New Year's Eve Golf

Happy New Tradition...

Finish the old year with a round of Golf!

Thanks to my brother Carl for calling and suggesting this. What a terrific day on the green park with all those silly flags. We took a LONG WALK out in the green and lush Los Angeles countryside. (Uptown)

It was great. Those greens at the country club are killer even with the help of a caddy to give you a read. After playing all the city public courses your not ready for the FAST roll on the really professionally maintained private courses.

But it was fun. And I got my buddy Jeffery to tag along with us. It was a good Guys Day Out for me. Good for the heart and soul.

No wonder Trisha's brother is always out playing golf. Over Christmas I heard about how he plays 27 holes of golf 3 to 5 days a week or more!

Thank you Carl. Thanks for your company Jeff.

Loved the day with both of you.

Keith

A very 'In-laws' Christmas

Ho ho ho

We had a good time. Mostly with my wife's side of the family.
It was a good simple homestead Christmas filled with helpful hands of Trisha's brother and sister. This made Trish very happy. It was good and warm hearted.

Thomas got the item he really wanted from Santa. How that happened I do not know. ;-)



We all got to share some grins and basically had plenty of good meals at the family dinning table. Very pleasant.

Hope you all found the joy this holiday.

Keith

Merry Christmas

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Fox on the Golf Course.

I played a little golf yesterday at Penmar. It is a local City of LA 9 hole course.



We were very pleasantly surprised to see a fox sitting by the first green. He successfully staked out a squirrel hole. Very cool that such wildlife is able to thrive in the city.

BTW a special Thank You, shout out to my buddy Jeffery, who called and got me to come out and play. We had some fun and it got me out of a dreadful funk from work and stresses of the holidays etc.

And at the end of it we went to see the new movie Avatar on the big 3D IMax screen. Thomas and I loved it. Jeffery thinks it will be a big cultural event like Titanic was not so long ago. Or a big event like "Gone with the Wind" when it gets to the Oscars etc.

K

Happy Holidays

Here in our area we have some cool holiday traditions. There is a Boat Parade out in the Marina Del Rey harbor that is fun. But at night hard to get a lot of good photos. It was cold and raining. And Trish and I were a little under the weather ourselves. So we missed it. Our friend were out in it and won some nice prizes. congrats to Keith Guyot and the "La Vouca Reys".(sp?)

In Venice on the canals there is a similar parade but on the smaller scale boats.

Here are some photos to share. ( Thanks to YoVenice.com )

Bla bla bla - stuff this past 2 weeks

Have not been out on the boat since Thanksgiving day.

I did get the first strand of the Xmas lights up. (last weekend)
We did get a Tree and have it ready to bring into the house.
Thomas did have a Flag Football playoff game. (Thurs)
MDRAnglers did have it's holiday party and meeting. (Weds)

MDRA was interesting. I did win the raffle. I was elected to the Board of Directors of the club. Now I am struggling with whether or not to toss my hat in the ring for the president position.

Enough about that... I need to stop and get back to work.

Keith <"><

blog post "apropos" to Thanksgiving

Just posted to my Facebook, my La La Land blog and to my Westside Income Property blog.

So the thought here is apropos of getting words out.

Words
as slippery as smooth grapes,
words exploding in the light
like dormant seeds waiting
in the vaults of vocabulary,
alive again, and giving life:
once again the heart distills them.

-Pablo Neruda, poet

See my Income-property blog
or my La La Land la-real-estate blog
and look for my
related Thanksgiving Thoughts post for this 2009.

I could rag about spending yesterday in court on a subpoena for a case 13 years old. or that I have too much work to do for my vacancies in apartments... or that my spouse is not having more family in for Thanksgiving dinner... Or that there is not enough fish. Or enough Snow on the mountains.

I really am Thankful for many good Tenant Applicants.

I really am Thankful for the fun of spending time with my son Thomas as his flag football team won first place.

And Thankful Ryan's high school water polo team won 4th in the region recently.

I am Thankful to be a fully employed and happy and proud Dad.

Fish Wish Granted. Thank you Lord. <"><

Keith

House on 18th Street, Santa Monica,

833 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA | Powered by Postlets



So what do I do to make this house rent? New Blinds?

Adverts in ...

All tips welcome.

Keith

LA Times Letter to the Editor

My letter to the editor was published in the LA Times today page A 26, Letters, under "Not Enough Fish in the Sea". It is my reply on the MLPA news story describing the "Blue Ribbon" panel's recommendations being not strong enough for the enviros and too strong for the fishermen. So what do we infer from the reporters story... that it could have been worse?

My letter was edited far shorter than my original letter. But most of the point is still there. So I feel for the original writer of the LA Times story who did not have the space to fully describe the results.

I wanted details and results and Maps. None were offered.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/ for my letter online.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fishing-ban for the news story on Nov. 11th.

Hoping we do not get aced out of Point Dume in total. But fearing they are going to take it from us fishing and scuba divers. Will it be look but don't touch only from 2010 and thereafter for years to come?

Went out and Rambled around some... Fishing

Hey there, It was just so good to spend some time on the water.

We went out on Saturday (yesterday) and did a little fishing. We tried a new rock near shore and then some reef areas. Did hook a little hungry calico on light line. Not much happening inshore.

So we moved out to deeper water and got to load up on rock fish at the short banks. They make good fish-taco meat. Gary got the big fish award. Dennis who had good luck inshore was challenged out in the deeper water.

It was the best guy time I have had had since marlin fishing. It turned out I was with the same guys who were my marlin team. We had a really nice relaxing time. All three of us.


Fish Wish Granted. Good day on the water. Not bad on the catching. Even if the water in the bay has turned over and gotten colder.

Keith

slaving for my fishing club.

Just finished the Full Scoop newsletter.

Slaved on it from 6 pm to now. 11 PM.

Learned new software. That ate up some of the time.
Had to crop all the photos in one program and move them over.
Then had to type up a lot of content. Luckily I ran out of room.

Therefore I got to stop typing. Yeah.

Emailed out a 4MB pdf file to the anglers I know.

Now just need to burn it to a disk and find a printer to do the job.

Keith

Today’s Ares 1-X rocket from Cape Canaveral

From a facebook post… about today’s Ares 1-X rocket from Cape Canaveral

You may like this... Planetes
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/planetes/c001/
When you have time to read for entertainment.


The Space Program needs a real destination. I like Mars....

