LA Week One

Its been about a week staying at Craig's house in Hermosa Beach, which -along with adjoining Manhattan and Rodando Beach- is referred to as the Southbay area of Los Angeles. I have been staying on the couch of his duplex apartment which is only about 200 yards from the beach and Pacific Ocean.

In the last few days I have ramped up the triathlon training as a way to provide a bit of structure to my un-employed beach living. In addition to the Olympic distance LA Triathlon I am doing on September 9th, I have recently signed up for a long course (30 m bike / 10 m run) on August 25th in Santa Barbara, and a Half-Ironman triathlon (56 m bike / 13 m run) in Vancouver on September 16th. As part of training for these I have been doing runs through Hermosa and up into Manhattan Beach and doing some longer bike rides into the Palos Verdes ("the PV") hills to the south. The PV ride has some ridiculous views of the Pacific and actually goes right by the famous Donald Trump golf course, which I believe recently was on the loosing end of a mudslide. Swim training is predictably convenient, as the Pacific temp is over 70 degrees and there are multiple open water swims that meet each week.

Other than my tri training I have been doing a bit of surfing. There is a nice swell which is not to crowded just off Hermosa pier which I can walk to. I have been borrowing a board from Craig's buddy Simon which is 7'8'' which they refer to as a fun board. It is easier to turn than the long boards I have been on in the past and I think I may buy my own here soon. I am certainly up and paddling into waves but still not getting real long rides or making to many turns. I am trying to make some progress on the board so that I am ready for the surf down South in Costa Rica and Argentina. By then hopefully I will be posting some real surf photos. All my other initiatives such as cooking, Spanish, and MMA classes have kind of been pushed to the back burner by the above pursuits. It seems that despite my unemployment there are still not enough hours in the day. I am hoping that once I get my own place rented out here and Laura moves up, that I can get a more regular schedule and pick up one or two of the above classes. Laura is understandably on my case to get that whole Spanish language thing down before are trip.

So the social scene in Hermosa is less like local beach community and more like little Hollywood. Craig took me to a club called Shore on Thursday and it was an interesting introduction to the west coast night club scene. Tight long sleeve t-shirts with raised embroidery decorations and spiked/mussed hair seemed to be the uniform for the dudes. Dudes in fact were in abundance, leading to a lot of unnecessary testosterone being misspent over girls who wouldn't even get a second look at a NY bar or on Texas college campus. I also got jumped by some guy out of the blue, who came flying over a couch and shoved me into the wall. Craig got into the middle between us but not before the bouncers swept in and promptly tossed us out of the club. I don't know who the guy who came after me was, or what pissed him off, but I thank him. At least I was out of Shore.



A crash course on LA traffic courtesy of the 405



El Porto surf break on Manhattan Beach. Obviously not to huge today.



Looking down the sandy beach that runs from miles from Rodando up through Hermosa and Manhattan.

Hermosa Beach

I drove down from Frank's house in Atherton yesterday (7/24) and have arrived at the casa del Carter in Hermosa Beach, CA. My computer hard drive has crashed so I am using Craig's computer. I will be living with him out here for at least two weeks then may rent my own place for when my sister Laura comes out.

No pictures yet until I get my computer back up and running. Hope everyone is doing great.

Back in San Fran

I am staring out the bay window at Baker and Klein's apartment at an incredible vista of Alcatraz Island and San Francisco Bay. It is an absolutely gorgeous day. Right now we are watching the British Open playoff between Harrington and Sergio. In about an hour we are heading out to the Greek Theater in Berkley to see the Railroad Earth and String Cheese concert. It could not be a better day for an outdoor concert.

. . . looks like Harrington just won. Were off to the concert.

A week in Lake Tahoe

Greg, Frank, and I just finished up a week out in Lake Tahoe. We rented at the Tahoe Tavern on the lakes North Shore. The first night (Sat 7/14) we went to the casinos in Kings Beach on the California / Nevada border. We hit up the Crystal Bay and happened to catch local Cali band the "Mother Hips" for their last set. The music was good and, while we didn't gamble much, I managed to get a suited black jack which got me a free bottle of wine. That plus my $50 dollars of winnings probably put me up $54.50 for the night.

