Ping Pong

Probably our feircest competition of the holidays, the ping pong table was a main attraction. Balls were a blazing on the back patio nonstop. It seemed like every time someone would start to dominate, someone new would show up, kick an ass or two, and upset the whole hierarchy of ping pong domination. My Dad managed to come kick my ass at one point, beer in hand, and left as quickly as he arrived. Dammit Dad! Haha...

Frisbee Golf

For those of you who have met Addy, you know she is a very sweet, shy and mellow gal... or so we thought. As it turns out, Addy is the champion ping pong player of her family and has a competitive edge when it comes to sports. Even though the "sports" we were playing this holiday were ping pong, Frisbee golf, and board games, Addy surprised us all with the previously veiled fierce side of her personality. This picture cracks me up.



While we all spent most of the day hunting through the trees and brush looking for our Frisbee, we had a great time. I think Keefe actually won as far as the score goes. How could he not? Look at that form?!

The Thanksgiving Triathlon

Thanksgiving can feel like a dietary triathlon sometimes. This year was no different for me and the 18 family and friends that showed up. Every meal was a free-for-all of food flinging, beer and wine drinking, and story telling followed by what felt like hours of dish washing. On top of the fantastic food and company, we battled out the holidays playing Frisbee golf, ping pong, board games and more! I wish I had recorded our conversations as there is nothing my aunts and uncles (and I) love more than retelling their wild glory days of disasters, triumphs, sibling tortures, parenting follies and anything that brings on a good laugh. I'd have to say that this was probably the best Thanksgiving ever.

Sexy Libraries

Once again I'm fortunate enough to come down here (LA) and work for my friend who is a professional photographer. I'm sure few have wondered where they can find someone who can make a library look sexy, but that's what my buddy does. This last week we got to head out to Whittier and do just that. Their new community college library has curves in all the right places. Yowza!

Lost in the Corn Maze

While the ocean has always been my true love, I can't say that I haven't had a faint sense of envy of the Midwest for their Fall season. With dramatic color changes and pumpkin growing contests, I've always wanted to get lost in a giant patch of corn, sit in the world's largest frying pan and finish the day off at a pumpkin pie competition. Leave it to my Midwest girlfriend to find the only corn maze on the central coast!





Apparently I'm not the only one on the west coast who had the same yearnings. The maze was so packed that nearly every corner you walked around, some little knee-high cracked out sugar fiend would come bounding and bounce off your leg. I felt like a car speeding through a pack of bugs, deflecting kids left and right with my giant windshield wiper arms. We kept joking at how much more fun it would be to dress horrifically and hide in one of the dead ends scaring the ba-jesus out of those little rug rats. I guess I've been substitute teaching too much as my compassion has turned into antagonism. Maybe it's just genetic. Lord knows my family has spared me no scares when they had the opportunity.

Storms, Pizza, and Escaping Death

Yesterday the first storm of the season came through and wreaked some havoc on the Santa Cruz coastline. Including a number of mudslides and fallen trees throughout town, the ocean was boiling over with logs, trees, debris, pieces of deck, sludgy runoff, etc. The waves were churning up so much sand and bacteria the water was a burnt brown color. I was watching from Capitola Village as the waves threatened the cars in the parking lot, splashing up against the cement barrier between them, washing away what little was left of the beach. The ocean looked like it was just waiting to eat anything that came near it.

I went back tonight to find the beach littered with all sorts of interesting things but mostly wood debris. There was this funny man sprinting around the beach grinning from ear to ear. I guess someone's deck or wood pile washed away and ended up on shore. This man was on a scavanging mission, collecting any piece of 2x4 or whatever he could find. He was so happy and proud of his pile of mismatched, waterlogged wood, he had his friend stand guard to insure no one stole his bounty. Every now and again he would yell 100 yards across the beach and hold a new find over his head. Haha... It was excellent entertainment while I ate my slice of pizza.



The excitement didn't end there. Just as I was finishing my last bite, a number sirens came ringing through town as people scurried to the end of the bluff. Apparently some beginning surfers had decided today would be a good day to learn how to surf?! No one was seriously injured, but it did take a number of firemen to guide the trapped surfers through the currents, rocks and waves breaking against the cliff. There were a few moments it was unclear if the firemen would need to be saved as well. The sun had set already and it was getting very dark and difficult to see the waves coming in. Thank goodness I didn't have to jump in in my underwear to help!

Mud Slinging

This was probably my favorite part of the night. Watching these fellers duke it out was a blast. Even though it seemed like every 5 laps someone's clunker would break down, the race was pretty intense. There were plenty of backfires, a couple doors were ripped off, a number of spin outs... All good stuff. I'm pretty sure this is one of things that you just had to be there to enjoy so I'll spare you the play by play. Here are a couple pictures instead!