Tattoo Me

So, as some of you may know, I have been threatening to get a tattoo for quite some time. I have always put it off, because you have to stay out of the water (no surfing) for so long; at least two weeks. If you have anything that requires multiple sessions, it could keep you out of the water for 6-8 weeks. Well guess what? I can't surf until May or so, because of my pectoralis injury, so I am getting inked up. I had my first session today. The tattoo is of kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera). Those of you who know Wendy and I well, know that our early courtship was in the kelp. Cooper from Guru Tattoo managed to make my vague aesthetic descriptions into a real design concept. I am really stoked. I have had this idea for a long time. Cooper made it happen. Posted pictures are only of initial outline. Extensive fill-in is to follow. I will update in two weeks.

San Diego Snow

Strange as it may seem, there are mountains within a short drive that often receive snow when a cold storm blows through. On President's day we drove up to Mt Laguna to catch the remnant's of the previous Thursday's snowstorm.

After a hearty breakfast (Quinn ate 2 HUGE apple pancakes) we arrived at the same campground where we had adventured last August (http://wendyscottandquinn.blogspot.com/2007/08/mountain-climbing.html). Quite a difference! Although the snow was melting quickly on the warm day, we found a little hillside to slide down and some drifts to make into a snow troll and throw at each other. Fun fun.

Then a volunteer patrol came by and Quinn got sworn in as a jr ranger - Do you promise to protect the forest? Yeah!!

Next time we'll get out to the snow earlier after a weather event and have less mud mixed in with our snow fun.

Grandparents Visit San Diego: Mission San Diego de Alcala and Whale Watching

Grandpa Lee and Grandma Jean came for a quick visit this month. Quinn is so lucky to have so many great people that care about him. He is very fond of all of his grandparents. When Dad and Jean were away at their hotel room, he wanted to go see them. On Saturday, we went to the San Diego Mission de Alcala. On Sunday we went whale watching. In between, we had some nice meals and drank wine and talked quite a bit. Very nice for them to visit.

Here are some pictures:

Jean, Dad and Quinn on the couch goofing around:

Dad in profile:

Jean, Dad and Scott out in front of the Mission:

Facade of Mission San Diego de Alcala:

Fountain on the grounds of the Mission:

Everybody loves Francis:

Group shot of Scott, Jean, Wendy, Quinn and Dad on the Mission grounds:

Sunday on the Adventure Hornblower, a whale watching vessel:

A blast from the past: the New Horizon, I spent many days on board, doing CalCOFI cruises.

Whale tails:

Pretty sailboat:

Quinn Birthday #3

Well our little guy has been part of the world for three years now. We had a nice birthday. It is so close to Christmas that the little guy was getting the idea that presents come around every week. He will learn.

Torn Pec

As you may have heard, I tore my pectoralis major muscle on December 28th. Total distal rupture. That means the tendon came right off the bone. It sounded like a piece of velcro being unfastened. It also hurt...a lot. Anyway, an orthopedic surgon re-attached it on the 3rd of January. Rehab will be long and slow. I will be getting back to surfing in May. In the meantime, here are some pictures:

Bruising from the tendon coming off.

Fresh staples: post surgery.

Xmas SD style

On our 3 year major winter holiday rotation we hit the San Diego slot. Gramma and Grampa came down to share in the good weather and good times.
Hey Quinn, what's under that blanket? It's my new big bike!
Quinn got completely overloaded with loot (much to his delight) and the present opening spanned several days. Thanks everyone, for all the goodies!

We hit the Wild Animal Park...
And Wendy hatched a Quinn!

Thanks for sharing your frozen lemonade with me.

Quinn could have ridden the conservation carousel the whole time, switching from one endangered species to the next...
Grampa waited patiently during the frozen lemonade interlude.
No resemblance to the silverback, whatsoever...

Wildlife up close..


Very, very close
The egret against the lagoon is just a tad cliche, yet so lovely. Maybe we'll have snow next year...