Additional "Author"

Times, they are a changin'...and with the upcoming wedding I decided that I wanted this blog to turn into something Jillian and I can both use to share our experiences and sinister plans for world domination. She will likely never post anything, but just in case she does, I want my one or two readers to be aware of the change. My account has not been hacked... yet.

Steak Dinner for Two

We went all out this past Saturday for dinner. Jillian decided to pick up some New York Strips from Publix and my mother had received half a truck-load of corn from a neighbor so we took a few cobs off her hands. Jillian also decided to try something new so she also picked up some golden zucchini and even gruyere cheese to shred over the corn. Just to add a little more yellow to the plate, we threw a sautéed onion on the grill with the rest. First $25+ /plate dinner I've ever had at home and it was delicious. I feel like a legit food blogger now.

Attempt no 2

Jillian and I went to Tacky Jacks on the causeway the Wednesday before last for Beer Bands and Bingo. What was once sponsored by 92zew and filled with twenty-somethings is now sponsored by clearchannel radio and filled with toothless 40 year old truckers who like to yell roll tide. It was disappointing and we likely wont return... not even for the dollar beers.
We went to the beach that Saturday as well and, for the first time this summer, we decided to park at The Hangout instead of the state park in Gulf Shores. Traffic was surprisingly light and, thanks to a foolishly kind driver, we got a great (and possibly the only remaining) parking spot right in between the Hangout restaurant and the pier steps onto the beach. Also unlike other times this summer, I was not a Debby Downer three hours into our stay. There was a good crowd for proper people watching and a youth volleyball tournament in mid-swing. Probably the best part of the trip was that they water was actually warm enough for swimming; which may have had a lot to do with my lack of complaining... that and our discovery of Budweiser Straw-ber-Ritas.

Beer,Bands&Bingo Wed./Beach Trip Sat.

Stuff your face with burritos.

Fish River Date #2

Jillian and I went kayaking down Fish River for our second date about two years ago. I guess that was long enough ago for both of us to forget how exhausting the first trip had been, so we decided to have round two yesterday. We put in at the state park at 9:30 in the morning and made it to Fat Daddy's Grill about three hours later. I'm not positive, but I would say the overall trip was at least 6 miles of river. Apart from the heat and wind blowing against us it was a very enjoyable trip. We took a bunch of nice photos. Enjoy.

Scammers

I've recently been looking on Craigslist for a motorcycle to ride to work during the week. Nothing special; just something that will get more than the 18 mpg that my truck is currently burning. I've been looking more specifically at Honda's in the 250cc to 500cc range. Just because I don't want to miss a deal, I've been leaving out most requirements in my searches and just putting local bikes under $2k.
One of my recent search results surprised me because a $19,000 Ducati superbike showed up for just $1,650 on the list. It was a 2007 model so I assumed that it was just a simple typo; a zero missing at the end. More of a joke than an offer I wrote the seller and said, "If you still have your Ducati and the price wasn't a typo, I'm interested".
This was the response:

This is not mine, I posted for my sister in law so please contact her for more details at this email address: (  jm88200@gmail.com )

Thank you

My immediate thought was that I should probably inform this woman that her brother in law was posting inaccurate information on her bike so I basically sent her the same email as I had sent the poster. "She" responded with the following:

Hi,

My name is Jessica, happy to see you are interested in my 2007 Ducati 1098S SUPERBIKE. Let me give you a few details about it. Really good shape, never had any problems with it, no scratches nor dents it has only 1,000 miles.The title is legally under my name, clear and free of any liens or loans. The price was reduced at  $1,650. I just finished the divorce and this bike was a gift from my husband so I`m trying to get rid of it as soon as possible (that`s why I`m selling it so cheap). 
If you have any other questions, or need more info and photos, please feel free to ask.
Sincerely,
Jessica Medina

Awesome! Divorce bike. Their loss is my gain. I think about it for a few minutes and shot Jillian a text to discuss the idea of buying it and selling it for more. The profit could go toward our honeymoon and I might have a little extra to buy a smaller bike. Then it hits me. Why would this woman's, ex husband's brother be listing a bike his brother lost in a divorce? It seemed like a good idea to do my own social media background check. I copy her name from the email and make the rounds. No local Facebook, twitter, Google + or LinkedIn accounts. Strike one.
To double check, I googled the email address itself. It appeared that she had been pretty lucky in the divorce because she was also selling three other vehicles in separate states throughout the country; including a mini Cooper in Alaska. Strike two. Just for good measure, I send a response email asking if I can get a copy of the VIN and the best time to come view it... And got a response that should surprise no one:

