Holy crap, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane today. Kim and I went skydiving today, to celebrate my having lost over 50 lbs.
It started with her friend Enrique, who had suggested it. Kim asked if I was interested, but I said that I’d looked into it before, but was too heavy and couldn’t go. Kim asked if that was still true with my weight loss, and I replied I wasn’t sure. She checked, and when we realized …

Kim and I ran the 10K Volkslauf mud run today. It was super fun. I had done it many years ago a couple times, but not since moving away from Bakersfield. We ran in a team with Ray Purcell and Courtney Purcell, and had a great time. The Volkslauf has moved sites, and had some teething issues with parking and having enough water for the runners. This 10 K has lots of mud, some long pits, tunnels to crawl …

On Sept. 25th, Kim and i went up to Tahquitz and climbed El Whampo, a six pitch 5.7. I’ve hardly climbed the last few years, and was a little nervous, but led every pitch and felt suprisingly solid throughout. I really, really enjoyed it and have been looking at the calendar to add some more climbing days.

Kim and I, with our friends Ray and Jeff, went out to Santa Cruz this weekend. On Saturday, we paddled from Scorpion cove to Smugglers Harbor, then back to sCorpion where we camped for the night. Sunday, we loaded our gear into the kayaks and paddled to Prisoner’s Harbor, then hiked 3.5 steep, hilly miles to camp. today, we hiked back out, then did a nice short paddle before catching the boat back to the mainland. We saw sea …

Kim and I vactioned in Zion National Park, where we hiked the amazing Narrows hike, learned about canyonering, explored some amazing canyons, had our car snacked on by squirrels, rode bikes and more. We’re been lucky enough to travel to some amazing spots in the planet, and when I do a trip like this I’m reminded that, especially in terms of natural beauty, America has some stuff that ranks right at the top of the list.

Last weekend, Kim and I drove to Lake Tahoe, parked the car in Squaw Valley, and rode about 50 miles around the Lake to South Lake Tahoe on Saturday. The route included everything from bike paths to rolling hills to a LONG climb that led to a screaming fast downhill. Super fun. We stayed in an inexpensive motel in south lake tahoe…. then walked 6 miles roundtrip to get dinner. A great night of rest, and we woke sunday, and …

Just a few photos from some winter trips we took.  Lake Tahoe with Paula and Erol, and Mammoth with Helen and Scott.  good times….

A few months back, my friend from b-school (Alex M.) emailed me and let me know that he had a camping site reserved at Joshua Tree for thanksgiving weekend. Although I rarely climb anymore, Joshua Tree still ranks as one of my favorite places in the universe. Love it. Kim and I spent the weekend of Thanksgiving out there.

The Black Canyon is the section of the Colorado river below Hoover Dam. Scenic paddling, with hot springs and gorgeous scenery.

We’re lucky to live in an incredible part of the country.  Within a few hours drive of house, we got the ocean, mountains, lakes, forests, deserts and a big city.   We try and keep pretty busy, and have some great adventures around here.   In the pictures, you’ll see sea kayaking, a Toad the Wet Sprocket concert, riding our tandem bike, etc.   Everything in this album is within 2 hours of house.