To really go long distances the invention needed is a constant boost engine. Fire in one direction half way (accelerate) and fire in opposite direction (decelerate) the second half of the trip. Then the time and distance and weight of the Life Support needed can be worked out.

Need that next invention. Not a solar sail. A constant boost. Then we can go anywhere.

IMHO Keith


What do you think?
if you have an opinion hit Comment

Attended the United Anglers Dinner

Trish and I attended the UA Dinner with a few Marina Del Rey Anglers friends.

It was good. A friend, Paul Simon, was honored with a perpetual award to be named after him to be aworded to the top conservation volunteer each year.

The raffle was pretty good. I got lucky and won two very cool items. A nice Calcutta reel (I'll use it for light line) and a new Promar lobster net. Hoot!

Now I'm ready to get back to Lobster hoop netting and Get Some!

Keith L.

Fathers and Sons fishing

There are some Bonita in the bay. And I heard that there is no Top Youth winner yet in the club fishing awards yet. So I called a fellow member and asked him if he wants to take his son out with Thomas and I. To see if we can get the boys onto some worthy fish.

We went out on Jon's boat Playspace. His son Buck and my son Thomas are pals so they were game. We trolled up a few small Bonita but for all our efforts on the troll and drift fishing live baits we did not get any fish worthy of a weight slip. I saved the fish as they will make good Lobster Hoop Net baits for later.

Not to worry. We had fun! That is the point of going fishing and boating.

In the end a very good father and son fishing trip.

Keith L. <"><

Lobster season is open and

Why, oh Why am I not going out Hoop Netting! See what the other guys are getting!

Well there was the kids and the dinner party (Fiesta) last night and my toe that was hurting bad and there were the many other things I had to deal with. i.e. Life.

My toe is now feeling better and was not a bad Staph Infection as was the worry. May not have been a broken toe as it is doing much better now. The medication seems to be helping. Had a nice visit on Friday with the local walk in urgent care place in MDR. My contribution to the health care debate is now going to be more informed.

With the little bit of rains that just came through I wonder, would need to put the Lobster Hoop Nets in deeper water? Or would the lobsters ignore the fresh water and go up on the beach for the sand crabs anyway?

What to do? And when to do it? That is the lobster fishing question.

MDRA appreciation party

A special Thank You party was held on Sunday evening for those who volunteered to be mentors in the Youth Fishing Program.

Jeffery, my fishing buddy, set up the trips and got groups arranged so that we ended up with 28 trips on 14 days with a load ranging from 28 to 45 kids per trip.

And the Mentors spent their time teaching them. Very often One on One with the child. The supervising staff from the organization that brought them would sit and watch the scenery. A special Shout out to Terri who organized al the mentors for the past couple of years. You go Girl! (she is going to Africa for a big safari vacation and we need a replacement. hint hint)

It was fun. It takes dedication. It is rewording.

Special efforts by Richard Summers got this dinner party going. Some MDRA members volunteered the Fish and Jerry N of course did the cooking. Most of the mentors got to mix and mingle and bring out our spouses for a bit of social time. Very cool.

It is nice stuff. The reward to those who give is the Smile.

On the tables were many of the letters of thank you's from the kids.



I like to go on the Blind kids trip and the Special Needs trip especially as those kids rarely get this type of experience and they appreciate it so much.

Learn more at www.MDRAnglers.com

Fished in La Paz Gold Cup

Had a fabulous time fishing in the La Paz Gold Cup.

More photos are on Webshots.



2009-09-27 LaPaz Gold Cup

The trip was more fun than these photos show. This is because there are no photos of the two marlin that came up to play. We were too busy to take photos at those moments.

Sincerely Keith L
-<"><

BTW some do not want you to know how good this is as a vacation destination.

Marlin Trip - Number Two

Marlin fishing trip to get in on the local hot bite... One More Time.

We were out there off of Church Rock on Friday. No hook up in that area. Plenty of hook-ups for those fishing in the Pescadores fishing tournament. Ask about their silly radio chatter sometime. Wild goofy guys and gals in that "Pesky" group.

Jeffery M. and David F. and I snuck out late on Thursday and anchored in Cat Harbor to be close to the hot marlin spot off of Catalina Island at first lite. It was a very foggy morning as we came out of Cat and moved to the hot marlin area beside the island in an area near Church Rock. It did not pan out for us after much trolling and watching the water temps.

When we moved over to Avalon Bank and to the Shipping Lanes. We did have a good hook up and a basic Fire Drill / Cluster F~#& situation when the first man into the cockpit forgot all that he was supposed to do then we had to have a swimmer cut off a lure from the prop. All the while the fish was taking line… Now that I am back on shore it is a bit more funny. ;-)

Therefore: (Too much line out) + ( Monster big head shake side to side ) + (Too much slack due to my reversing faster than the angler could retrieve) = Lost fish.

Lessons learned: Retrieve the lures with boat in one engine Fwd so that we do not put out as much line on the fish being played. Do not reverse to fight fish until ALL Lures are INSIDE THE BOAT. Coach the Newbie’s more than once and practice. Ask them if they recall what was told to them. Jeffery acted like a newbie at the moment of truth. But he rectified his problem by boldly jumping in with a knife and getting the prop free. Lost the lure and chock it up to experience.

My favorite excitement moment was with two marlin up in the lures right behind the boat. Hot! The Ramblin’ can raise fish!

Next time...

B-Day Golf with Carl

I called my brother and suggested that he be nice to himself as it is his birthday. One of the ways to be nice to himself for example would be to go play some golf. I offered to throw myself on that grenade and to accompany him, if needed, for 9 holes etc.

He did find the time (make the time) and asked me to meet him at his club and play. We did a full round of 19 holes of golf. It was good just to be with Carl. Not a stressful thing about it. The score was the score and no head games or betting took place at all. Just a long afternoon on the green grass and good company.

We did talk for a moment about our Dad and that was good.

Love my brother. Happy Birthday to you Carl.

Tight Lines,

Keith -<"><

Fishing in the 2009 King Harbor Marlin Tournament

The Ramblin’ fished in the KHMT. Also a fellow MDRA boat, Big Momma, did their best to find and boat fish in the event. I have been going to fish this event for years. This is the second time I’ve been in it on my own boat.