So our cab driver Nate who took us to the casinos that first night ended up being an invaluable resource. While he looked about 22 with his baggy cargo shorts and sideways flatbrimmed hats, Nate was actually 34 and had been in Tahoe for the past 15 years working as a cabdriver, bartender, and landscaper, and playing in garage bands. His day-to-day life, as he related to us on many a ride to the bar, occured primarily between the hours 8PM and 10AM and wondered between casinos, bars, his cab, and following around the Ozzfest concert series with his other cabby buddies and "12 or so other hot girls". The main girl he seemed to be on the phone with, however, was his 22 year old ex(?)-girlfriend, a recovering heroin user and gambling addict, who he assured us was hot enough to compensate for whatever other minor issues she dealt with. In fact, Nate told us he no longer even needed the restraining order which he had taken out against her after she came over and trashed his apartment in a plate throwing fit one to many times.

Whatever else might be said about Nate, and believe me this just scratches the surface, his unique local knowledge was invaluable in helping us lay out a agenda for the nighttime activities throughout the week. The best part was not only would he drive our cab driver, but he would also frequently join us at the bar introducing us to some of his local pals and slyly sucking down as many free beverages as he felt he could get away with. Other highlights from Tahoe bar circuit are below:

Monday: Pete and Peter's bar in Tahoe City. It was definitely a local scene (half the patrons were in their softball uniforms) but we took refuge on the shuffle puck table and proudly embraced our summer tourist status (i think Greg was wearing a tanktop). Other awkward summer tourists naturally flocked to our fortified position and we finished the night with a hotly contested shuffle puck victory over two summer tennis camp counselors who were on their night off.

Wednesday: At Nates suggestion "Wet Woody Wednesday" at a bar/restaurant called "Garwood's" was the order of the day. Naturally I was on board, believing my last name was worth at least 2 or 3 free drinks. Despite not getting comped any drinks intoxication levels were quite high as a pitcher of "Wet Woody" frozen rum drinks were only $8.

At one point, Greg tried to bum a cigarette from a girl who glared at him and declared "Are you kidding. Do you know what those things do? My father takes out black lungs for a living so I would never smoke something that will eventually kill you."

A non-pulsed Greg responded, "Well you're entitled to your opinion, but I just can't say I personally have seen any conclusive evidence. Does your friend perchance have a smoke".

Thursday: Iron Curtain night at Rookie's Sportsbar in Incline- so named because on Thursday's the bar offered half price drinks for all the Eastern Europeans who came to the Tahoe area to work in the casinos, hotels, and other tourist jobs. By 11:00 PM the bar was packed with more Slavs then a Balkan refugee camp. Unfortunately, however, our attempts at conversation were stimied when the other patrons claimed not to know either Dolph Lundgren or Maria Sharapova and thus all our connections to Eastern Europe were exhausted.

We did have a good time that night though. Frank's family friend Mike came out with us allowing for some 2 0n 2 Golden Tee and pool. Mike even offered to help out by calling a Romanian friend from college and asking for some opening lines that might penetrate the Eastern European ice queens. The night ended up back at the famous Crystal Bay casino where the meager profits from the previous Saturday were quickly caughed back up to the casino with a substantial bit of interest.

Between these great Tahoe cultural events, we managed to take advantage of the lake and surrounding mountains with some great outdoor activities. There was a great trail for running along the Trukee river and up into the Sierra Nevadas within a mile of our cabin. I got five runs in during our 7 days and even made one attempt at an open water swim in the lake which lasted 25 very cold minutes. The most enjoyable swims were my morning post run dives of the pier which never failed to clear the head, cleanse the body, and start the day on a visceral high. They also served to replace showers for the first 4 days.

