2000 Photo Journal Project

In 2000, I started a project where I would take at least one photo a day for a whole year. I was almost successful for the entire year, but after my third camera broke due to excessive wear and spending lots of dough developing countless rolls of film I ended my project after 10 months.

Here are a few of my favorites.














The rest of my photos are at the links below at Yahoo Photos.

2000 Photo Journal - Part 1

2000 Photo Journal - Part 2

Glamis Sand Dunes Trip #1

I finally made it out to the desert again this weekend. This time it was the sand dunes at Glamis. It was further north of the spot we went to last time, but still part of the same Algodones dune field. Chelsea and Forrest came with Jeremy and me this time.


The weather was perfect and it was very beautiful, especially at sunset. We went on a night ride and it is quite an adrenaline rush dropping into steep bowls barely illuminated by small headlights. I also went on a fun dune buggy ride. The driver was a maniac and we ended up blowing an axle going up a steep dune. It was great but we had to push it a ways back for the tow.


My boss, Blayne, bought rainbow flags for his ATV quads, not knowing that they can stand for gay pride. (The quads have flags on tall sticks so others can see you coming over the top of dunes sooner to prevent head-on-collisions.) Anyway, I noticed the flags but didn't say anything because I thought maybe I was wrong about what they meant. My friend, Jeremy, and I were out cruising and we stopped to help push a stuck pickup out of a hole when another truck came speeding by. Some asshole stuck his head out the window, flipped us off and screaming out that we were fuckin homos and should get the hell out of here. We thought, "What the Fuck!" but then we realized that they had seen our rainbow flags and thought we were gay.


We had a good laugh later, but it sucked that people are still so bigoted out there. It's funny that the only time people are like that is when they are in big groups or speeding by. Cowards!

Cactus Stock in Mexico

Cactus Stock was a blast! Rosie had a gig with the band, Skanic, as one of their back-up singers so I went with her and Jeff down to Mexico for Cactus Stock. It is held south of Ensenada in Baja California about 20 minutes from La Bufadora (The Blowhole).


There is a windy dirt road the last few miles with some shear drops and sharp turns as you cross over the rocky ridge to get down to the Kennedy Ranch. It was very scenic spot with jagged cliffs rising out of the ocean and the weather was perfect. We set up our tents and joined the party.


A few bands were playing on the cliff stage with people hanging out or going into the ocean. I went ocean kayaking with Jeff, but I lost my favorite pair of sunglasses when we capsized while catching a wave into the beach. Bummer! At sunset, we all hiked up to Crow's Point with the rest of the crowd to cheer as the sun dropped below the horizon.


At Crow's Point, I met a cute girl named Liza who I hung out with for the rest of the night after she invited me to have some dinner at her friends' campsite. After a while the bonfire started and more bands started playing on the main stage. Everyone started to gather around the fire and on the dance floor.


Rosie did a great job singing and Skanic had a fun set. After the Belly Up, it was the second time I had heard her sing with them. I got pretty plastered on Tequila through the night. I drank three-quarters of a bottle of Hornitos. I had never had it before but I really like it. It is very smooth. Not as good as chilled Patron, though.


I was so dehydrated in the morning that I got two really bad hamstring cramps in the same leg when I tried to get out of my tent. I was writhing on the floor in pain for awhile. Heh! It took till Wednesday for the soreness in my right hamstring to go away.


After a morning hike, Rosie, Jeff & I had breakfast burritos at Estella's Cantina before packing up to go home. On the trip back north, we stopped for lobster in Puerto Nuevo.

2000 Mission Bay Triathlon

Well, I finished my first triathlon yesterday in Mission Bay with my friend, Robert. It took me about an hour and fifteen minutes, but I won't know my official times and splits until they mail them to me. It was a sprint distance triathlon with a 500 meter swim, 15k bike & 5k run.


I did pretty well on my swim, but it took a little time to get used to the crowded swimming conditions. It threw me off my stroke and messed with my breathing. I actually bumped into Robert right near the end and we exited the water together.


