Docwagon

Some Fallout photos

I've gotten the unofficial word I'm making LT day after tomorrow and will be going back to Investigations.  I'll be taking over the Domestic Violence unit, an office of 15 detectives and 2 sergeants.  I'll be a M-F day shift office drone driving a desk with my ass all day.  My wife says it'll be fun.  It won't be fun.  But, it's the first time in...18 years or so I've had a M-F job.  I don't know how long I'll have this office, as I'm likely to be offered the next opening in Homicide.  I still won't be a real cop again, but I'll at least see them on occasion. 😄 
 
I'm glad to be promoted but it's bittersweet.  Being a field sergeant has been the best job I've ever had.  I'll miss it.  I won't miss wearing the armor or gun belt. 

I've gotten the unofficial word I'm making LT day after tomorrow and will be going back to Investigations.  I'll be taking over the Domestic Violence unit, an office of 15 detectives and 2 sergeants.  I'll be a M-F day shift office drone driving a desk with my ass all day.  My wife says it'll be fun.  It won't be fun.  But, it's the first time in...18 years or so I've had a M-F job.  I don't know how long I'll have this office, as I'm likely to be offered the next opening in Homicide.  I still won't be a real cop again, but I'll at least see them on occasion. 😄 
 
I'm glad to be promoted but it's bittersweet.  Being a field sergeant has been the best job I've ever had.  I'll miss it.  I won't miss wearing the armor or gun belt. 

I've gotten the unofficial word I'm making LT day after tomorrow and will be going back to Investigations.  I'll be taking over the Domestic Violence unit, an office of 15 detectives and 2 sergeants.  I'll be a M-F day shift office drone driving a desk with my ass all day.  My wife says it'll be fun.  It won't be fun.  But, it's the first time in...18 years or so I've had a M-F job.  I don't know how long I'll have this office, as I'm likely to be offered the next opening in Homicide.  I still won't be a real cop again, but I'll at least see them on occasion. 😄 
 
I'm glad to be promoted but it's bittersweet.  Being a field sergeant has been the best job I've ever had.  I'll miss it.  I won't miss wearing the armor or gun belt. 

I've gotten the unofficial word I'm making LT day after tomorrow and will be going back to Investigations.  I'll be taking over the Domestic Violence unit, an office of 15 detectives and 2 sergeants.  I'll be a M-F day shift office drone driving a desk with my ass all day.  My wife says it'll be fun.  It won't be fun.  But, it's the first time in...18 years or so I've had a M-F job.  I don't know how long I'll have this office, as I'm likely to be offered the next opening in Homicide.  I still won't be a real cop again, but I'll at least see them on occasion. 😄 
 
I'm glad to be promoted but it's bittersweet.  Being a field sergeant has been the best job I've ever had.  I'll miss it.  I won't miss wearing the armor or gun belt. 

I just got back from a family vacation.  I took my wife and son on a big tour of US National Parks out west.  We flew into Los Angeles, spent some time there, then did the tour.  It ended up something like this:
 
Los Angeles:  Whale Watching boat tour.  Kayaking with sea lions.  Petersen car museum.  La Brea Tar Pits.  Hollywood sign from the observatory.
 
Sequoia National Park/King's Canyon National Park (they connect):  Hiking, exploring the giant trees and some mountain views.
 
Death Valley: Driving the unpaved trails, some light hiking, star gazing, general sight seeing.
 
Las Vegas area (including towns featured in Fallout: New Vegas.  We went to Goodsprings and visited the bar the saloon is modeled after, went to Primm and saw the casinos and got some chips from Whisky Pete's, drove through the Mojave Preserve)
 
St. George Utah/Zion National park.  Canyon hiking, dinosaur track spotting, desert hiking
 
Joshua Tree National Park:  Light hiking, 107 degree weather
 
Los Angeles: Autry Museum of the West, LA Zoo, Aquarium of the West, some light hiking.  Santa Monica pier.  Long Beach.
 
