Greetings from Texas...

Had a 3 day weekend this weekend so we took a trip to Texas to visit the inlaws. Man is it hot here. Dry, and hot. Or, maybe i've just been spoiled with the near perfect weather in SoCal. Then again, maybe i'm just getting old and more sensitive to the weather extremes. I dunno.
Anyway, Texas is an interesting change from Cali. That whole saying, "everything is Big in Texas" definitely rings true. Big trucks, big highways, big hats, big strip malls...the list goes on and on. Speaking of Strip malls...this place is definitely the land of the strip malls. I feel like everywhere I go it's just strip mall after strip mall and they all look the same. Same big department stores. Same generic chain restaurants. I think i'm gonna re-nickname it the cookie cutter state. Every strip mall is a cookie cutter carbon copy of the last strip mall. Anyway, it's a nice change, but I can't wait to get back home to the dogs. I miss the dogs...

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Did the rains bring the swells?...Nope!

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I was gonna try to hit the surf today. Well, I spent the morning doing some junk yard diving for P's car. Then we met A & C (with Ian in tow) for some lunch downtown. After we came back to Hermosa Beach, I squeezed in some beach time hoping that the recent storms brought some swells with them. I couldn't have been more far off. Not sure what it was like in the morning, but I did't get out into the water till around 6PM and honestly it wasnt' even worth paddling out. Was only 1-2 feet and choppy with an onshore breeze. On top of that, the beach was practically empty and I was the only person actually IN the water.

Being in the water alone is an interesting thing. On one hand, It's very serene and calming to be out there alone. It's a very soulful experience....just you and the ocean. At the same time, it is also a very eerie experience. I couldn't help but think, "It's just you and the sharks...". Nice. Well, despite the crappy waves I at least got to catch a great sunset. That alone was worth paddling out for...

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Aaahhh...so THAT'S what rain looks like!

Heh...rained pretty hard here in SoCal the past couple of days. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time it actually rained more than just a short little sprinkle, but we definitely needed it. Long Beach had already declared a water shortage and was restricting the water usage of it's residents. It was only a matter of time before Hermosa Beach did the same. I wonder if the storms brought some swells with them? Maybe i'll have to go hit the surf tomorrow morning to find out...

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Ode to the Bullies...

Even though I have a specific blog dedicated to the dogs I felt like posting some pics of them here anyway. My Ode to the dogs if you will. Tonka and Moses bring a great deal of happiness and enjoyment to my life so I think it's the least I can do for them...

Dogs are such a wonderful thing and can bring a great deal of pleasure (and grief!) to their owners. In fact, it has been a proven statistic that dog owners have a lower level of stress as a whole than non-dog owners. Who couldn't use a little reduced stress these days, right? I love the fact that after a hard day's work, I can always come home to dogs that are always happy to see me. They never hold anything against you...even when you scold them or correct their wrong-doings. They love you regardless of the kind of day you've had or what else is happening in the world. They're always ready to give you a loving kiss or to receive a hearty petting and they're always ready to give so much in return.

I also find that I take a great deal of pride in our dogs. Every time P and I take a trip out with the dogs in tow, we are bombarded with comments and compliments of how cool they are, how good looking they are, or strangely enough, how "manly" they are. As strange as it is, I take great pride in these compliments. Just the other day, I took the Dogs to the dog park in Redondo Beach and was complimented by another dog owner when she said, in reference to Tonka Truck, "He's such a good looking bulldog. You should put him in movies."
Yeah, he's a good looking dog, but she obviously didn't know his level of obedience....or rather, lack thereof. Now, if only he were like Tyson the Skateboarding Bulldog...maybe then he could be a star. Alas, Tyson they are not, but I love them both none-the-less...

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