It's "Magic"!

Seriously, this might be turning into "the music I'm listening to right now blog" but music IS my inspiration  more often than not, so...check out "Magic" by THE CARS in all of it's 80's glory! Three chord progression, "def lep" style echo chorus, and spaced out synthesizers...seriously good! One of these days I'm going to get some good footage and make a fo-real surf video with all these jams...but until then...

California sunsets are "magic"!

Even though this isn't a legit surf maneuver it really captures a moment in time. If you've ever been in this position you know what I mean. It's a cross between relief and elation, knowing you're safe when you were a milli-second from getting hammered and, realizing the rush of pure, natural speed.

This really sums up Southern California beach culture. Someone went to the trouble of getting a bon fire set up but realized it was someone else who was meant to enjoy it...Just waitin' on the spark...

CHEERS!

Check out this song!

Check out "Little Secrets" by Passion Pit.

And a picture for good measure...

Approaching storms make for a pretty sunset.
Enjoy!

Chocolate milk barrels!

Yesterday during a brief break in the wind and rain I happened to be driving along the Pacific Coast Highway North towards Santa Barbara. Along a stretch of beach break that normally closes out over head high. A perfect mix of swell, tide, and offshore wind came together and for about an hour and produced some seriously hollow pits. Right after I pulled over and got the camera out, a big ole' truck pulled up and out jumped Keith Malloy. Enjoy!!!

Trips with Friends and friends from trips in black and white.

Click on each to see it full size!

Any trips involves traveling, here is yours truly, waitin' on a plane.

                                       

Sleeping during the heat of the day in Hong Kong.

My most lengthy "trip" was on this boat, the Elizabeth Turecamo. Capt. Jay Youngblood and Chief Engineer Will Gaillard discuss the dry docking progress.

This is my Mom's favorite picture that I've taken. This little girl is playing in the rocks at low tide.

 Las Flores Point, El Salvador.

Not sure why, but I really love this one. Morgan, Thomas, and Jay(in background) checking out the salt flat behind Goat Island, SC.

I remember Jimmy was saying something like"put down that camera and come make yourself useful". He reminded me of my Dad that day, haha! We spent a couple of weeks in Houston, TX fixing up my house there.

I have taken around 4000 pictures, this is my favorite. Loryn Hurston was very camera shy for our whole trip. Here she didn't notice.

Playa Grande, Costa Rica.

This is a close second to my favorite; Jimmy, Josh, Justin, Matt, and Thomas headed towards Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

    Matt and Justin find a toy, Edisto, SC.

Craig, Steven, Andrew, and Em(in background). Wave hunting in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia.

                                          

I knew the surf was big this AM when...

Click on each pic to see a full size version!!!

This is the view from my steps!!!

This almost looks rideable but it is really nasty!

Normally I can't see waves from my house. I CAN usually see what the general sea state is(clean,choppy, etc.) from the steps at my house. This morning when I went outside at about 7, I could actually see individual waves breaking at the harbor. The harbor is about 2.75 miles as the crow flies from my house. I walked up the street to the top of the hill and all I could see was swell stretching all across the ocean. I took a ride down to the harbor with my camera. One guy was out, it turned out to be none other than Keith Malloy. He caught one wave and managed to make it in without getting pushed into the rocks. The crazy part is, the surf is supposed to build all week and be TWICE as big come Friday/Saturday! Stay tuned!

San Juan graffiti.

I really like graffiti. It has always amazed me how people mostly think of it in a negative way, like it's visual pollution or something. To me, it's pure art done on a spontaneous, public canvas. These pics are from downtown San Juan in an alley between the beach and the street.

Click on each pic to see a larger version! Enjoy!

A few pics from Sandy Beach and Pools.

Sandy Beach, looking North towards Aguadilla.
This is a really cool old culvert/bridge that seperates Sandy Beach from Pools. It is made of all hand laid brick.
A secluded little spot a stones throw from the bustle of Sandy Beach.
The lava rock point that separates Sandy Beach and Pools. It's a great place to climb up and enjoy the sights.
Lone hold-out.

Update.

Sorry for the lack of updates! My hotel in Rincon had technical difficulties with their internet router(and water!) for most of my stay. I got a lot of video but the quality mostly sucks and I'm not to excited about it. I will be putting another vid together so keep checking back. I did get some cool underwater shots I'm looking forward to showing...

I'm in San Juan now for the night and I fly back tomorrow afternoon. I'm not staying put long...my buddy Jay cancelled a duck hunting trip to the Chesapeake Bay planned for later this week due to the fact the the Bay is largely a huge chuck of ice right now, so already having time off he decided to head down to Mosquito Lagoon in Florida and do some fishin'. He called me today and asked when I'd be back and if I'd like to go so I said, "well why not!"

We'll certainly be filming the fishing action so as soon as I stay put long enough to edit and post some video I'll do it!

Tonight I think I'm going to go try my luck at the poker table here in San Juan at the Intercontinental Casino!

Oh yeah...despite the previous mentioned problems with my hotel they did have a seriously stocked ipod at the restaurant/bar with lots of good tunes. I've added three songs I stole from their playlist and added em' to the SATWimix. They are:

"Crazy" by The Afghan Whigs

"Me Gustan las Navidades" by Gilberto Santa Rosa

"Tik Tok" by Ke$ha

Enjoy!

Finally warm!!!

Still getting use to using this little camera, so I feel like the pic quality leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully the pics will get better as I go!

Cheers!

Oh yeah...

Here are my new sticks for the trip. The top is a ...Lost squash tail thruster 5'11''x 18.25''x2.2''.

The bottom board is a 6Star rounded pin tail I'll use as a step-up. It is 6'1''x18.25''x2.25'' I'm REALLY stoked to try this board out!

Also, keep an eye on the imix. I'll be doing a new one for this trip. To start if off, let's go with "You'll Find a Way" by Santogold.

Cheers!

Back in action!