Monday, November 30, 2009

Lost Coast for Thanksgiving

Garen had a 4 day weekend, and I managed 3. The day after Thanksgiving, we hit the road again. The Suburban is long gone, so Garen drove his 4Runner Camper Deluxe. We got a reasonably early start on Friday morning, and left the city behind.

It was great for the three of us to be back on the highway,

to catch up and practice our hillbilly accents, should we stop in Ukiah. Before long, grapevines and rolling hills zipped by. There was very little traffic, a short spattering of rain, and a bit of unsettling high speed sway from the Runner.
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We coasted into Fort Bragg, always amazed at how far away you can get from the bay area in a few hours drive.
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It was blowing like stink outside, and we decided that if we were going to freeze, we would not freeze thirsty.
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Loaded up on groceries, fuel, and firewood and took the 101 a little farther north before turning off the asphalt. A dirtier truck and a short time later, we stopped on the bluff above Usal beach, where Camper stretched her brown legs.
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The views were spectacular and similar in many ways to Big Sur
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We set up camp down at the beach, had a few beverages,
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and played with the dog
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There was a woodfire, a tasty dinner, a beverage or two, some guitar playing, and an early evening. We popped up early the next morning, loaded up, and took off. The next long section of Usal Rd was much sloppier and fun
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We passed redwoods and wreckage,
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marijuana farms and mudholes
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We emerged at Shelter Cove sometime midday, parked above Black Sands, and made another delicious scramble
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Camper took refuge (forced by us) in the truck to avoid contact with a mean-spirited mange infested parking lot dog and his band of growling, half-starved ruffians. For her, memories of Guatemala must have come flooding back.
The weather was nice during the day, but cold at night. We over payed for camping next to the golf course and set up. The waves sucked, and we were happy to have left surfboards at home.
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Sorry Pops, but there were deer everywhere! Camper even chased some off at night.
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It got chilly that night, so we finished all of the beer. Woke up early and bee-lined it home. I had a 5pm shift in SF, and made it in plenty of time. It was a great trip and I hope to go again very soon
A

Monday, September 28, 2009

Up thru CA on the way home


Wow. Here is a late post. We are back in the state, and have been for months now. Yesterday Garen found a replacement for my black camera cord, which is why we are now able to post these dated pics.
On the way back up to our corner of the state, we stopped in Camarillo for two weeks to visit Pops and Gma. Caught a Dodgers game, a brewery or two, the beach, and some Kern River rafting and camping (thnx to Jeanie, Jim, and crew)
The end of a run on the IK. Looking pretty dry here (unusual)

Camper swam every day and rinsed off all the Mexico

Camper's energy level peaked higher than it has in months. The cooler climates, better food, and decrease in surprise attacks by crazed feral night creatures have immediately improved her standard of life. She seems very happy. For Garen and I, 13 IPA's each on the first night did the trick. Thanks dad!
One afternoon, we set forth into a big-ass marina on dad's inflatable.

Got a look at how the other half lives

Our next ride south of the border

3 of us plus Camp was a tight squeeze, and yes, all the jokes about the hair have already been made

This boat is special because it was built the same year dad was born. teehee

Our driver made everyone nervous

We had a great time and even managed to get a few things accomplished: Registered the truck, cleaned and sorted all our gear, flooded a garden, helped build a shed, a 20lb charcoal warmer, ate steaks of cow and deer variety, watched Terminator 4, went to Taco Bell, and more stuff...
Grandma found a bottle of Smuggler whiskey!

We had a great visit with complete with huge dinners, ping pong, a round of yahtzee defeats for me, a trip to the Channel Islands Museum, haircuts, good coffee, a Lakers Championship!!!, and more funs tuff I am forgetting right now.
A

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

LATE UPDATE #1: Last leg, Baja AGAIN!!

