Jets v Sharks

We went to see West Side Story at the Pantages Theater.    Matinee, on Dec.30th.

A good outing that the Holiday spirit enabled us to decide "what the heck let's spring for it" and get a set of 5 tickets.  The show was excellent. Such great casting and fine performances.  Hoping that Thomas and his middle school stage crew experiences are giving Thomas a good wide eye experience here.

Ryan says he liked it a lot.  Did not get the camera out.  Darn it.  And they both looked so good.

Then Dinner out for some Sushi.  Nice. Fun.

Merry Christmas 2010

It was good.  It was Cozy.  Everyone got a Stocking.  Even the Dog liked his Christmas Stocking stuffers!

Santa did his thing and put the Stockings out for the boys in the morning.  The boys forgot to leave out a milk for Santa.  Will have to give them a reminder to do so for next year.  Santa and Mrs Santa put in lots of extra time to get the stuff under the tree on Xmas Eve.  Need the nourishment.

Thanks to a visit form Trisha's brother we had extra love in the house.  We even made the journey out to Malibu to see the rest of the family later in the day.  Not quite Over the Hills and Through the Woods but a nice little vehicular drive.  Ryan used his new license to take his Chevy out and show it off to his cousins.  Both of whom were suitably impressed.

In the end.  Smooth Sailing.  Happy Christmas memories.  Many of the best gifts were clothing not toys.  We are all older now and appreciate the best gift of all.  Each other.

Lots of Love was Shared!

KL

(PS one of the side items was Thomas getting the fixi rims he just had to have on Xmas Eve.  He really is enjoying his fixed gear bike.  A fun bike that takes bike riding to a new level.  Fwd or Backwards.)

Let it snow

OK so we get our plans together.  Arrange a place.  Drive up in wild weather.  Spend three days skiing in Mammoth with the biggest dump of snow all season landing on us.  What?  Do it again?

Yes we would.  We had a great time.

I almost posted to my Twitter account a stupid line like "A snowflake went up my nose and I liked it" just after this photo was taken.  The snow started to fall hard and Big Flakes too.  We had to retreat indoors to finish the beer.

My new ski boots (merry Xmas to me) were great.  No bind or pinch.  Fit great.  Thanks to Doc's Ski Haus in Santa Monica and to a break in run at Virtual Snow with a break in routine that Bob Salerno recommended.  My boots worked great.  New Atomic Hawx.  Like the new flex grooves in them.

Next Xmas is new Ski and Bindings.

Special "Thanks" to the  Santen family who let us join them in their cabin/condo.

It was a good vacation.  Thomas on his snowboard did more skiing than Ryan on his skis. Wow was he doing good.  Carving it up.  Will have to make a video of that part.

Steep and Deep.  Just like Trisha likes it.


Ski Wish Was Granted.   A good vacation.

Keith

Merry Christmas to all.

Happy Holidays from the Boaters of Marina Del Rey...

As shared by Keith and Trish down at the docks.

It was a very fun evening.  "Just messing around with boats." is a famous quote that comes to mind.

And best wishes for a terrific new year.

Keith

Fishin' on the Freedom

Was hearing that Santa Barbara Island was providing some very respectable action on Yellowtails. Wanted to go. Not enough prep time for my boat (and to set up people to split fuel cost with) so I decided to go on the Freedom out of 22nd Street landing.

A good choice. Good boat and good teamwork from the crew and the mostly cooperative fellow paying passengers. We got to enjoy the very smooth water and mostly the weather was sweet for fishing.

The Freedom had plenty of bait and chummed up the fish needed. However I was not one of the lucky ones to pick up a White Seabass or a Yellowtail. there where 14 Yellowtails for the 29 anglers on board. I did get the first fish of the day. A whitefish of respectable size. But not worth a photo.

We had a few boats near us at SBI

I took this self portrait hoping to get a view of the rocks (behind my hat) so I could return to the spot next time I make the run to this island.  I've got it in my mind.  And Cesar on Killer Instinct was there right behind us getting some just down current from the chum we were dropping into the waters.

