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CU Guru [1989]
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Just got home from Alaska
Jun 4, 2014, 10:29 AM
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if you've never been, do yourself a favor & go, it's indescribable.
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110%er [6219]
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I went last May...
Jun 4, 2014, 10:35 AM
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Almost surreal. I felt like I was in a National Geographic documentary. Really beautiful and inspiring place.
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CU Guru [1989]
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Agree 100%
Jun 4, 2014, 10:40 AM
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Tracy Arms Fjord was incredible. We also stopped in Victoria, Canada, which is a BEAUTIFUL city.
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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you hit nail on the head
Jun 4, 2014, 11:06 AM
[ in reply to I went last May... ] |
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surreal is spot on....a natural wonderland. That's one of those places that after you visit, it feels like it changed you somehow. A breathtaking place. Another place that gets me like that is on the PCH above Calabria, California into Monterey. The Pebble Beach, Big Sur, and Hearst Castle areas and a little south of there....about 50 miles of ridiculous wild natural beauty of the land and coast.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Hitched and camped that PCH stretch in '76... It's nice. My
Jun 4, 2014, 11:15 AM
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wife and I went back some years ago and stayed in Carmel for several days.
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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every time i drive it
Jun 4, 2014, 11:17 AM
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I see spots all along the route that I could just pitch a tent and crash for a few days. Probably my favorite area in the U. S. in terms of ruralness.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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I met a girl at the Big Sur campground who had a VW van
Jun 4, 2014, 11:22 AM
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that she converted to a camper... Best camper setup I've ever seen. It would work well even today. She had talent....
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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a VW van at Big Sur in '76?
Jun 4, 2014, 11:28 AM
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why did I just get a visual when you described that? LOL. I wonder what happened to it and her...was her name "Mountain Girl" or something like that? You still see a few of the old hippies in and around SD these days....they're in their 60's now and still holding on. I like going to SF to Haight/Ashbury and going in the stores there and giving them grief about being businessmen with high prices in the stores and getting them to admit that they are capitalists....good times. There are some beautiful areas in Cali, man. I'm retiring to San Jose and I can't leave this weather.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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She pulled in was eating a cheese fondue in less than 5 min.
Jun 4, 2014, 11:38 AM
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... and I was hungry. Long story but ended up in Fresno in a nice condo driving a brand new car with all insurances paid for, knocking down $3K/month, and chartering flights to Tahoe inside of 2 months later. Not bad for being down to your last $.25 and getting a guy to open the $.35 Coke machine to sell me a 6-1/2OZ. '70s Cali was a hustle....
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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Bro, that's book writing material.......
Jun 4, 2014, 11:43 AM
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lol....if you're ever in San Jose, beer's on me. Hell, i'm a walking dichotomy...a career Marine Corps infantryman, 2 tour drill instructor, raised in Columbia, Tiger fan, detest the Chickens, S. C. State graduate, retiring in Cali.....i'm all over the place and for that reason, I can relate to craziness like your story....good stuff, man.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Those are minor details... I've considered a book now that
Jun 4, 2014, 11:52 AM
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the statute of limitations have long passed. Let's just say "paperwork"....
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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if i wrote one from my freshman year at SCSU
Jun 4, 2014, 12:02 PM
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all the way through a 20 year career in the Corps, i'd have my concerns about legalities as well....now as a father, I feel like a hypocrite #### near on a daily basis but that's probably what my Pop felt like too. It really gets me when you sit around telling stories and you almost always realize that you are on another level of craziness compared to the guys you are talking with. A good buddy of mine says, "T, shut it down bro....nobody is in that league except for me, you, and a couple of others..."....LOL....I wouldn't trade it for the world.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Devil's in the details but I never harmed a soul....***
Jun 4, 2014, 12:11 PM
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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solid copy bro, trust me....i could say the same except
Jun 4, 2014, 12:13 PM
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for a few fights along the way that got filthy in SD, LA, DC, and SF along the way....not to mention Orangeburg knucklefests that got me ready.....LOL....ahhhh, youth.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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I unfortunately had a couple of incidents along the way
Jun 4, 2014, 12:20 PM
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but generally my modus operandi relied more so on speed, 'stealth' and 'camo'...
