My mind is always trying to remember a past weekends fun or setting expectations for the upcoming weekend. Last Saturday I took a written test for something and Mia dropped me off because it was nearby her office. Then we went to MDR because their fuel dock is the next closest place that I can replace my empty CNG tank. The law of supply and demand was in full force, it was $56 for the tank! The visit brought us up close to Asahi, a boat I see the masts of on my commute to work and we've seen at Catalina. 

  woke up early on Sunday and met up with Connor to go bodysurfing. We last week on a Friday before work and it was raining, cold, but dang near perfect conditions for LA surf. Since then, he got a new wetsuit. swim fins, and handplane and I was stoked to not be the only board-less wave rider in the lineup. When we walked over to get a view of the beach, the sun was just starting to peak over the houses and apartments to show yet again, really good waves.

"There's a huge sale at Dive N Surf, the wetsuit was only like $100" he explained, as I pulled my 3 year old wetsuit on over my head and remembered the expanding hole on my thigh seam and the over-stretched neck opening that gives me a rash. I got to thinking, maybe I should swing by that shop after. I caught a bunch of fun waves and one delivered a first, I was in a barrel, I was yelling out a hoot of joy and the combination of barrel size and length, it was echoing my hoot all around me. Many of the waves were overhead and offered up rides on their shoulder all the way to the sand and then provided a whomping. I bodysurfed until my hands were so numb that I couldn't paddle efficiently anymore. 

Birthday presents and breakfast! 

Mia and I went to get breakfast and check out the surf sale, where she insisted to let the new on-sale wetsuit (and Da-Fin's!) be her birthday presents to me - I'm so lucky. After that, Connor called me and told me that we can and should take out two Sunfish sailboats that a neighbor on the dock owns and stores at the dock. So we rigged those up and took them out on the ocean for a few hours, basically for the rest of daylight. The Sunfish look totally retro, they weigh like 300 pounds and probably had water leaks so they were heavy and stable and a lot of fun. More boats were out being used on this February weekend than most summer weekends due to the rumor that whales were over the Redondo Canyon trench. We sailed around the area but never saw whales. On the way back we buzzed past my previous neighbors Chris and Mandy, as they were anchored in the channel, who tossed us a couple beers like the friendly sailors they are. We beached the sailboats on a shoal in the harbor, were drinking our Corona's and standing on a low-tide beach feeling exhausted and lucky to have enjoyed the ocean and weather so much in one day.

There's sometimes a silver lining to having a girlfriend who is a busy attorney. Mia's work schedule required her to work extra hours Saturday and Sunday. It meant that I was going to be alone and therefore hyper productive to catch up on the perpetual project list.

I had originally wanted to do some of the higher priority tasks in the morning and then go sail the dinghy in Marina Del Rey. But the weather, as sunny and warm as it was, provided absolutely no wind all weekend. In addition, I haven't loaded the dinghy on the roof of my campershell before and prefer to run through that procedure with someone else to help so I know what to expect when I do it by myself.

So the list, I had to replace a couple bolts on the campershell roof rack and loosen all the roof fittings to fill the bases with weather sealant. Now they're all finally waterproof. I had to mount a dodger snap-button back to the underside of the traveler because it had corroded off. Since this required me to buy a tube of 3M 4200, which doesn't have a shelf life after you open it, I used the rest for sticking the cupholders back on the dinghy and I taped off the base of the mast and gutted out the old sealant and resealed that. I taped off the v-berth skylight which has a slight leak, and cleaned out the old sealant and resealed that as well. I had to find a replacement cap for an external radiator reservoir because the original cap was metal and rusted through, unfortunately nowhere sells this type of thing without replacing the entire reservoir, so I got creative and hunted through Smart & Final for a bottle or jar with a cap that would work - I found one - hopefully whoever has this boat next doesn't doubt my ingenuity when they find a green chili sauce cap with a rooster stamped on it holding the radiator fluid in. I cut up a 12-year old wetsuit to use the neoprene as a removable chafe-resistant pad around my bow and stern cleats to protect the boat from the dock line rubbing, bonus, it will quiet down the creaking sound of the line which occures when it's really dry outside. I installed a couple of these metal anti-chafe (wearandtearpads.com) near my cockpit cleats to prevent chafe from the roller furling line as well as an additional dockline that I use. I took the dinghy for a couple of rows around the marina during both days, took the big boat to the pumpout dock and fuel dock for a CNG tank that they no longer supply, I went surfing in the middle of the afternoon thanks to some lingering swell and those nonexistent winds.

