In 6 weeks Elaine and I are going to St. Barts for the Bucket sailboat races. I may have to see if some Skipper would let me try this on their sailboat. They would have to have a swinging keel, and Elaine would make me wear a helmet, but it would be fun.
Last night I took a class on glass blowing from BAGI. They are a non profit glass blowing organization in San Jose, Ca. that has recently started to use Groupon, Yelp, etc. to help keep the place open for Artist. I got a discount coupon through Yelp. Sean was our instructor for making glass floats. There were two people at the class with no experience, so three of us total. I had taken classes at Chowchilla High School from Mr. Landgren over (gasp) 35 years ago. It was a blast, and I am going to take their 1A course which is 16 hours of instruction. I feel fortunate that Chowchilla High was one of the few High Schools to have glass blowing in their Art Department. The glass floats above are about 8 inches across.
The weather was cold, for us, around here yesterday. I took Sophia for a walk at Sunset around the Cement Boat. There were alot of people getting some outside time in before our needed rain comes in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C_VeXMo8sk&feature=g-upl
Elaine got adventurous one night. She went out on Baby Beach, Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii. at low tide to check out the sea life. A lot of invertebrates, fish, and eels. She at first was bare foot, until she called me out to film. The video is a little Blair Witch, but you can clearly see everything. We were stumbling around using flashlights. The tide was very low, about half the depth in the lava protected little lagoon. A local caught a 3 foot octopus the next day. I would have posted this sooner, but no power at home put it on hold.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk4clsfOZ3k
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Our family is having a great time here in Kauai. A couple of days ago, I got video of about an 18 inch green sea turtle which I have edited and posted. Yesterday, I got video of a 30 inch turtle and a eel. Today, it was a herd of Turtles, seven or eight. When I get it edited, I will upload it. Again, everyone enjoy your family and friends on Thanksgiving.
Dan C.
Baby Beach right outside Hale Ohe.
Well we got in yesterday afternoon, after a delayed flight out of Oahu to Kauai. It has been raining in Kauai intermittently, but is still wonderfully warm after the recent cold spell in Aptos. Today, I got up a 4am local time, and got a run in before it warmed up. The area around Poipu has changed, but not dramatically since we were here last. Elaine got a house, Hale Ohe, right on Baby Beach. We have rented houses along this section of Poipu 4 or 5 times. They have all been unique with beautiful views.
I picked up a GoPro camera last week. I modified the underwater housing using a Blurfix adapter which fixes the focus, filter, and fogging issues of the stock GoPro waterproof housing. Where we are staying at near Whaler’s Cove is great for snorkeling as a small river runs into the ocean. I have observed lots of fish, some turtles, and sharks once in awhile off the point, once you get out of the fresh water dumping into the ocean. So, hopefully the camera will get a chance to take some good video.
These two turkeys walked down below the house Friday, and then up the hill and around the front of the house. I was taking Sophia a walk when they went waltzing by. When they saw her, they started a Turkey Trot. I know, that’s bad. I do not know if we will have Turkey this year, we are going to Hawaii for Thanksgiving.
We do have a lot of wildlife around here. A mountain lion roams the area, and a large bobcat has been seen over the weekend in the neighborhood. The deer have moved on since last month. Below is the buck that was following the does about a month ago.
Yesterday, on my bike ride along the coast there was another road blockage along East Cliff. It is a one lane road, with a two way bike lane. Lately it is under going road “improvements”. This time it was the film crew and extras working on “Of Men and Mavericks“. It is true story of Jay Moriarty, a famous Maverick’s surfer. He died in 2001 in a diving accident.
The picture above is at The Hook in Pleasure Point. Crew and extras were having lunch when I rode back along the coast.
Now I am off for a run at Hidden Beach, it is 92 degrees in Aptos today.
Last week we went to the Crow’s Nest for lunch at the Santa Cruz Harbor. This is the second time we have run into this weird looking dude driving eccentric looking vehicles. His hairdo reminds me of Elaine’s back in the 80’s when she had some kind of “Flock of Seagulls” look going on. This time we saw the guy straight on. Last time, below, he was taking off in his abalone car. We have also seen him in a Cobra at the OSH parking lot. I may post that picture later.
Today the weather is great, after the recent rains. We are headed to the Hot Rod show at the Boardwalk. No chores for this weekend.
Elaine and I went to Windy Oaks Winery Sunday for their club member tasting and lunch. What a great place visit, and the wine and food add to the experience. Their wines are estate grown in the Santa Cruz mountains above Corralitos. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are produced in the Burgandy method. They served pulled pork and chicken sliders with a nice cheese selection and desserts, along with their new wine releases. We joined the wine group earlier this year. I had been bike riding by their vineyard for years, off Hazel Dell one of the great places to ride in Santa Cruz County, and had never noticed it. They have no sign or other indication along the road. The above photo shows the netting in place to protect the small clusters of grape from the birds. In the photo below, when you are at the oak tree picnic area, you have great views of the Monterey Bay.