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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funny how i learned that in boot camp, school of infantry
Jun 4, 2014, 12:34 PM
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and Desert Storm and Somalia, but somehow while in clubs it escaped me....after running out of the parking lot after the Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. was pulling in and hiding behind AM/PM convenience store, the skills came back to me.....talk about a bad night in Moreno Valley.....wow. After that night, I relied on the "ignore" button and the "mute" button....avoid stupidness at all costs because there is no risk/reward there....maturity is a wonderful thing.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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I remember my buddy and I backing up to lamp post on
Jun 4, 2014, 12:45 PM
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some SF street at about 4AM. 4-5 guys were following us and we were picking up the pace until 4-5 more cut the corner on the other end. Must say, I was a little skeered at the time... My suggestion: Get under the street light, stick 2 fingers bulging in each pocket and don't say a word. They got within about 20' on either side and then turned and hustled off. Risk/reward, I guess...
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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good form....me and you could have hung out
Jun 4, 2014, 12:56 PM
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about 25 years ago...LOL. If you insist, since you bring up SF, my favorite city in the world....my unit went up there in '93 to do some urban warfare training at the Presidio in some old base housing they were about to tear down before they closed the base altogether. They made the mistake of letting us have liberty the night before we left. Me and 5 other grunts ended up in the Mission at some awesome hip hop/house music club that was packed to the gills with the fairer sex...I didn't want to wait at the urinal in a line of about 20 dudes so I bolted with another guy across the street to a Burger King bathroom. My buddy waited outside the bathroom. Inside the bathroom a junkie was shooting up in the stall and when I walked in he got up off the toilet and came towards me. I slammed him into the stall with the door of the stall and when he tried to get up I stall stomped him and knocked him about out...then I proceeded to pee while he moaned in the stall. I used the urinal of course. Outside on the street I saw an SFPD officer, told him that the junkie was in there, he went in, cuffed him and I was standing there watching him put him in the car and the cop thanked me..didn't say anything about the obvious physical altercation.....again, youth is a wonderful thing but man have I graduated from that wild stuff. LOL
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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My first day in Fresno, I was walking around getting to
Jun 4, 2014, 1:16 PM
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know the downtown... apparently the wrong side. I walked by this bar with the old saloon-type doors and some guy standing outside asked me for a "cigarillo". I was pretty broke at the time but figured maybe he was too. I went to give him a Marlboro and that's when he pulled the switchblade and motioned for the pack. I probably should have just given it to him, but things were different back then. As he reached, I dropped them and sure enough, he leaned to pick them up. That's when I used his head for a 50-yarder.... He literally did a 360 back through those saloon doors. I grabbed the pack and ran. I did look back. Nobody ever came out....
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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welcome to Fresno....
Jun 4, 2014, 3:04 PM
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like I said, we could have ran hard back in the day. The absolute roughest SOB I've ever served with in the Corps was a Cpl from Fresno. I was in Iraq in '04 with him and he was one of our machine gun team leaders. The guy was a liberty risk but a hell of an NCO and combat Marine. He's on recruiting duty now in Oakland and every day I fully expect the email telling me that SSgt Elizondo has been relieved/arrested for throwing someone through a plate glass window that said something out of line, etc.. Those "Valley" boys have some rough edges to them and the Corps is full of Fresno, Bakersfield, Central Valley boys.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Knew the bouncers at the airport Holiday Inn... great
Jun 4, 2014, 3:13 PM
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night spot and always an hour deep line at the door. I learned early on what a 5 or 10 spot could do at the back door... That was the disco era and there were some 'spinners' there every night.
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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nothing like being industrious when needed.....
Jun 4, 2014, 3:21 PM
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why let a line get in the way of what you're really there for...what's going on IN the place is what matters...you do what you gotta do...then there was the time at a club in SF in '96 and the bar (in North Beach) was packed to the gills....elbows in ribs type of packed...when I finally got up there and got my drink I turned around and this smoking hot little tiny lady wasn't paying attention and she elbowed my drink and sent it to the floor. She started apologizing like crazy and insisted that she buy me another one. Of course, I was getting another drink out of her because it irritated me. Well I recognized her immediately, it was Jada Pinkett and she'd only been in maybe one movie but she was attracting a lot of attention. She got me another drink, we went on the dance floor and I spent the next two hours with guys coming up to me asking if I knew her, etc....of course I played it all off. I talked to her a bunch of times throughout the night and she came off as a good, real, young lady. Memories made only because of travel and living the hell out of life. Glad I made it out without a scratch, man.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Gotta be there to stand a chance... It's strange who you
Jun 4, 2014, 3:28 PM
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come across at the oddest moments and sometimes in the strangest places. Cool story. Our dialogue has dug up some buried memories...