I pulled out my little hand held radio and tried to hail him.  No luck as he never replied on any of the channels I tried.  It did get the attention of the boat crew and captain.  They were thinking I was a spy or FBI or worse.  I took much ribbing.  He noticed my hail on the radio and that the RDF showed the radio call coming from his boat.  Then he had to come out and look for me.  We watched as Team Killer Instinct boated fish. 

Out luck was good in the morning.  The downhill current was strong.  The fish were tough.  Some got away.  14 eventually were successfully brought aboard.  The bigger ones were in the 30 to 35 pound class.

My little also ran fish were not of note or of quality to justify photos.  Whitefish and rock fish etc.  BTW some really nice quality Sheepshead also cam aboard.  One angler of note was a very tenacious and successful 7 year old angler.  The lucky ones got to pose with the Yellowtails. 

Thanks to the boat crew.   Nice fishing trip.  I rested.  I relaxed.

 Fish wish of a good fishing trip was granted.  No rain.  Lovely sunset. 


Next time...   I'll catch a big one.

Keith <"><

Sunset Cruise

Friday evening...  What to do to make it fun.

We went for a harbor sunset cruise. The water lately has been flat.  Very Flat.

So flat that we could call it Lake Santa Monica.   Wow was the water smooth.

We had a lovely little run out to in front of Santa Monica and back.  The sunset was very nice.

Trish an Theresa enjoyed the show and served up plenty of appetizers. 

A nice little run on the Ramblin'.

Keith

Holloween tips to pass along...

Just in case you have forgotten the rules for a safe and  Happy Halloween.

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER
check to see if it's really dead.

2. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a
joke.

3. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has
gone out.

4. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other
language which they should not know, shoot them
immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long
run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill
them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids who speak
with somebody else's voice.

5. When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off
and go it alone.

6. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open por-
tals to Hell.

7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt.
This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

8. If you're searching for something which caused a loud
noise and find out that it's just the cat, GET THE HELL
OUT!

9. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not
check for short circuits; just get out!

10. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.

11. If you find a town which looks deserted, there's pro-
bably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around.

12. Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless
you're sure you know what you're doing.

13. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip
or fall down at least twice. Also note that, despite the
fact that you are running and the monster is merely shamb-
ling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up
with you.

14. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit un-
characteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for
blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on,
kill them immediately.

15. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some
of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Tran-
sylvania, Nilbog (you're in trouble if you recognize
this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in
Maine (or Alabama).

16. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road,
do not go to the nearby deserted looking house to phone
for help. If you think that it is strange because you
thought you had half of a tank, shoot yourself instead.
You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten.

17. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery,
now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This applies
to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or
died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who
performed satanic practices in your house.

Family - Recent Wedding

My Nephew Joe...  Is a source of Pride to the Family.

My sister Rosemary has a son Joe.
My sister Shelly has a daughter Michelle.
My brother Carl has a daughter Kristen.

All of whom are great kids and have made the family Proud.  However Joe went to the Navel Academy and has had a very successful career diving navy ships. And many tales have come from his experiences.

Taking my two boys to visit him when he was an officer at Annapolis was a special memory for Ryan and Thomas as well as for me (Dad and Uncle)

Well I missed being at Joey's recent Wedding this summer.  I sure would have loved to have been there.  Thinking back on it I really would have liked to have been there.  Ryan and Thomas told us after the fact that we should have sent them and stayed home to save money.  Could have been just me.  Nope.  Just the boys.  Nope.  All 4 of us or none.  Did not work out for us all to go.   Missed it.  But These shots are cool.

**They are low res.  Get the full sized ones or prints via...
http://www.pictage.com/client/event.do?event=914502

the Family

Joe and Cassy

Joe with Lyle and Rose

Joe with Lillie and George

Love that Family shot.  Wishing I was there to add my arm of the family tree to it.  Keith, Trish, Ryan & Thomas would have filed that out to the last level of our branch of the family.

