Stuck in Guangzhou Airport without our passports
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010Entry #1 from Thailand trip (see entries #2,#3, #4, #5 and #6)
First view of China from the sky
We were sitting there in Guangzhou Airport without our passports. It wasn’t exactly how we wanted our trip to Thailand to start. Up until a few hours ago, things were fine. There were no problems boarding the plane in Los Angeles, and the flight to Guangzhou went off without a problem. We knew we’d be in the Guangzhou airport for 7 hours before our next flight, and though typically there is no red tape to navigate nor Visa concerns as long as you plan to stay in the terminal, from my research it looked China had some extra tight restrictions for American citizens arriving there, so I put in a call to the embassy prior to leaving to be [...]
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Back to semi-reality from Thailand
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010I spent the past 14 days in Thailand (with a 5 hour stint in Narita, Japan). My New Year was spent on the beach at the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, and then I spent some time in the Krabi area, including Krabi Town, Koh Phi Phi and Ao Nang. So needless to say it will take me a few days to get back to reality. If I can get my ass in gear, over the next few weeks I will try to post some photos and some of my journal entries from the trip.
Hope all is well with all of you, and that you had a holiday as good as I did!
Looking down to Koh Phi Phi from viewpoint
Exploring the mud caves, Anza Borrego Desert State Park
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Entrance to mud cave in the desert
With desert season coming here in San Diego, I figure it’s a good time to share some information about the mud caves out in the Anza Borrego desert. They are great to explore, all you need is a headlamp or flashlight, and a sense of exploration! Bring some water, make sure there’s no rain in the forecast, and don’t get lost!
Here is an excerpt of my previous write up about the mud caves:
I had always heard of the mud caves out in the Anza Borrego desert, and the fact that they are supposed to be some of the best in the world was enough to finally get me out there. I used the “Afoot & Afield San Diego County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide
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How to Climb Mt Whitney in One Day – eBook
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009How to Successfully Summit Mount Whitney in One Day – eBook
Interested in purchasing? Click here
The e-book describes in full detail how to successfully day hike Mt Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States. I have attempted the hike twice, and completed it once, so I know what makes the difference between a successful trip and an unsuccessful one. I also spent quite a bit of time researching for this trip, so I have wealth of knowledge to share.
Mount Whitney – The tallest mountain the the Lower 48 states, climbed in one day
For those of you who don’t know, I am just an average guy and I’m not an extreme athlete, but I learned from the first year’s mistakes and successfully trained to complete the hike the second time [...]
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Some accomplishments … and things still to be done
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Mt Whitney Summit — August 2008
There are days when I feel accomplished, and there are days when I feel down. Sometimes life seems to get a little boring, and the days begin to pass in the blink of an eye. So I’ve decided to write this post in an effort to keep myself inspired and to remind myself not to let my life get too boring as I quickly approach my 31st year. There are some things that I’ve accomplished that I can look back upon to remind myself that I am living, and there things I want to do to make sure I keep living. On days when life gets frustrating and starts to seem pretty boring, I remind myself of these things that I’ve done and can continue to be proud of. And along [...]
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Baja California Trip Memories
Friday, July 31st, 2009
A few hours south of the US/Mexico border
The place we were to be going in Mexico was called Punto San Jacinto, and it’s located on the Pacific coast, and if I recall it is somewhere around 150 miles south of the US/Mexico border, definitely a good several hour drive. Getting there is pretty easy, you just head south towards Tijuana, cross the border, and head to the toll road going south. Once you get out of Tijuana it’s a straight shot on the winding highway. There was only one checkpoint, and the fact that my girlfriend is pretty fluent with Spanish made it easy.
At the time we took this trip, the Tijuana area was getting a pretty bad rap in the news because of murders and kidnappings, but we had no problems. We left after dark [...]
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Ultra marathons and barefoot trail running
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek and Tarahumara runner
Photo credit: not sure, I think here
My new interest. Well, an interest maybe, but that’s about where it ends. I do run, but typically only 3 miles at a time. Hardly even a 5K, never mind an ultra marathon. Though I do love the idea of being able to run long distance, it is just so raw and primal and is truly the way we were meant to get around. But is it really possible for anyone to run 100 miles at a time?
I’ve been reading the book Born to Run
The most I’ve ever run at a time is when I did a half marathon three years ago, and that took 3 months of training to be able to complete. And for me that was tough, as I’ve never been a runner and never found running that enjoyable. But maybe there is something to it, a technique that most people just can’t figure out. I know that since I’ve started running semi regularly, I’ve been able to adjust my technique to a point where I can do it a bit easier, though conditioning is still my issue.
Maybe I’ll try it barefoot or with sandals like the Tarahumara. I’ll get on it right after my calf heals from when I pulled it running last week…
