Victory in Santa Cruz

The Quest of the Claw Victory with a Side of Fries

Well, I found victory in Santa Cruz today. Santa Cruz is south of San Francisco and has a lovely beach, replete with surfers and amusements. When it comes to beachside arcades, I have two vices to which I succumb. The first is the claw, which I was taught by my very proficient mother. It's got to be one of the biggest money makers for arcades, since even if you get an animal with each attempt, they still make a profit. I won't lie, this above critter took a few tries, but in the end, victory was mine. In the attached video clip below, I tell the real trick. I've also included a snapshot of a decent showing at skeeball (score over 250). I have surpassed the 300 mark on special occasions, but my rolling arm was out of practice today. I learned the key to skeeball as a kid. Shown by my grandfather at Hampton beach, it's always better to bounce the ball off the wall. While rolling straight, it's a lot harder to hit the 40/50 rings.

Victory is sweet, even if only for a day. We get about 25,000 chances in this life (68.5 years), plus or minus a few thousand. Spend them well. Win each and every day.

In addition, I have had two very welcoming hosts this week who have opened their homes to me. David & Patti Hoa put me up Monday. Clay & Alisa put me up on Tuesday. It's a blessing to have such generous friends. Below you can also see a picture of us at a fabulous restaurant Tuesday night (http://www.faultlinebrewing.com/). This trip so far has been a culinary victory. While in Napa, we went to Ad Hoc and had a superb meal with Lindsay & Scott (Thanks Jessica & Helen for helping us find). Cheers!

Miles Driven: 2,620 (Hyundai is having some trouble shifting, but after checking out, the dealer says drive on!)

Poker: I placed 15th out of 50 in a tourney at Bay 101...got me nothing but a bad beat though :)

Quote of the Day: “If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you still have to find the courage to live it.”