‘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

We said goodbye to the Bay Area today. As usual the week was over too soon. On Thursday, we met Tyler and Pete C. for lunch at Brenda’s in the City. I’d say it was in a shady part of San Francisco, but I always think that wherever I go in the city. It’s the only place I’ve been that has filthy dive bars immediately next to five star restaurants. Anyway, Brenda’s was good.

Tyler took us by the street in Full House. We saw five tour buses drive by in the ten minutes we were there. And one guy drove by with his window down and shouted, “Wassup Danny Tanner!!”

The view above the Full House house.

We drove to Fisherman’s Wharf afterward and walked around Cannery Row and Pier 39. Hayley has been pestering me since our last disaster* to visit the harbor area, so I finally gave in. It was fun walking around, although I wish we had eaten at a real restaurant instead of In and Out. Check out our pics, which are posted in a million different places, including http://mswebby.com/flickr/.

The next day my masculinity was put to the test at the Filoli Gardens in Woodside. It was pretty cool for an hour, then I lost it and ran straight to the deli to have a drink. It’s tough being a dude in that place. Ok, honestly it was fine.

One of Filoli’s many Secret Garden-eque pathways.

We spent the rest of the trip hanging out with my folks. Last night mom and dad took Hayley and I to the über fancy Le Papillon in San Jose to celebrate both our anniversaries. My meal consisted of a glass of very nice champagne, a generous helping of lobster bisque and a delicious Pinot Noir Braised Duck Breast with Sour Cherry, Green Peppercorn Gastrique and Black Forbidden Rice. It was pretty fricking sweet, especially since we will be eating much less extravagant meals for the next year and a half (starting July 29, I’m milking this country for all it’s worth, baby).

We flew out today. When we arrived at home in San Diego, we tried Skype video chat with my folks and it worked great.

* Description of the “Last Disaster” mentioned above: We were at the Golden Gate bridge lookout point a few years back and I went prancing down through the shrubbery to check out the famous surf spot at the base of the bridge. Halfway down I noticed that I was surrounded by many beautiful bushes with leaves of three, oily texture and red tips. Yes, Poison Oak, my worst enemy that used to attack me regularly in Junior High while Mountain Biking.

I sprinted back through those bastard plants, ran to the car, changed into my red “santa pants” as Hayley calls them and proceeded to flip out like a school girl. We drove a mile before stopping at the first house I could find. I jumped out of the car, stripped down to the bare essentials and drenched myself under their garden hose, all the while hoping they wouldn’t come out and ask me what I was doing in their lawn. Hayley had put the seat all the way back and was hiding, although I think she may have been laughing at me. She’s very good at that.

We drove another twenty minutes before parking illegally in front of the CVS on Van Ness and I ordered Hayley to get me (1) rubbing alcohol and (2) cotton balls. I scrubbed my legs, arms, face, stearing wheel, shoes, Hayley, etc… until I had finally convinced myself that the Poison Oak was sufficiently removed from my skin.

In the end I didn’t actually get Poison Oak. I guess that’s either because the hose and rubbing alcohol worked, or because it wasn’t actually Poison Oak.

No Comments  | Tags: bay area, breakfast, garden, photography, photos, san diego, san francisco, sunnyvale, Travel

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

I always check Earth 911 before Surfing to reduce the chances of contracting staph infections or other horrible diseases from the Ocean. See here for the gory details. Today I checked the report and as usual, it’s not up to date. The little bubbles for my local beaches are all filled white, meaning “No Data Available.” I checked a few days ago, and they were all Yellow and Red from the last month-long cluster of storms.

So I decided to do some research. According to Earth 911, the San Diego Department of Environmental Health (DEH) takes hundreds of samples weekly and posts findings on the Earth 911 website. I did a quick google search and found the main San Diego DEH website. The top of the website reads:

Unfortunately due to the Governor’s line item veto of funding for the Beach Safety Act from the State Budget on September 23rd, 2008, DEH will no longer be able to provide the following services:

• Routine water quality sampling and analysis of results for the County’s beaches
• Issuance of water contact advisories based upon bacterial exceedances
• Complaint investigation of suspected contamination
• Daily email, web updates (beaches911.com), pod-casts and fax updates of beach water quality.

DEH will provide limited services listed below:

• Receive reports of sewage spills and issue water contact closures when those reports indicate possible sewage contamination at public beaches
• Notification of closures will be limited to a press release, signs posted on the beach and messages on the DEH phone hotline 619-338-2073.

We would like to remind the beach going public that:

• Beaches with the highest risk of contamination are near flowing storm drain, river, and lagoon outlets.
• Water quality at all beaches can be contaminated by urban runoff for up to 3 days following significant rainfall
• Historical monitoring data indicates water quality at most beaches in the county is generally good during dry weather.

I know everyone has to sacrifice something in this economic crisis, but how much could these samples possibly cost the state? We are forty billion dollars in debt. I would be surprised if this topped five million dollars per year. That is one eight-thousandth of our debt. If you had eight thousand dollars, what is a dollar to you?

The governor sucks. Line item veto, my @.

No Comments  | Tags: budget, california, deficit, deh, governor, h2o, san diego, surf, surfing, water, water quality