Tag Archives: summer

Video Feed

I’ve been using the GoPro everywhere that seems sensible this summer. It’s been on the West Coast Trail, SCUBA diving, rock climbing, the Zion Narrows, and several other places. We spent the Fourth of July in Hesperia with Erika’s family where we shot a lot of footage of us playing in the pool. The above is a short montage of that day. I put together a similar video when we went sledding earlier this year.

I’ve mentioned in past entries that Duncan Toys hired me earlier this year to take some of their yo-yo footage and turn it into two television commercials. Well, I’ve finally uploaded those two spots to Vimeo. They are embedded below.

Annual Summer Catch-up

I have stumbled upon a trend. Every year, my sporadically updated journal seems to hit an extended period of quiet where I am keeping busy, but have no desire to log it. Then I appear seemingly from nowhere and unleash a deluge of updates. Well, kiddies, it’s that time of year again!

After returning from Yosemite, May was relatively quiet. I went on a few fun rock-and-water-focused hikes, learned to make fire various primitive ways, and released the last few Moodoo Moments episodes online. The end of May brought the beginning of two ongoing adventures I’ll post about in future updates: the shooting of Silver Moon (a Western by Travis Stevens) and the medical probing of my esophagus in hopes of curing my lifelong swallowing problems.

June brought 3 weekends of Silver Moon shoots, further esophageal study, and a really cool hike down the rocky shores of Northwestern Malibu beaches. The fourth week of the month was dedicated to socializing with my parents and two nieces while they vacationed here in Los Angeles. Theme Parks, Outdoor Parks, Eateries, Theme Parks, Erika’s birthday, Chloe’s birthday, Dining with Erika’s family, and Theme Parks. It was a busy and fun week.

July began with a camera attached to a long tube exploring my throat quickly followed by a trip to Kernville. Whitewater Rafting and Whitewater Kayaking in one weekend (more on that later). The following weekend brought us to Bell where we helped Erika’s sister sell assorted dishes and desserts as part of a fund-raising event. And so, we arrive at today.

Sport Chalet offers a free introductory SCUBA class once a month. Erika and I checked it out. My one great irrational phobia is suffocation. This leads to claustrophobia at times—something I have had to push through in a few tight mine caves—and great unease when my breathing is obstructed in any manner. I have had difficulty with snorkeling in the past because of the way the goggles cover my nose. I knew this would be a problem today, but I was not going to let it deter me. We were introduced to the basics of SCUBA diving in the shallow end of a diving pool. It took me a bit longer than Erika, but I was able to acclimate myself to the nose-constricting face mask and the odd breathing apparatus. After toying around in the deep end a few times, we signed up for SCUBA lessons. Hopefully, we’ll be certified ocean divers by the end of the summer.

Over the next few days, I’ll post new entries about Silver Moon, Kernville, the Malibu hike, my medical misadventures, and my visiting family.

Plunge

Earlier this month, I spent a lot of time hiking to natural bodies of water and leaping off of various rocks into the pools. Malibu Creek State Park has a nice pool surrounded by canyon walls you can leap off ranging from 15-50 feet (more if you don’t value your life). My highest leap was about 35 feet. There is a photo in this set of a few guys leaping from about 50 feet. I’d like to give that a try eventually, but the somewhat shallow water and nearby rock scared me off.

Another spot we hit was the Punchbowls in Ojai. Another natural pool you can leap into. Somewhere near where we swam is a natural waterfall you can slide down. I definitely want to return and find that.

More Water Leaping Photos