Surf/cars/boats/surf/sail
I got a 3rd (my last one, I swear) used lens on eBay for $35 and it's a wide angle 28mm. I couldn't wait to see how well it would turn out so I took a photo with my iPhone camera through the manual camera lens. This will make for better close up, realistic-view, and landscape photos.
April 21-23: With the days getting longer I can sometimes leave work before it's dark. On Friday I left with enough time to sit through an hour of traffic to drive 10 miles. Sitting in long lines at red lights, windows down to feel the warm air cooling a bit, I realized there was almost no wind. Looking at palm trees lining the roads they proved my guess. I knew there was swell building, did some math in my head: how long until sunset? How long until I can make it to El Porto (the most reliable surf break in the south bay), I know I left my old wetsuit and board in my car, but do I have a towel?
I found a parking spot with about an hour of light left, the waves were overhead, slightly crumbly but the larger the size the more the shape of the wave overcomes the crumble that wind puts on the surface. I did not have a towel though, so a Mexican blanket that I keep in the back had to do the job. El Porto is right next to the Chevron refinery and the waste water treatment plant, so the water quality is grimy, smells like oil and cannot be trusted. Don't accidentally swallow it. Try not to step in oil tar on the sand.
The next morning I replaced the break light bulbs on Mia's car, took apart my passenger seat to check that the wiring was okay, did some random stuff and then visited my dad for the first time since he moved Planet to Cabrillo Way Marina in San Pedro. The marina was incredible - so nice and new, and really made me realize what a dump marina's with old wooden docks and rusty pilings are. They had a way to pumpout at every slip for free! All of the plumbing runs through the docks into the city pipes, they have people clean the docks, and the view around Cabrillo down the channel to Hell's Gates always offers something to watch thanks to how busy the harbor is.
On Sunday I woke up and times the shifting wind to bodysurf in Redondo and followed that up by running errands making a big breakfast and going sailing with Connor. There was a red flag warning for the high surf and predicted winds around 20, but it wasn't actually that bad. We Reefed the main in his boat and took a couple-hour sail, the best part was back inside the channel going as near upwind as possible and doing some quick and what I imagine looked like perfect tacks in front of KHYC. Overall a fun weekend enjoying the local offerings of water, boats and wind, however my own boat maintenance looms.