‘09 was a pretty sweet year.

January

Nice waves in Del Mar, California.

February

Rugby Sevens in San Diego, California.

Rare powder at Mt. High, Wrightwood, California.

March

Noodle Scrabble in San Diego, California.

April

Crazy weather on Mt. Baldy, California.

White out at Mt. Baldy, California.

May

Hayley graduates with a Masters Degree in Journalism. San Diego, California.

June

Bellagio at night, Las Vegas, Nevada.

July

Visiting friends in San Francisco, California.

Epic surfing at Pipes in Cardiff by the Sea, California.

August

Tower Bridge in London, England.

Don’t stop! Somewhere north of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Elephant crossing in Kruger Park, South Africa.

A hyena and vultures feeding on a dead giraffe in Kruger Park, South Africa.

Just before one of our many elephant scares in Kruger Park, South Africa.

Impala horns in Kruger Park, South Africa.

African sunset over the bush in Kruger Park, South Africa.

Wine tasting in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

“Jackass” penguins- after you know what- in Boulder’s Beach, South Africa.

Hiking up Table Mountain on beautiful winter day in Cape Town, South Africa.

Monster surf at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa.

Protea at Kirstenbosch near Cape Town, South Africa.

Kudu Crossing in northern South African farmland.

Cheetah sighting at Pilanesberg, South Africa.

Trampoline at Sun City, South Africa.

Township homes outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

Playing with lion cubs in the Lion Park, just outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

September

First cockatoo sighting in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Sydney, Australia.

Flying foxes in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Sydney, Australia.

Dust storm in Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia.

October

Destroying my only surfboard. Sydney, Australia.

Walking to Cremorne Point, Sydney, Australia.

November

Ford Ranger Cup. North Sydney, Australia.

Balmoral Beach, Mosman, Sydney, Australia.

December

Opera House, Sydney, Australia.

Work holiday party at the Watson’s Bay Hotel. Sydney, Australia.

Attacked by cockatoos in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia.

NYE Sydney, Australia.

1 Comment  | Tags: california, kruger park, photography, photos, san diego, satara, south africa, surf, surfing, Sydney

Family time in the Weber family is more like a small convention than a regular get together. Only a small part of our immediate family was needed to fill a 31 person reservation. We booked one at B.J.’s last Sunday. When the kids ran by the hostess screaming and shouting, the B.J.’s staff immediately switched us to the private outside room. That’s just a normal outing for us, curve balls are just part of the game.

Circa 1982-1983

On Monday, Hayley and I took a private walk through Last Palmas park. I brought my camera along for the stroll and snapped a few shots of the majestic palm trees, the vidid pink flowers and the bastard squirrels that don’t stop harassing you until you feed them whatever it is you have in your hand. This one was recently fed and he was just chilling on the fence like a king.

Next, we drove out to Pinewood. The atmosphere is pretty much the same but everything is nicer and improved. The artificial turf field is incredible. Back in my day, we used to field ground balls on the blacktop. I have many scars from those days. Thanks Pinewood.

Afterward, we carpooled to the Tutankhamun exhibit in San Francisco. The line was totally disorganized, spread around two floors. Near the end of the line we picked up the audio headsets from the museum curators, high school students on summer break who have no appreciation for the exhibit. The entitled princess who gave the introduction showed little enthusiasm, chewing gum through the entire forty-five second presentation. Regardless, it was pretty interesting. National Geographic did a good job of describing the lineage of the Pharaoh and explaining the significance of the excavated items on display. They avoided controversy and speculation almost entirely; for example, the death of the child king and the curse of his excavation were barely mentioned.

We ate Turkish food for the second night in a row and it was delicious. We went to New Kapadokia in Redwood City. Check it out on Yelp.

No Comments  | Tags: bay area, california, family, san francisco, tut

Almost there, I hear every tick of the second hand.

We leave the States in less than three weeks. I have everything packed and I’ve been living off limited clothing and supplies for almost a month now to get used to my lifestyle on the road. My list includes my macbook, cell phone, PSP, two books, SLR, 10 t-shirts, 5 short or long sleeved collared shirts, 1 suit for a wedding, 2 pair of shoes, 1 pair of scandals, 2 pair of jeans, 2 pair of khakis, 1 pair of cargo pants, a belt, 3 sweaters for the winter, 5 pair of socks, 10 boxers and a hat. It all fits in Hayley’s old Canadian camping backpack and I’m itching to use it, not just because it hasn’t been washed in ten years.

I’ve sold beds, tables, desks, consumer electronics, hotel soap bars, video games and televisions at multiple garage sales, on craigslist and on ebay. The rest will be stuffed into Hayley’s old bedroom. We’re driving my Impreza up the California coast to the bay in two days, who we’ll spend the week with. I’ll meet up with friends, family, play golf while I still have a set to use, watch movies, enjoy life. Then we fly back to San Diego for one last week of work.

I’ve been feeding my obsessive surfing habit to get it out of my system, but I think it’s having the opposite effect. I’ve paddled out even in the weakest of surf and my obsession seems to be getting more and more unhealthy. The flight to London will end that, I hope. Surfing in Cape Town might bring it back, I think. And Australia, well, that will probably bring it back in full form, I’m sure.

2 Comments  | Tags: california, moving

Andy and I attended the Red Bull Air Race this weekend in downtown San Diego. It’s seriously unbelievable what these planes- and the pilots that fly them- are capable of. We hung out for about an hour on the rocks in Seaport Village and watched the insanity unfold. Enjoy the video below in HD! I’m hoping to post more of these videos, now that I have a computer capable of editing HD video.

NOTE: CLICK THE HQ BUTTON AFTER CLICKING PLAY TO WATCH IN HD

No Comments  | Tags: air race, airplane, california, flying, plane, red bull, san diego

Hayley’s car died last Thursday. What we thought was an oil leak was actually a broken water hose that was leaking water into the engine. Hayley was having trouble driving the car over thirty mph and she could barely make it to Advantec (click for Yelp link), the highly acclaimed automotive repair shop on Adams Avenue in University Heights.

With the help of her parents, Hayley was able to get by this weekend without my car. This week though, I’m on the bike and she’s got the Suuby.

This morning I barely made it to the train on time; my bike speed is not what it used to be. I purchased my ticket and had about forty-five seconds to spare before boarding. This afternoon, I wasn’t so lucky. Four minutes late and now I have an hour and twenty minutes to burn. I decided to check out the coffee shop next door, Zumbar.

Honestly, things have turned out pretty well! Zumbar is much better than sitting on the couch at home while Hayley works. They have cool, rhythmic music playing and I’m drinking a high quality Vanilla Latte out of a real mug. There’s a hookah bar next door and I’ve seen all sorts of people walking in and out, from suit-and-tie business people to slovenly dressed college students.

The waitress from next door just came over and asked if the internet was working for me. I admitted to it, although I wasn’t very forthcoming since I wasn’t supporting their store. She was very nice and I feel badly about how I responded. Hopefully she’s not too dismayed. No big deal I guess, she’s probably high*.

All in all, I’ve turned an unsatisfactory and agitating situation into a unique and relaxing experience. That’s always nice.

* on life, of course?!

No Comments  | Tags: california, coffee, san diego, train, zumbar