Better late than never...

Well, Nicole and Natalie have pretty much covered the Newport Beach trip this year, so I'll just say that any week I have 2 gyros at the Mad Greek in Baker is a good week, even when I'm sick for half of it. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trip.

I'm rather proud of my steady hand.
This was a 1 second shutter opening just before the fireworks.
Ostensibly a "tame" ride, those rocket ships can pull some serious G's if you go all the way up and then head for the deck as fast as you can drop.
For good reason, Mater is probably my favorite character from Cars.
Apparently Chelsea likes him too: "Mater, a-funny Mater"
Believe it or not, Sleeping Beauty's Castle is one of my favorite sights at Disneyland.
Jayden sure loved his Mickey Ears Hat, not to mention the carousel.
Chelsea and I both love It's a Small World. And look how we're wearing matching shirts...
Me and an old friend.
Someday I'm going to build and program my own R2-D2 to clean up after me.
I like naps, although it appears that Chelsea didn't quite get the concept...
The Tallest One (Nicole's Grandma L*) got a kick out of my signature vacation facial hair.

Warning!

While we were in St. George for our anniversary we made a small trip to the bike shop. While talking to one of the guys there I learned that what I thought was a relatively harmless crack in the shell of my helmet could be very dangerous, and that any time a helmet takes a significant impact it should be replaced. So I picked up a new helmet.

The fun part started when I began reading the manual that came with it, and the warning stickers on the inside. Some examples:

WARNING: No protective headgear can protect the helmet wearer against all foreseeable impacts.

So don't get shot in the head while wearing this helmet?

Your helmet will not protect against injury in all types of accidents. Even while wearing a helmet, low speed accidents may result in serious head injury or death.

Yeah, so go faster and you won't get hurt as bad?

Because every accident scenario is different, it is impossible to know whether use of a helmet will provide partial or complete protection. Studies have shown that you are better off with a helmet than without one.

"You might live through it" is better than "You won't live through it" after all.

WARNING: Do not take risks just because you are wearing a helmet.

Don't be stupid.

Note: The useful life of your helmet may be less than five years as a result of exposure to sunlight, rough handling/storage that results in dents or cuts or as a result of heavy use.

I guess. I'm on my 3rd helmet in 3 years.

And finally, my two favorites.

A bicycle helmet does not protect what it doesn't cover, and as noted it may not protect what it does cover. A bicycle helmet will not protect against injuries to the spine, neck, or face.

We make no guarantees. At all.

WARNING: A bicycle helmet is for bicycling only! Always wear a helmet when bicycling. When you get off your bicycle, remove your helmet. Do not wear a helmet while climbing trees, in play areas, on playground equipment, or, at any time while not riding a bicycle. Adults: Instruct children to follow this warning. Failure to follow this warning could result in serious injury, death by strangulation, death.

A: Apparently sombody sued because their 10-year-old fell off the merry-go-round while still wearing his bike helmet and died anyway. B: Apparently death by strangulation is not as bad as death.