Rick's Big Blog

From Albany to Rochester, Part 2

2011-09-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Once I left East Tennessee I headed straight up through Virginia and West Virginia. I had never been to West Virginia before and I've always thought of it as one of the most backwards places in the nation. What I didn't realize is how beautiful it is. The highway I was on went right over New River Gorge Bridge. It is the longest arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Wow was it a sight to see. The way it spans the New River Gorge is incredible.

The weather was like 75 degrees which made it for a perfect day to get out and do some exploring. The first place I came to was an overlook that was easily accessible from a parking lot right off the highway. It was pretty hazy that day, but some of the photos still turned out pretty nicely.

View from the visitor center overlook.

Cool stairway I had to take to get down to the overlook.

One of the coolest things I learned out this gorge is that it was carved through a plateau which gives it a spectacular aerial view. It is quite the site to see from above. Follow this link to an awesome slideshow of aerial views of the gorge/bridge.

From the overlook I could see a very narrow road below. I just had to figure out how to get down there. Luckily it wasn't very hard to find and ended up being a true "scenic route." Too bad I couldn't spend more time there. I drove past multiple trail heads, each one leading to some cool place that I hope to explore someday.

"This rock will have to do until I get a tripod."

Taken from a bridge below. River rafters in the distance.

From Albany to Rochester, Part 1

2011-09-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I was traveling from Albany, GA up to Rochester, NY for work. It is a long drive but I took my time stopping along the way when I saw something interesting. I've decided that is the way to travel. My first stop was in Vienna, GA at "We're Nuts". It is a pecan company and they had a pretty big retail store with about 25 different flavors of pecans....YUM! I tried almost every flavor and decided I ought to buy some.

Next I looked at the map and thought about how else I could make the drive interesting. I saw Knoxville as a potential stopping point, especially since cousins Winston, Connie, and Martin Dickey live by there. So I called them up to find out that they were at the Appalachian Fair near Johnson City, TN where Martin was showing farm animals. I didn't get to see Martin cuz he stayed back at their campsite, but Connie, Winston and I had a great time looking at the different exhibits, checking out all the hillbillies and even enjoyed a country music concert by Justin Moore. We also rode the swings. Winston brought his camera on the swings and filmed the whole thing! All in all it was a night to remember! They are really fun to hang out with.

"This way"

Tobacco!!

Best Friends!

Good thing we eat them and they don't eat us.

"This ain't no wig!"

Tybee Island, GA

2011-07-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I spent my last day in Savannah so I decided to head out to Tybee Island. I heard there was a real, old lighthouse there and that it was a pretty neat beach town. I had also heard there was an old fort there too. It was already sort of late in the day when I decided to go so I said to my buddy, "If we hurry we'll make it to the fort in time." The lighthouse was cool, but the fort wasn't that impressive. Still, it was beautiful and relaxing!

Me training. Very candid shot.

Staring at this is so relaxing.

Doesn't this look soo cool?

I'm thinking rent this for a big family vacation??

Interesting bumper sticker spotted on the way there.

Dublin, GA

2011-07-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

I was in Dublin, GA for about 6 weeks. It is known across the state of Georgia for The Redneck Games. As far as my work schedule would permit, I went to the games to see what it was all about. Here are a few photos I took while I was there. **Zooming-in on these photos may cause temporary loss of eyesight. Enjoy!

"Look at my beer torch!"

Nominated for "Who's Who Among the Dumb and Ugly in GA"

Little boy: "Hey mister, will you take a picture of my hat?" So, I did.

Will someone please explain this one to me??

Belly-flop contest....in the MUD!! Cool man!

The Moon

2011-07-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere that my camera can take decent photos of the moon. So the other night I decided to give it a try.

Gators!

2011-07-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

While I was in South Florida I lived about 5 miles from the Everglades. I instantly gained a fascination for alligators and learned that they are actually pretty aggressive. Here are some of the photos I took.

Blue Heron

Blue Heron eating a fish.

Vulture

Chomp Chomp!

This man told us if you stand by the bank, the alligators will begin to gather around because they think you are the next kill. So we tried it out and he was right! Gators start to just pop up here and there. You have to be careful cuz they are super sneaky! I had one jump while I was standing down by the bank...YIKES!!

Hot? Yes. Hell? No. South Florida? Yes!

2011-04-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I have now been in South Florida for exactly 20 days! To be exact I am living in Parkland, Florida. It's just a little northwest of Ft. Lauderdale and thank goodness it is one of the nicer areas around here. The drive was VERY long from Utah to South Florida but luckily I have an amazing sister who lives in Iowa and wonderful parents in Alabama, so I had places to stay and rest along the trip. Still though I was exhausted and dazed after the long trek. This is how I looked and felt.

