Tammy and tommy and kucing gendut's mini escapades

Yup. Got some time off coming and planning a few days in Monterey/Carmel with the cat and a few in the TAhoe area, again with the cat. Nobody suitable to take care of him. He is a handful for a cat sitter. Requires immediate attention or meows loudly and bangs on doors. Very spoiled yes.

Ah, thatā€™s the problem with my sisterā€™s cats. They are hard work! So he goes in the car with you? Ours hate the car.

Oh yeah, he hates riding in the car (much unlike my two cats i had before who loved riding in cars) and will almost always dump a load or even two on the journey to show his displeasure. And he yowls and howls. But he generally settles down after awhile.

So trying to stay ā€˜hipā€™ with her generation, i said "hey did you know that one guy from the group One Republic quit ? "

Shes been laughing at me since last week. Of course it was a dude from One Direction. Same old , same old to me.

The better half is in VEGAS (whoo hoo!) for the first time in her young life. One of her buds flying in from the home country invited her to hang out with her and her family while they visit Vegas and LA this week. So she flew over by Virgin America to visit Vegas and LA with them. I put her in last class on her 3 Virgin flights . She said ā€œwhat no First?ā€ like when she flew to LA last year? I said, " yes, NO First, Last Class for you sugar". She got First last time only because it was last minute, and the Eco class was already 180 bucks so may as well go First for 220. Normally SFO to LAX is bout 70 bucks give or take, if you donā€™t wait till the very last moment. Virgin is cool, but unfortunately joining the others in charging for check in luggage. Forcing people to try to travel with just one carry on, to save 25/bag check in. HOnestly shes tiny, the back is just fine for her. Its like First is to me room wise. Flights sectors are short anyways.

So she is having a grand time , while yours truly continues to be the beast of burden and working. Enjoying a bit of RnR at home though without her highness barking chore orders for me every few minutes :slight_smile: Whew. Its lovely to be married ainā€™t it? I can have fun vicariously through her and still get to spend money.

They have enjoyed the Gondola ride at the Venetian and the fountain at the Bellagio. And last night took in , what I think (not that i have seen em all) is the best Cirque show. The , expensive at 130/person but , oh so worth it ā€œOā€ Show at the Bellagio. Its pretty awesome, you wonā€™t regret seeing it if and when you are next in Vegas!

She said everything is available in the high end boutiques in Vegas (no Dahā€¦honey) but oh so much money. Yes dear, you are NOT in TJ Max sugar ! They have Hermes bags at 65,000 U.S. Dollars ! Now what is wrong with just having a kate spade one for 130 down from 450 list? Women ! Do they need the Ferrari of Hand Bags really? Well I guess just like we ā€œneedā€ a Ferrari.

Vegas can make any man a MILLIONAIRE (so long as they started with TEN Million).

They are doing the bus tour to the Grand Canyon (iā€™d rather drive meself then pay the 120/person) today. 12 hours starting at 630am. NO thanks bud, I will drive.

Maybe I should leave pricing out of my posts in future? Sounds so pedestrian. Makes me sound cheaper then I really amā€¦no really. But hey, maybe ONE GUY out there wants to know.

Is that the sound of the proverbial penny finally dropping? :smiley:

The existence of this whole thread has been bizarre for years now. What started off as a blog with some scattered info about the American visa process is now just a voyeuristic view into the life of a man who seems to prefer being dominated over being alone, and the resultant thoughts and experiences he has.

Itā€™s certainly not much of a discussion thread as you are a real person doing real things, not a fictional character.

But but I am a fictional characterā€¦doing real things :slight_smile:
Yeah, its a blog now where sometimes, once in a blue moon , i might hit upon a topic of worthy discussion. Just donā€™t hold yer breath now hear.

Anyway, I update this thread now and then to keep my (five?) readers up to speed. Feel free to drop in with some random thoughts/happenings of yer own.

this thread could be retitled ā€œthe useless tommy pub banter threadā€

I like reading your posts Tommy, at least you enjoy your lifeā€¦ Itā€™s just that 5 or more posts in a row without griping is a bannable offence on Forumosa.

Should I bump the Surly Cow thread? Or we all pile into an inane discussion about the relocation of Taoyuan airport.

