About 20 miles of paddling around San Juan Island this past weekend and I'm not even sore. Either the kayaking trip on the Columbia a week before prepared me or I'm going to wake up tomorrow and not be able to move my arms. Hell, even if I was sore for a few day it would still have been worth it. The idea of actually owning a kayak doesn't sound that bad anymore. It's just below a 15ft Zodiac w/50hp motor on my list of thing to buy.
Thanks to Leah for setting up the trip through her friends at Discovery Sea Kayaks. Defiantly a top notch kayaking outfit in the San Juans, and when we plan another trip I would not hesitate to call them again. Although, I'm not sure if I need to listen to the owners pep talk about how accomplished our guides are. I don't need to be reminded that I'm not very motivated.
Fun mid-week surf session last week with Drex, Pete, and Adam. It's been awhile since I've been to the spot and almost forgot how rad it is. Surfed with a small crowd for a few hours, including these assholes, but ended up having the line-up all to our selves in the afternoon.
Big weekend planned for Drex's B-Day- 4 nights of camping on the coast. Hoping either the swell shapes up or the weather holds out. I'm sure good times will be had by all.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Several Seaworthy Adventures
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Himsa Is For Quitters
Last Saturday night El Corazon hosted the final performance of Himsa. The over-capacity heavy metal mayhem seemed to be the only appropriate way to end Himsa's 10yr roller coaster ride. Of course the show was held on one of the hottest days of the year at a venue that's notorious for being a sweat-box, and famously slow on drink orders. If you didn't break sweat being crushed in the pit you would eventually become drenched by security staff spraying the crowd in order to prevent anyone from over heating.
It was fun to watch Derek up on stage occasionally showing an out of character smile. I couldn't tell if it was a reaction to the crowds energy or the realization that he wasn't going to have to deal with spending months away from home in close quarters with band mates. I'm guessing it was the over-enthusiastic crowd.
The break up didn't come as a big shock to anyone who knew the guys. Himsa has always had it's share of problems with revolving band members, label disputes, and a ex-member law suite. It's seems as though recently things were going well with a consistent line-up and great reviews on the latest album, but constant touring, and the increased cost of touring, have weighed heavily on the band.
R.I.P. Himsa 1998-2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Week In Review
A hectic week. The only thing that allowed me to keep my sanity was 3 separate trips to the coast. It started out when I returned Sunday night from surfing at Westport and found someone from Puget Sound Energy probing around for the source to a gas leak. Turned out our gas line to the dryer started leaking somehow. Jackie came home after having a drink to find our place filled with gas, and immediately called the gas company.
Work in general sucked because of the upcoming Olympics and new software we're going to be using for it. Hope to get it all figured out before the games start. My director was in town to meet with a vendor, but instead of having to sit in meetings all day I was excused to chase some surf in the Straits. Peter and I drove around checking a few spots, but ended up settling on the Elwha and some punchy little waves.
The second half of the week began with Jackie waking me up to ask why would water be coming out of the light fixtures in the Kitchen (directly under the bathroom). A few drops from a light fixture turned into a bulge above the sink, and eventually ended up as a pile of mushy drywall on the floor. A rusted old pipe coming from back of the shower broke open. I imagine it had been leaking for some time now and absorbed by the drywall. Pretty simple fix for the plumber, but we still have a huge hole in the kitchen ceiling to deal with.
A basement remodel that's taking forever, our new couch had to be returned since it doesn't fit down the stairs, and the perpetual layer of dust that covers our belongings would have sent most couples to divorce court, but we made it a priority to get out to the coast with a group of friends this weekend. On Saturday a crew made the hike out to Shi Shi and scored some fun waves. Got harassed by the Park Rangers because a friend brought his dogs, and the few that were camping out there didn't have Bear proof containers. It's our fault for not paying close enough attention to the rules, but the Rangers were total assholes. I wonder if their week was just as bad as ours?