Family gatherings are important.  Proud of them all...

AND

Congrats to Joe for his wedding this Sept. 18th to Cassy.

The Bells up in Avalon.

I liked this...



Youtube.com Video on the Bell Tower of Avalon

Family Trip - Memorial Day weekend of 2010

Did I forget to post about the Family trip on the boat to Catalina!

We had fun.  We used the new Generator.  And had a new head installed.  Both were installed in the last 72 hours prior to leaving for this big first trip of the season.  Wow that was fast.  Good Job to Karl of C&C Marine in MDR.  Thanks.
 

We side tied up with a future commodore.  Jim is a fun guy to hang with.  Here is Thomas in purple.

And Thomas Driving us in the Dingy.  We are off to shore for food and entertainment.
Thomas and Ryan did very well.  Trish enjoyed nice hot coffee from the new power source.

Does that look like a Happy and Content mom.  Lunging on the back of her boat in the early morning sunshine.  By this time I think the boys were out riding on a jet ski or maybe still sleeping in.  Whatever it is their vacation too.

We had fun.  They had fun.  Did a little fishing too.  Taught a Sailboating member how to get some great tasting sheepshead.  Now I'm having second thoughts about showing him my "secret spot" outside of Cat Harbor.  he he he.

Fish Wish Granted... We all had a good time.

My new "Pet Peeve" at the docks - Water Hose

OK so care on the boat is taken to keep things clean and ship shape.  Lots of stuff to look into and clean. 

No boat owner would put bad oil into their engine.  But by being slack with the garden hose on the dock they may end up putting bad and polluting stuff into the drinking water system.

We carry fresh water.  We have to refill it often at the dock.  So the hose needs to be a clean hose!

If you leave your hose out with no end on the hose stuff can get into the hose.  Not good.  If it is allowed to dangle into the ocean water the many sea creatures will take up residence.  There is not anti-fouling paint on that hose lining and the many little sea creatures will set up shop in HOURS.  Leaving the hose end dangling like in this photo just overnight will be enough to potentially pollute your full fresh water drinking system if you use it to fill your water tanks.

This is how a water hose on the dock gets hosed.  Wrapping it around the Dock Box seems OK.  It makes it tidy.  But for how long.  It is not safe to leave a hose with a free end that can get dropped into the water.  It needs and end to keep it safe or to be put away inside the dock box.

Here is the rub... we do not want to leave hose spray nosels on the end as the many dock washers steal them, take it to the next job or whatever.   How annoying.

So what are you going to do about it?  Post your reply.

What is your plan to keep your drinking water aboard your boat SAFE!

Keith

Fishing with club on the Betty-O

I went out with my fishing club, the MDRAnglers, on a local fishing trip aboard the Betty-O.  Wow.  Nice Weather.  Nice fishing.  Good time on the water.  Several of the drifts were productive.  The variety was good.  Calico, Halibut, Rock fish etc.

The nice evening was a treat.  The Betty-O served up good Burgers to order.  Had plenty of cold drinks and warm drinks on hand. 

Look for a few photos on the clubs Yahoo Group in the album called: 2010-6-9 Betty-O fishing trip.  If you took a photo you can add to the album.  Thanks to MDRA member Tom Jonynas for taking these shots.

I made a few new friends last night.  I reconnected with a few fishing pals.  I shared a few hearty laughs and many minor humorous incidents.  Like when we tried to remember new knots we thought we had learned.

Fish Wish Granted.  I had a nice night out fishing!

Sincerely,

Keith L. <"><


the "Joe Miller" fishing knot -


and the other one I needed to review was the ...  ?  Darn!  What was it?
used to put a Fluorocarbon leader to the Spectra loop

Did not find it at...
http://www.netknots.com/html/fishing_knots.html

Fishing trip to Catalina - WSB Tournament

I am very pleased to have been in the Western Outdoor News White Seabass Tournament for the second time.  We went to Catalina on Friday May 14th and got a mooring at Two Harbors (aka The Isthmus).  The event was Saturday and Sunday.  Starting and ending with a group event on the beach at the grandstand. 