Is Taoyuan part of New Taipei yet? If not, just make it part of New Taipei, then Taoyuan could become the ā€œnewā€ (40 year old) TAIPEI AIRPORT. And the old one can be turned into aā€¦aā€¦ I donnoā€¦a night market, or the worlds largest drive in theatre? Or the Abian Park. JUST kidding ā€¦JUst kidding !! But turning the Sungshan airport area into a giant Central Park type park would be awesome.

Iā€™m going to make a cup of tea. Anyone thirsty?

One of my cats, ginger, is going deaf so he follows me about back and forth back and forth. Making a cup of tea is exhausting as I play ā€˜donā€™t tread on ginger.ā€™ You can partially cure this by putting some milk in his bowl as a diversion, but that gives him the runs. And itā€™s too early for his breakfast.

Iā€™m going to make a cup of tea. Anyone thirsty?

One of my cats, ginger, is going deaf so he follows me about back and forth back and forth. Making a cup of tea is exhausting as I play ā€˜donā€™t tread on ginger.ā€™ You can partially cure this by putting some milk in his bowl as a diversion, but that gives him the runs. And itā€™s too early for his breakfast.

[quote=ā€œsuperkingā€]Iā€™m going to make a cup of tea. Anyone thirsty?

One of my cats, ginger, is going deaf so he follows me about back and forth back and forth. Making a cup of tea is exhausting as I play ā€˜donā€™t tread on ginger.ā€™ You can partially cure this by putting some milk in his bowl as a diversion, but that gives him the runs. And itā€™s too early for his breakfast.[/quote]

There ! See? And you thought you had nothing going on in your life ! :slight_smile:
IN fact. Swear to Dog, my cat pounced upon my lap just now (something he rarely does) to read that.

It is a weird thread, but I rather enjoy popping in myself every once in a while, if only to hear some news about the good olā€™ Bay Area.

And I secretly root for you and the young ladyā€™s happiness. Hope the two wonā€™t prove to be mutually exclusive (as they do in so many couples), but so far seems like youā€™re doing alright. Go Tommy and Tammy!!!

[quote=ā€œNonTocareLeTeteā€]It is a weird thread, but I rather enjoy popping in myself every once in a while, if only to hear some news about the good olā€™ Bay Area.

And I secretly root for you and the young ladyā€™s happiness. Hope the two wonā€™t prove to be mutually exclusive (as they do in so many couples), but so far seems like youā€™re doing alright. Go Tommy and Tammy!!![/quote]

Thanks. WE are actually doing very well with each other. We get along very well 98pct of the time. And enjoy each otherā€™s company 98 percent as well. And are in constant contact during the day when we are apart, constantly texting each other , even when we are at home, in separate roomsā€¦LOLā€¦

Do i think sheā€™s perfect for me? Not in each and every way (she sure is frickin bossy). And I am sure she feels the same about me (except I am not bossy I think ). But the main thing is our willingness to work with each other. And our affection for each other has been growing. Shes making this affirmed stray tomcat want to stay at home, and I donā€™t mean the tomcat she is holding.

Ma famille :


he looks like he wants to bite something !


the affection between these two is tangible

et moi just waiting for dinner to get to the table:

remember I am a fictional character doing real things :sunglasses:

Update to my five readers. Dah Police has gotten back from a week in Vegas with her buds. Complaining how messy the apt is. Well hey, I did manage to vacuum at least once in the week ok? And I did do three loads of laundry. But I left her all the ironing to do. Hehe. She had an awesome time on her trip. Although she apparently lost her necklace while leaning over the edge on the skywalk at the Grand Canyon. But oh well. Was a cheapie anyway. She said the Canyon and the Hoover dam is worth one visit but she wouldnā€™t ride in a vehicle all day to see it again. Well letā€™s be honest, she would rather spend the day at Citadel.

citadeloutlets.com/

It is indeed the place to go. Prices are much cheaper then Macyā€™s (even on sale). On her next journey back to the home country she wants to fly from LA so she can visit citadel to buy stuff for her gang back home. And she will get to try the A380 on Singapore Air, instead of the B777 from SFO. Although it does add to the flight distance.

