Pat's bro: Back to the grindstone!

A one day trip to Toronto last week on the 20th, firmed up our company position on a geothermal project in California. Quote from my boss on the flight back to Trenton, "Looks like a busy year coming up. Plan on a trip a month to Santo Rosa, CA and a trip a month to Vegas." We'll squeeze in the other business ( Canada, Miami, Phoenix etc) around these.

I got back to Belmar after the Thursday trip and spent a great day with Meghan and Cate. The first hurricane of the season (Bill)was northbound in the Atlantic and the beaches were closed to swimming (except surfers)because of rip tide fears and strong surf.

So Friday morning, Meg and Cate, Ronnie and I set out for the boardwalk in Point Pleasant. Of course, I forgot my camera and no one else had one, so Cates first amusement rides are only recorded in our memories. They are fun memories.

If you open this photo, you will see a kayaker trying to get the courage to exit the Shark River Inlet against the incoming swells.

Saturday, was a very pleasant overcast but rainfree day in Belmar. In Pennington, it was a diffferent story. Continuous rain all day with a burst of downpour in the early evening (5 inches in 30 min-according to the Bourough officials). Storm drains backed up all over Pennington and some streets were under water. Guess what that does to your basement when your sump gravity feeds to the storm drain?

Left for Vegas Monday morning after spending 12-14 hours in the basement on Sunday. I had a B-17 (Aluminum Overcast) parked next to me on the ramp. Had an opportunity to speak with the pilots prior to departure. This particular B17 came off the line in 1945 and never saw action in WW2. It has served in numerous missions since it was sold as surplus in 1946 for $750.

Vegas is just hot and dry -100 plus every day and no humidity. Not something an east coast guy will ever be able to deal with. So I did spend a few hours at the hotel pool.