Spank That Donkey

Quick update:

No internet connection until now.... We have progressed from Pucon & Lliama (another resort)  to Termas De Chillan, which is arguably the best resort in Chile.  It snowed yesterday another 3 inches adding to the few that was added on our first day.   I can not add any photos at the moment but they will be coming..

There is a ton of details in between... Time to sign off and eat some Chilean pizza...Chow!

(Worth the click) Here are landscape shots of the Andes taken from the slopes on El Collorado. You can see Santiago left center of the photo.  They have some serious smog issues there that the Chileans have been taking steps to improve. 

The next shot is just looking to the right of the first to give a landscape effect.  As you can see this isn´t Wintergreen or Snowshoe.  If you can traverse or hike to it, you can ride or ski it at these resorts.  It snowed like 8 inches two days before I arrived and the powder had turned crunchy with all the wind, but it was still deep, much to my lament, as I am struggling to learn to ride in that stuff!  The pistes or ski runs were all groomed and rode like the best conditions I have ever ridden on east coast resorts.  As the day wears on the snow softens and it´s a blast ride on!

This is a shot from the mid station restaurant looking up to the top lift.  You get serious speed coming down those puppies, and my thighs have been shot, but I am getting my legs back now that we are at the next resort, Pucon. 

Hope ya´ll are enjoying that weather back home is it nice and hot?  No worries here it´s a nice 30 - 40 degree days here.  I´m sore but having fun... more later.

(click 4 full effect)  This is my third trip back to Chile and it´s been getting better by the day.  I grabbed the shot on the left on day one driving up from Santiago to Farellones Chile.  The town is 8,000 ft above sea level and there are three resorts here, Valle Nevado, El Colorado, and La Parva.  It literally takes your breath away when you get off the lift at 10,000 ft as in the case of El Colorado where I spent three days riding, and eating.

The over turned car was a scene I also witnessed on my first trip up the same road, only that time the car was upside down and on fire!  These guys were a little luckier.  The Chileans love to bbq kabobs they call anticuchos. Notice how far they are hanging over the plate on both sides... beef, onions, and sausage.  All the food here rocks, especially the sushi.  We went to a sushi bar the other night and you can see happiness and the big boats of sushi we had on the table...

These photos are a little big even though I am thumb nailing them, I´ll try multiple posts for everyone in dial up land.

(Click for the message)  Our LG Bill Bolling went on record today backing the right of someone age 21 or older, who completes a criminal background check, and is vetted out by the State Police and a local judge to be allowed to carry a concealed firearm just about every where else in VA except their own campus, to have that right.  If I were the parent of a student who had a concealed weapons permit, but was disarmed by the VT school administration....

This is just flat out common sense.  How many criminals try to rob or do injury to other people who they know have the ability to fight back with firearms?  This Cho was a coward... a flat out coward, because when he knew the police were bearing down on him, he put the gun to his head and blew his cowardly brains out vs. facing others who he knew were armed and prepared to fight him...

These big cities that back stringent gun laws like New York City & Washington DC are only protecting the interests of the criminals by disarming law abiding citizens...  Business owners can be threatened by organized crime, who could give a rip about breaking the law in the first place.  Two-bit thugs who would break into an elderly persons home to rob, rape, or murder.... Like a gun violation pales to the penalties to the aforementioned crimes?  The criminals are given Carte Blanche to prey upon the law abiding....

That is why I judge every politician first and foremost on the Second Amendment...  If they don't trust law abiding citizens with guns, I don't trust them with power!

(Is this guy the 'Dog'?)  SWAC was honored to have RPV Chairman John Hager along with RPV's communications director Shaun Kenney  to our breakfast yesterday morning.  I've met Mr. Hager several times at Shad Plankings and this past Blog United, and he has always impressed me as a 'No BS' kinda guy.  He has also impressed me as being Conservative on the issues, especially National Defense.  I've been real critical of RPV in the past, and have been trashing all their mailings even prior to Gillespie's arrival...  Not any more, it's time to start the donations rolling back RPV.

As far as the breakfast went, it was the best we have had since LG Bill Bolling came down and gave his "Morning in VA' speech a couple months ago, only to find out he was hanging with Mitt Romney in the afternoon  . 

Seriously, all our Delegates were fired up, local officials and new local candidates were on hand, along with Scott Sayre.  Speaking of local candidates, RightsideVA did an excellent post on Jeremy Shifflett, who is running for Beverly Manor Board of Supervisors in Augusta County.  Check it out. 

SWAC GIRL certainly had the event covered and I think her photos display pretty accurately how well we really are coming back together locally as a party.  The News Virginian did a great article and highlighted some of our Chairman's comments:

“I don’t claim to be a miracle worker,” the former lieutenant governor said during a breakfast meeting of local Republicans at Rowe’s Family Restaurant. “But I promise to do everything possible to bring the two factions together on the issues we agree on. And maybe knock a couple heads together on the issues we don’t agree on.”

This is the exact kind of thing RPV needs to do, which is get active with the grass roots and elected officials in more than just words, but action.  This is not good news for Democrat chairman Dickie Cranwell... He had it good with Ed Gillespie as chair, because he (in my opinion) was really more focused on RNC mentalities (Rockefeller Republicans) vs. VA Grass roots types, who are far more conservative...  So it is all looking good to me.

You know what's really funny, and I think why loco (not local) Democrat and of course certain sewage bloggers up Harrisonburg way get so bent out of shape about us SWACers is that with Shaun Kenney in the room, we had over a half dozen bloggers represented...  Seriously, all we had to do was put out the word and we could have had a Conservative Bloggers convention.... after the meeting!

Maybe next time, for now it's getting it all back together and sending our Delegates and Senator Hanger back to Richmond, and getting all of our local elections turned into victories!  It's time to do a little 'House Cleaning'.