It felt fulfilling to check this stuff off my list. All that is currently left of the list is building a lock for storage in the bed of my truck, going to MDR for the CNG tank, and then big project boat stuff.

A Cenoura in the rain to muddy horse walks at the farm.  

my favorite of these is the center photo of the white fence and grass. Still learning the camera and how to best show these photos online.  

MLK Jr Weekend provided me with a 3-day weekend and came along perfectly timed with a good weather break between much needed California storms. Mia and I left Friday nightafter work and drove up to San Luis Obispo to hang out with her family, see some friends, take horses for walks, go for a surf, freeze my feet surfing, get my cracked iphone screen fixed, etc etc and other things. There are constant reminders in this area that I would be lucky to live up here. Driving around to the horses or just to get groceries you’re on roads surrounded by people’s ranches, green land, wineries, and you see people outside hiking, riding bicycles, using the open space and enjoying the fresh air. It’s a contrast from Los Angeles, which has its benefits, but is overall crowded and concrete. There’s no shortage of moments I am thankful for when I am up there, so it was a good and relaxing weekend.

On Monday in the late afternoon I was on a borrowed surfboard from James with him out in the frigid (to me) water at the Avila Beach pier, waiting for rideable waves to roll in, and keeping my eye on a heavy-duty sailboat a couple hundred yards away that had their crew in the cockpit having drinks watching the sunset before pulling anchor and motoring south, and super grateful for this exact experience. The sun went behind the mountains over Avila harbor and I was no longer able to prevent my hands and feet from going numb by keeping them out of the water to dry. I was in the shade and the temperature got even cooler. We bother agreed a wave or two more and we’ll paddle in. When I got back to their house I sat in front of the fireplace with my numb feet inches from the flames and barely even felt its warmth for the first 10 minutes. Finally I thawed out, though.

We stayed through until Tuesday morning and left super early to make it to work on time. There was something interesting, and mildly depressing, about it taking the same amount of time this morning to get from Ventura to work as it would have to just leave from home in Redondo for my regular 15 mile commute to work. We didn’t have much traffic and we were sneaking past most of the LA mess by cruising on highway 1 through Malibu into Santa Monica just after the rush.

Installed fog lights on my truck before the wild 40kt wind and flooding rain. this weekend had probably the most heavy and consistent rain the area has had in years. 

I've seen this metal hung up in a parking lot close to the boat, finally had a reason to park there and go get a morning coffee with Mia. There's an artist loft / fabrication place behind the wall so I suspect they put this together

"Bad" weather is actually good weather for everyone. Rain causes growth and replenishes water for the drought. I can't complain...except maybe that sleep is difficult at the marina during these so callled storms. The rain sound is nice on the boat, but as water collects it falls from high up on the mast and can drop onto the clear roof hatches in a torturing off-rhythm inconsistent thump. I finally laid down old towels to absorb the impact. People's halyards slap and in really high winds my own rigging sends a rudely awakening shudder through the hull. But I'm pleased to take the good with the bad. 

Took a walk to get lunch during work, snapped some photos.  

The internet is inspiring. Back when I was researching for camper shells for my truck I came across a lot of pictures from people who go into wilderness and have a storage/sleep setup inside their camper shell. I'm not as crafty as they all are and I decided to start my project at 9pm after work on Friday night, knowing I was planning on camping the very next day, so I made it simple. All it took was some sawing, gluing and nailing and I came up with roughly was you see below (I changed the foam cushions to eliminate road vibration). It costed $90 total and I have leftover wood and supplies. 

Things I said on Saturday between leaving the boat and getting to the campground:

"I forgot the pan for cooking and kettle for coffee" - "I forgot my sleeping bag" - "I forgot Ice" - "I forgot about wood" - fortunately solutions to my forgetfulness were all in reach. 