Saturday morning was a Casting contest and Captains meeting and Raffle.

Hard core fishing all of Saturday afternoon - evening - night and Sunday morning.  All back at the dock by noon Sunday.  We fished most of the back side from near Little Harbor to Ben Westin Pt to the V's to Church Rock.  No fish to brag about out of all that.  But a very fun trip none the less.

Thanks goes to my team of Matt and Tim and Steve.  Well done guys.  I am eager to fish with them again.

Photos are worth a thousand words so here is the few photos and vids we took.



2010-05-15 WSB Tourn

In the end we saw some really nice fish and very nice prizes given to the other anglers who did get lucky.  Congrats to each of them.  Next year it will be Team Ramblin' on that podium.

Fish Wish Granted.  We had a good fun trip.

Matt (who came down from Monterey) says he got refreshed and recharged from the trip out their with good guy time and away from the cares of the mainland and the work life.  So there is a big success to be recognized.

If you were out there for the WSB recently please reply with your fish story.

Sincere wishes for tight lines,

Keith Lambert
---------------------~  <"><

Boat is being fixed up more.

All boats take tender loving care.  And this year we are finnaly finishing the painting started 3 years ago.  Now the boat is wearing a complete new skin form top to bottom of Oyster White with a deep blue boot stripe and the classic Uniflite slash on the side of the house.

Our last section of hull was done this spring.  A very big area.  If anyone needs a high end painting service I cannot recommend anyone better than Prestige Boat Maintenance of Marina Del Rey.  A real artist.  Thank you to Luciano and crew.  From the radar arch to the non-skid and on down to the water line.  Great care.

The first step this season was to haul out and do a bottom paint job with anti-fouling paint.  And to service the prop shafts and the strut bearings.  Then we got started in the yard to prep the boat.   Now it is done.

Feeling good about it.  So now I want to get out and use her this season.

New "Fish Wish" is for lots of fair weather days for happy boating in 2010.

Keith L.  <"><

New Commuter bus - Pier to Pier

Malibuites will love this next time there is a mud slide or a fire.  But would they use it to go see a play or to go to the opera downtown?

"Proposed new bus service from Malibu Pier to Santa Monica Pier will save many commuting hours for Malibu residents. Cool new boat bus design uses hydrofoil technology to efficiently get commuters into the city fast. With the new Boat Bus and the termination of the city metro rail line in Santa Monica at Colorado Blvd it will be possible to park at Malibu Pier and travel to Downtown Los Angeles!"

Got to love the Japanese design. Form and function match if you ask me.

Keith

Big day for Father & Son - Ryan's first Car

What can you say... It is a big day for Ryan and a pretty cool one for Dad as well.

Helping my son with the purchase of his very first car. It is a event we have been working up to for some time. Test drove a clunker or two. Searched Craig's List and other online sites. Worked to get Mom on board to the idea. Setting expectations for what responsibilities he will have to live up too. Very important stuff.

Ryan found this car on his own with the help of a cousin who is local. It was a repetitively decent cared for vehicle that Dominic had recently picked up for a great deal. Then Dom wanted to move up and offered it to Ryan. He likes it a Lot.

Ryan loves the bigger cars and the classic American steel. Dad had planted the seeds for that long ago. When we were in Datona at a car show he liked an old original 1968 Pontiac the most out of many cars there.

Well the car is a full sized 1990 Chevy Caprice Classic.  A nice body and a V 6 for enough power but not a gas hog of a V 8.  No major dents.  Plenty of shopping cart and parking lot dings.  Original everything but the stereo and speakers.  (Special thanks to Dominic)  It has that very important new feature... An Ipod jack on the stereo!  All the kids now days use the things as their personal jukebox.

Ryan has now had it for one day now and has given it a good bath.  Vacuumed with the help of a good buddy. He is wearing a big smile that does not go away. 

