Jet Ski Nationals on the beach this weekend

paid the longrooffan a visit Saturday after work.....lots of noise coming thru the front door of the Taj Mahal as we sit and enjoy good company....race week is a short distance away and I ignore it as just part of the environment....the Rolex series as been practicing and I hear it from work everyday....so loud engine noises are drowned out in my daily life.....later I came to learn that the Jet Ski Nationals were taking place on our very own beach....after getting home I quickly fired up the old 2A and placed a call back to the longrooffan and inquired as to his availability to join me on a short drive down the beach.....picked him up and off we were.....once again he FAILED in the photo department....guess this will be a Memorex moment as we have it committed to memory.....couple of passes down the beach and a short viewing of the activities of the event and the decison was obvious....there were way too many skiers to concentrate on a conclusive winner......then the ever present Beach Patrol drove by and offered to trade vehicles....his brand new F-150 4x4 for my old trusty Jeep.....maybe last week....the heated seats in the 2A don't work so good....had to decline his offer as the longroooffan was in a hurry to get back to the Taj Mahal.
which leads me to today's adventure.....the kid's sister and I took off for the ocal recreational center to shoot some hoops before the daily football games began....
about an hour and a half into the forced exercise ( I watched as she played in a pickup game ) I was off to enjoy the first of two televised football games......
swung by the longroof's place first for a quick cold pop and walked into what could be called a 'federal disaster zone...seems the longrooffan decided it was time to 'shake things up abit' and clean house.....I am sure there is a blog in this for him and I won't go much further here.....other than to say that there wasn't much room in his place for one person....much less two.......made a quick exit....ok, maybe not so quick, two beers and a smoke....but man that place kept getting smaller and smaller as long as I stayed there.....exited via the 'World's Most Famous Beach' and saw some of the most extreme jet ski operators ever...
and the sungoddess thought I went to extremes......a couple of reverese flips.....several barrel rolls.....more ten to twenty foot launches off breakers.....
and the sounds could be associated more with the circle track 4 miles west than with the more common place watercraft normally navigating the waterways of the greater Halifax Basin....
all and all a great weekend Celebrating Life....

At least she didn't cry about it..and other things to keep us busy

hard to imagine this is the baby girl of the family.....caught an elbow playing b-ball and she couldn't understand why the coach wouldn't let her go right back into the game......hard to explain liability to a young kid wanting to play ball.......
started to turn yellow tonight.....she got a shiner for sure....
and boy is she proud of it.....at least the eye is clear....
so guess how my weekend was spent.....
No, not at the ER....
Saturday AM at the training center for olympic atheletes in Clarmont Fl.....very nice complex sitting atop a hill in central Florida......not a hill like in the mid-west....but anything over 200 feet high in Florida is considered a very large hill......and I think we were at the peek of the highest, non man-made hill in Florida......very cold winds in central Florida on a 40 degree morning with 20 knot winds....softball and cold weather do not go together.....good for hot dog and hot chocolate sales....bad for cold beer sales....good for cuddling in bed together.....bad for standing on top of a hill watching kids play softball......good for a nice fire in the fireplace....bad for a day of forgetting where you stored your cold weather clothing......good for maybe even a jeep ride through the woods......bad for softball weather.....especially if you are a spectator.....seems Florida and 40 degree weather are not designed to be experienced at the same time.....unless you are inside with a blazing fire and a warm friend close by......
Sunday was spent at another complex enduring the cold while the kid and her team played another two games......2 outa 3 on Saturday.....1 outa 2 on Sunday.....got to figure how to get past the second round on Sundays...........short day today....left the house at 6:30 and got home at 4:30......even had a chance to watch some afternoon football before dark.....enjoyed a fantastic dinner prepared by the sungoddess and am able to record it now....
the kid has gotten a job that now requires him to subsidize our goverment....a couple of side jobs coaching the kid's sister's basketball team and another coaching a AAU baseball team heading to Cooperstown this spring....keeps him busy borrowing my truck.....but these are the reasons we.........

