Fri.-Thurs., May 13-19, 2002
A great road trip to report along with lots from the world of American football in this post.
The journey started last Friday with Laurie and I riding in the comfort of our car North along the California coastline to the beautiful new Carmel Valley home of our long time friends Helen and Rod Fujita.
They had moved from their home in Camarillo about a year ago to be closer to their three granddaughters. That coupled with the pandemic meant that we had not seen them for a long, long time. It would be good to see them again.
First, we had to travel the 285 miles from Camarillo to Carmel Valley. There was simply no way that we could travel that far without stopping for sustenance.
But where?
Laurie used Yelp to find this
hidden Central California gem
Cubanissimo is located in a strip mall in the tiny city of Orcutt just South of Santa Maria. Of course, there just had to be a cigar store next door.
Besides Cuban serving Cuban coffee and food, they hold free salsa dancing classes on Tuesdays nights, just saying . . .
Cool Cuban signs
Conga drums for bar stools
Good idea.
The map of Cuba was a good touch
but would their food be at all authentic?
ABSO-CUBAN-LUTELY!
This is now our go-to stop on any future trips North towards San Francisco.
A couple more hours of driving and we were in Carmel Valley.
The view from their new digs
The Bunk Room
This room featuring four built in bunk beds really caught my attention.
Their son Scott is also our Godson
and had a splendid NFL career as a LB
He was the 5th round draft pick, pick #143 overall, of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2002 draft.
He spent three seasons (2002-2004) with Kansas City before going to the Dallas Cowboys for the 2005 campaign.
Scott was also played for these
two NFL clubs
As a starting LB for the New Orleans Saints (2006-2009), he experienced the ultimate NFL experience when the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, 31-17, over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on February 7, 2010.
He ended his 11 year NFL career with a three year stint as a Cleveland Brown (2010-2012).
Scott's replica of the Super Bowl XLIV
Vince Lombardi Trophy
On Saturday, Laurie and Helen
strolled along the beach in
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Laurie liked this artsy photo
that she snapped
While the ladies were strolling,
Rod and I attended a youth track
meet at Seaside H.S.
The Fujita's grand-daughters were all involved.
Their son Scott holds the position of Head of School at All Saints School. From all that we saw this weekend, he is doing an outstanding job!
An excellent choice for a Saturday
brunch in quaint Carmel-by-the-Sea
Yes, this village does draw a
somewhat of a Bohemian crowd
Has our old Varese Skorpion friend
Enzo Petrillo opened a ristorante
in Carmel-by-the-Sea?
If so, he is definitely NOT
charging Italian prices
Yet another Italian dining spot
Famous for their scones, we had
all enjoyed the Tuck Box years ago
NEWS FLASH from Camarillo
Jacob's team won their game on Saturday,
YAHOO!
Saturday's sunset
Sunday Mass at Monterey's
San Carlos Borromeo Cathedral
Built between 1791-94, it is the oldest continuously operating parish and the oldest stone building in California.
This Cathedral wall is ancient
by California standards
The Paris Bakery in Monterey
was the perfect spot for a post-Mass
pain au chocolat
The backside of Monterey's
old Golden State Theatre . . .
. . . and its front side
The Golden Poppy is
California's State Flower
While walking along the coast in
Pacific Grove we saw this interesting
home that has this . . .
. . . peaceful view of Monterey Bay
Part of a long mural depicting the
history of the people who lived in
and settled the Monterey area
After our nice walk, we decided
that it was time for sustenance
A bowl of Swiss onion soup
hit the spot!
Another morning, another
gorgeous view from the Fujita's patio
The Carmelite Monastery
I thought they were chairs for short
legged people but they were actually
kneelers inside the Monastery's church
I liked it but, which Pope is it?
An ornate baptismal fount
I like the look of this bush
After four fun filled days, we started the long trip home via the scenic backroad between Carmel Village and the bustling community of Greenfield on Highway 101.
An old barn in the middle of nowhere
A random cow watching me take
that photo of the barn
The Paso Robles Public Library
just before we ate lunch
Paso Robles artists . . .