I sucked in the transition area where I switched to my bike. Robert was gone in about thirty seconds but it took me about 3-4 minutes. Because I was still wet, I accidentally ripped my number off my singlet when I was struggling to put it on over my head. I had to re-safety-pin it back on. Next time I'm not going to wear socks or a singlet until after the bike section.

I did okay on the bike but there are a lot of very fast guys out there. I passed about five guys, but I was passed by about thirty while I was in a higher gear.


The run sucked. My legs felt like lead weights after getting off the bike. I took me two of the three miles for my legs to start feeling normal. I don't want to mention how many people passed me. I definitely need to practice on the bike and then switch straight to a run. I was able to sprint to the finish, passing a guy who was twenty-five. I was able to tell because we had our ages written on the back of our calves with a permanent marker. Each age group starts in 5 minute intervals after the professionals start. You know you are doing really bad when someone in their forties passes you.


Robert finished in one hour and four minutes (this is his twelfth triathlon) and the pros who started one minute before us finished in about fifty+ minutes. It was really fun though and I am definitely going to do it again. I definitely think I can improve.

Hangliding at Torrey Pines

My friend, Greg, and I went to the Torrey Pines Glider Port on Sunday. I had given him a Tandem Hangliding Gift Certificate for his Birthday. It was beautiful day and there were allot hangliders and paragliders up in the air over the cliff face. Greg went first because he only weighs 145 pounds, but I got to take pictures on the edge of the cliff with him as he took off with the instructor.


The instructor let him control it for most of the time as he flew around for about twenty minutes over Black's Beach. I ran over to take a picture as he came in for a landing. They overshot the landing area and I had to dive out of the way as they came in too fast. They ended up landing in the gravel area and nearly hitting a crowd of spectators.


The wind started to die so they told me I would have to wait for it to pick up for my turn. After about a hour of waiting, one of the smaller hangliders in the air came too close to a paraglider (looks like a parachute) and spun out of control. He crashed into the cliff and the lifeguards had repel 200 feet down to rescue him. He was alive but had major injuries. Because of the accident they cleared the sky of flyers, so I will have to go back there again for my turn.


Even though I didn't get to fly, it was a pretty exciting day.

San Dieguito High School - 10 Year Reunion (Class of 1990)

I went to my 10 year Reunion for the Class of 1990 from San Dieguito High School on Saturday, August 19th. It was held Downtown San Diego on the "Berkeley", an old steam ferry originally from San Francisco Bay, permanently anchored in the harbor next to the "Star of India".


I hung out with Bobby and Julie and it was really fun seeing all the people I haven't seen for 10 years. I had kept in touch with a few people, but it was nice to see my friends, like Michael Clarke, who I had gone to school with since 3rd grade. I have a bit of a bad memory, so it was so nice to have so many memories come rushing back to me as I saw faces from the past.


It was a fun night with good food, lots of drinks from the bar and plenty of dancing. I just wish Mary Ann could have been there. I know a lot of people who dreaded or want to avoid their reunion, but I had a blast.


I was voted "Most Changed" during the awards ceremony. The prize was a engraved wine glass. I took a picture of the large gathering as I returned from the dais. Too bad they didn't give the type of awards that Homer Simpson was so proud of winning at his reunion on The Simpsons, like "Oldest Car", "Lowest Paying Job" or "Traveling the Least Distance to get to the Reunion". I might have grabbed one of those as well. Just Kidding! Heh!


After the reception at the "Berkeley" ended, I went with Yancy, his wife and a large crowd into the Gaslamp Quarter to the dueling piano bar called "Sing Sing" on 4th Street. There was a sizable group of us even after the place closed with people not wanting to end conversations with friends they hadn't seen for a long time. I ended up walking back to my car around four in the morning.

San Dieguito High School Graduation

Laughlin, Nevada Trip

The past month has been very busy. It continued when I went to Laughlin, Nevada for a few days last week with my friend, Chris and several of his friends. We drove there and stayed at the Flamingo Hilton.