Insert massive amount of visits to various taco trucks, Armenian bakeries, doughnut shops (seriously, LA has a butt ton of them from cheap-o to gourmet), and In N Out.
 
LA traffic SUUUUCKS.  I'm in no hurry to return to LA (or go through LAX again) but the trip was worth it and was a lot of fun.

I just got back from a family vacation.  I took my wife and son on a big tour of US National Parks out west.  We flew into Los Angeles, spent some time there, then did the tour.  It ended up something like this:
 
Los Angeles:  Whale Watching boat tour.  Kayaking with sea lions.  Petersen car museum.  La Brea Tar Pits.  Hollywood sign from the observatory.
 
Sequoia National Park/King's Canyon National Park (they connect):  Hiking, exploring the giant trees and some mountain views.
 
Death Valley: Driving the unpaved trails, some light hiking, star gazing, general sight seeing.
 
Las Vegas area (including towns featured in Fallout: New Vegas.  We went to Goodsprings and visited the bar the saloon is modeled after, went to Primm and saw the casinos and got some chips from Whisky Pete's, drove through the Mojave Preserve)
 
St. George Utah/Zion National park.  Canyon hiking, dinosaur track spotting, desert hiking
 
Joshua Tree National Park:  Light hiking, 107 degree weather
 
Los Angeles: Autry Museum of the West, LA Zoo, Aquarium of the West, some light hiking.  Santa Monica pier.  Long Beach.
 
Insert massive amount of visits to various taco trucks, Armenian bakeries, doughnut shops (seriously, LA has a butt ton of them from cheap-o to gourmet), and In N Out.
 
LA traffic SUUUUCKS.  I'm in no hurry to return to LA (or go through LAX again) but the trip was worth it and was a lot of fun.

Some Fallout photos

Death Valley

Yeah, it's a pretty nice one.  It's heavy, it feels substantial so you feel like you did something. 😄  T-shirt as well.  Pic attached.
 
No, I just use Garmin.  I do use "Livetrack" to let my wife see my progress in real time.
 

I did my first official race, a night trail run:
 
7.23 mi Distance 1:11:54 Time 9:57 min/mi Avg Pace 371 ft Elev Gain
 
62nd out of 475, 13th in my age/sex group.
 
I was a little off my pace.  I had to quit running for about a month because I tore some muscles in my abdomen, and that hurt my training regime of course.  Plus, you know, taco trucks out west. 😄

Some Fallout photos

Yeah, it's a pretty nice one.  It's heavy, it feels substantial so you feel like you did something. 😄  T-shirt as well.  Pic attached.
 
No, I just use Garmin.  I do use "Livetrack" to let my wife see my progress in real time.
 

The Fallout: New Vegas tour sounds brilliant 🙂

That depends on how willing to trespass you are and how much you like hiking inclines.  If you don't mind hills and aren't concerned with trespassing, you can walk right up to them.  We didn't, largely because up close they are just sheet metal on a frame and aren't really impressive in anything other than size.  We also just aren't that into media culture, so while we saw it because you can't skip it if you're a tourist in LA, it was kind of meh.
 
We had about 10 and a half days on the ground.  We spent 1-3 days at most places.  I think it was:
 
Day 1: Land at 10:00-ish in the morning in LA.  Do stuff that afternoon
Day 2: LA stuff.
Day 3: Labrea tar pits, then straight to Seqouia, afternoon and evening there.
Day 4: Full day at Sequoia/King's Canyon
Day 5: Trail run (just me) at sun up, then drive to Death Valley, have most of the day there
Day 6:  Death Valley until early afternoon, afternoon doing the Fallout: New Vegas tour, evening in Las Vegas, complete drive to St. George Utah (late night)
Day 7: St. George Utah hiking
Day 8: Zion national park, then drive to Joshua Tree (stopping off at Primm again on the way through), evening at Joshua Tree
Day 9: Most of the day at Joshua Tree, then drive to LA 
Day 10: LA stuff
Day 11: LA stuff until 11:45 PM flight