BUDDHAS IN THE WINDOW

I collected some buddhas for a couple of years and I put them up in the window next to my bed so that each morning I would be reminded to rejoice, be generous,stand firm for what is right, and have fun during the day. I did all those things. When I met my wife she was particularly impressed that I could have such a "sensitive side" and it added to my overall resume with her. She added the two blue dancers she purchased in Oaxaca, Mexico. Guys you just never know what works. It took years for me to figure out that all I needed to do was be myself.

END OF THE DAY

Santa Cruz has so many beautiful sunsets that I sometimes don't really appreciate any one in particular but this one caught me eye. I was driving back from a little town north of Santa Cruz named Davenport when I saw what was about to take place. I drove to Natural Bridges State Park and parked just in time to catch this last bit of the sunset.

CLOUDS OVER SANTA CRUZ

I took this photo as I got off work in Harvey West Park. Another way that Santa Cruz is WEIRD!

DAY ON THE BAY

I spent a day on the Bay with my wife and grandson. It was a beautiful day for sailing.




The water was smooth and the weather was clear.













Everyone on board had a great time with hor d' ouvres and wine. We were only in the Monterey Bay for a couple of hours but we had a great time and my grandson experienced his first sailboat ride!

AFTER THE STORM

Santa Cruz has two seasons. Wet and dry. Wet begins as early as October and goes until March or April. This is a photograph I took of Buffalo Beach which is next to the yacht harbor, hence the light beacon. The beach is known to locals as Seabright Beach but I just learned that the beach was actually named after a German Shepard owned by the late owner of Aldo's Restaurant which is located on the harbor.This storm was a particularly strong one and had just passed. My home is just a short distance from here and I enjoy going to breakfast at Aldo's on Sunday mornings.

ANSEL ADAMS WILDERNESS

This is a small lake near 1000 Island Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness just west of Mammoth Lakes, CA. It was the first backpacking trip for my wife. We spent about a week in altitudes above 10,000 feet and hiked over 23 miles to several lakes in the area. Although my wife wasn't used to that kind of outdoor camping she came through with "flying colors". She had a tough time with blisters and fatigue but she was not a quitter and impressed me so much I decided she was a good choice for a life partner. I waited around long enough for her to choose me. Lucky guy.

GRAND CANYON - 1998

My son and I along with some friends rafted 228 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in July 1998. I'm on the far right in the top image. My best friend Richard is riding in the back. My son Alec is in the lower left corner. Another friend Paul is also in the front of the raft. We're being guided by a young woman that was really great. She really knew the river. It was a trip of a lifetime. The middle image is an all-woman raft that really kicked ass the whole trip. Tough gals. It was incredibly hot (averaged 109 degrees each day) and sandy. We slept on sand bars along the side of the river each night. The heat trapped in the canyon during the day was absorbed by the walls and radiated back on to us all night. The river is about 57 degrees, much too cold and dangerous to go swimming.
The trip was a long series of placid stretches of river puncuated by moments of sheer terror. At the end of the trip, my friend Richard and son Alec and I got a very bad case of food poisoning and had a nightmarish last night before we were all helicoptered to the north rim and were taken to Las Vegas, NV by small plane. It was actually the way everyone was scheduled to taken out of the canyon. We were just grateful that we got the food poisoning on the last day and did not have to recover while rafting the canyon. It was all a great adventure and I made some very good friends as well.

FOURTH OF JULY

This is Brian Bibighaus, a well known and respected grillmeister. Brian will is creating his culinary magic much to the delight of the hundreds of guests that will be attending a loud and raucous 4th of July party. What is truly amazing is that Brian feeds throngs of people off of this one small grill. How does he do it? Go to the Screaming Man Global link and see that it's the coffee he drinks!

JULY 5, 1993

On top of Mt. Whitney, 14,494ft. Highest point in the contiguous US. It was a beautiful day at the top. Warm weather and no threat of rain and/or lightning. I climbed with a group of guys and had a great time. The views from there were fantastic. This is looking east toward Owens Valley and beyond the mountain range in the distance is Death Valley, CA. The highest and lowest points in the US in one small area. WOW!

BALI SURFING

Our son Jordan just returned from Bali. He had a great adventure surfing and traveling. It was a great opportunity for him to get some "worldliness". His mom and I were relieved when he was safe at home.