That was a crazy trip!

Let me tell you about a crazy trip.  Initially the plan was to move out of apartment and drive cross country to San Francisco the last week of August but because of Irene and the fact our apartment was a foot above sea level and only a few steps away from the water at high tide we had to get out of there a week early.  Of course we couldn't get the U-haul a week early so we had to be a little creative and use my trailer to get everything out in time.

After stuffing everything into a garage we survived the hurricane and now had to figure out how to get everything into a U-haul.  Of course now we had no power which meant no way to do laundry, take showers and when the sun went down we were packing in the dark.  So when everything was ready to go we were already looking worse for the wear before we even got out of Connecticut but away we went.

First stop was Chicago (my home town) where we stayed with friends and got a chance to see my old house and school.  When I was growing my parents painted the house a color they called "Red Wine" but it instantly faded into a color that me and my friends would call pink.

After doing a drive by tour of my childhood we set out west of Chicago, an area we knew nothing about. Iowa was filled with nothing but flat corn fields for as far as the eye can see as well as some of the craziest rain storms I have ever experienced.

If you ever drive cross country via I-80 it is important to know you basically have to stay in North Platte, NE.  The book On The Road mentions that eventually civilization appears to end and the only place you can find a bed for a night is North Platte.  The town is so proud of the fact they are in the middle of no where it is more or less their motto.

After driving through Iowa and Nebraska I now realize how vast the US is and what they mean by "Bread Basket".  Wyoming is where I think the "Big Country" begins.  Cattle and prairies with occasional mountains that you could see in the distance.  Amazingly despite the fact the land was mostly flat our elevation was around 8,000 feet.

The land starts to transform as you approach Utah.  The prairies disappear and you are surrounded by beautiful red canyons.  We drove through the canyons and Park City as the sun was setting.

All for now but there is still a sunset drive into Salt Lake City, making it through the salt flats, Burning Man and Lake Tahoe.

Surprise Post-Work Session to End The Summer

From Cape Cod to New York City this has been the worst summer in my memory for wind.  All of us wind-kooks have been going through phases of giving up all hope and going insane thinking its blowing 30knts whenever a truck goes by and blows around a nearby tree.  I don't think anyone saw it coming when a meager forecast turned into a great day on August 24th.  It was a great way to bid farewell to the east-coast and the sailors I have met while living in and around New York City before heading west for San Francisco.

The conditions weren't epic but it was a good day and despite it being a workday everyone seemed to make it out for a solid post-work sunset session.  I was a little underpowered on a 5.8 and 100L board at times but after sailing way out I got some sweet rides.  I unfortunately didn't start using the camera until after 2 hours of sailing at which point I will admit I was getting tired after sailing around Beach Island and finding some big breeze and small breaking waves.

Since the end of August I had to evacuate my apartment for Hurricane Irene and drove cross-country to San Francisco.  I promise to post some pics soon.  I am now back on the east-coast for work but hope to get back west soon. Fortunately, I was able to piece together a small quiver that  I can keep on the east coast so I don't miss any good days when I am back as I probably will be often.