Greg, Frank, and I also floated the Trukee river. While the only foam and white-water that we saw was generated by spilled Busch Beers, we still enjoyed the three hour float down the river. Our other experience on the Truckee was two days of fly fishing. The fishing was tough, with not much top water activity, but we did get to see a cool part of the region. We mainly fished an area known as the "Little Trukee" which ran between the Boca and Stampede reservoirs northeast of Tahoe City.

We spent two days out on a boat in Lake Tahoe, wakeboarding one morning and doing some cruising and tubing another afternoon. The wakeboarding was a cool experience, Greg had done some growing up and was able to give me some tips on getting up. While I don't think you will be seeing me in a Moutain Dew commercial anytime soon, I was able to move around a bit behind the boat and had a great time. The other day Frank's buddy Mike took us out on his boat and we went to Rubicon and Emerald Bay and did a bit of cliff jumping and tubing. Mike's house in the Chambers complex had an amazing deck looking out over the lake and some cocktails there late Friday afternoon provided a relaxing end to our week.

A view of our cabin in the Tahoe Tavern complex

Greg, Frank, and I after wakeboarding

On the Trukee river rafting trip

Greg and I pretending the Trukee required paddeling skills



Pretty excited I was up and at least cruising on the wakeboard



Taking the plunge off the cliff at Rubicon

Hotel de Walters / San Fran

Living the good life jumping between Atherton and San Fran. Played golf twice at Burlingame Country Club in Hillsburough. Frank and Preston shot a 82 and 79 respectively. My game was a little more off an on but feel that I am about to turn the corner on the course.

Today Ruiz lands from Hawaii and we head out to Tahoe for a week. Just bought tickets for the Railroad Earth/ String Cheese Incident concert on Sunday the 22nd at the Greek theatre in Berkley

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Road trip to San Francisco / Surfing in Santa Cruz

Drove down from Jackson Hole to meet Frank and stay for a week in San Francisco. Cutting down from the Tetons to 80 West I went through Twin Falls, Idaho which is where Evel Knievel tried to jump the Snake River canyon in a rocket.

I got out of the car to take some pictures of the bridge over the canyon and actually saw some base jumpers take the leap. In the picture below you can make out the jumper about 100 feet down into the 450 foot freefall and just pulling his shoot. I also saw two guys do a tandem jump with one waiting till 200 feet to pull the shoot so they wouldn't intertangle.

I got to San Francisco [actually Atherton 30 minutes south of SF right next to Palo Alto] on Monday and have played some golf and gone surfing down in Santa Cruz (see the picture with the huge waves below). Right now we are up in SF staying at Frank's brother Preston's place after going out to dinner and out with his girlfriend and her sister last night.

Golf / Last Day in Jackson

Just finished up a great last two days in Jackson after our fishing trip. We played Golf at three Creeks Country club on Saturday. Congrats to team Baker/Craddock which won the two man scramble with an even par score. Congrats to Dowling for having the worst golf swing this side of Charles Barkley (he also somewhat resembles a paler version of the round mound of rebound).


We had a great BBQ to finish the week up back at the Egan Casa on the gorgeous elk preserve. Check out the view of Grand Teton from the front porch in the picture below. Peter made up for his golf shortcomings with some amazing cooking that included sausage infused baked beans, coleslaw, fajitas, ribs, and homemade blackout margaritas.

An amazing end to an amazing trip. Thank you so much Timmy.

Snake River Fishing Trip

Well the trip out at Eganvale West was everything and more. On Wednesday July 4th, are first full day in Jackson, we worked off our hangovers, explored the town, and went out to a great dinner with the Egans. That night we watched the fireworks from the top of my car on the road through the Elk Preserve that leads out to the Egan's place. Patriotic emotion was high-to-quite-high as we blasted "Proud to Be an American" on the stereo and watched the fireworks light up the Wyoming night. The rest of the night saw a return to the bars, a link up with Coco, Meers, and Tenequia, and few games of pool at the Cowboy bar.