It was a good event for us this weekend. Ramblin' had a knock down and zip (run for 20 to 30 seconds) just 4 or 5 miles off of the East End. Then the fish jumped after coming off the jig and thumbed it's nose at us. It was a really big and That set the hearts of the team racing and made us redouble our efforts. Dennis Bly was very impressed byt the jumping fish and his excitement was contagious. Gary and I were primed for the next one to come our way.

A little later near the 277 we had a knock down on the same starboard outrigger with the dark head mean joe green lure and we were on for a good 20 minute fight that resulted in a successful release. And again we saw more fish. Tossing live baits to tailers added to the action. When trolling up closer to home port we witnessed a fantastic display of jumpers just shy of the Avalon Bank. It was an exciting day one.

Ramblin' did a lot of driving south on day two when most of the fish were home in the back yard. First fishing from the Island (lures in at 6:30 am just 4 miles off the slide) heading southeast to the 277 and then even heading further south towards the 209. While underway we heard a few extra fish reports form other captains on the 209 who said it was dead. We diverted back up. We headed northwest and found the fish right next to the island. Eventually running over one tailer just 3 ½ miles off of Church Rock on the East End. We slowed the boat and put out 2 live baits. The baiting worked. The one from the bow (or one of his pals) popped up in the lure pattern. It was very exciting to feed live bait back to a fish right behind the boat in the lure spread. It was again a Hook up but the rough seas and big strong fish made this a different fight.

This time the angler was Gary Downie. Since the marlin took the bait presented on the 20# dacron line rood/reel setup it was sure to be a longer battle. The rough seas made it hard on the angler and the boat. At times we had white water over the head of the angler and leaderman in the cockpit. It was salty work. After a few times of showing itself and even getting within 20-30 feet of the boat it got really hard to budge. In the end it won the battle when the line parted after 1 hour and 30 min of our best efforts to bring it to leader.

Shortly we returned to calmer waters just south east of the island and continued our search. Even past the 4 pm Stop Fishing time for the tournament. Then back to Avalon for a swim and getting ready for the fun KHMT awards banquet where the team was equally lucky in the Raffles. Very cool.

Big Momma on the other hand held back on using up its luck until Sunday morning when they found and hooked and caught a nice marlin. Then feeling triumphant made the return voyage home. We crossed paths with them at the San Pedro fuel docks.

Other MDRA boats were participants in the Catalina Yacht Club Marlin Tournament. One friend, Richard, on Wavelength was hooked up multiple times but as it happens when fishing marlin they came unbuttoned before the leader reached the hands of the leaderman. Tough luck on that, but still fun and plenty of excitement.

I am still really eager to go to Cat Harbor and run out beyond there for a bit of trolling between Ribbon Rock and the East End... It’s the best odds of a hook up in years.

Tight Lines.

Keith L.
Captain of the Motor Vessel Ramblin’

Labor Day weekend is in our FACE

I gotta get this done and that done. then make sure the Jet Ski runs. and then...

Hopping for a smooth and relaxing weekend at the Commodores Cruise. Trish is on it to pack the boat etc. My busy day today. Work and Boat Preparations.

Wishin' I was Fish'n but hanging out at the harbor is what I'm going to do for the next 4 days.

We come back an then the boys are in school. Funny how parents look forward to that return to structure.

Keith


PS Fish Wish for the weekend... Nothing to break so the Marlin Trip is OK.

Marlin team practice

On Sun 23rd we got 4 of the team together. (one back up)

Reviewed procedures and then did a small casting practice ride.

I spent part of the day just rigging lures. Very healthy day off for my head.

Sailing for charity

A friend at the club talked me into being part of the crew on G-Rated for Saturday. it was a nice experience. Just gotta love getting out on the water.

Celebrity on board was Zac Sunderland the young man who set a new record as the youngest person to solo circumnavigate the world recently.


Here Thomas is taking in the view while Zak was on the helm.

We came in first in our class. And raised cash for the Jennifer Diamond Foundation that provides libraries for cancer patients. A very worthy endeavor. It was nice to meat such a worldly and well rounded young man. And to introduce him to my sons.

So a special thank you to my hosts the Lamperts.

Keith.

Calico trournament at Cat Harbor

Hosted by DRYC this was a Charity event where the Calico Bass has to be released alive in order to count. Charity event for the benefit of the Two Harbors community.

Many local MDR clubs compete. This year there were boats from about 5 different clubs. DRYC, MDRA, CYC, PMYC. And I forget the other one.

I was helping a friend with his boat and anchoring system tryout run when it became apparent that he needed another hand and I was not going. Matter of fact the DRYC Calico event was not on my radar at all. My focus was on the bigger fish shoing up in the counts down south just a 1 & 3/4 day run out of San Diego for a full freezer of quality fish. Richard asked me to go with him. So I saved my big boat trip for later and decided to go on this "fun" little trip. (not that the big fish are not fun too)

The boat the Wavelength is fast and a sweet ride. I was happy to be aboard. I was happy to pull the mooring and run deck runs. We had a young boy on board that was the same age as my son. 12 years old. I took to calling him Gillie and teaching him all the deck hand tasks that a boy can learn. Knots etc.

Here we are at departure. And we gave Matthew a welcome noogie to make him feel welcome.

Out at the island Friday night was a dinner and captains meeting at the DRYC shore facility in Cat Harbor. It was very cool to see many old fishing club friends. Many of them I've known via MDRAnglers for a lot of years. Boat loads from Bait-n-Switch, Bali Anne, Big Momma for example.

On Saturday morning our third man aboard switched to his fishing ride and even lightened our load of some Live Bait for his boat Three Flags. That live bait could have come in handy for us. Many boats ran out this day.

On the day of fishing we headed out to the area between Ben Weston point and Little Harbor and made a few anchoring attempts to get set just outside the kelp line. It was a hard set as there was a strong uphill current that sometimes put us in the trough and pushed us sideways to the kelp line. A bit frustrating. We stuck with it all day long. A few fish came and went. A big bat ray for excitement. A big shovel nose shark for Matt. And then a really nice halibut for Richard. I opened the swim step door and as Richard brought the fish in softly ... Was able to do a smooth gaff job and land the big flatty with no problems. One smooth swoosh.

This was a good money fish for the side bet that we all put in the extra $5 for. With Richard as the winner it could not have gone to a nicer gentleman fisherman. Shortly after that when we were nearing our "do we go home now" stage I casted out up current a bit further than usual and got a big bite. A really nice 3# calico bass. He looked like a contender in the target species to me. (having be so few caught) So not I had a maybe in the running fish. Not first be maybe a 2nd or 3rd. Especially since the fishing had been slow.