CELEBRATE LIFE

A Day in the Country.....playing softball.....

what a way to spend the day.....
this Sunday, my birthday plus one, yea I know, one more year closer to being an old man, was spent in beautiful Flagler County Florida at their county fairgrounds....nothing like getting up at the crack of dawn to drive 30 miles to a softball tournement....got to the field on time and the girls got warmed up and the games started on time....great start to the day.....the kid's sister started in right field and then was moved to catcher in the third inning.....she made no errors catching the second pitcher and even got a good hit on her third at bat.....along about 10:30 a sound starts to come from the stock arena located about 400 yards north of us.....a LOT of stock trailers and BIG Ford trucks encircle the arena.....the kid's sister's team won the game and during the 2 hour game break I take a stroll to see what is the reason for the woman's voice on the loud speaker.....I walk into the first honest, authentic, down to earth, say a prayer to our God before it starts rodeo.....
after the opening prayer and the playing of the National Anthem with the girl on a buckskin circling the arena carrying the American Flag...the festivities began.....the show opened with a Ford 39A tractor 'dragging' the area for no less than 20 minutes.....then 5 cowboys, based on choice of clothing they were Wranglers I guess, spent another 15 minutes setting up polls down the center line of the area.....as the big guy, maybe portly is a better word, at the entrance was directing the placement of these poles, all I could think of ......move this way, no now that way, adjust the top....was he looked like a scottish sheep herder directing his dogs.....then the loud speaker woman started calling out names like an auctioneer.....guess you better know who you are to get your turn.....after several attempts to set the timer the show began.....a whole lot of good looking horse flesh,and a couple of likewise riders, spent the next 40 minutes racing up and down the line of poles weaving in and out to see who could do it the fastest time without knocking down a pole....10 second penalty for a knock down......saw a lot of horses and the people that ride them for show.....a culture that is so far removed from my life that culture shock was a reality for me today.....when I found myself attempting to rationalize how I could enter this world I quickly retreated to the ball fields and the world from which I came.....too much temptation to buy a BIG truck and BIGGER trailer and spend a couple of year's wages on horseflesh and....like I said, back to the ballfields.....the second game of the day was againest a high school team from Jacksonville Fla...the kid's sister started at catcher and spent the entire game behind the plate....caught the starting pitcher and despite her Mother's concerns, performed errorless.....made good contact againest an 18 year old pitcher and the game ended in a 3-2 loss.....not bad for playing againest older kids......another hour game break and then "batter up" was called for the final game.....the kid's sister again started behind the plate....caught the starting pitcher again.....the kid's sister has game....a couple of stolen bases on passed balls during this game, but nobody scored on her.....she even scored from second after reaching first on a slap hit...(softball term for an intential mis-hit in baseball)...same game...but different....Yogie would love it......along about the beginning of the last inning I received a phone call from the kid.....seems the job interview he went to was a success....he is the newest employee of the Halifax Plantation Country Club.....guess they were looking for a dish washer in the restaurant at the club house when the kid walked in.....so he starts his financial contribution to our government this coming Friday.....couldn't force him to wash the dishes last Friday and he starts doing it professionally this Friday.....
go figure.....the kid's sister had a great day on the ballfield and the kid got a job........so I guess this is what enables me to ........



CELEBRATE LIFE.......................today

whats going on up there......

so I spent the day doing 'honey-dos' while the kids are off on missions of their own doing....
the kid's sister is out riding four-wheelers with friends and the kid is surfing at the beach....
or at least that is his story......got a call from one of my many friends that drive black and tan cars, the ones with the lights and sirens, and he called to let me know that the kid was 'cruising chicks' on the beach.....
truly his Father's son.....makes my eyes water and my heart beat a little faster.....
when questioned, the kid's response was, "the water was flat but the babes weren't"........
gotta love the kid......would make Uncle Bob proud.....
but as I am viewing the world from my lap, I notice this headline and the thoughts began....
does this explain the freezer full of beef.....or lack of leadership by the bus.......
where is the Lone Ranger when you need him.....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29979871/...

doesn't really matter much to me because the kid and I are off to fish the big bridge....
if we are lucky the longroof will join us.....but none the less....we will...