For the most part I have been extremely busy with work. Some days I start working at about 9am and then finish at like 11pm, some days even later! But most of this didn't come as a surprise to me since this is my fifth year working for Vivint. I'm the operations manager for our south Florida office, which means I manage the whole installation side of things - everything from scheduling to inventory to making sure that at the end of the day the customers' systems are installed correctly and in a timely manner. Most of my technicians this summer are new. Like fresh off the boat new. But they are learning quickly and I'm excited for them to earn a good living.

Surprisingly I've only been to the beach twice in the three weeks I've been here. Can you believe that? Once I get a more routine daily schedule I'll be able to go more often. Nevertheless, here are a few photos I took at the beach the second day I was here. By the time I actually made it over there, it was nearly dark so I had to take these pics with the shutter speed slowed way down and they are sort of blurry.

My apartment which also serves as the office where the sales reps have daily meetings. I get the master bedroom all to myself!

The kitchen.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Closet

View from bedroom window.

View from the back upstairs. I was hoping there would be alligators in this pond but I haven't seen any yet.

Well, I gotta run for now. My next post will be about a couple of my alligator excursions. I took some AWESOME photos so stay tuned!

Zion National Park July 2009

2009-07-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

I went to Zion National Park in southern Utah about three weeks ago. It was awesome! I had never been there before and will definitely return. We hiked Angel's Landing. I think it is only a five mile round-trip hike, but it is uphill the whole way!! The hardest part is when the sign says there is only .5 mile to go. The picture of a narrow ridge is part of the trail. One of the girls with us turned back - she got scared. All in all a great hike.
And then I took a dip in the Virgin River down at the bottom.

Snow Nasty!

2009-02-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

Enjoy my second snowboarding movie! This is a much better compilation of some fun times boarding. It's called Snow Nasty

Night Boarding - February 7, 2009

2009-02-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a video compilation of three videos that I made on Saturday night boarding at Brighton. It was a blast! The video is shaky. I took it with my camera while riding the lift, and then on the way down the mountain! So a little crazy cuz my hand froze. I will make better ones for the future. This is the first of many to come (hopefully!). Enjoy!!

In This Time of Economic Crisis . . .

2009-01-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

I just feel like writing what many of us have heard, read, and seen: Government intervention is not the solution to the current economic crisis. Bailouts Schmailouts!! Businesses have to fail in order to succeed. Now compare what we have heard from our new president, Barack Obama, and what Bush did, to what Ronald Reagan said in his first inaugural speech 28 years ago. Remember that Reagan also face a major economic crisis and the Cold War.

If you have a couple of minutes it is WELL WORTH YOUR TIME to watch this(you can fast forward to the speech):

If you want the whole thing here are Sections 2 and 3.
Now, read this good article written the day before Obama's inaugural speech.
The cool thing is that Reagan lived up to what he said and helped pull us out of the crisis, that is, without using BIG government as the solution.

Alabama vs. LSU '08

2008-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

As much as I lament Bama's loss to LSU last season, it was a phenomenal game!! I am extremely excited to watch the game tomorrow and in order to kick-off the great weekend of football I have posted this awesome video of highlights from last year's game in Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide Roll!!!!!!

"Hey Vols!!! Hey Vols!!" ROLL TIDE!!

2008-10-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

In order to Kick off this Alabama football weekend I have posted this video to remind us of last year's game against Tennessee!! Enjoy!

My new doo!!

2008-09-17T17:00:00.001-07:00

So
you all may have heard about my freaking awesome hair doo!!! Well, I couldn't bring myself to stick with it and meet new girls in provo the first couple of weeks of school. So I had Sarah cut off the best part of it which was my mowhawk and leave the steps on the side of my head. Over the first couple of weeks of school I have discovered that steps or racing stripes (as some would call them) are a true sign of maturity and intelligence, and surprisingly an amazing chic magnet. Because of my new sales job, I now have to look the part and can't look as legit as I did before (hahaha). So last night I drove up to Salt Lake to do a favor for Sarah since Greg is out of town this week and asked her to help out my doo and my image. This is what we came up with and frankly I feel more qualified and confident than I ever have in my life!!

