at the largest living creature in the world... the General Sherman
Tree.
It's pretty dang big.
Anyway, good times as usual when little Sister is around.
posted by Carl Nosek at 3:32 PM
3 Comments:
Carl! Great pictures, man. Now put up some more! - Mike
Carl, as one of your former 6th grade teachers -- I believe Ellen was in third grade at the time -- I'm glad to see you have lost neither the writing ability you developed on the Washington School newspaper nor your irreverant sense of humor. Living your life with gusto is more than most people accomplish and recording it here, well, it gives one an opportunity to catch up, however one sided. (I got this address from Tim back in Wisco.) My best to Ellen and the rest of your family.
Great photos. I think you learned to write well on yearbook. Great deadline preparation.
Zig
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