. . . seem to like butterflies
We both loved this piece of art
dedicated to Paso Robles' music scene
On Wednesday night, out in Las Vegas,
the soccer team that our son Andrew
coaches and includes our grandson Kevin,
played their last game of the Spring season
They finished in second place in this season's 12U Boys AYSO Region 1258 league.
While Laurie liked this one . . .
. . . I was partial to this sign
News from the world-wide American football front . . .
The 2022 Los Angeles Rams
schedule was announced this week
Now if I could just raise enough money to afford a ticket . . .
Early Saturday morning I had to watch
the Oxford Lancers at Cambridge Pythons
game from the United Kingdom
I was interested in this game because one of the Cambridge coaches, Steve Guy, had contacted me a few months ago about sending the Pythons a set of used, high end Under Armour jerseys courtesy of Agoura H.S. which I gladly did.
Entering the Fourth Quarter, the Lancers held a seemingly commanding 12-0 lead.
Not so fast my friend!
A furious Fourth Quarter rally by the Pythons made for a most improbable ending between these long time British rival universities.
Historically, the American football series between these two institutions is relatively new but is still intense.
I watched the live streaming of
Sunday's game from Bergamo, Italy
It was the last game of the regular season for both the Bergamo Lions (5-0) and your favorite Italian DII squad, the Varese Skorpions (4-1).
This contest was chock full of both Girone (Conference) B championship and DII Playoff seeding implications.
If the Skorpions were to claim a Girone B Co-Championship, then they had to beat the Lions. If they wanted to be the Tirone's top seed going into the playoffs, then they would have to win by a minimum of four points as the Lions had won the first game between these two high flying clubs, 31-28.
If the Skorpions could pull off the 4+ points victory, they should also be no worse than the #2 seed in the upcoming FIDAF DII Playoffs.
Mission Accomplished!
According to this FIDAF chart,
the 5-1 Skorpions will indeed be the
playoffs #2 seed
The #1 seeded Torino Giaguari are the Champions of Girone A with the only 6-0 record in DII this season. The Savona Pirates (4-2) are the Girone C Champions and will be seeded third because of that championship that trumps the fourth seeded Bergamo Lions (5-1) better season record.
There is one make-up game left in the DII season that will be played this weekend that has huge bearing in the final Girone A standings. The Reggio-Emilia Hogs (1-4) will visit the Ferrara Aquile (2-3). The Hogs won last weekend's game over the Aquile, 12-0.
If the Hogs win again this Sunday, then we would have a three-way tie for second in Girone A. The Hogs, Aquile and Torino Reapers would then all be knotted with 2-4 records.
It would be much simpler if the Aquile won this game to improve to 3-3 and gain sole possession of second place in Girone A.
The DII playoffs will be finalized after the Hogs-Aquile game with the quarter-final games being played on the weekend of May 28-29.
The Italian DI Championship will
be played in Bologna on July 2nd
The DII Championship will be
contested in Milano on June 25th
I found out that the DIII Championship will kickoff on July 24th at a yet unknown site.
I liked it much better the way FIDAF held the Championship Weekend back in 2019 with all three games being held in the same stadium on the same weekend. That year, the DII game was played on a Friday night in Milano with the DII and DI games played as a doubleheader on Saturday. It was a great way to unite all of the Italians with a passion for American football, in my opinion.
The Spanish Serie A Championship
Game will be live streamed this Saturday
One of our former teams, the 9-0 Osos Rivas will, for the third time this year, take on the Las Rozas Black Demons (6-3) having beaten them twice during the regular season.
Finally, our first ever EuroBall
club, the 1-2 Catania Elephants
will host the 2-1 Cagliari Crusaders
on Saturday
The Elephants need to win this regular season ending game to make the DIII playoffs which start the weekend of June 4-5. DIII features 36 teams divided into nine girones which each play a ridiculously short four game regular season.
Now, after this fascinating week, what will the coming few days bring . . .