Maybe just for laughs I will drive her down there (i have not DRIVEN to LA in bout ten years). Maybe it will be fun to spend a few days in Lala land. Amazing how close it is really and yet, how long itā€™s been since Iā€™ve been down there. I guess no real reason for a NoCal guy to go to SoCal. I mean I donā€™t need to go to Disneyland, or the zoo in San Diego or any of the other attractions down there. Except maybe for some of the beaches down there like in Santa Barbara or something. But mostly because I donā€™t know my way around there and I donā€™t know where to go or what to do. I ainā€™t gonna be shopping at Rodeo Drive, or even Citadel. Donā€™t really shop. My regular shopping is at ROSS (ex GF said its not shopping at ROSS, its rummaging. And shes right) and TJ MAX . IF I am feeling rich I may buy a suit at Macyā€™s but thats it.

I am probably ignorant of the tons of places to go down there. To most NOCal people, I guess SoCal is almost as far as say Florida. :slight_smile:

Alright, anyone ready for 'nother mini escapade?

If you arenā€™t , donā€™t read on puh lease! If you are ā€¦

Iā€™ve always (still do) have a soft spot for Monterey/Carmel and that area. But prices have risen a lot in ten years. A cheapo motel can cost north of 100 a night and still be a place you would rather NOT be in. And one really has to read the YELP reviews before booking to get the true story that Expedia and the such donā€™t reveal.

So I have a week off and I thought why not spend a few days in the Monterey/Carmel area like we did last year?

Took me probably ten hours online to sort out the good from the bad and the simply UGLY. Mind you, I have the very much added burden of having to find a place that accepts CATS !!. Some places will take a DOG but not a CAT. I supposed it can be that Cat dander can be more of a problem for more folks then Dog dander, or whatever you would call the stuff that sloughs off Dogs.

I literally spent probably ten hours with various websites identifying the handful of motels/hotels that may work. Mind you I am avoiding spending 300 a night here. Trying to keep it 300 for TWO nights.

A few properties seem to make the grade but then WHAM, their YELP reviews were truly scary. Granted you have to take YELP reviews with a large grain of salt, but still. I really just about gave up because it seemed like such a waste of valuable vacay time to just agonize over booking a place. Made it basically not worth it even leaving home.

So the wife got all pissy finally after so much research and no RESULT that i just went ahead and booked two places that seem to fit the bill.

One BUTTERFLY INN in Pacific Grove (just a stones throw from Monterey) was roughly 92 plus tax and another 25 PER DAY for my cat. And i decided to splurge a little (a LOT actually) and went for the QUAIL LODGE in Carmel at 225 a nite plus tax and 50 (per stay) for cats.

OF course right after I made the booking (checked on Travelocity and Expedia for that night and they were the same price) Wifey says "how come you didnā€™t use Booking.com? Because they were 165 for the night rather then 225 and that was for a BETTER ROOM !!

I was like, THANKS A FRICKIN LOT, WHY DIDNā€™T YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT IT SOONER???

So motto is , ALWAYS FRICKIN CHECK ALL THE DOGGONE FRICKIN WEBSITES BEFORE MAKING YOUR BOOKING. Ok, was I shouting? DAM RIGHT I WAS>>>>>> In fact hereā€™s the hint:

use trivago.com The site automatically tells you what the major sites are charging for the hotel in question. USE TRIVAGO.COM guys and girls. Save some cash.

Ok so the start to a few days off was off to a bad start because i frickin canā€™t stand NOT to have gotten a dang good deal and worse because I can use saving all the bucks I can save . Ok, so I wish I had enough money to just say ā€œbook the InterContiā€ whenever I needed to spend a few days somewhere. And doggone it , I will book that Intercontinental in Monterey one of these days!!. Reviews are good. Cept they charge 235/nite plus tax for the el cheapo room with a view of the ROAD (when they are literally right off the OCEAN) and 25/night for parking your car. Plus 100 per stay for a pet. So , pricey , yes. But its the Intercontinental after all. I should just pull up in my Ferrari and throw the keys to the valetā€¦and beach myself at the 450/night Ocean View Junior Suite. But I guess my 12 year old Acura doesnā€™t quite cut it and my wallet canā€™t quite stand the painā€¦But still i came dang close to spending that much for the one night we spent at the Quail.

