As my year comes to a close I am getting to enjoy home more and more. I’ve made sure to get out and do a lot of running along the trails. In addition, I’ve also spent some time kayaking the Newport Bay. Here are some highlights… Why do I do all this? First, I love the outdoors when the weather is this nice. Second, I want to eat junk food. But I...
Imagine the length of a football field. Next, image a tree as long as that field. Stand the tree upright and you’ve got the monster redwood trees of Northern California. I’d been arguing with myself for a few weeks about driving further north from San Francisco. It’s once thing to do a 7 hour drive there and another thing to do 4 more hours north of...
For a few years, as I have discovered new race destinations, I have had a growing list of places I want to run. One of these goals was to run across the historic Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Last June, thanks to another race, I was made aware of one occurring this month. While this is not the official SF Marathon, this smaller event was perfect for my needs...
“Why do I keep signing up for these?” was the question going through my head over and over. I certainly don’t need any more medals or running shirts. It must be for my health, however everyone keeps saying I am ruining my knees. Thanks to Jet Lag I was already awake at 3am so a 30 minute drive to Long Beach would prove easy. I loitered around the...
For my last day hosting my friend’s visit to So-Cal we cruised to San Diego. First, we took a short walk at Torrey Pines State Beach. Next, we headed down to the bay to explore the USS Midway Ship/Museum. I’ve wanted to see this place for a few years. The best part was hanging out with a Marine veteran. He gave the old Navy guys so much crap. For the most...
What do you do when you live 7 miles from the beach and own a muscle car? Go cruising! My friend had 3 main requests for this day. First, he wanted to see Dana Point, a place connected to his Daughter’s life. Next, he wanted to see the view over Lake Elsenore and revisit the Ortega Highway. Finally, he wanted to try and find the remains of the El Toro Marine...
I picked up a friend in Glendale, AZ. His name is Tim. He was my high school Math Teacher and has been a good friend for over 20 years. He helped me achieve great success in my life as well as assisted with one of my first trips to Alaska (starting much of my travel bug). Having lost his wife a few years ago to illness, he has been slowly working his way back into...
Once a year, my employer sends me to either Orlando or Vegas to work at a training conference. After doing this for the past 6 years I am kind of bored with the event. This year it was Vegas and due to living in So Cal it presented a unique opportunity to drive there instead of flying. If felt kind of nice not having to rush for an airline schedule. I took some time...
I wanted to get a good workout in. I’m so proud that I have been tracking what I eat and finished a strong workout a day, sometimes twice. I’ve got a few nice 20-30 mile bicycle routes that result in some nice hill climbs and usually some nice sunsets. At mile 27 I slid on some loose sand on the trail and fell…hard. I was cruising about 10mph and...
There is a mountain in the distance…I see it every day. For over half a decade I have had a desire to climb to the top. Santiago Peak, sometimes called Saddleback Mountain, has haunted me few a few years. It has a tough trailhead (have to drive on gravel roads for about 4 miles; sometimes the creek washes out these roads). The official trail is about 16 Miles...