Del Mar Fair

We had "the best time ever" taking Olivia and Grace to the Del Mar Fair this year! So many favorites...feeding goats, cow, and calf, pig races, pony rides, deep fried cheeseburgers, chocolate ice cream sundaes, the hypnotist, the super slide,
Ferris wheel,
Starship 3000!!!,
that wacky ride Olivia and V loved, super swings, the roller coaster, balloon popping...all in one trip! We can't wait to take Olivia and Zach next year...that's our wish!

Grace is Five!

Grace wanted to be five years old ever since she found out what a birthday was. So her fifth birthday was a major milestone that had been in the planning for quite a while. She decided her 5th would be a Hanna Montana birthday party back at age 3! Valencia did a wonderful job in the planning and organization, and the party was a great success!

Grace and her best friends Demi, Corey, Victoria, Kimberly and Haley

Happy Birthday Grace!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO Mommy and Daddy

Angkor Wat

In January, we flew to from Bankgok to Siem Reap
to explore Cambodia's amazing Angkor complex.


Greg and V at Bayan Temple, Angkor Thom.

This vast temple network was built by Khmer empire between 802 and 1327 AD. King Suryavarman II (12th Century) commissioned the main Angkor Wat complex as a dwelling for the gods. Indeed, "Angkor Wat is a built as a miniature replica of the universe and represents an earthly model of the cosmic world" with the inner chambers representing the gods' heavenly domain. No mortal was permitted to live on the site of these sacred stone temples, until years later when Buddhist monks were granted responsibility for maintaining the grounds.

The interior courtyard of Angkor Wat, adorned by celestial dancers.



Bayon's smiling stone temples canonize the august age of the Khmer.



As a fellow blogger put it, "The hypnotic and timeless allure of Angkor continues to be a tremendous source of national pride for Cambodians and the Khmer people. Angkor not only defines what it is meant to be Cambodian but also serves as the spiritual core of of what has historically been an oft maligned and beleaguered nation; a nation that has also proven, time and time a gain, to be nothing short of resiliant."




Bayon's bas-reliefs feature historical events and scenes of daily life.




The ruins of Ta Prohm have been overtaken by Silk-Cottonwood and Strangler Fig Trees

Thanks for watching!
(Say leave a note and say hi)

Sacred Southeast Asia

We want to thank Jan, George, John, Jennifer, Shane, Barbara, Rachael, and Dan for helping us make our trip to Thailand and Cambodia possible. Also, props to Collins and Langer for the encouragement and tips. Thank you "Angel", 'Phon, and 'Da for sharing your country with us and for your friendship.

(Viewing hint: To view a full-screen version of Sacred Southeast Asia, click the Slide Show, then click on "Original View" toward the upper-right corner.)

Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand




6pm Monk Chant, Teak Temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand


Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom

The Vietnamese Boat People of Cambodia

Our guide Pahn suggested we visit Tonle Sap, Cambodia's "Great Lake", and we're so glad that we did. Cambodia honors three seasons; Winter, Summer, and Rainy. The Great Lake swells during the rainy monsoon season, and those who live along the lake (generally the Khmer, native Cambodians) and on the lake (generally Vietnamese) adjust my moving their homes in concert with the lake's edge.

Read more about the Vietnamese Boat People here.

We visited these "villages" during the dry season, and as such a road that had been underwater only a week prior was being used to move Khmer homes in toward the receding shore. The Vietnamese have it easier, it seems, as they simply connect their house boats and mozy into deeper water.

This slideshow tells a tale of two peoples that we can only begin to fathom. Slides two through ten show the Khmer people who live on the banks of the river; the remaining slides show the floating village of the Vietnamese...the Khmer and Vietnamese villages are adjoining but have very distinct characteristics.

Boating through the village feels like this.



Watch a house boat family moving to deeper water.



This is the village set at the high water mark of the Great Lake.

Click here for another traveler's description of the area...

Thanks for viewing!

New Year's Eve In Bangkok

V and I flew in to Bangkok just in time to celebrate the New Year...we dined at Eat Me, an ex-pat type place with live jazz, then scooted off to Bed Supperclub to ring in the New Year...you can check the photos and a few vids here...

The Countdown at Bed! (I tried to video our kiss...)

Bed Supperclub (Dark, but you can hear what it's all about)


Happy New Years, All!

Christmas 2008 in Arrowhead

Welcome to a glimpse of the Porter Campbell Strickland McFadden Venick (!) Christmas celebration, wonderfully hosted by Jen and Shane at their home in Lake Arrowhead.


Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours!

One of several highlights this year is that for the first time Zach has a boy cousin, and in fact he has two! Here's Campbell playing ball while celebrating his first Christmas with cousin Zach.

Santa showed up jolly as usual with gifts for the kids...

...Grace was so happy with Santa's gift...

Then Santa had a surprise for us all!

Lake Arrowhead was blessed with over three feet of snow, which made for the perfect wintry Christmas setting, made driving fun and every trip outside an adventure!

Uncle Mike and I agreed to a sledding duel for speed accuracy and distance...guess who won?

Mike has created a record of baby Campbell's first time on the sled.

Thanksgiving 2008

A special thanks to Larry and Linda for hosting a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner at their home in Lake Arrowhead. We arrived Wednesday evening through dense foggy conditions that shifted to hail and sleet that blanketed the mountain with a white substance that easily passed as snow for the kids. For our families I believe there is nothing more enjoyable than watching Olivia, Zach and Grace come together and play as cousins - reminiscent of the days Jennifer and I would bond with Kristen and Kelly as kids.



Linda can orchestrate a Thanksgiving meal with the best of them; we Porters are so blessed to have merged our Thanksgiving tradition with the Stricklands. This year, Larry and Linda arranged a photographer to take a family portrait - great idea - and Shane got the boys involved in a 9 on 9 flag football game - my ribs are killing me so next time I'm up for golf! Honestly though, V, Grace and I love our time with Jen, Shane, Livvy and Zach, and are already looking forward to Christmas in the mountains!

To all: If you have a favorite moment from the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday, please share it with us as a comment. And be well!

Buena Vista Athletic Club's Annual Trip

We, the Buena Vista Athletic Club, just held our annual poker, fishing, beer-golf smackdown this weekend at KQ Ranch and on Lake Cuyamaca. Our name is in its "beta" stages, but this team has been in place more or less going back well into the Eighties. Now, the "Fishing on Boyd's Birthday" thing has been going on for nearly 10 years, and we've really just settled into Lake Cuyamaca and KQ Ranch outside of Julian over the past 4 years. In Boydo's infinite wisdom, this year we went on my birthday, pushing the trip up from mid December to early November. As you can see from the pics, the weather was awesome - no ice on the docks as we've seen in December - and the lake was holding rich and amenable populations of trout and catfish, as well as bass, blugill and crappie.

So, without any further ado, the results are in:

First Fish (aka The Getting off the Schneid Award) - Boyd
Jackpot - Boyd with his Day 1 Lunker
Beer Golf Day 1 Champ - Molnar
Poker Night 1 - Porter takes 2 out of 3
Beer Golf Day 2 Champ - Anderson (under typical collusionary circumstances)
Poker Night 2 Round 1 Winner - Smalley, who played the remaining hands in a semi-passed out state
Learn To Drive A Boat Award - Jeff Boyd
Hot Hand Award - Molnar with 5 trout, 2 catfish, and his impressive Beer Golf Day 1 Drubbing


Until next year..