We drove to Blue Jay Campground in the Cleveland National Forest near Lake Elsinore on Saturday afternoon to find is almost empty. It works on a first come first serve basis so you drive around, pick a site, and go pay for it at the front entrance under the honor system. Camping out of the truck rather than a tent meant that we had our eyes set on a parking spot that was close to the fire, preferably in shade and as flat as possible. I used the extra wood from the project to level the truck so we could sleep comfortably. Mia helped to set up our inflatable sleeping mats as I started a fire and we were settling in for the night. The whole night around the campfire we just kept saying that we need to go camping more often, its a fun, cheap, and exciting way to spend a weekend. 

On Sunday we stopped by my favorite old sandwich shop in Fullerton where I went to college, it changed a bit and had a lot going on around it, but was filling. I kept thinking I would sail the dinghy today but there was absolutely no wind. This ended up great because I went to storage to drop off the camping gear, grabs surfboard and went surfing in the nice conditions. Bonus, now my surfboard fits it the covered storage under the sleeping platform I built in the bed of my truck. 

We got new pour over coffee filters (because I lost my French press filter to the sea) and used the morning fire to boil water.  

First Christmas with Andrew. Can you spot the pacifier gift I gave him?  

Waking up at my moms house two days before Christmas knowing that the next couple days will be filled with cooking, eating and seeing family, it made the long drive after work and 1:30am arrival all worth it. By Friday night both of my brothers and their wives and baby Andrew were all there. Saturday was Christmas Eve which meant that Mia and i were planning on leaving after a special dinner. We opened presents, had dinner and hit the road heading for SLO.  Christmas Day and the next day I spent with Mia's family then I left early to go back to the work.

A couple examples of the great thoughtful gifts I received are below - a Fujifilm Insta Mini 8 camera, which spits out wallet sized instant pictures like a Polaroid. I was given an Amazon gift card which immediately went toward more film and a brown leather carrying case for the camera. I got a west marine gift card which was desperately needed to replace the jib halyard, thanks to Mia's braiding skills we were able to rig up a way to run the new line behind the old line and up the mast. Mia also gave me my first pair of hiking boots so we tested them out on New Year's Eve in Palos Verdes, it was raining and muddy but a lot of fun.

Rainy NYE hike to bluff cove

The first real rain since I've installed my roof racks on the camphershell came through and I felt around inside to see how water tight the seals are. At least one wasn't. So I had Saturday morning to do a couple projects and among taking the boat out for a pump out and rearranging the galley shelves to put cups and kitchen ware and moving spices, oils, and cooking stuff inside behind the tinted sliding plexiglass (which looks much better and will be better for setting up to go sailing) I also grabbed some trusty butyl tape from the dock box and went and sealed the hardware on the campershell...of course it probably won't rain again for a long time now. I ran out of time and Mia and I drove down to San Diego to make a quick stop my friends holiday party and then spend the night and following day with her family down there for an early Christmas. We had fires going, games around the table, football on tv, and a gift exchange. After, they took us to The Lodge at Torrey Pines golf course - super beautiful and a really special way to make it start feeling like the holidays.

We took a brief trip over to Mia's dad apartment to help him finish moving out. It offered access to the larger (just sold) house on property and a great wooden-deck beach-lookout of Leucadia. The weather was obviously very sunny and warm during the day, bit dipped into the 40s at night - frigid for San Diego standards. 

First season I ever put a wreath on - hoping it causes LA drivers to be a little nicer.  

I work in accounting Monday through Fridaystarting between 8 and 10 am to 6 or 10 pm. Surely almost all of us make to-do lists. Ideas and reminders strike me at random times throughout the day and I hate when I can't recall what it was at a later time. If my phone is nearby I'll just add it to a list in the 'notes' app. Anyway, on some lunch breaks I take a walk and brainstorm what projects and things I can do when I know I'll be in town for the upcoming weekend. I get fulfillment out of starting and finishing as much as I can on my own, that's why living on a sailboat (which require endless amounts of work) was appealing rather than a burden. In contrast to my full-time job, which I don't really get any fulfillment from.