Hi again,

As I told you in my first email, I recently got divorced. I got a new job and moved to Omaha Nebraska for a new start. The bike is already at the shipping company in Omaha sealed and ready for the shipping. My presence won't be necessary because I prearranged the deal with Amazon Payments. The deal includes free delivery and it will arrive at your address in 3 days. You will have 5 days to try out prior to making any purchase and if by any reason you find something you don't like about it you can send it back at my expense.
If you are interested in knowing more info about how it works, I can ask Amazon Payments to send you an email with more information on how to purchase it. Amazon Payments will contact you shortly after they have the details with all the information that you need to complete this deal and you will also have proof that I am covered by them and a legitimate seller. If you would like to receive the email from Amazon Payments with all the transaction information please reply with your full name full address and phone # and they will contact you right away.

Best Regards,
Jessica Medina

Strike three. My response of, "no thanks", was probably too kind.

I guess I can't blame the truly gullible for falling for these scams because I was sucked in farther than I should have, but come on. At the minimum, the thought of such a huge pain in the ass to try out the bike would have been deterrent enough.
Anyway. It was an interesting experience and a reminder that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a bit of a busy Memorial Day weekend this year. We stayed unusually busy so I've decided to record it for memories sake.
Friday:
After work we went to dinner at Royal Scam in downtown Mobile. It has been one of our favorites but is usually a little further away than we prefer to drive in the evening. It was a long weekend and felt like a good day to change things up so we hustled across the bay to get there at a decent hour. After arrival, it didn't take long to realize that they had changed their decor and we were not the biggest fans of the change. It had previously been a nice, dimly lit dress-up dinner place. I guess they wanted to attract a more casual crowd so they put in more lighting and made the seating cafe style. We, being unaware of this change, showed up a little over-dressed. The food was still excellent, but we wont be going back. We finished up our meal and decided to try and throw in a little entertainment. Jillian had read that there was some young local artist playing guitar at Joe Cains so we walked down the street and took a peak. The place was nearly empty, but the music wasn't half bad. I had a Guinness and after chatting with the bartender, decided I would walk out with the nice Fairhope Brewery pint glass I was drinking from. Don't worry, the bartender suggested it and was compensated for "his loss". To continue the fun we ended the night at Felix's Fish Camp for some cheese cake and alcohol; the perfect combination.

Saturday:
Nothing says busy weekend like a morning trip to Wal-Mart followed by a flee market run with Stella Blue. Wal-Mart was the typical one hour grocery trip. The flee market was out of the ordinary as we actually purchased something. Jillian found an old Denver Broncos penant for the garage and an oversized clothes pin for the wedding. Probably the best $2.25 spent the entire weekend. Our friends Gavin, Jessica and their kiddos happened to be in town visiting his mom so we were able to meet up with them for lunch at Panini Petes in downtown Fairhope. Panini Petes had been featured on the Food Networks' 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' so there were high expectations. I will say that the food was really good but, in my opinion, not really worth the hour wait, outdoor seating and bug bites. Jillian happens to disagree with me; probably because her sandwich was better than mine. If you go, get the Turkey Sandwich. After lunch we went home and attempted to take a pre-baseball nap but a miscalculation in alarm setting kept that from becoming a reality as we woke up an hour early. The Mobile Bay Bears were playing the Mississippi Braves at 6:05 so we got ready and drove back across the bay. This was Jillian's first baseball game in Mobile and our first baseball game together... I think. One chili-cheese hotdog and five innings into the game and I tried convincing her to leave and get hamburgers and milkshakes from Steak'n'Shake down the road. Luckily she declined and we were able to see what was nearly an eight run, nineth inning comback by the Bay Bears. They ended up losing by one run, but it was still exciting. Slightly less entertaining than the game was a little league baseball coach (Coach Brock according to his shirt) sitting in front us with half his team. I'll say that I don't have a problem with someone REALLY enjoying baseball, but it's really not necessary to comment on every pitch, or at least mix it up a bit. "COME ON UMP! THAT WAS <low/high/inside,etc>". In the end, I did get my Steak'n'Shake meal. I always forget that they are open 24/7. Nothing like a strawberry and banana milkshake with cheese fries at 10pm. At least I was sober and could enjoy it.

Sunday:
We rested. Throw in the occasional meal.

Monday:
There was a little more sleeping. Nothing wears you out like a good long day of television and grilled meats. Jillian was in the mood for some sun so we packed up for the beach and took off around 11. It was a nice afternoon, but I get burned out on beach a lot quicker that she does and were home by 5pm. To make the day as American as possible we fired up the charcoal grill again and cooked some pork chops for dinner. A game of UNO for dessert and we called it a weekend.