OK< enough of the $ and cents shitzle. Letā€™s get on with the FUN. Ok by now some of you are wondering how FUN is even possible with tommy? I assure you, it is possible. Honest. Well, ok maybe not FUN in capital letters but at least fun in small letters!

Ok, so planning to take a CAT somewhere just seems to be a lot of work. Donā€™t forget the bowls, his food, his teeth cleaning gel, his scratching post, his harness, his lead, his sandbox, his pooperscooper and of course donā€™t forget to take him period.

I managed to get everything , but forgot the dang scratching post ! Which is NOT a good thing if you know what I mean ! IF you want to keep his claws off scratching anything in the hotel room that is. Luckily he kept his claws to himself this trip.

So everyone and everything (cept the post) in the car and off we went finally at noon. Check in is at 3pm and its about a 3 hour drive to Pacific Grove from where we live. WE took the fastest way possible via i680 and 156. Trying to time the piss-stops with two adults and one cat is not easy here.

We managed to do it with only two piss-stops for us and one came right on time as his furry majesty (true to tradition) let out a couple of huge logs in the cat box minutes before an interchange (thank God, not after). Let me tell you. CAT shit really , truly stinks in an enclosed space of a car. And he did this TWICE not once on the way there. Ssssssh.

Oh, be sure to notify the hotel/motel that you are bringing a CAT because otherwise there could be problems.

Becauseā€¦right after we arrived at the BUTTERFLY INN , we found out they only took DOGS and not CATS. Doggone it ! Well I reminded them that I had called when I made the booking the day before and enquired about the cost of bringing my CAT. And I had repeatedly mentioned that I have a CAT and not a DOG.

So they let us stay.

butterflygroveinn.com/?_vsrefdom=PPC1

Place was quite nice really. GAs fired fireplace, high ceiling, big room. Unheated pool and a jacuzzi a short walk. We didnā€™t use it though. Turns out it was called Butterfly Inn because Low and Behold. Pacific Grove is called Butterfly Town because apparently in October a swarm of Monarch butterflies actually make a tiny grove of trees their home when they fly in from Mexico? And that small swath of land was right on the premises of the Butterfly Inn ?

We got situated and left the cat in the room and went to eat dinner at the Passion Fish

passionfish.net/daily_menu

Seemed like it was THE place to go in Pacific Grove. Place had been in business for 18 plus years we were told. Nice looking place. Looks rich, and is not cheap. But they really seemed to specialize in wine. The wine list was a BOOK. While the food menu was a single sheet of paper.

And the descriptions they gave on the food items all seem to be tantalizing. I ordered the Duck Confit. Which apparently takes a whole day to make or something. And the waitress kept on about how it was one of their crowd favorites. And tammy was adventurous and went for the Sturgeon. Supposedly the steak of seafood.

I hurriedly read on my iphone what the heck Duck Confit was??!! And it said something about it being quite a specialty and blah blah and blah blow. But one thing I remembered was that it said that it can keep for up to five days and all one had to do was pop it back in the oven for a quick browning of the skin before serving.

And unfortunately that was how MY Duck Confit tasted like . LIke it was five days old and just popped back in the oven to brown the skin a bit. Sad I know. Especially at those prices.

Honestly the duck that I had in San Francisco at Irving Street at some hole in the wall duck place for 7.50 was way better !!

Then I noticed she had not really touched her fish. So i took a bite to see what the story was. OMG !!! I did read that sturgeon can be ā€œearthyā€ but this fish tasted absolutely putrid !! I honestly had to taste it a few more times (but i didnt swallow) just to see if maybe I was simply uneducated about the fish ?? But really I came to the conclusion that it was absolutely inedible. And HORRID actually.

Luckily the fish was taken off the bill as it should be. I donā€™t need to spend 26 bucks plus tips and tax for putrid fish. Ok, maybe I truly am the country bumpkin that I probably am, but if this is the taste of 26 dollar Sturgeon? You can keep it !

Regrettably I am NOT going to recommend the Passion Fish restaurant. I am going to call it the POISON FISH from now on.