We pulled the hook and ran fro Cat Harbor. Hoping that the fish did not die from the bendz as it did not like being up on the surface after I pulled him out of 70+ feet of water.

Then wrangled to get our fish weighed ASAP and released. it swam down fast once over the side. But it was only 2.8 lbs on the events scale. On the other hand it gave a reading of 26# for the big halibut. It was big enough that it could have weighed much more. It was skinny. But still enough to win the Jackpot side bet handily.

The event was keeping the participants in the dark as to the winning fish to build drama for the dinner party and awards ceremony. The event was catered and we ate mightily. But in the end the true winner was Team Big Momma with Wayne Pecot having weighed in a massive 8 lb bass!

We had a very pleasant trip back home after a little morning fishing at west cove. It sure is nice to have a boat the blasts across at 22.8 knots!

Thank you to Richard. The Halibut was delicious. We shared it with friends and had a fiesta. With a little help from Jeffery on the grill we fed a bunch of ladies having a fun time making a party of it. Fed eight of us!

Ramblin' report for August trip number 1

Just back on shore after some deep sea fishing. Ramblin' was out on the open sea from Sunday Aug 9th to Tuesday Aug 11th. We were hoping to get a bit of yellowtail on some drifting kelp patties or a first marlin. No luck. 3 days at sea. 2 nights of Avalon. Good water conditions. Great trip.

Fished 277 and almost down to the 209 on Monday. Plenty of patties holding bait. No yellowtail or Dorado or marlin. Did find 70.8 degree water and plenty of whales etc. The El Nino has not brought them up here yet. But sometimes you do the Exploratory trip anyhow. How else do you get on the trophy that says First!

Not often that I get to go deep sea fishing with my wife, Trish, along for the whole ride. Trish's sister, Karen, was down from Idaho and brought her fishing boyfriend, Vern, along. He was a knowledgeable Southern California boater that was as eager to fish as I am. Karen too was hot to find some of the right kind of fish. 5th person was my son Ryan who did a great job as my paid Gilligan for the trip. Ryan was spot on with deck hand chores and mooring and Dinghy and tending to business for the trip.

Now I have to hand it to Ryan... He was a great Gillie. Good company. And together we had a good trip. Thomas was up at a YMCA camp for the week. Unfortunately Thomas had to come home early. He got a bug of some kind. The poor guy. Now he is home and plugged into a video game. Hard to have sympathy for that.

"Fish Wish Granted" in that we had good company and really nice outing. Life is good.

Keith <"><



Words for Today...

"gillie" – noun Scotish origin:
a. a hunting or fishing guide.
b. a male attendant or personal servant to a Highland chieftain.

Boaters example: "The name Gilligan was made famous in the TV Show of Gilligan's Island as the captain of the ill fated USS Minnow was Scottish supposedly. "

"fug" - noun
a. Stale, humid, and stuffy atmosphere, as in a crowded, poorly ventilated room. ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from fogo (stench).

Boaters example: "In order to avoid a fug one must wedge open the cabins hatch with a shoe before going to sleep."

MDRA Youth Fishing Trip

Wow. I rarely see such a nice day on the Santa Monica Bay and I go out there often.

The kids on our boat today had the best views and some of the best fishing. The young man I spent the most time with today was a hot stick in that he caught the first and last fish. Fellow mentor Jerry N. hooked the last one and passed it off to him. He got to reel in a big bass in the 15 to 16 inch catagory. Waiting for the photo.

Fun and very few kids got seasick. (did have some swell)

Feeling very proud of the MDR Anglers fishing trips and the program that this year has the benefit of my good friend Jeffery Morris and other friends like Stan, Bob, Jerry, ... ... ... I could go on.

Keith

Guy time with Thomas

Thomas and I got out and had some guy time with a few new friends.

We watched Rally cars at the X Games.



2009-08-02 X-Games

Then Thomas played some instruments at the X Fest. The older boys gave a try at the Navy Seals training and qualification course. They did well on the Sit Ups, Pull Ups, and then worked hard on the Rope Net Climb.

We all had some fun.

Special Thanks to Keith Guyot and the Guyot family for having us along.

Keith <"><

Party in the park

Here we are having a good time in Marina Del Rey.



2009-08-01 Music in the park

CYC event

Ramblin took 3rd.

Noooo Face Book has sucked me away

Ok I admit it. This site has lagged as Facebook has gotten the posts and photos for the last several Boat Outings. Not good.

Must make catch up posts. But first to do the work I need to do on the office side.

Nose to the Grindstone lately.

Keith

Last weekend at Paradise Cove

2009-07-11 Paradise Cove

Trish, Thomas and I spent the night on the anchor at paradise cove the night of Saturday July 11th. Just one night. Just a one hour run north of MDR. And a fun night out on our boats for a bunch of us.

We visited and had music and fish tacos at the raft up of Wavelength/Unreel/Bait-n-Switch. This was the gathering point for a bunch of us. Then we went back to our boats for dinner later.

We got an invite to a bigger boat for dinner. And had a very pleasant evening on the Playspace. Even the Bait-n-switch crew joined us for some of the fun.

Special thanks to Richard Summers for putting it together.

Some odd-ball stories will come of this. Ask about it. Inquire about the Tacos or the Jetski or the really big Crab. It will fill the time with funny stories while we share a beer or two.

Keith L.
Capt of the Ramblin'

4th of July Cruise

2009-4th of July Cruise

Went out on Thursday July 2nd to Cat Harbor with the Yacht Club. Moored up on H4 with one side tie on Thursday of Timmy Sea. They took me out fishing on Friday. When we got back the other side tie of Top Dog was on my starboard. So Timmy Sea tool the Port. Little Ramblin' had the mooring line and two side ties through the high winds! We did OK. Some other boats pulled moorings over this weekend.

The Fireworks were on Sunday evening at Two Harbors so we had a great excuse to stay an extra day. And the winds died out on Sunday night. So the Crossing on Monday wan a beautiful and smooth water day! I even got in a little trolling.

A great family trip. Just the four of us. Making new friends and having fun.

Fish wish Granted.

Keith

Cruise for 4th of July.