CELEBRATE LIFE...!!!!!!!!!!

random thoughts and gatherings from days gone by

been gone again and it's time to record a few thoughts and experiences.....
random thoughts from days gone by.....a lot of things got fixed in the last week or so.....
it is amazing what those little things they sell at auto parts stores called gaskets will do....spent a day last week home alone....everyone was gone....my beautiful bride and lovely daughter were off on a shopping mission to stores I have never heard of, and thankfully never visited......my son was off on a fishing adventure to the big bridge....as I sat in my "man cave", I saw something that I have walked over daily and yet had never seen....it seems that my driveway has aquired, or earned, several dark black spots over the past several months.....remember those little things called gaskets they sell at autoparts stores..??..seems when they fail they cause things to leak....
now since I own a couple of old vehicles, a Honda almost as old as my marriage, a Jeep older than my oldest brother,

another Jeep almost older than our newly elected President,

those things called gaskets on these vehicles that hold oil within the engine seemed to have failed....and how...
well, that oil that those gaskets contained seemed to find it's way onto my driveway.....leaving their tell-tale sign for all to see....so it was a call to my favorite group of guys at Beachside Auto, and several dollars later I was the owner of new gaskets that are designed to stop oil leaks.....a couple of hours spent with the kid working on his Jeep stopped the contribution to the driveway's current condition.....another hour or so stopped the old Honda's contribution, and another hour or so stopped the 47's efforts.....now all I need is another couple of hours to clean the driveway.....a good pressure washing and then a covering with white concrete mix should have it looking new again.....just the powder mix spread out thinly with a broom and walla...!!!!!..
the driveway will look as good as new.....or at least I hope.....

during all this repair and replacement I have gotten a friend to do some work on the new-old Jeep....Chris, one of the "rednecks" that we have gone four wheeling with in the past, and came to my rescue when "I stuck one and broke another"

http://http://oleragtop.blogspot.com/2009/01/stuck-one-broke-other.html with the kid and the oldlongroof, is a pretty good welder.....well the tool box is now in place as designed and the body is completely sanded and primed....the seats are ready for installation and the small amount of floor rust has been removed and new panels of steel have been welded in place....gotta love those guys that can weld....and weld good.....God bless the 'redneck' population.....but then that's what they do and we love them for it.........

.http://http://oleragtop.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-deja-vu-all-over-again.html

in a different direction.....remember the title of this entry.....one of my bigger brothers, the bus, went in on a parts jeep a little while back.....he was in need of a couple of parts and we were able to secure them at a discount.....but this leads me to my friends Red and Monna and how getting jeep parts half way across the USA is a simple matter......just load them on a truck and ship them.....of course it helps if you know someone going to St. Louis....and you have a brother that has the time to drive to St. Louis with three days notice......of course this brother has a small memory problem and noted here......

http://http://bus-plunge.blogspot.com/2009/03/forgot-camerai-hate-it-when-that.html......

but then he became a grandfather just recently so it is acceptable.....

even when we are not here, these are the types of things that enable us to......

CELEBRATE LIFE......

It's ALIVE.....again....for now......

enjoyed a great day in sunny florida today.......cold though.....okay so maybe not as cold as where you are right now....but cold enough for me.....didn't get much above 60 in the shade and with the wind off the ocean it was cold.....cold enough for long sleeved pants and long sleeved shirts....
these are clothing items that are buried way in the back of the bottom drawer of your chest of drawers.....they don't see daylight very often.....sorry horsefarmer, but today I did sleep in late... didn't get out of bed until 9:00 am.....great feeling as I think I needed it.....but the kids slept until at least 10...11 for the kid, so I figure he stayed up late watching old movies.....but the sungoddess got up early and was out riding her bike so the kid's sister and I started on a school project after breakfast.....3-D map of the Nez Perce Indian displacement of the late 1880's..... spent a couple of enjoyable hours supporting her on that project..... as the sun was now letting her presence be felt, we loaded up to go to the ball field for a little pitching practice.....the longroof called before we left and he joined up at the field.....he makes a pretty good umpire and we had a short talk about the geographics of the old ballfields......seems a large box store wants the acreage the ball fields are on and wants the ball fields moved to a former landfill area.....
this kind of got his ire up and with a little luck he can spend some time at the council meetings....
returned back to my garage after practice and proceeded to spend an enjoyable afternoon with my big brother......of course the first thing I did was turn on a football game and pull a jeep into the garage....sometimes I think the longroof gets tired of this, but he just turned the tv channel to a car race and hung out.....got the old Cj2A running on the first crank and Jon took it for a spin around the neighborhood.....feels really good to have that running on the first crank as it wouldn't start last weekend......just like an old vehicle....it ran but wouldn't stop......got the brakes fixed by rebuilding the wheel cylinders...... actually the longroof and I just disassembled the cylinders and cleaned them up, honed out the cylinders and reassembled them......but they work and the little mule stops.......but then it wouldn't start......no spark, but plenty of crank......the balast resistor failed.....went to my local parts store and when the kid at the counter asked if he could help me, I told him I needed to talk to the oldest guy behind the counter......I think he was a little upset, so I asked him for a two pole resistor......he wanted to know what year, make, and model of vehicle and what area I was working on......a moments pause from me and then good old Phil walked up from the back room carrying a 2 pole balast resistor.....seems he overheard my request and just went in the back room and grabbed one off the shelf......sometimes old guys rule.......got home and after calling 'uncle Tom' to confirm my diagnosis, I installed the new resistor and the little mule fired right up.....so now it runs and stops.......It's alive.........but then I have two jeeps in the driveway and there is always something to be done to them....finally got around to installing the heater in the kid's jeep......once again the longroof was helpful for something other than 'can you grab me a beer please'.......got the heater box installed with minimal cutting and only had to take it out three times to find out why the fan wouldn't turn.... but we finally got it installed and then wired up to an underdash switch......plan on hooking up the hoses tomorrow night just in time for the 80 degree weather on Wednesday.......but it's alive.....again.....for now.....hey, they're old....