We hauled ass from Sayulita (where we accidentally stopped posting) to Mazatlan, where we BARELY got on the ferry to La Paz. We showed up to check the schedule and they said we had about 3 minutes to pay up and get on, so we did. We actually had to run to the ship. We forgot to bring money and I forgot a sweatshirt, but we made it. Camp had to sit in a cage for 12 hours and we had to conjure up a story to tell the boat staff (in spanish) so we could sneak down to the truck and get money for some beers and food(forgotten in our hasty boarding). Either way, we made it to La Paz safe and sound. After a bit of shopping, BK eating, internet-ing and fussing with the truck (weird noises coming from gearbox), we headed across the peninsula to Punta Conejo....
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We camped a bit closer to the waves than last time.
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But waves there were not. When the wind wasn't blowing like hell, we read a lot,
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ran around a bit,
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played with big Camp,
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goofed off,
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went on some desert hikes,
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saw some critters,
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and really just enjoyed being back in Baja. After all of the different climates and types of terrain we've seen on the trip, Baja remains a favorite. It's quiet, desolate, remote, and there isn't much to do but surf and fish, but there's something about this place that can't be found anywhere else.
We stayed here at Conejo until our provisions just about ran out, and since there was talk of a good south swell coming in a few days, we decided to head north, see something new, stake out a spot, and wait for that swell...
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GB

Monday, June 29, 2009

WE"RE BACK!!!!!

Final set up trip pics will be up in a few short days...

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Northbound and Down, 4 wheels a rollin

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Trucks that haul ass (even more so than diesel suburbans)
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12 hour driving days
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Escondido firing
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Calle disaster
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Quick lunches
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Fronteras
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Disc brakes a-steaming
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Paperwork, searches, and lines
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We got a long way to go and a short time to get there,
sit back and watch ol camper run!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A Family visit!

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Our mom and Matt flew into San Jose from Hawaii for 9 days of seeing Costa Rica. It was nice having them for many more reasons than the obvious free hotel stays and great company. We stayed one night in San Jose, then headed up the hills to Monteverde so we could all do the zip lines and walk on some super high suspension bridges...
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The zip lines were damn fun; flying through clouds and under trees on a cable is pretty cool. The wind was pretty wild and the whole take-off platforms were swaying around quite a bit...
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Who that lady on the right is, where she came from, and what she is doing in our family photo I may never know...
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We drove from Monteverde all the way to Playa Guiones (Playa Guiones) and stayed two nights there; Alex and I surfed and it rained and everyone looked at monkeys. We forgot to take pictures. Next was Puerto Viejo, and a long drive to the Caribbean side where we enjoyed another two night stay. We swam, walked about, drank good coffee, drank some micheladas, and relaxed. Mom and Matt bought a hammock. Alex and I went out one night and stayed out until about three in the morning. There was reggae everywhere which makes me think about how much all my friends back home would LOVE this place....
Once we were finished with the place, we forgot to take pictures and drove off to san Jose for our last night in a hotel and their last night in Central America. Luckies took off for Hawaii about 5am. It was greta having you Mom and Matt; thank you so much for everything; we are lucky sons. Alex and I woke up late and ate the free hotel breakfast before dragging our asses out to the truck to start another (exciting) leg of our trip...
GB

Friday, May 8, 2009

Dominical 2

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Drove back in to Dominical to kill some time. Swell was strong enough, but shape was just okay. Some lucky few caught rare barrels. Not us.
One afternoon, a wild downpour came through just as we got outside. Between the crashing of waves, thunder and lightening broke out everywhere. Visibility got bad, and it was a bit sketchy making it out past a few big outsiders.
The rain was super heavy as was mistification, creating a surreal and eerie atmosphere.
We finally returned to camp to find everything underwater. Lots of our stuff floated away, my tent was partially submerged, and Camper was wet and extremely pissed off.
Sooni and Emily showed up yesterday, so we drank beers and hung out.
We drove up to the other Matapalo, but there was no ping pong table, so we came right back to Dominical.
According to Garen, his "spirit has been broken" at the mere flicker of my magic forehand paddle, which has decimated all competition at the bar (so far, just Garen).
We are leaving tomorrow morning.
Maybe I should go take some pictures
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A