BBQ, Kids, and Fun

Joe and the kids came over this weekend to continue my Bday celebration. We had a fun day at the beach bouncing between my apartment and the sand. In the evening I fired up the BBQ and cooked up my famous carne and pollo asada from the mexican markets in Imperial Beach.




My professional job is starting to take a toll my physical activity. The end result is a softer belly.

Happy B-day

Happy 28th birthday to myself. My mom, sister, and all my friends met up for my Bday at my favorite happy hour location at Su Casa. It is also up the street from my house on Playa del Norte. Su Casa has one of the best happy hour deals in town with delicious tacos and devastating margaritas that will knock you on the ground if you have more than two.

La Jolla Spring Sunset

La Jolla is one of the jewels of the California coast. The rocky headland of the point makes for great surf, spectacular vistas, clear water, and vibrant coastal ecology. From my apartment I am a beach cruzer ride away from scenery like this.

Grunion La Jolla Shores

In spring the shoreline along southern California comes alive with one of nature's mass migrations. At the peak spring tides the California grunion ride the crashing waves onto the beach to lay their eggs in the sand. The females bury their butt in the the sand and if they are luck a male will wash up along side and fertilize the eggs. It is a strange sight to see fish washing up on the shore in the thousands.

Borrego Wildflowers

Julia and I drove out to Borrego Springs to hike around the early spring wildflowers in the desert. You need to have an appreciation for the little things when flower hunting in the desert. You also need to watch what you touch because nature has put spikes on every plant.



Most of the blossoms are small and best observed close up.


Spring is the best time in the desert because temperatures are cool and the hills have a hint of color. Also if you look close enough you might discover the beauty in the normally over looked environment.

Bren Ski Weekend 2009

We had the first annual grad school reunion ski weekend in Twain Harte over the President's Day weekend. It was a great weekend with my graduate school friends in some epic snow conditions. Most of us are recently employed in our new environmental professions and traveled from all ends of the country to Clair's cabin for what we hope will become an annual pilgrimage to the snow. It was a full weekend of excellent ski conditions, dinner parties, and getting caught up on all of our new lives out of grad school.

Big Bear Snow Boarding

The report was that Big Bear mountain just picked up a fresh 6 inches of snow over night with the forecast of more snow during the day. That was enough for Alex and I to make the short 3 hour drive to enjoy the day in the snow.


When it comes to snowboarding I am by all accounts a "kook". I lack the cool clothing style and ride a secondhand board from the late 1990's. Now that I have a real job I hope to upgrade my equipment and possible make it to the snow more than every other year.


The snow conditions were good with a fresh coat of powder but the fog and wind made for difficult boarding conditions.