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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here to help, man
Jun 4, 2014, 3:41 PM
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I find it difficult to really talk to folks who haven't travelled and have zenophobia about things outside their comfort zones. I will always be an SC boy deep down but I can never live there again...not anytime soon. Every time I go home on leave I get restless with the "localness". I'm not knocking it, just telling the truth. I get sick of when I mention Cali to a lot of folks, the conversation trails off. Or I speak of my love for SF and NYC and Hawaii, etc., and you can tell that is a show stopper for a lot of people who's world revolves around only what they are familiar with. I miss SC during football season because I miss DV, Panther games, SCSU Bulldog games, etc., but other than that, nope. I got the "you gotta be there" bug when I was young and I learned that in order to live fully and quench that thirst for knowledge and seeing new things, you gotta get your "go" on. Good to talk to you man...nice to see another Tiger fan who speaks the same language in a lot of ways. On another note, if you are in SF again one day you have to go to AT&T Park, home of the Giants. I'm a Yankee fan, so it's hard for me to admit, but other than Yankee Stadium (new and old), Giant's park takes the cake by a mile. A ridiculously beautiful baseball stadium with great passionate fans.
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Legend [19610]
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Is it true that the state bird is the mosquito?
Jun 4, 2014, 10:37 AM
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That's what my parents told me aftwer they went there.
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CU Guru [1989]
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Re: Is it true that the state bird is the mosquito?
Jun 4, 2014, 10:39 AM
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Honestly I don't remember seeing one mosquito the whole time I was there. The flowers were huge because they get so much more sunlight.
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Legend [19610]
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Maybe that was later in the summer.***
Jun 4, 2014, 11:01 AM
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Rock Defender [59]
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Orange Blooded [4877]
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Re: Is it true that the state bird is the mosquito?
Jun 4, 2014, 11:51 AM
[ in reply to Is it true that the state bird is the mosquito? ] |
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I spent 2 years in Alaska at Fort Richardson as
an Infantry Soldier.One day,a mosquito landed on
the runway at Elmendorf Air Force base and they
gassed him up thinking he was a jet.
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110%er [5712]
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What was it like?
Jun 4, 2014, 10:44 AM
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110%er [7226]
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Re: Just got home from Alaska
Jun 4, 2014, 11:09 AM
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It's only indescribable if you don't describe it.
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110%er [5555]
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I've heard good things
Jun 4, 2014, 11:10 AM
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from everyone I know that has been/lived there. The only negative that I've heard of is several people getting cabin fever after living there for a couple of years.
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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similar to Hawaii with island fever issues
Jun 4, 2014, 11:15 AM
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places like that require you to be all about the lifestyle and geography all year round. If you fall in love with it completely you're good to go. Alaska and Hawaii are among the most beautiful places I've ever been but I think that I couldn't live in either one year round because of the constants in both lands.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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I could give the backside of Maui a try for a few years....***
Jun 4, 2014, 11:17 AM
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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trust me, i wouldn't kick it out of bed...LOL
Jun 4, 2014, 11:21 AM
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i'd love to have a home there to go to regularly...but during football and MLB season i'd have to get back to the States...i'm the shallow guy who has GOT to have pro and college sports available nearby to go to every year....and the annual trip to DV for a couple of games is mandatory as well. The dream is a Hawaii cottage, a San Francisco house in Pacific Heights, and home to SC to visit during football season....i'll keep dreaming.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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I might have to trade PH for Sausalito... with a jet boat.***
Jun 4, 2014, 11:27 AM
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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come pick me up first
Jun 4, 2014, 11:30 AM
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when you cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County, now you're in some seriously beautiful real estate...Santa Rosa is a neat town too...Charles Schultz of Peanuts' museum is a must there....the weird folks don't bother me because they don't bother anyone really...Petaluma is a cool town too.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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John Muir was nice, tho I don't think it compares with
Jun 4, 2014, 11:47 AM
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Sequoia or Yosemite. I stayed in Mill Valley for several days at one the coolest downtown inns ... wood burning fireplace in the room, late night blues/rock bar next door, and the best breakfast spread ever.
