KABC - TV (taken from Firegeezer.com)

I was headed home as the Brothers from LA County were hard at work.

My sister took me to the airport this morning and we passed this fire. I wasn’t close enough to get a pic or see any of the action but you could tell by the smoke that they were on a good one.

I grabbed the photo from  FireGeezer.com  follow his link for more details etc on the multi-alarm fire.

So, we had a long hard weekend in California. Most of ya know that we ( The Roanoke Rampage) made the trip to play the Orange County Lawmen in their 34th annual Cop Bowl.

We got our butts kicked a couple ways this weekend. First, the time change SUCKS!  California is 3 hours behind us on the clock and all of our bodies were “outta wack”. I also now know andunderstand what “jet lag” is. Geesh.

Our 2nd butt kicking came from the OC Lawmen. All in all, it was a good game but the Rampage couldn’t seem to move the ball. The upside was that the Lawmen as good at hosting as they are at playing football. They took really good care of us and made the trip very enjoyable.

After the game, the home team always hosts a dinner / party for the traveling team. The Lawmen threw out a great spread at a local restaurant … “Dick and Bobs” .. Dave and Busters or something like that…LOL

Good food, cold beverages and great company.

We were all a bit sore and tired but the after party gave us a little of a 2ndwind.

Special thanks to OC Lawmen President Chris Tatar (pictured above left and on the left of  Rampage President / player Todd Stone).

Here are a few more pictures from game day ….

We split the night between the after party … some LA clubs and the hospitality room back at the hotel. Several of us had to get up to head home Sunday while others were staying an extra day or two to do a little site seeing. Once again, my baby sister Jessica took really good care of us as far as taking guys to the airport, putting us up etc. (That’s my little “Jessi – Rea” pictured above on the far right).

After dropping a few car loads off at LAX on Sunday, she took me and  Todd (Captain Todd Stone) to Hollywoodto meet up with the rest of our crew.

Yea … I was on Sunset and Hollywood Blvd! …Talk about Beverly Hillbillys … LMAO

We did a little walking around .. up and down the strip. It wasn’t exactly what I had expected but it’s definitely different from anywhere I’ve been before.

We seen all the “stars” in the side walk, all the dressed up characters and several famous buildings etc. Kinda cool.

Todd and I also took in a few LA fire stations. That was VERY cool

As with any house in this Country, after we introduced ourselves (and apologized for dropping in on a Sunday) the men opened there arms and station to us.

Conversation showed us that much like we suspected (and have known) we are NOT that different from one another. We are all fighting the same battles, facing the same problems etc … there are just different names and companies attached to the story.

The Captain there on Sunday was filling in due to a “brown out” and one of the firemen was working OT because a member from the Engine had to fill a spot on the Medic truck due to a sick call .

We got the complete tour and was even invited for lunch. Here are a few pics … note the fire curtain in the rig, the brackets for their funny helmets and yes .. the wooden ladders!

We had a great tour andsome even better conversation with the brothers from LA 41. These guys were there when we lost brother Glenn Allen back in February2011.  Find more details and coverage  HERE      HERE  and  HERE  … Rest in Peace Brother!

We seen a few “odd” things if you will. I don’t know if they were odd or just different from what we know / do.

The pic above of the bucket (back seat of Engine 41) has something different. Did ya notice the SCBA?

It’s NOT mounted in the seat. They are mounted upright on the floor in front of the fireman’s seat. They DON’T pack up enroute. They throw em on coat style after they arrive.

I think that thing is a hydrant … LMAO

We seen a lot or weird stuff in Hollywood …. this was just one of many.

Here are a few more pics from Hollywood ….

We kinda split up a bit Sunday evening / night. Some of the guys headed back to the beach while others went back to the hotel to rest up before the flight home.

Me???  I ran into a celebrity. The famous  Captain Joe Schmoe   from  Report on Conditions !

HOLLY COW … what an honor! The Capt. and I have been following one another’s sites for some time but could have never imagined that we would actually meet one day.

Turns out, Schmoe was in the LA area this weekend as well and as fate would have it .. we ended up in the same bar.

How cool is that ?? !! ??

He could hardly wait to point that big fancy camera at me …..

Yea .. Schmoe’s is bigger than mine …LOL

We had several beers and some GREAT conversation.

It was like we had known each other for all our lives.

He was everything I had expected and more …. our evening together was the highlight of my trip (2nd only to seeing and spending time with my baby sister).

There is so much to write about from our get together but this post has turned into kind of a long one already. Schmoe is a post all in himself.

I will extend my thanks to the Capt. for suffering through several hours with me. Hell, I even got to ride in his jeep! 

It was another lesson about REAL firemen and brotherhood …. Schmoe is without a doubt a  GOOD JAKE.

I will have more on our get together in my next post. Now, Schmoe was not the only lessons learned from this trip … there were SEVERAL.

One of the more funny ones was the lesson of never leaving your camera unattended in a firemen / football player’s  hospitality room!

Otherwise, you get unexpected pictures from unexpected people.

LMAO … who would have ever thought Sarah Fuhrman’s back side was so hairy? And she was the last one I would have suspected of doing such a thing so she MUST be guilty …. right? 

I am honestly shocked! Sweet innocent little Sarah. And Jarrod! Do you not have the backbone to tell her about that pimple?  LMAO

Obviously, that’s NOT Sarah’s back side but it is funny that I would even think to blame her for the clandestine photo.

OK, so that’s kinda a wrap up of our California trip. I’m back home and WORN OUT. Gonna get some sleep in my own bed, snuggled up to my beautiful wife to whatever tune the Buckaroo is snoring.

I’ll check back in after catching up on all the farm work … until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines