Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Tuesday Afternoon Surf Report

The previous week has seen waves more reminiscent of a lake than the mighty Pacific Ocean, so I have taken several days off from surfing. After over a week in dry dock, I was really feeling a salt-water deficiency, an so hit the water today on my lunch hoping for a few good waves.

The water was clear and - even better yet - uncrowded. It seems that if all of the people who invaded my local break before the 4th of July have all packed up and found something else to do. Exxxcellent!

The wave were fairly consistent, and I caught a handful of very fun chest-high rights. All in all, the waves were better than expected and the beach was less crowded than expected. Nice!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Rocky Mountain National Park

A few weeks ago, I went on my annual business trip to an industry conference. The last few years, the conference has been located in areas without much to see or do. This year, however, the conference was located between Denver and Boulder, Colorado.

While there, I maneuvered us to a few dining establishments I can heartily recommend. On the higher end, for good steak and a very nice selection of beers made on location, visit the Chophouse in Denver or Boulder. Nearby is the Wynkoop Brewery, Denver's first brew pub (try Patti's chili beer, Railyard ale, and the stout)!

Whereas the eating was good, the highlight of the trip was the extra day spent visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. The main road which traverses the park from one side of the continental divide to the other is called the Trail Ridge Road, and is the highest continuously paved road in the US. At it's highest point, we were well over 12,000 feet and above the treeline in the tundra environment.


While there, we saw a bit of wildlife, including marmots, mule deer, and elk.



We drove to the continental divide, and took the obligatory touristy picture, and then made our way back to the airport.


Upon arrival at the airport, we discovered that our plane was delayed. Once the plane finally arrived, another pilot had to be found, and we ended up arriving back home at around 3:30 AM. Good times! Peter's kindergarten graduation was that same day, so there was no rest for the wicked...

Too see more pictures, please visit the album.