I'm happy for him.  Luckily his boss at Virtual Snow called and said to come in and work today.  He will need the money for the auto insurance.  He has that responsibility.  The ongoing costs of insurance and fuel etc.

Fish Wish Granted.  My boy got a good car.

Keith <"><

New year - New season - New Bottom

A friend said recently "nothing beats a beautiful rear end"

I think they got a point there. So We are making the bottom beautiful again. The M/V Ramblin' is getting bottom pain this week.

This week is off to a very busy and packed week of many shades of work and life activity.

Wow.

More on the next post.

Keith

Mammoth Ski Trip number 4

Drove up on Friday the 5th. Skied on Sat. the 6th in snowy conditions. Skied Sunday the 7th until Superbowl time. Ryan and I staked out the prime spot to watch the game in front of the big screen TV at the main lodge bar called Tusks. And skied some in Sunshine on Monday the 8th.

4 days including travel. 2 and 1/2 days on the slopes. Lots of fresh snow to play in. And skied in 4 to 8 inches of Fresh Powder!

Very Nice. Glad we went.




Mammoth-Trip4

Ampted to to to to Go Again

Working my stuff to get out to Mammoth again. Skiing with Thomas and Trish and the Lamperts.

So many interruptions. More items to get done than can do...

15 to 18 inches of fresh snow up there and we plan to be on the road today by 3. So why do so many new people need my time to wine about this stuff.


Fish Wish if for Calm to descend on me as we gain altitude to the mountains.

Keith <"><

Mammoth again Skiing

First Week of January skiing trip. Nice way to start the new year. A terrific Ski Vacation with family.

Mammoth Mountain is a good destination. Especially with 4 of us. Have to drive there. Flying somewhere with kids is a pricey extravagance. Going skiing is an extravagance on it's own. So we Drive for 6 hours. This can be hard on the nerves.

Did ski our buts off. I skied each of the three days we were there.

Day One was a blast with Ryan. We skied mightily. From top to bottom in fast runs all day. The photo is Exemplary of how this first day with for us. We are on our way to the top in the gondola. Hoot!

Day Two was me and Thomas to ski slowly on the lower stuff as Thomas is rebuilding his Snowboard skills. (Trish was with Ryan at the med clinic as a sickness made its round of Ryan then Trish then even Thomas)

On Day 3 I took a spill on the bottom 1/3rd of Cornice. Turned into a bit of a "Yard Sale." Both my skis came off and I got a bunch of snow in my pants. Got some cheers from those that saw the show. I was being very aggressive on the hill at the end of the day on tired legs and crossed a tip. So down I went. After a bit of a skid I flipped myself over and dug in my toes to stop my decent. ( I did mention it was a steep hill ) then looked up to see both my skis about 70 feet above me. No problem. Started to climb up for them... A nice snowboarder came over and cut the trek up the slope in half. She had a complement on the crash. Heard me coming and looked up to see the whole thing. LOL Big grin for her. I was cutting a nice line before I came apart. So I was not embarrassed. It was a reasonably soft landing and nothing hurt. So All is Good.

I had to build a shelf to put my skis on. Then skiied the last of that top section with happy gusto. Then had a good rest. That is when I evaluated just how much snow got in. This cooled me off for the run down to the bottom and a needed rest to get a beer.

More photos are on the Web Shots page I have for family to see. (email for link)

Keith


PS we had a very good condo at Horizons4
This made the time being IN very comfortable.


PPS I eventually came down with the gastronomic thing about 2 hours after getting the car into the driveway at home... It hit me too. It took us down 4 for 4. Sorta a Montezuma revenge type of thing.

Happy New Year's - 20 10

Welcome to twenty ten!

We all say good by to 2009 with a relief of having gotten it behind us.

The new year had a very good start for me as it was rung in with a dinner out with a little dancing and even watching some of the fireworks in MDR at midnight.

With Optimistic and Resilient attitude I welcome the new year. Looking forward to 2010.

Keith