Out on the water last weekend. Fun. Little bit of Fish Caught. Need bigger trips. "Great fish come from Great Waters." Means I gotta go out to the Islands more!

So looking forward to Catalina trip... Trish is loading us up now. Boat is dialed in and ready. Big Grins.

K

Out Ramblin' Around - A fine day on the water -

Sunday June 28th - Did go out fishing on Ramblin’ with a few friends. It was a nice day of fishing out on Santa Monica Bay. We searched through the large amounts of bait we metered and did not entice any meaningful fish to take a hook. We worked the 90 foot line from MDR to SM Pier where Larry (bait dock) had reported some local White Sea Bass having been found. I tuned in the fish finder and was pleasantly surprised as to how much the bait showed. But with that much bait the target species is fat and happy. It was a good first try. That area as it was close and easy to work.

Eventually we tried the "Star of Scotland" wreck and that seemed promising. That gave us some excitement with a few little bites. Bigger baits like little mackerel even took our hooks. Then we went to try a deep water rock I had a mark on in 145 feet of water. It was a small rock and once located did have some fish marks but was not easy to get on. Several short drifts and we abandoned this for the Short Banks. This produced a few very nice sized fish. Bocaccio and copper or vermilion rockfish. So there is some nice fish for dinner.

The afternoon breeze was perfect for sailors but too much for us without anchoring up and we decided to call it a day. But not without giving “The Pipe” one more try on the way. No luck, but I must say I’ve rarely seen so much life in the fish finder. The local party boat New Del Mar was on the spot and it made it tricky work to keep away from him and fish the rock structure upwind.

A big "Thank you" for your company to… Gary D., Jeff M. and Stacy T. Gary had the biggest one for the day. It was a nice day our on the water and I appreciate you all for your contributions to the fun of going fishing. Fish Wish Granted. We had a nice day fishing.

Keith L. <”><

A first... Not one photo taken.

Gererator working! - Can go fishing now.

Two items repaired/upgraded and now the Generator is working. Hoot!

Needed new fuel pump. Needed new solenoid on the top. I used a quality local mechanic to get the work done right.

No fuel flow was the real problem. Not an easy one for me to fix by clearing a filter. There was a bit of a story about the repair diagnostic but to make a long story short it was the right guy with the right tools that found the power to the fuel pump problem fast and solved it so that the right parts could be applied for a swift and complete repair. Changed the fuel pump to a smaller more efficient one ($75). Rerouted some fuel line. Key was the change of the old oil pressure solenoid that controls the power to the fuel pump. It was not sending power to the pump. (And yes we checked the pump with direct power) So that cleaned up some of the wires on the top.

The old solenoid may have been bumped (crushed) in the battery system upgrade. But the fuel pump was and had been going for some time.

Thank you to C & C Marine of Marina Del Rey (over on Fiji Way )
The owner Karl sent over a technician (Scott) who showed up when appointment was set, knew what he was doing and had parts with him. Nice.

Now need to get that shut off pull worked out. Mounting will be a fun/interesting.

We are now looking forward to a full summer of Catalina cruising starting with the 4th of July Weekend.

Keith L,
Captain of the M/V Ramblin'

Marina Del Rey - County vs Public Use.

The Department of Beaches and Harbors and The County of Los Angeles is trying to Over Build and will mess up the Marina if we do not get involved. The Public will loose access! Those of you who care... I hope that includes a lot of you... We need to speak up. The County and Dpt of Beaches and Harbors is hoping that we do not.

Reprint... From Nancy Marino of "We Are Marina Del Rey"

Hi, All,

Attached is the sneak "end run" that the County pulled at the Coastal Commission on June 11. It was not agendized as a separate item, but was in the Deputy Director's oral report only (not in the written report attached to the agenda. The Deputy Director's report purportedly covers only "exemptions, waivers, emergency permits, immaterial amendments and extensions."

This proposal would fast-track seven projects (not 6, as the County claims) through the Coastal Commission WITHOUT doing the comprehensive LCP update the CCC recommends in the LCP Review.

It includes seven of the eight PUBLIC PARKING LOTS the County proposes to convert to private use:

Parcel GG (at Dock 72 on Fiji Way)

Parcel 49R (the Public Boat Launch Ramp)

Parcel 49M (next to the visitor center at Admiralty/Mindanao - entrance on Mindanao)

Parcel OT (next to the Oxford Basin on Admiralty Way near Palawan)

Parcel NR (across from Mothers' Beach on Palawan Way)

Parcel IR (at Mothers' Beach)

Parcel FF (at Via Marina/Marquesas Way)


This proposal is an egregious attempt to facilitate major land grab by large developers without any opportunity for public participation in the decision to CHANGE the LAND USE of the parcels, most of which are currently zoned for PUBLIC USE ONLY. It covers a majority of the twelve existing public parking lots. Our current LCP states emphatically that only a park or parking shall be allowed on an existing public parking lot.


Please note: this proposal includes a mega-project for the boat launch ramp and Chace Park expansion parcel (Parcels 49/77), which it claims is "in the pipeline" but has never been presented or described in public. It would more than double the amount of proposed NEW commercial/retail in the Marina, plus up to 26,000 sq. ft. of office space and 255 new residential units, located on the boater facilities that will be increasingly needed as the County continues to pursue the elimination of many hundreds of small boat slips from the Marina.


This is BAD PLANNING by the County.


This is NOT a public process regarding the basic decisions about land use.


Please join the call for a master plan NOW. Call 310.306.4275 to help us circulate the petition for a Marina del Rey Master Plan to your organization or around the community.


Together,
We ARE Marina del Rey,

Nancy

www.wearemdr.com

This is important for a lot of reasons. Not just the loss of the boat ramp and parking while going fishing on the Betty-O. Access to "Mothers Beach" for launching small boats and Kayaks etc. Wind will be cut off for the youth sailing programs. parking will be reduced in the area. Water views will be reduced. Traffic and health concerns for all of us and the animals in MDR.

Please check into it. Speak up!

Keith L.

Wishin' I was Fishin'

Maybe... gotta get the boat in shape for the 4th of July cruise to Catalina coming up fast. But after hearing that there are big fish biting and action is hot out there at the far end of my boat's range... Oh the agony of having to be hard at work.

Good news is I have work and a few Real Estate clients to work with. I even got offered a bigger slip at the club. Not a better one. Just bigger. E921 is a longer walk and a bigger 35' by 12'4" slip may be nice for docking but will it make things better by enough to justify the long walk and increased cost. I'll save the $ and use it to pay for fuel.

A parking place for a boat is a fun thing to talk about. Those who have this as a topic can get into it for way to long. Unless a proper drink is in your hand and then it is just the proper entertaining discussion while doing the more important thing of drinking.

Speaking of the more important thing... I want to go fishing!. Maybe Sunday.

Now must go back to paperwork so I can go play later.

Fish Wish - Nice water & weather for fishing on Sunday.

Keith <"><

My Online Life... and kids cell phones

First comes Chat Rooms, Blogging and MySpace.
Then add You-Tube, FaceBook, Linked-In and Twitter.
Are we at Overload Yet?

A few Bloggers have hit the money tree with lots of traffic and a few adverts converting to clicking customers. Mostly it is nice to have freedom or speech. I use one for family history. This is the one. Then I have two for business. La La Land and Westside Income Prop. None of my Blogs make money on advertising. I do receive a few leads from the Real Estate Blogs.

I have a MySpace page to keep an eye on my kids. I have a Twitter account so I can say I know what it is and how it works. I like FaceBook to do the combo of what MySpace and Twitter want to be.

I like that Conan O'Brian joke in his bit on The Tonight Show... "In The Year 3000!"

In the Year Three Thousand the web sites MySpace and Facebook and YouTube and Twitter will combine into one super time wasting web location now known as You-Twit-Face.

So, yeah, this stuff does suck a bit of time away from me. But I think it is fun. And in a way a Time Capsule of this day in my life. Hopping it does not bore you.

I'm confident Twitter will go by the wayside as it is not money producing in a meaningful way. And only the youth with Phone Texting Addiction can keep up with it. To what end? I do not think we need to know when the Tweeter is out for coffee or a yogurt or a smoothie. Overload of useless info. Then today I see RevTwt. A way to turn Twit into a ???

Speaking of Texting...

Both Thomas and Ryan have now lost their cell phones to the warm and bubbly waters of the new hot tub. Thomas is now almost 2 weeks with no cell phone. Ryan is on day three today. And School is about to let out. How will they adjust to not being able to Text and be able to call on Mom or Dad to do whatever at whenever???

When I was in 6th grade... A LONG TIME AGO. The home TV went out. (Yes we only had one back then. AND Yes it was color.) Mom decided not to have it repaired right away. This was a good thing for me. I got Out of the House. I made a new friend a bit further afield then normal. He turned out to be one of my Life Long Best Friends. (Matt G.) And on top of that we got out there and Did Stuff. We roved across wider areas and learned to do things.

Hopefully while Ryan and Thomas are without Cell Phones they will learn a new skill. Being timely and communicate with Mom and Dad before leaving the house? This would be a good thing. A good change from "I'll call you..." slam goes the door.

My thoughts and Ramblin' for today.

Sincerely,
Keith <">< - that is a fish.

PS feedback and comments on how long Ryan and Thomas will last with no cell?

Weekend

So I wanted to go fishing on Sunday. Not much was pulled up by the boats that did go out so I will not brow beat myself to much. Did spend time doing those Honey-Do items that had stacked up. Then went to watch the Lakers final game.

Down at the club we did install the new Dart Board. Steve Pokras, aka Alta builders - Cabinetry expert, did the backboard construction and together we did the installation on Saturday. Steve did a fabulous job. And the Cork backing he contributed make this look and function great.

On Saturday during the Lakers game half time we threw the first ceremonial dart at the new board. The Game Room is now back to being a Game Room at the DRYC.

Yeah! Bring your Darts and lets play.

2009 Penmar Angels

My son Thomas had his last game of this season in his Little League Baseball. They played better and better all season long. Thomas played Catcher and Third and Shortstop. We had fun.

I tried to be helpful with the team as a Batting Coach and gave encouragement. Then once in the playoffs I backed off some to let the boys just go after the ball. It helped some of the boys get much better at getting the bat on the ball. I was hopeful to get more hits. At the Brentwood game last Tuesday we won 6 to 1. It was our first playoff game.



PenMar Angels 2009

We played with the Penmar park team of the Angels. LA City Parks and Rec. did a good job of getting nice volunteer coaches and making sure all the boys had a chance to shine.

BTW Special shout out to all the umpires. "Thanks Blue!"

Winzer dog fell in the water at the docks today. LOL funny in a way. Luckily I had him in his life vest for the walk onto the docks so it was easy to retrieve him from the water The life vest is a great handle. He weighs 85 pounds dry.

I made an effort to not spook him and not get anxious or seem worried by the incident. It was different from the first time he went in were we got excited and may have spooked him about the water. This time I remained calm. Easy to do when he has that handle on the back. It was a big effort bot get him up but not to hard. Must remember to get low and left right.

Did not see the incident take place, so I do not know if he as chasing a fish or a bird or an oops occurred. Last I saw of him he was on the docks eagerly awaiting me to get off the boat and go. I turned around to get a few more things and when I got back on the dock he was in the water at the bow of the neighboring sailboat. Plenty of room to move about. But no way for him to climb out. Really no way for a man (or woman) to climb onto the docks for that matter. So it was good that I found him quickly. He was a little pumped up and animated in a good way once out.

Took him into the showers to wash off the salt water. Now have to keep him out of the house.

Just another day of fun stuff. Like this Blog for remembering the interesting parts.

Sunday out on the water with Carl

Had a very nice day of fishing with my brother on Sunday. Just the two of us which was a pleasant surprise. Hooked into a Thresher for a fun 15 min. I had to move to the bow and Carl followed the big brute for a bit. I got some nice action and a few big runs on the 14# test line. Would have taken a long time to bring this one to boat for a release. Maybe next time. Other fish were very scarce. No White Seabass, the target. Did find a spot to load up on Sand Dabs. Not much else biting (except the seals that mauled your bait)

We ran up to Point Dume and fished within sight of Carl's home for most of the day. They could see us out on the water from there. Called via Cell and waived hello. This was the first time Carl was on the Ramblin' out off the docks. Not the last but the first.



2009-05-31 Ramblin’

We stopped at the fuel docks and topped off. So she will be ready for the next trip to the islands. Soon I hope.

Keith -<"><

Family Boating Trip Memorial Weekend

We went out on Ramblin' to Catalina. I spent so much time relaxing and playing that I took very few photos. Using a Jetski or Kayak does not take kindly to cameras really. Everything gets wet!

