November 24, 2008

• I barely even know what to say….

  Oh My, Oh My, Oh My…

  
  What a week this has been…
  I have felt; heroic, idiotic, pained, worried, fearful, excited, freaked out, and
  just a wee bit insane. (And often, I’ve felt all those things at once).

  And just to give you a quick explanation for why I haven’t shared my adventures
  with you until now, here’s a few bullets that should fill you in a bit:
  
  1. No Internet – Sleeping outside by your car is an adventure, but not so good
  for internet connectivity.
  
  2. No cell phone – California’s central coast may as well be the Mojave desert
  when it comes to cell signal… Desolation is an under statement.
  
  3. Oh ya’ and I SANK MY CAR IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
  (Not that it’s a big deal or anything

  Geez.
  What a week.

  All that said, the last thing I want to do is get ahead of myself; so let me back
  things up a bit so I can fill you in on all the excitement from day one.

  ______________________________________________________________

  Day 1: Departure, LA, Tripods and
  Adventures with “Brookies”.
  ______________________________________________________________

  The first day of this adventure began much like any other… With a few
  subtle differences… There was no sleeping in, there was no checking
  of emails and organizing my managers… Nope.

  All there would be for me was hard, hard work.
  I had carpet to install, roof racks to tighten up, new spark plugs, surfboards
  to mount, and more… Oh, and did I mention that I still had yet to pack?
  Haha too much fun to be had.

  Regardless, around 1:00PM I finally made it out the door and on my way,
  enroute up to Laguna Beach, then onward toward the North West.

  I’d planned a quick stop in Laguna to see my “Other Mother” Mary so she
  could ogle the new paint job on the Bug, and I could leave a lens with her.
  She ogled so much that she even inspired ME to shoot a few quick images
  to fulfill my promise to share the new look with you

  

  Looks good doesn’t she?!
  It’s two-tone (obviously), and the red is antique looking with a bit of a burgundy
  flair and a stunning mica flake that really comes alive in the sunlight (I love it!)
  and the white is actually a custom cream color I had created so it wouldn’t be TOO
  white as so many are!

  But any way, back to the story.

  I headed North up the 405 toward LA and then further on to Santa Barbara…
  LONGEST DRIVE EVER! There’s something about not having the ability to
  accelerate that really cuts down on the “fun” of freeway driving; and the fact
  that my Bug’s TOP speed is in the 70MPH range leaves me constantly looking
  in the rearview mirror and praying that people merge in time (oh, and GREATLY
  missing my motorcycles, haha).

  After nearly 4 hours in the car, I finally arrived in Santa Barbara, just in time
  to pick up my new tripod and explore the town a bit.

  My plan was to grab a bite to eat, shoot a couple of photos, and then head
  North to find a place to camp.

  Buuuut then I met this awesome couple who were Brooks Photography School
  students who offhandedly made a comment about my car, and then invited me
  to join them for sushi, and a bit of a night out on the town.

  

  

  

  SO much fun!
  Santa Barbara is certainly an interesting town.

  Around 3:00AM, I finally made it to bed… Right on the side of the road, beside
  the entrance to a State Park. I felt sufficiently adventurous with my choice

  “Camping Allowed”

  

  (Where I woke up

  Day two is where things start to get interesting… And by interesting I mean
  accidently sending my CAR surfing, instead of myself.
  I can’t even begin to express to you the insanity.
  (But I’ll try to here in a bit)

  Talk Soon!

  

  P.S. Make sure you take a moment to say hello and keep me inspired to
  continue sharing the adventure with you, instead of sleeping off my exhaustion.
  I think it’s worth it, don’t you?

  • 5:16 pm
  • 26 Comments