Trvaelogue Dublin Day 1 continued

 After taking the hop on-hop off bus for a loop around the city, it was time to put boots to the ground and take a look around.  I could have hopped on the bus again but it was a quick 15 minute walk.  Grafton St has a number of shops that line this pedestrianized street

 
There are boutiques and name-brand stores.  Little cafes are situated next to fast food chains.  Im not much for shooping so I didnt really pay attention to what is available but you can check it out for yourself

There were a number of people shopping and walking about.  However, it did not feel frenetic and it didnt have the energy I come to expect in areas like this.  But, thats just me

Temple Bar is just west of Grafton and borders the river.  A bar is an area along the river or body of water.  In this case, this bar has alot of bars.  The drinking type bars

Pubs are abundant   Many offer food and/or music, traditional and otherwise.  Its fairly early so no drunkards falling over themselves or puking in the streets.  Afterall, the sun i still up

 As I leave the area, it gets dark.  But not just dark from the setting sun but from the closure of stores.  This is Monday evening.  Alot of store close early by 7pm.  Bars and restaurants still ply their businesses after this hour.  Convenience stores can help fill the gap.

It started to get dark and I opted for some cod and chips at a place near the accommodations.  Nice flaky fish in a crispy light batter.  Damn, forgot the tartar sauce and ketchup

Travelogue Dublin Day 1-revised

12 hours on 2 planes, 3 hour layover, another 12 hours since I landed=no sleep.  Some random pics for the first post

O'Connell St

This is The Spire

Trinity College

Along Dame St in the Temple Bar area

Dublin Castle

Christ Church

Guiness Storehouse

Looking north along O'Connell St from the bridge

2012 World Series- San Francisco Giants vs Detroit Tigers

The Giants and Tigers head east for game 3 of the series.  Games 1 and 2 as well as 67 are hosted by the national league team at AT&T Park in San Francisco.  Last nights game was won he Gants in a sparring match that took both teams until the 7th inning before we saw anything on the scoreboard aside from zeroes.  In the end, the Giants shutout the other team and scored 2 runs.  San Francisco won the first game in much grander fashion than the second night.  I was fortunate enough to be on hand to see it.

With the first pitch some time away, I felt the need to explore the ballpark.  Out by the right field bleachers, the standing room only section had tickets going for at least $400 on the open market.

The National League trophy was won in stupendous fashion in a thrilling 3-game come from behind victory on Monday in SF.  Luckily, the team could stay put and not have to endure the flight to Detroit for the start of the series 2 days later.

A view from my seat along the first-base line high up in the nosebleed section.  Fans on their feet for the singing of the national anthem and the opening of game 1 and the series

Pablo Sandovals's first at bat.  An electric night saw him hitting 3 homeruns with this one to start it all off.  With support from the others adding another 5 runs to overwhelm the Tigers.  Balls were bouncing in our favor as a ball hit down the third base line struck third and changed its directory enough to get by the the third baseman. 

With the game well in hand by the top of the 6th inning, my wanderlust got me out of my seat to explored the the stadium after sunset.  The birght lights lighting up the fans and the field.  You can just make out the empty seat on the left in the top section where I had vacated it to find some sustanence

A nice brat loaded with saurkraut and grilled onions on a bun helped to take care of the hunger as the winning ways of our team was the best appetite suppresant one would ever want.  A hot cup of coffee, though not my usual accompnayment, was a nice shot of warmth and caffeinne.  Round about $8for the sausage snadwich made for a reasonable price.  Other options abound would make you dizzy from the choices.  Aside from the usual ballpark fare, there is also barbecue, crab sandwiches, garlic fries, etc.

A great way to start the fall classic with a 8-3 dominating win.  Everything went right and all the pieces, (defense, pitching, battting) were in place to make an exciting game for fans of the home team.

Hees to the Giants taking the series.  I predict they will take it before returning home.  But, they will return champions.  Go Giants!