CELEBRATE LIFE.......

weekends at work

sometimes I wonder where the time goes...seems we work all week long from sun-up to sun-down...then go get one or the other of the children from whatever activity that keeps them away from home after school....then we run home to get ready to start all over again....in between we try to find time for ourselves....the last couple of weekends, that savored time that one can spend doing what we work all week to do, have gone by at the speed of light....seems just about the time I have begun to relax, it's time to wind up for the week again....never seem to have enough time to truly enjoy those things that bring me joy....I have been fortunate enough to spend some fantastic time working on the oleragtop's recent number...and he spent some time helping me on my new-old jeep....but just about the time the fun begins...the weekend is over...the kid's little sister spent her weekend reading and playing with her neighborhood girlfriends....the kid spent his weekend....not sure what he did this weekend other than prepare for taking his driver's exam.....sure was funny watching him and his Mother trying to parallel park....tried to tell them it is not required anymore....but it was funny watching them anyway....the kid and I got all the Christmas decorations down from the attic in anticipation of Thursday afternoon's installation....I'll be asking myself where that day went on Friday....but then this weekend is the annual Turkey Rod Run here in Daytona Beach...
I'm sure this is not the first time you have heard of this event...check bythenumbers for more info and photos....so I know the time will fly by this weekend also...gonna take the kid's jeep and the new old jeep out and see if somebody wants them more than we do....but first the exhaust manifold needs repairing on the kid's jeep, and the brakes still need attention on the new-old jeep....damn what I'd give for another two hours of daylight.....or a barn like the horsefarmer has....but alas it would be hard to fit that barn into my neighborhood....I sit in my garage watching MNF getting ready for another day in the mine....well here's to the guy that invented those 12 ounce metal cans....he deserves a medal.....

CELEBRATE LIFE....

Yep, I've been away for a while

Did you ever notice how dependant we have become on these little machines that were designed to make our life simpler.....when all they do is make life more complicated....I have been away for a while doing what most fathers of teen age and pre-teen age children do.....since I've visited here last I have traveled over 200 miles to watch an eleven year old play softball....not once, but twice.....I've argued with my wife over how much chemistry a sixteen year old boy must study on the night of his birthday....I was wrong on that for the record.....I've washed the love bugs off that big white truck my wife drives twice....and waxed it once.....I've had the pleasure of sneaking off to go fishing with the kid.....not catching a damn thing....but that is the idea in my world....and then driving across the big bridge to hang out with Jon-Jon.....lounging in a beach chair watching old cars cruise by.....and watching no less than 20 police cars respond to a robbery at the Walgreens across the street....while watching old cars cruise by....I think I need another cold pop now.....tailgating softball games can be a blast if you do it right.....and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are still very good....but only on Sunday afternoons for some reason.....but since I've been away I have noticed that when the time is available we use these electronic marvels and rely on them almost too much.....when we turn on these machines we expect instant gratification..yep, we are products of a microwave generation....
the point of all this rambling is that when over the course of the past several days I have had the time to sit down and turn on this modern day communication device I find that I have missed so much....no longer do I subscribe to the daily print media so I rely so much on the web for information.....got a brother running for a political office in his county....got a brother looking for a job in his....got a brother trying to decide whether to buy a new bull dozer, a new disc, or an old jeep......damn that seems like an easy decision to make....but you see, I have missed so much....
didn't get to the beach this weekend.....missed some wickedly sweet waves.....didn't get to work on the old willies either.....
did get to see the kid's sister play some softball and I think that it was worth it all to spend time doing that....so that is why I have been away and where.....
guess this about as much time as I have now.....