Also in contrast to my job, when I take those lunch break walks I also catch up on a list of bookmarked blogs of sailors, hikers, travelers, and photographers. Somewhere along the walk and staring at my phone, I read about Vasquez Rocks. It's an hour drive away and I wanted to go this weekend, I wanted to revisit that feeling of escape I received from that Running Springs hike last weekend. By the end of the week my to-do list was accumulating into a dozen bullet points of varying priority and not even on that list was to actually get out and hike Vasquez Rocks.  Fine, another time. I knocked out 9 of 12 of the bullets on my list including installing a roof rack on my truck, getting a white elephant gift for a work function, mailing a birthday gift to Matt, getting an oil change, washing the boat, washing the truck, etc etc. Routine things, but we haven't been "home" often for months and it feels great to accomplish even the little things.

The campershell that I mounted the racks to is not rated to carry more than 150lbs - and I don't plan on loading anything close to that up on top either, however I went to the hardware store and came up with a way to use metal as a dual purpose backing-plate to spread the weight on the racks as well as hanger points to tie and mount things on the interior of the shell. I also had to make two trips to hardware stores for bigger mounting harware than what was provided. I'm happy with the result. I think my accessorizing is finally over, after having the vehicle for almost 12 years, I guess I got interested in improving it a little now that I dumped so much money on the transmission because I realized I'm going to have it awhile longer. I also have a re-found interest in taking it places to car-camp comfortably in the bed (or a tent) and hit a trail, waves or whatever destination early the next day on weekends. We'll see. Maybe I've been reading too many adventure blogs lately.

New racks from Vantech in black aluminum  

Mia and I both washed our cars and the sun finally came out = photo op

I finally stuck my custom bear sticker on. It anyone's looking close, I broke off a bolt on the rack by tightening it too tight. 

A Cenoura got a wash for the first time in about 7 months to get the layers of dirt off and I did an "on hands and knees" deck inspection and found out I need to replace a halyard. 

I let the group walk ahead to the lookout area that we embarked on this hike for. I slowed down my steps, strayed off the trail at the fork and I went left to find two crucial things. The first was a patch of dirt, dry and soft, sticking out of the surrounding snow for me to put down my empty beer can and stomp it compact before I put it inside in my jacket pocket with the other flattened one. After this both of my hands could free and I was able to address the second thing I was looking for - a tree to pee behind. Halfway through completing part two of my mini mission, I heard voices of hikers over the hill coming up a different trail, or was this an extension of somebody's backyard? At that moment I was reminded that although I believed I was alone up there, I wasn't far away from anything. That's the beauty of being able to come back up to Running Springs, just a short drive up from LA.

I stumbled down from my wilderness porta potty and back on the right trail to the lookout where my group was taking pictures. I chose my steps on the crunchy snow/ice carefully as I opened the last Coors light I had in my jacket pocket and joined the fun.

At the beginning of this hike we were greeted by three men at the trail opening who told us they were coming to cut down Christmas trees (illegally we think) and they told us they see bears here but since our group of 10 would talk and yell back and forth on the trail it would keep anything harmful scared and away from the trail. The local knowledge was assuring enough and we continued on. About a week ago this area received the first snow of the season therefore all of the shaded parts of the mountain had the winter landscape we came up here for, in addition to celebrate Friendsgiving with Mia's core group of friends.

We returned before it got dark to having our beverages of choice in hand, snacks, games, and a warm crackling fire to fill the silence between any music tracks we requested via an Alexa (a wireless, internet connected, smart speaker that you can give orders to). My time spent up there was less than 24-hours in total but thankfully the feeling of escape and leisure sets in immediately after getting out of the car and lasts until you are driving back descending in elevation into the flat, hazy smog of the Los Angeles basin... back to chores, alarm clocks and work, but with more valuable memories and a greater appreciation for welcoming friends and access to adventure.

I drove up to my moms house and we went to celebrate thanksgiving in Lodi. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Julia's family and see the new baby again.  

The baby's schedule: Sleep, cry, eat, repeat  

After some time up in Northern California I drove down to central California to see Mia's family. It was pouring rain which made seeing horses and getting a Christmas tree fun and feeling like winter (finally) 

Mia feeding her horse George and Maeve keeping another horse distracted out in the rain  

The sunset through a passing storm system  

I bugged their cat until she got sick of me