Wild fast and fun with the Jetski for the kids. One day Ryan and I made a long run south to Little Harbor from where we were in Cat Harbor. It was just a couple of miles down the back side of the island. It was a fun exploration adventure. Ryan now knows where to go for catching a few waves on the back side! And I have a better feel for the Little Harbor anchorage for someday.

No photos of fishing ether. I took 3 kayaks. One for Trish. One for Theresa our guest. And one fishing kayak for me. We all got to use them and have our share of good times. One morning I took the Dinghy and slow trolled a long way north (west) of the harbor. I was back and found most still in bed.

Here are the few photos we took. First two shots of the "Osprey" as we passed them near the West End. Then a few shots while passing Ribbon Rock on the way into Cat Harbor. Just a couple from in the harbor while on the mooring. 3 from camera phone on the island. And that about wraps it up. Next time I'll take more smiling faces while at play. I promise.


Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Our Side-Tie was the sailboat "Osprey". The owners are good friends in the DRYC club and helped make it a much more pleasant trip. Mike and Jodi Pynes have our same laid back attitude about our "island time" so we may do it again in July!

Thanks for viewing.

Keith L. <"><

Memorial Day 2009

I enjoyed a 3 day weekend. I pause to salute the soldiers past and present that make our country strong and safe.
I have many family ties to the Navy and the Army. I teach my boys to respect the flag and the freedoms it represents.
To all the Veterans I offer my most humble "Thank you".

"It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion;
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press;
It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech;
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble;
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial;
It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote;
It is the VETERAN, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag."

The above traces back to the Civil War and I could not find the first author to give proper credit. Feel free to comment if you can point to its earliest author(s).

Keith

Fun Fishing at Catalina in WSB Tournament

Fished at Catalina the weekend of May 15th to 17th, 2009

Enjoyed the White Seabass Tournament at Two Harbors for the first time this year. It is produced by Kit McNear et al at Western Outdoor News! Well done to them.

I was very pleased with the event overall. Liked learning that my knots hold up with the testing machine. Good to try my hand at the casting. Just missed by a little. Good easy check in. Played the game and we went All-In on the jackpots we could afford and we thought were winnable.

The fishing was tough going for many of the teams. We caught many Calico's and a decent halibut. But no money fish for us. Fished hard all night long. I suspect that the fish were fat and happy judging by the amount of bait we saw in the water.

Sunday afternoon the after party was good, short and sweet. We did get several of the raffle prizes that makes hanging out at the end worth it. Tim got a boat care kit to Wax up Reel Lucky. G-man got an Avet Reel. Hoot!

log:

I left MDR on Friday. Relaxed and had an excellent mooring at the Isthmus. F10 near the rocks. Made me nervous a little when mooring but great to see such clear and beautiful sea bed. Team with me was Tim S. (instigator) and Gary (Gman) and missing in action was Jeffery (Fish Killer) and myself. Tim, Gary and I did our best to find and kill a fish but alas the Calico and Halibut we did catch all went back.

We tried to find a good spot at West Cove but the place was a parking lot. then we got really lucky as the sportboat Toronado moved out of a sweet little place and left it all to us for the night of fishing. We fished all night. Used lots of fresh live squid. But like many of the teams in the tournament did not get the WSB hit. Next time.

Thanks to WON for the event. Thanks for the excuse to go spend yet another weekend on the water fishing as hard as possible!

Keith and team Ramblin'

Ensenada - Hotel Coral and Marina

Hi from Ensenada

Just a note from Hotel Coral, where I happen to be today. The place is deserted of gringos. Wow. Not bad!

I want to make this a destination for Ramblin'. Diesel is approx $2.19 per us dollar per us gal. today. This is a terrific place to come to. It would be my most exotic port destanation.

Nice rooms and nice docks here at Hotel Coral. Spent part of yesterday at the pool and hot tub and games (Dennis is very good at Foosball) and relaxing. Then into town for dinner and a few beers at Husson's. Pappa's and Beer was deserted. Most of the town is vacant of tourists.

I'm here as Crew to help William bring his new boat up once unloaded off the transport ship that is due in later today. I'm feeling Fat and happy and relaxed. May have been the big breakfast and lots of jokes and the fact that
I'm not at work that is making me like today so much. He he he.

Wish us smooth sailing for the run up to SD and MDR today and tomorrow.

Keith L.

Nice Saturday social cruise

Trish and I had a few folks onto the Ramblin' for a little social cruise about Santa Monica Bay yesterday. Nice day. Good weather. the water could have been more flat but All was OK for the boaters who were along for the ride, libations, snacks and camaraderie.

Next trip... Not soon enough

Odd thing happened today... while on a business errand I found myself on the road behind a trash truck. Normally one would hurry around a diesel to get better air. I found myself noting the similarity of the odor with the good times out on my boat. So I did not pass it. Luckily it was a short ride to my next turn. (and the truck was newer or in good repair) But I see I need to get out and use the boat soon.

Nice Weekend in the MDR Halibut Derby

It happens... Fishing for a Halibut and not getting one. Our team of Tim S., Gary D., Dennis B., and I worked it all weekend. We fished very hard. Very early and until late both days. We worked it from Santa Monica to Malibu and back and back and back again. No luck on the flatties. We saw a few little fish and one big toad of a sand bass but the halibut eluded our team.

We fished Star of Scotland and Big Rock and Sealion mostly. Everything from 140 feet down to 23 feet. Tossed sardines, plastics, mackerel (that we jigged up) and even a tomcod. We bounce balled and live bait drifted. We tossed jigs and lead heads. There is not much more we can do.

But just the same we had a lot of fun in the MDR Halibut Derby. 2 full days of hard fishing out on the SM Bay with good friends and we all were blessed with really nice weather and really calm seas.

Sun screen was the important item in the Tackle Box. Plenty of cold beer helped to keep our spirits up. Then add in the antics of jokes and movie quotations from Dennis and Tim to keep us in stitches.

So, in the end, one fish wish was granted. We had a very fun weekend.

And the Awards party went well. Thanks to all the many Volunteers who produced the event! You gave us an excuse to get the boat in top condition for the fishing and boating to come.

I liked that the 3 top finalists ( who each landed fantastic fish ) got to pick if they wanted to go to Alaska for big Halibut or Canada for Salmon or East Cape Mexico for Marlin etc. It looked like they really liked that option. And it went in that order! Great Vacations.