Back to the roomā€¦we just chilled and watched
Pitch Perfect on tv

imdb.com/title/tt1981677/

It was about singing and not bad a flick really. Wife and I may pop over and see Pitch Perfect 2 tomorrow , which is now showing at the theaters.

However, all that singing inspired our cat to sing his version of Madame Butterfly. And his command performance only started minutes after 3 am, in the bathroom, with its high ceilings. Which was perfect for proper sound augmentation.

Well luckily I missed most of this concert as I had finally fallen asleep by 2 am, only awaking on occasion to hear the wife and the cat conversing. The wife, who had been asleep since 11 was awaken by this melodious undertaking and attempted to silence Caruso plenty of times, with not much luck.

We took El Maestro for a walk in the morning (luckily after his concert ended at 5 am, him and wife took a snooze until about 9) we then checked out and merrily made our way along the beach. IT is a very nice stretch of ocean from Monterey to just a stoneā€™s throw of Carmel. Very nice indeed. Catso didnā€™t really give a ratā€™s ass though. He was not the ocean loving cat that one may have thought he was.

On one of the stops he dropped a log among some flowers along the walkway on the beach. Just fitting the occasion it seems because we saw on the news later that evening that apparently some sewage line had broken and literally godzillion gallons of raw toilet water had emptied into that stretch of ocean just that morning, prompting an alert from the authorities to avoid the waters ! So the cat was right after all.

Had to kill time until the 3 pm check in at the Quail so we went to the white sands of Carmel beach. Brought the cat down to the waterā€™s edge like we did last year. And like we did last year, he bolted back up the hill. He does not DO sand. Thank you very much. Poor thing was all hot and panting by the time he got his large ass up the slope. It was almost cat abuse. We managed to get him cooled off by taking him to the shops downtown. Now this cat is a shopper. He loves to walk among the stores. Problem is that he insists on going INTO each store that he passes. Luckily a 20 pound cat on a leash is quite a hit among the people on the street and the store owners there in Carmel. They are used to people bringing their dogs into the stores there. I donā€™t think anyone has ever brought a cat because he drew a LOT of attention everywhere we went ! So we all had a bit of fun.

Checked into the hotel right on time And , yes a 300 dollar a night room is very different from a 100 dollar a night room ! And the cat knows this because he was right at home. He seemed chill at the surroundings very quickly. Went to gobble down food and checked out every inch of the room, the toilet ,jumped on the desks and tables and basically inspected every inch of the place. One would think he was searching for hidden microphones or something.

The Quail Lodge, for your 50 per stay pet fee gave us a very nice PET PACK. Inside was a plush toy (it was all geared for Dogs, mind you, i doubt many cats had been there) , a flashlight with a built in roll of doggie bags, a blanket and a foldable cloth water bowl !! Very nice really. Considering the Butterfly charges you 25 a night and gives you NOTHING for your pet.

The Quail also provides a list of Dog Friendly restaurants in Carmel where you can sit outdoors and have a bite. It is illegal for dogs (or cats) to be inside a restaurant in California but they can be OUTSIDE if the establishment approves.

The Quail lodge has a set of rules though . Since it has a golf course attached to the hotel, pets must not be allowed on the course, or at the pool or at the restaurants (cept outside on the outside dining area). And pets must NEVER be allowed to be alone in the rooms at ANY TIME.

We managed to get the managers approval to allow our cat to be alone by himself in the room while we went to dinner . Because obviously we intended to go to a place that didnā€™t allow pets and had no outdoor seating. So a PASS was given to our CAT. Yay !

The manager noted that BARKING is not allowed in the rooms at ANY TIME. Luckily this was not going to be a problem with our cat, but we did worry about his opera singing at 3 am .
Which , luckily , possibly because he LIKED this hotel room and this hotel (after a walk through the grounds) he cancelled plans for a concert for the evening. Whew. Or maybe Caruso was tired out by all the walking he did during the day. We will refrain from barking ourselves, of course.

We had a very enjoyable stay there. Even had a bit of a swim in their heated pool. Honestly the heated pool could have been a tad warmer really, but at least it was swimmable. Just not entirely comfortable. Note to self. Cat likes expensive hotels !