NYC

2008-08-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

So I finally went to New York after being up in Philadelphia for over 3 months and only about two hours away! It was...well...exactly the way I imagined it to be. Freaking HUGE!!!!! everywhere you go there are skyscrapers! Tons of'em!! I was only there for a few hours but I got to see a lot. I drove to Trenton, New Jersey and took a train from there to New York Cittay. The train took us right smack dab in the middle of the Manhattan. First I went to Times Square which was sick!! Then I walked Broadway a few blocks to the temple. It was so amazing to see a temple in the middle of Manhattan. Crazy!! Moroni looked pretty dang awesome up there in the middle of the buildings. After that we took to subway all the way down to the Staten Island Ferry. It was an awesome ride and I got to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I called Uncle Pat along the way on the ferry to Staten Island and he told me to look out to see one of the Churches he built on the island. I saw it but failed to take a picture because it was too far away. The sun was setting so I got some sweet pictures of Lady Liberty with the sun in the background. Then I went to ground zero and saw where they are constructing the new buildings in place of the world trade center. That place felt like hallowed ground. By then it was dark outside. I only managed to get a pic of the fire station right next to it. It was amazing to think that I was walking where people had fled for their lives. So, I had a great time getting to see New York and hope to go back some time soon. Go to the following website to see more pictures I took. http://picasaweb.google.com/flembag

Italian Stallion

2008-06-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of time to write on my blog while I'm here in Philly. I guess Sunday is the best day for it. A couple of weeks ago we all went as an office to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to take have a picture taken of out entire office standing both in front of the Rocky statue and the art museum. It was my manager's idea for all of us to dress like "whiskey tango". WHAT's that? it's code name for white trash. A lot of the other offices in the company try to look all "bad" in their pics so he thought it would be cool to look like a bunch of white trash!!!!! as you can see from the couple of pictures we did a pretty good job of it! Then I was made a team captain for softball and we named our team the Whiskey Tangos. We had our first game friday morning and won 14 to 7.
Plus, you will see That we made every attempt to appear W.T. For some of the guys in my office it was much easier to look white trash than others.

Sail Boarding?!

2008-04-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

Fourth time snowboarding today!! It was an amazing experience.... Yesterday I got a text from this girl in my ward asking me if I wanted to go to the canyons, which is a ski resort. Of course I couldn't turn down the invite. I have been wanting to go again before the end of the season but I didn't want to pay a full day pass price!! Someone had given her two free day passes to the Canyons. The weather was great when we got there, it was sunny and I was expecting to get a bit of tan (on my face). At around 2pm a freaking blizzard came through!!! It was snow like crazy and the wind was like 30mph!! Some of the gusts of wind were even stronger! At times I felt like a sail. I could feel the wind sort of pushing me down the mountain and towards one side of the slope. It was actually kind of cool! Included with this entry is a video of me going down the mountain. I'm getting much better!!!!

Chilly Night Boardin'

2008-04-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

So I went snowboarding again last night for my third time ever!!! It was BY FARRRR the best time I've had yet!!! Sooo much fun! and the snow was great! Plus, it stayed light til about 8pm. the only thing I would have changed was the temperature. When we first got up to Brighton ski resort it was like 18 degrees or so outside. Now 18 degrees is pretty dang cold, but it really wasn't all that bad. By the end of the night the temperature (in the parking lot) was 4. So, I'm guessing that at the top of the lift the temp was below zero!! That's dang cold for March 31st!
One time on the lift I took off my gloves to answer my phone and put on my glove liners (cuz it was getting colder). In just that amount of time, my right-hand finger tips felt frostbitten. They warmed up again about 5 min later as I descended the mtn. On the way down the mountain the snot in my nose froze.......just imagine little icicles hanging from my nostrils- yep I know that is sick, but it is truly what happened!! My roommate Joel verified it.

Winter times

2008-03-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty good '08 so far. Just been spending most of my time doing school and having a good 'ol time with friends. This winter I went snowboarding for the first time and I loved it!! I have been twice so far and I just want to keep going back. I had the chance to go last december but I still wasn't very confident with my knee, so I told my self that I would work on strengthening it so I could go in January or February. It all started with Sarah calling me one night and asking me to go. I was like, "Heck yeah!" She even said that she and Greg would provide everything for me- all the equipment and even the lift pass!! Pimp!!!

I have to admit, when I first got up there to the ski resort I was pretty nervous. I had heard about how much you fall and get banged up, especially the first time you go. Despite my nervousness I was confident and felt somewhat prepared, mostly because of the you tube videos I watched on "how to snowboard." I mean, c'mon I couldn't be that hard could it?? Old folks do it!! Four-year olds do it!! So I said to myself, "This stud is gonna shred some sick powder!!"

Once I went down the bunny slope a few times I realized that the powder(snow) was doing most of the shredding and not me. In other words, the bunny slope was kicking my trash. By the end of the night I caught on quite a bit. It also completely wore me out.

About a week later I went back again with Sarah and she videoed my progress!! (click play)

I'm Third!!!!

2008-03-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Yes!! You are correct! This G has decided to join the fleming family bloggers! I am currently taking a break from studying my organizational behavior class (fun!). So, I checked my email and saw that kelbo opened her blog as well as sarah did the other day. So, here I go!! More to come.....