This is my second trip to Laughlin. It is fun to walk down the boardwalk along the Colorado River lined with casinos. There is a intense contrast between the hot desert air outside and the chilly air-conditioned casinos as you pop in and out along the walkway.


Chris towed his jet boat out which we put into Lake Mohave. The boat was a wild ride that gave the feeling that it would flip at high speeds. It was very crowded at the main boat launch the first day, so on the second day we drove further north to a more secluded launch area. We found a nice sand bar to hang out on.

Camping at the Colorado River

I have been going camping at Picacho State Park on the California side of the Colorado River for a few years now with my boss and others from work. It is a great place but you have to drive over an 18 mile dirt road from the I-8 near the border of Arizona to get there. This weekend I went with Blayne, Julie, Rosie, Wendy & Jim.


Normally we ride in Blayne's boat that he keeps in storage here, but Jim brought his new ski boat. He was eager to get his boat in the water and we took Blayne for a pull on his single ski. This water is great for skiing because the river flow keeps the chop down and you can get some very glassy conditions. Blayne can really get some deep carves.


This river's sand banks shift all time and sometimes they are in different spots each time we come. We were pulling Blayne far upriver and we hit a shallow sand bar going about 30 miles an hour. We came to a pretty abrupt stop and Blayne almost ran into the back of the boat. We were stuck pretty good in about a foot of water. Normally it is fairly easy to push the boat off into deeper water but this time it took about 10 people and a ranger boat to help pull us off the sand.


The days at the river are so relaxing and fun. We set up a spot on a sand bar and spend the day relaxing in the sun and taking turns on the boat, skiing, wakeboarding or getting pulled on innertubes. It is fun as well to get dropped off up river and have a nice float back down on inflatable rafts with a couple of beers.


As the sun starts to set, we go back to our camping spot and eat dinner, drink and chat around the fire. Each trip, we also have a night hike up to the arch.

Sailing to the Coronado Islands, Mexico

Julie has a friend who belongs to the yacht club down at San Diego Harbor and she invited a group of us to go sailing with them this weekend to the Coronado Islands south of San Diego. They are four small rocky islands in Mexican waters off the coast of Rosarito. I had been there before in 1995 for the last ocean dive of my scuba certification.


It was my first time on a sailing yacht. We had a nice wind behind us and we traveled the 13 miles to the islands in straight line. Normally I get seasick fairly easily in medium size fishing and diving boats, but I was fine on the sailboat. I think it is because sailboats have a heavy keel which sets them deeper in the water so there is less bobbing on the surface.


We anchored in the tiny bay of South Coronado Island. There are a couple of buildings on the barren hill that houses a Mexican Navy garrison. On the shore of the bay is an old group of pylons that used to hold a casino from the days of Prohibition.


The captain and I went snorkeling around the yacht. The water was very cold but it was a beautiful sunny day. We had a nice lunch and relaxed in the sun until it was time for us to raise anchor and head back to San Diego.


The sail back was more exciting because we had to tack back and forth against the wind. I really enjoyed riding in the boat that was sailing at a sharp angle to the water. The return journey took allot longer and it was dark before we reached the harbor. It was cool to see the lights of San Diego bright against the dark ocean. I was allowed to steer the yacht for awhile as we were coming into the harbor. It was a great day.

Algodones Sand Dunes in Imperial County, CA

Jeremy and I went to the Algodones Sand Dunes off of Interstate 8 at Gray's Well, CA about a half hour's drive from the Arizona border. This huge dune field is one of the locations where they filmed Star Wars scenes for Luke's planet, Tatooine.


The dunes here are beautiful with big bowls and high ridges. We went for long rides on ATV Quads. It is a surreal experience being surrounded by hills of sand as far as the eye can see.


During the heat of the day, we ended up swimming in the canal that carries water from the Colorado River to the large farms of Imperial County.