Wife being a trainee foodie read some reviews and decided that a Thai restaurant in Pacific Grove was the place for dinner.

Of course the fact that it was 15 miles away had no relevance to her. WE got there too early though at 4 pm and the place was not opening until 5 pm.

So we had to find somewhere to sit for a bit. Found a restaurant /cafe across the street.

Ended up sharing a fried calamari with fries and an iced tea for her and a hot coffee for me to wash it down with.

Was not bad. Parted with 27 dollars and then headed for the Thai place. But by now our appetites were partly gone.

Ordered chicken satay. A bowl of rice to share , a stirred seafood combo dish and some Thai chicken soup.

Equally unimpressive place as the earlier place. Not bad, not good. Fifty bucks escaped the wallet and we drove back to the ranch.

At 10 pm her Majesty declared herself hungry. GREAT. We didnā€™t even finish half the food at the Thai place as we were stuffed and now shes hungry? Well the Quail lodge doesnā€™t have room service. And we are 15 miles from Monterey (where there is a Dennyā€™s) and Carmel, only five miles away is pretty much shutting up for the night. We couldnā€™t even order Dominoā€™s PIzza because their closest place was in Pacific Grove and they donā€™t deliver to our hotel as it was deemed out of their orbit.

So we just (well she did, not me) went to bed hungry.

Breakfast was taken at 630 am the next day as a result. It was not bad. Just cereal and some fruit. Various juices were available. Quite decent actually. Not great but decent.

Checked out after a snooze and went to one of the restaurants on the list (the doggie friendly list of Carmel restaurants) called NICOā€™S

yelp.com/biz/nico-restaurant-carmel

And our kitty was nearly as well behaved as a DOG while seated on the floor in the OUTSIDE dining area. The weather was nice and there were two other couples there.

I had a burger which was excellent. Really been awhile since I had such a good burger. Simple but good.

Things were a bit more complex for her. She likes the idea of crab ravioli, but she doesnā€™t like the pesto and clam sauce that it usually comes with. So we asked that it come in bolognaise sauce. At the mention of the such, the waiter thought we were obviously out of touch but complied.

She liked it, the meal, but thought her tea was just ok. My coffee was excellent by contrast !

Another fifty bucks escaped the wallet and we finally embarked upon our journey home.

We took the long way home via highway 1 (which is one of the best drives in the USA) and later got stuck in the SF to East Bay rush hour. It was a crawl across the Richmond bridge , which we took to avoid the Bay Bridge jam. So 3 hour one way became nearly a 6 hour butt hurt.

But surprise surprise, our hairy little guy has finally gotten his CAR WINGS> He slept for most of the way and did NOT even lay one log for us for the entire time. WOW.
That means we can do a LAKE TAHOE stint next time !

Hope you have had fun reading about our little sojourn .

Please post a story about your Cat Travel (Travail ?)


post a picture

You should go camping. Itā€™s a lot cheaper than those overpriced hotels.

Delightfully bonkers, as ever.

I hope the progress of time is making things easier for you regarding your mum.

[quote=ā€œsuperkingā€]Delightfully bonkers, as ever.

I hope the progress of time is making things easier for you regarding your mum.[/quote]

Thanks yes. I am comforted by the fact that my Mom (like my Dad previously) had been very gravely ill for so long that I feel that passing from this life was better then living the life she had been living the last few years, especially the last few months.

When I left her side in 2012 after my short visit to Taiwan, to return to the USA, I shed a few tears while walking to the MRT , because I thought that may likely have been the last time I was going to see my Mom alive in this life. She had at that time largely already lost her memory but was still largely comfortable and mostly happy.

The last six months of her life was not happy nor comfortable for her. My sister had to bear with that sad fact on her twice a week visits. I could only commiserate from a great distance. My fone calls to her showed her largely only ā€œthereā€ sometimes. Her last words to me a week or so before she passed was that she was "leaving ". WE both knew what she meant even through the fog that her brain had her in.

Itā€™s very sad to say goodbye in oneā€™s mind to oneā€™s parents. Especially one that one loved so much.
One can only hope that there is a heaven where we shall meet again ! Thus, is my belief anyway.

Great shot!