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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was in Pebble last year for a Wounded Warrior Golf Tourney
Jun 4, 2014, 11:58 AM
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went to a diner for breakfast right by Laguna Seca racetrack outside of Monterey....best breakfast spread ever...Had three fireplaces going inside diner with coffee urns heating on every table...you could hear the cars testing on the track while we ate then we went and played Pebble for free.....talk about surreal. Stayed there and went to the Panthers/Niners game the next day...that one is tucked in the old memory bank forever.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Niner's fan since the 80s... Didn't play it but Pebble had
Jun 4, 2014, 12:05 PM
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some awesome views... Took the 17-miler and passed a huge stone house on a point with an extra tall stone wall that must have been a 1/4 mile long. Always wondered who lived there...
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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it was so cool to go to a game in the 'Stick's last season
Jun 4, 2014, 12:11 PM
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Dwight Clark is a god there too...I sat in the upper deck right below Dwight's ROH sign...hmmmmm, unplanned but cool. I went by myself with a Panther jersey on, parked in a dirt lot in Hunter's Point near the stadium, got ordered by locals to come tailgate and got lit up on Anchor Steam and ate their ribs...they made me promise to come back after the game and I did. Panthers won, they were pissed but they liked me and my accent....Pebble is ridiculous. Almost fake looking and comical it's so beautiful. It's an ### kicker of a course but we played best ball and actually played well overall. Driving in there was a comedy show when we passed by the homes....nothing but a bunch of crazy Marines cursing non stop at the insanity of the houses and yards. It's a fantasyland there.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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My wife still says that's where she would like to retire...
Jun 4, 2014, 12:16 PM
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She works with a female lawyer that was born and raised in Carmel and has family with ties to Pebble. Too bad she wasn't working with her when we were out there...
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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well you can probably figure out that I'd be working
Jun 4, 2014, 12:29 PM
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an angle.....LOL. I'd live in a studio out there and be happier than a clam.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Actually, in 2008 I saw some ranch style homes @ $250K
Jun 4, 2014, 12:32 PM
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in Carmel. Surprised me, really....
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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that is surprising.....i wonder if they've dipped a bit
Jun 4, 2014, 12:37 PM
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after years and years of people thinking that they were all unaffordable. There are some areas in SD that are ridiculous. Rancho Santa Fe, Poway, La Jolla all have homes that look like the French Riviera paintings. No telling how much $$$ they cost. Phil Mickelson and Ladanian Tomlinson, and Donnie Edwards live in three that you can see from I-15. Looks like the Hearst Castle virtually up there.
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Hall of Famer [24832]
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Right after the "crash"... They've probably come back by now***
Jun 4, 2014, 12:46 PM
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Orange Blooded [3573]
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Tell me more***
Jun 4, 2014, 11:12 AM
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CU Medallion [64600]
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The family and I took an Alaskan cruise a few years ago
Jun 4, 2014, 11:12 AM
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The scenic nature views, ice-blue glaciers, gushing waterfalls, snow-capped mountains were indeed incredible.
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Oculus Spirit [93751]
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I don't know but I've been told, eskimo...***
Jun 4, 2014, 11:38 AM
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Orange Blooded [2840]
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Re: I don't know but I've been told, eskimo...***
Jun 4, 2014, 11:45 AM
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is Mighty cold
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Orange Blooded [2429]
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Re: I don't know but I've been told, eskimo...***
Jun 4, 2014, 11:54 AM
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FT Jackson trainee from the past?
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All-In [25395]
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We used that in cadence count in the ROTC at Clemson...
Jun 4, 2014, 1:18 PM
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usually while marching past married student housing! lol
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CU Medallion [62096]
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Did you see any Squatches? Otherwise, wasted trip.***
Jun 4, 2014, 2:04 PM
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Oculus Spirit [75780]
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Did you say hello to Johnny Horton?***
Jun 4, 2014, 3:37 PM
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