Celebrate Life.....

Taylor's new jeep

brought the new (old) jeep home Saturday night.....my bride agreed with one condition.....if she doesn't like it, it is back to the place it came from.....pronto.....

used a tow bar and pulled it with the kid's jeep......nice and slow ten miles up US Hwy 1 in bikeweek packed Daytona Beach....got so many looks from other drivers......the kid stated at one point that he now knows how Jon-Jon feels when driving the old Falcon.....people giving you thumbs up.....but the best was when another Jeep would honk and wave......

well....it is now parked in it's new home right next to the

kid's CJ-5.......spent the better part of this cool Sunday working towards making it road worthy.....pulled the old fuel tank....cleaned the new one only to find multible holes.....gotta put the old one back in......pulled the master cylinder hoping that I had a spare....not to be, gotta find a new master cylinder now......pulled the carburator apart and tried to reseal it.....still got a vacuum leak, but it runs.....

but back to Taylor's Jeep.......after getting it home my bride asked what color we were going to paint this jeep.....the kid and I both agreed that Michigan Yellow was the best......then the kid's sister pipes up and says that since this was going to be her jeep, she wanted it painted pink.....

not quite sure that was an original color but told her we would paint it pink as long as it looked like Michigan Yellow when the paint dried.....of course the kid's sister has laid claim to this one and my bride seems to agree that this is a cool little jeep.....I am not sure she believed me when I told her that the CJ2A was smaller than the CJ-5.....but now she knows.....she even commented that she thought it was cute......not sure if I want a cute jeep or a pink jeep....but it is home now....

of course my bride said that this was the last one........

NO MORE dragging old vehicles home anymore.................

for now..........

CELEBRATE LIFE...........

Family Day at the Beach

Well....it is Sunday night and our Family Day at the beach was much abbreviated this weekend...the kid's sister is playing fast pitch softball, just like her Mother did, on a competitive team based out of our home town.....the team was formed to develop future players and only plays in tournaments around our area....this weekend we played in a tournament about 75 miles south of us in a little beach side community called Cocoa Beach....first game Saturday at Noon, second game at 3:30 and the third game at 5:00 pm.....didn't do real well on Saturday....the highlight of the day was when Aunt Mary arrived to watch the games with us....."Aunt Mary, you know, the one that has lived on the islands for the last 15 or 20 years", that was the kid's description to his sister when she questioned who was coming.....the kid remembers her well....a few years back we lived south of here a ways and Aunt Mary would visit every three months or so......remember she lived on an island and the biggest store there is smaller than your local 7-11......she and the kid would hit EVERY big box store in Broward County, and as I remember they would buy everything in sight.....of course the kid would always come home with a great story of shopping and a new toy.....of course there was also the time he dumped a chocolate shake all over the rear seat of a brand new Volvo convertible.....Aunt Mary was so cool about that....she just took the car back to the rental agency and said "give me another one".....sure made an impression on the kid...he still remembers and talks about it with fondness......Aunt Mary arrived with Don (ask her) and we had a wonderful time on Saturday with them......they hung out with us under our sunshades in the center field bleachers (we made our own bleachers) and we had a great visit....the kid thinks she is funny as all get out.....he truly enjoyed her company...... but today, our Family Beach Day.....about 10:00 pm Saturday night the phone rings and it is the kid's sister's coach....our first game is at 8:00 am on Sunday.....75 miles away.....after going 0-3 on Saturday I was surprised we were invited back on Sunday.....wasn't sure I wanted to go back but I am not living this life for me right now am I.....so Sunday morning the alarm goes off at 4:30 and the day begins.....75 miles, a sleepy wife and two kids and 2 hours later we arrive at the ball field again.....the kid and I set up camp and begin to move muscles that are still asleep.....just before the game is set to begin the kid's sister runs up and tells us she will be pitching the first game today.....now understand that the kid's sister is a pretty good pitcher, but the FIRST game, with limited warm up.....but two hours later, in a game that is scheduled to be played in an hour and fifteen minutes, we are finally done....the game went extra innings and she pitched a no hitter into the last inning....gave up a couple of hits and then a few errors by her teammates tied the game....in extra innings with two outs and a runner on second she nails a pitch into deep right center......started a rally that gave her a lead.....so proud of that little girl....she took the game into her own hands several times and got her team out of a jam with her pitching and then gets a clutch hit in extra innings to put her team ahead.....thought we had a victory today for sure.....but our defense needs lots of work....went one and out.....but we got to spend some extra time in Cocoa Beach anyway...
visited a world famous beach club in Cocoa Beach and got the longroof and the bus a sticker for their toys.....best yet we got to spend a couple of wonderful hours with Aunt Mary and Don.... cool people in their environment enjoying life as it should be enjoyed.....ate a good meal at Don's club in Port Canaveral and truly enjoyed the interaction between Aunt Mary and the kids.....she spoils the heck out of the kid's sister.....it was a pleasure to watch them together.....reminded me of watching the horsefarmer and the kid together moving tractors, or BBBob and the kid talking racing....but better because it is a relationship the kid's sister has to herself......ok enough now.....back to the abbreviated Family Day at the Beach....after getting home, the kid and I knocked a couple of items off the honey-do list, watched the Dolphins get a win over the Patriots and then we fired up the old jeep and headed east....bEACH bOUND for surf.....stopped at a buddy's to watch the biff win the circle track race.....headed over the big bridge.....got to the beach and high tide prevented a cruise so we decided to check in on Jon-Jon.....had a good visit with Jon-Jon ironing out some details and then caught the westward winds home....
sometimes a Family Day at the Beach has to be a drive by.........