To learn more about the derby prizes see www.HalibutDerby.com

Next year the derby will need to send a memo to the fish to show up earlier in the year so we can have more catching. There was a good batch of catching. Just not by us. As Dennis was fond of reminding us on our boat... "That's why they call it Fishing!" See the photos on the MDRAnglers.com site for the fish caught.

Congrats to those lucky anglers. It was tough fishing for the rest of us. But
very fun.

Thanks again to my team for your fun company.

Keith
Ramblin'

April Fools - On Me! I got Hooked and Reeled in!

My brother got me!

From: Carl Lambert
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 4:21 PM
To: 'David Fine'
Subject: RE: Flag...
I just called Bruce at the Tuna Club to inform him that I caught the first Tuna this morning out of San Diego.
…

Just believable enough... There has been a lot of talk about First Marlin and First Tuna boat flags of late. His boat is docked in San Diego. He was missing this weekend. I got Had. Carl suckered me hook, line and sinker. Dang I must be taking this fishing thing way to serious! LOL

And… At the Halibut Derby sign up I also got had by Bob Kissling when he told me that the club has stopped buying the first fish flags as they are too expensive.

Doooh! Cheers to both of you. And hoping you all have a laugh.

Sincerely,
Fish for brains, Keith <"><



PS – Looking forward to having a lot of fun in the Halibut Derby this weekend. Hope to see some of you out there on the bay this weekend. see MDRHaliutDerby

Fish Wish of the MV Ramblin’ is at least One Really Big Fish for team Ramblin'.

Electrical Redesign is Complete

Wow. I did not intend to do a total overhaul to the Boat's Electrical. It was OK in that it worked. Until that last lobster Hoop netting trip where I broke the parallel switch. Oops. Then I learned that my house batteries were in need of replacement. (Not a surprise) But when the electrical equipment under the decks needed an evaluation. A switch and a solenoid needed to be removed and I got into improving the system. Then it got a life of it's own. Luckily Advanced Batteries turned me onto an electrical guru of sorts. Shang Wong of 3D Marine.

We now have a new bigger sized main house bank of three 4D AGM batteries (bank #1) and a new addition of a starting battery dedicated to the generator (bank #3).

And changed the Starting (bank #2 a 2 year old 4D) so that it starts both the Starboard and Port sides. Not a small matter for the boat.

And Added 2 Combiners and removed a Battery Isolator.

As the Combiners are able to take the charge of both Alternators and ramp them up so that the House Bank gets all the Juice it needs I have increased the systems ability to recover from drain. Increasing efficiency and decreasing charge times.

And this may increase the life of the batteries. It was also very nice to set up a new set of Switches in a convenient and yet dry place to work. Just inside the cabin. Safely under the sole of the salon is a new bank of switches and breakers. Very nice.

This was a very big upgrade and required the professional help of 3D Marine to rewire and properly balance the load and wire and switches and test and complete the job in time for the Halibut Derby. My start of the fishing season.

Sweet. I now have power for longer Fishing Trips. And longer family vacations on a Mooring or anchorage in ______. (pick a place within 100 miles of LA)

Ready for Fishing. Ready for boating season.

Fish Wish Granted.

Keith <"><

Electrical - Load and service. Amps etc.

My head has been filled, as of late, with electrical systems and diagrams and 4D batteries and starting bank and house bank and isolator switches and space and weight concerns and Amp hours of service and draw of electronic components and recharging times to 80% or full charge...

And of course the repairs have had a life of their own and a costs that blossom like a spring time weed. Dang those dandelions.

I broke one switch. Needed two batteries. And found an Oops.

To repair and reinstall will involve some below deck wood repair. New Battery boxes and redesigning my electric service to power the starting of one engine and the generator and May involve new selector switches. And where was that solenoid switch?

But in the End... Ramblin' will be ready for a long 3 to 5 day weekend of Marlin Fishing. House Bank 1 will now have a 600 hour rating instead of 400 hours and I learned that you Never want to take your house bank below 50%. So therefore I just went from 200 to 300 usable. 124 just for my bait systems and then house lights and refrigeration will use up the rest. A very good upgrade.

And similarly the new setup for the Starting Batteries will give lots of peace of mind. Adding a small one for the Genny and redesigning the main engine starting system is not light work.

Keep your fingers crossed that I do not cross a wire. LOL

Keith

Ramblin around looking for Halibut hang outs

Hi All,

A little Fish Report from Ramblin'. On Saturday I was out with 1/2 of my Halibut Derby Team to look for new Halibut Hang Outs in my favorite areas of SM Bay.

Marked some interesting places in my GPS. But not that easy to find fish that were biting. Talked to a friend (Top Dog) out on the water and they only got some bites at Short Banks. We stayed in the areas that we wanted to search for a Halibut the target.

No Fish. Nice water. Calm day. Did get some tan.

Keith <"><

Preperation for the Halibut Derby

Goin' Fishin'

Went out for a little test run on Sunday at 8 AM. With me was 3/4 of my Halibut Derby team. Getting into the mindset and the boat and the gear dialed in for the April 4th & 5th MDR Halibut Derby.

So we went out to test out Ramblin' as a boat to do some of that "Bounce Balling" from. It was Not working for us. In Sundays mellow morning weather I could not go slow enough. Tried a 60 inch drag chute and still could not easily go slow enough. One engine in and out of gear. Just too much torque.

So we finally gave up on that and started using a bit of bait. Tim S. got one really nice sand bass in 63 feet of water off of Venice pier. So we were not blanked for a 1/4 day of fishing.

Tight Lines,

Keith <"><


see you in the www.HalibutDerby.com

Good Father Son Time

Together we Rebuilt a nice cruiser bike for Ryan. Here he is with his new Ride...
Blue Electric Glide

Happy Mardi Gras

Happy Mardi Gras wishes to you all from Santa Monica. Hope you are going to have a nice celebration tonight.

I'm hopeful that I'll find some Jazz tonight and see some fun friends to celebrate a little. I have attended a New Orleans Mardi Gras once. Maybe it will reinforce those happy memories.

I do have some beads.

Above are two evening shots of the SM Pier and PCH to Malibu. I took them at the top of the California Incline recently. The photos are evening shots and since I did not have a tripod are not very good. That does not diminish the fun of sharing them.


Have fun out there!