Volvo Ocean Race

During the last couple of months, I have closely been following the Volvo Ocean Race. Sometimes this race is referred to as the Formula 1 of sailing, I prefer to call it the Tour de France of sailing. The race around the world is held every four years. Seven boats started in Spain in December. After having stopped over in Cape Town, Melbourne, Wellington, and Rio de Janeiro, they have now arrived in Baltimore.

Yesterday, I attended the in-port race held just outside Baltimore in the Chesapeake Bay. Since my employer is sponsoring one of the teams, we took our customers out on the water. Weather conditions were perfect for viewing, but not windy enough for sailing.

The race was a clean sweep by the Farr boats, who are superior in lighter wind. Or maybe it's because Farr is based in Annapolis, five miles from where the race was held. Bouwe Bekking's Movistar team won, our team ended in fourth place.

Our photographer Frank placed his pictures on the web.

BMX freestyle

Greg and Sammy enjoying the DK stunt team.

Tour de Georgia 2006

Floyd Landis claimed victory in the 2006 Tour de Georgia today. He led last year's winner Tom Danielson and Yaroslav Popovych. The grand finale of the Tour de Georgia came down to a field sprint after 118.2 miles/190.2 km and six furious circuits in historic Alpharetta, won by Juan Jose “JJ” Haedo of Argentina.

We usually try to see the last stage's finish, since it is only two miles away from our home. The Tour de Georgia is the only US race that attracts pro-tour teams such as Discovery Channel, CSC, Phonak, Quickstep, and Lotto. They compete with fancy American teams like Jelly Belly and Jittery Joe's Zero Gravity.

Greg and Sammy love the excitement. Most of all they liked a BMX biking demonstration, though they thought the road race was sweet too.

Garage sale

Once or twice a year, there is a neighborhood garage sale. And sometimes, we take the opportunity to sell our old stuff. Even if you don't strike it rich, it is an excellent way to get rid of large sized items.

Gregory and Sammy are in it for the money. They do their own pricing. Free McDonald's toys can go for $5, while $20 toys can be priced at a quarter.

Our customers included toy shopping grandma's, professional electronics traders, ladies-that-are-moving-out-and-want-to-start-all-over-again and Mexican painters.

The tooth fairy

Floris just had his first moler. Gregory found out that they last about nine years. He lost his first baby moler today. He put it under his pillow before going to sleep. Hopefully, the tooth fairy will come and get it tonight. I know she reads my blog. She usually pays a dollar for a tooth. She sells them on her website.

Joga Bonita - Ronaldio

This is Sammy's favorite commercial. He wants to see it over and over again. He wants to be just like Ronaldio (that's how he calls Ronaldinho), but he's not quite as fluent. Sammy is not afraid to try ... to dare. He does it, just because he likes it.

The Easter Dude

A couple of weeks ago, Greg spotted a rabbit in a parking lot. He ran after the rabbit yelling: "Stop, you easter dude!". Greg never caught the rabbit.

The Easter Bunny has become a highly controversial. Sometimes he is identified as Spring Bunny, mostly by retailers who want to shy away from the religious connotation of Easter. And even the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll has become controversial. Some 200 gay families are planning to attend the Easter Egg Roll on Monday to showcase themselves to the nation and President Bush.

Despite all the controversy, the Easter Dude visited our yard this morning. The egg hunt that followed was fierce and short.

Killer Queen

The American Idols were singing Queen songs this week. Brian May and Roger Taylor were assisting during the rehearsals. Apparently they are on a North American tour with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company.

None of the idols was singing my favorite Queen song: Killer Queen. But the good news was that nobody performed Radio Gaga either.

All this attention for Queen inspired me to buy the 30 year anniversary edition of "A night at the opera". Has it really been thirty years since I bought the vinyl version?

A great site for nostalgic tv stuff is YouTube. They have lots of clips from music shows of the seventies. Guaranteed to blow your mind. Wanna try?

Roof repairs

The guys on our roof look so happy because they collected a lot of money for all the roof repairs in our street today. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

Tornado warning

Four tornadoes hit the northern Atlanta suburbs last night. One of them touched down on Crabapple Road, just two miles from our home. It destroyed a car wash and repair shop, ripped the roof off a strip mall, and uprooted numerous trees.

We slept through the sirens, but a howling wind woke us up at 4.30 this morning. We took the kids downstairs, as had been advised. Outside it was pitch dark. Power had already been knocked out. After 30 minutes, the storm was over.

This morning, it was cleanup time. Our roof had lost some shingles, and the wind had snapped a handful of our neighbors' trees . On Saturday mornings, the neighborhood is usually buzzing with lawn mowers. Today, it were chainsaws.

Tres Méridas

A great thing about Texas is the endless selection of Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants. Other Latin flavors are not very hard to find either. Yesterday, we had dinner at restaurant Tres Méridas in Frisco, TX.

The restaurant serves Mexican, Venezuelan, and Spanish dishes. The name Tres Méridas is based on a piece of geographical trivia. Spain, Mexico and Venezuela each have cities that go by the name of Mérida. In Mexico, Mérida is the capital of Yucatán. I visited the town in 1994 with my friend Albert. In Spain, Mérida is in the Extremadura on the north bank of the Guadiana River. In Venezuela, Mérida is the capital of the state of the same name in the western part of the country lying entirely in the Andes mountains.

Ina and I had pabellón criollo, considered Venezuela's national dish. It is a plate of hand-pulled beef marinated in orange juice with a little cilantro and achiote. This is stacked on top of white rice, while fried plantains sit on top. The little tower is placed in a pool of black beans.

Georgia Longhorns

Fort Worth Stockyards

We spent the afternoon at the Fort Worth stockyards. It is a historic district rich with cowboy history. In the 19th century, Fort Worth was a frequent stop for cattlemen herding through the area. Many cowboys herded up wild longhorns, branded them, and drove them north for a large profit. Today, Fort Worth is still cowtown, with daily rodeos, authentic saloons and plenty of Texas longhorns.

IUC gathering in Fort Worth

We are spending spring break in Texas. Today, we attended the yearly gathering of the Indo USA Couples online community. IUC is a surprisingly large and lively community that caters mainly to Indonesian ladies. It provides a home away from home. Ina is a long time member and has made many new friends online.

After earlier meetings in Las Vegas and Orlando, this year everyone headed for Fort Worth, TX. While it was my first time, I knew what to expect: good food, dangdut music, and lots of group photos.

Tonight, the ladies are partying at City Streets in downtown Fort Worth. I am staying in the hotel with Greg and Sam.