Thursday morning started our two day rafting trip. We put in four rafts just on the Idaho side of the Tetons on the Snake River and fished as we floated all day. It was all beautiful dry fly fishing, casting to the banks and mending to work natural drifts. We saw constant rising action from Cuthroats, Rainbows, and Brown trout. I caught about 20 fish both days.

For the overnight we camped out at WorldCast Anglers base camp which they fondly refer to as the Outback Hilton. One can imagine steaks with grilled mushrooms and onions cooked over propane stoves, sleeping in canvas side wall tents on blanket covered cots, and drinking cold beers around a campfire cooled off nicely by the nearby spring. We stayed up late around the campfire and fifth of Jack Daniels somehow disappeared amongst the 7 of us.

Swimming in the river was also a highlight. It as about 55 degrees but felt great after being out on the raft for a few hours. Dowling took a particular love for the water, and came to resemble a giant, pale Snake River manatee (pictures unavailable).

It was an amazing trip. A huge thanks to Tim and his family that made this happen. We are all enormously grateful.

Jackson Camping

Well , I am out here in Jackson Hole at the abode of Tim Egan who has gathered a supporting cast of Craddy, Gilbane, Dowling, Klein, Baker and I. Needless to say savagery has ensued. Klein, Craddy, and I went out on a two night / three day backpacking trip in Grand Teton National Park from Sunday the 1st to Tuesday the 3rd before the rest of the crew arrived.

Backpacking trip highlights included:

-George's projectile vomit after 9 miles of uphill hiking during the first day which he referred to as the "Batan Death March". Severe dehydration was treated with a quick nap and a few nips of the "blackwater" which we came to call the jaggermister.

-George's wild fear of bears which led him to purchase a high powered pepper spray cannon and to Klein's wild fears that the would become the unintended victim of the blinding spray

-Snow glisading, alpine lake swimming, Grand Teton views, and consuming unhealthy amounts of hilshire farm summer sausage

Tom, George, and I came out of the woods Tuesday at a trailhead in Teton Village where we went promptly to the Mangey Moose Bar, ordered 4 rounds of beers, and argued vociferously about the pardon of Scooter Libby. Our waitress Trisha, sporting a firm rack of newly purchased breasts, then approached our table and offered to tell us a joke.

"What do a nine-volt battery and an asshole have in common" ?

[shrugs, awkward glances, and "I don't knows" exchanged between Tom, George and I]

"You know you shouldn't do it but you can't keep you tongue off them".

Jackson Hole certainly has it share of unique characters. I think she was just bored of listening to the politics talk and was trying to shock us into any other line of discussion. Needless to say she succeeded and all three of us took turns trying to impress her with are best dirty jokes.

That night, after the rest of the crew had arrived and Mrs. Egan had cooked us up a Mexican dinner, we all went out to bars in Jackson

Not surprisingly our roaming pack of 7 focused its efforts on seizing all attention and taking center stage at each bar patronized. We ended up our night at 43 North smoking ciggies and toasting friendship on the bars back porch. Though our tones were actually quite moderate, two words into Will Egan's toast a bouncer came over and told us to quiet down. Subsequently sarcasm and bouncer imitations ran amok, and a dramatically indignant Michael Gilbane proclaimed his civil liberties had been impugned.

Unfortunately a herd of bovine like females grazing on dark lagers nearby took the bouncer's side in the altercation and joined in trying to silence us. Despite some initial attempts at reconciliation, the herd could not be appeased.

The situation called for a preemptive strike designed for Shock and Awe which bubbled forth in the form of a roaring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that would have brought tears to Lee Greenwood's eyes. The anthem would be the night's swansong, and we marched proudly off the porch leaving the spirit of the July Fourth shimmering in our wake. [Our wake may also have included curses and disgusted looks from the bouncer and his herd but the rest of the bar had actually responded to our patriotic appeal and had their hands over their hearts and were laughing heartily at the situation]

Today is morning two-the day after- and a long Egan itinerary stands before us for the coming days.