Celebrate Life......

details to follow.......thanks Tom

Another Great Day at the Beach (with photos this time)

Wow, another great day at the beach....

"Epic" waves....


the picture needs a close look but on the right side you can see the wave forming....
Not confused....decided last night that we would sleep in late today because the weather gods said it would be a rough day on the beach today....damn, I need to get a job as a weather forcaster....you are either right or wrong....and you still get paid....best job short of politics with a 50% failure rate and still keep your job.....
woke up this morning to the forcast of a"Epic" waves.....can't lay around in bed no matter who is next to you with that information.....

those who were present will remember the 'bus' back in the early 70's coming in to dinner one night at the farm to inform everyone that the back field was on fire.....his actual quote involved a few four letter words followed by FIRE....as those of us around the table began to jump up and run for shovels and rakes and blankets, Dad stands up and says that dinner is NOT dismissed until grace is said.....everyone sit down until grace is said.....that was the quickest grace my Dad ever said followed by directions to us for what to grab....ok enough sidebar and back to the beach....we quickly loaded up and headed to the beach... after a quick pack job we all jumped into the Jeep and headed over the big bridge....short of the bridge about a half a mile the surf boards strapped to the top of the jeep begin to waver.....way too quickly the new board that the kid just bought takes sail up and over the jeep......it took every bit of strengh and a hyper-extended thumb to prevent the new board from hitting the pavement....after a brief pitstop to resecure the boards to the jeep and to hear how poor of a job the kid and I did strapping everything in place we resumed our trip eastward....got to the beach.....set up camp and began to enjoy another family day in the sunshine state......







and it was as advertised.....what a day....just 7 short days, and one hurrricane, away from a confused surf with a major rip current we found ourselves with 7 to 8 foot breakers and rollers than ran to the beach....perfect weather for surfing and body boarding.....loaded a couple of pictures of the kids in the surf....hard to catch a surfer with a domestic digital camara...seem to get a lot of photos of the breakers or the wipe out......anyway the tide came in about 1:30 and we soon found ourselves with the only vehicle on the beach.....why was it that the Beach Patrol told everyone they had to park off beach....I think they like the old jeep as they all stop to visit when they do their drive bys.....either that or they like the girl sunbathing....but the best thing about today was the time spent with the kids.....the kid's sister upset because she couldn't use the kid's new surfboard....the kid riding 50 to 75 meter waves....the kid's sister building a sand castle complete with mote.....the waves washing over the sand castle......the concern over wether the jeep would carry it's self out of the hole the waves caused as the tide came in and washed out the rear tires....all and all a wonderful day on the "World's Most Famous Beach"