Military Vehicle Technology Foundation

Nestled in the quiet Portola Valley of San Mateo county lies a museum of immense proportions.  Spread over several acres of land, the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation seeks to restore military vehicles from many generations and regions.  Also known as the Tank Farm, their collection, as the name states, consists primarily of tanks but does encompass other vehicles used not only by our military but other forces around the world.

Tours are provided to the public by reservation.  Fees are charged at $20 per adult and reduced fares for children.  Information can be found at their website.  In the main area that we parked at, several vehicles were on display as we waited for our tour to begin.  For safety reasons, you are not able to climb in or operate anything they have except for a few exhibits like an M5 halftrack mounted with 3 M2 .50 caliber machine guns and 2 .30 caliber guns

There were 4 buildings that we toured.  3 were in the parking area and the 4th is a short wak away.  The 3 buildings are interconnect and comprise the bulk of the tour. 

Many of the pieces are in several conditions of being repaired.  A seperate workshop was located in another building that was not open to our tour.  Some have seen better days while others are completely restored and can be driven off the site. 

Rust is evident all over the tip of this barrel.  Things like this will have the rust removed and repainted to its former glory.  It will not be working condition as most of the vehicles are found in a demilitarized condition

Tour guides take you through the buildings and provide information on the work they are doing as well as history on select items in the tour.  The foundation was started by Jacques Littlefield.  The collection grew until his passing in 2009.

This German Leopard tank represents one of the many countries that are represented within the array of vehicles.  There are several variations on the Panzer tanks in the buildings.  However, they were not fortunate to have a Tiger.  The Tiger tank was one of the biggest, heaviest, most armored tank the Germans made during WWII.  Though not as fast as other tanks of its era, it was one of the most feared

While not a whole tank, this M1 Abrams turret is a contemporary display of a component of today's main battle tanks.  Sloping sides and a low profile are the hallmarks of many behemothes that are produced by the world's military.  The turrets are not secured to the motorezed portion.  They are simply held in place by their sheer weight.  If an Abrams was turned upside-down. the turret would just fall off.

The sloped slides of the turret are a design feature to help dissipate the destructive force of incoming rounds.  A machine gun is coaxially mounted alongside the main gun.  The gunner is seated in a little cage below the main gun.  Atop, other variations have mounted additional machine guns or TOW missle launchers

The business end of the 120mm smooth-bore main gun barrel but it started life with a 105mm rifled barrel

Vehicles used to ferry troops in and out of the battlefield can be found on the grounds.  This M90 APC can protect itself with M60 machine gun and a TOW launcher.  Jeeps and other unarmored transports are scattered throughout this culmination of military converances.

A Russian T-54 tank

The rifled main gun barrel.  The rifling helps to spin the projectile to stabilize it while in flight to its target.  Bullets in handguns work on this same principle.  This is what the inside of a handgun barrel would look like but on a much smaller scale.

Other engineering vehicles include this monstrosity which is used to lay a temporary bridge over small rivers or empasses to allow personnel or other transport to cross.  The upper portion opens like a clamshell with the tips being the front and back of the bridge.  The whole assembly pivots forward as it opens.  A modern version of this vehicle has the parts sliding past each other.

For Lunch - Saigon BBQ

While in brisbane I stopped a strip mall that has a number of restaurants with a variety of cuisines and tastes. Sincr the weather was a bit overcast it put me in the mood for some soup and dropped into the vietnamese place. The menu is fairly standard as I scoped out the pho section. Most places have a small med large or xl. At the least 2 sizes. Here there was only 1 size. A decent portion for the price. Not cheap but by no means expensive. I ordered the number 3 with eye round and brisket. Upon first taste of the soup it was bland. There was not much beef flavor nor was there much msg. On the plus side it was not very oily. A full squeeze of lime didn't really inspire the flavors. The rice noodles had a good amount of chew and the portions of beef were good. After finishing most of the solid matter I began into the soup once more. By now the ingredients would have imparted their flavors into the broth. At this time I like to eat the softened slices of onion that have becomer sweeter while in the soup. Again I felt the same dissappointment that I felt during my first go around with this dish