Monday, January 30, 2012


No whale action since my trip out with Vicente and Elizabeth 3 weeks ago, but I’m going out tomorrow and taking an old friend, Leon Springer and his family out, and we may be lucky. Sea is looking real good today and tomorrow and Humpbacks were seen the other day just a few miles south of me. It’s still very early in the season.


Another of Nature’s sweet surprises, an Albino Hummingbird…..very rare. Courtesy of my daughter Kersti who is so very sensitive to my appreciation of the life on this planet.

And how about this critter? A 30’ (longer than my trailer) Angolan Crocodile….wow!!!



BTW, here she is with her husband Bill and their dogs hiking in Yosemite, a very recent discovery (Yosemite) for them.


Kersti, Bill & "The Boys" on the trail

I spent every summer in Yosemite from the time I was 6 until I became a teenager, hiking “The High Sierra” with my mom and brother, wonderful memories!


Peter and me at Merced Camp in The High Sierra, I'm the smaller guy

I recommend the following short video for those who love this wonderful planet as much as I do, or more. http://www.youtube.com/embed/nGeXdv-uPaw

Speaking of memories, the recent playoffs with The 49er’s were pretty nostalgic, no? Yeah, they lost to The Giants (can’t win when you have two turnovers result in points) but who would have thought they could go from years of losing to become a serious contender for The Super Bowl in one season? It also brought back memories of how important it was for me as an immigrant kid to be accepted by my new peers and how sports were my salvation. I was extremely shy, fearful and lacking in any confidence until I was “discovered” by my good friend Bill Symon in the fourth grade. He was already a serious and exceptional athlete and needed to put together a group of boys to play on the grammar school teams. He happened to notice that I was a natural athlete also. Now I don’t mean to imply I was necessarily an especially talented one, but I was gifted with excellent hand eye coordination and therefore could play American sports rather well. It was Bill that I owe for “taking me in” and demonstrating through example the nuances of team play and the skills I would need to compete successfully. What I learned from him literally changed my life. I am delighted that at this time in our lives we are still real close friends. We do not see each other often, but when we do it is as if time had stopped during those heady days as young, vibrant boys glorifying in our physical existence and I am filled with a deep gratitude for his part in my childhood.


Two young "sports", 8th grade, Bill on the left


Bill today, Palo Alto, California

On the 20th I was able to kayak out to The WZ. I wore a new wetsuit donated by my neighbor and friend Alex Cook. When I got out to The WZ, and it was a beautiful day, I kept thinking about The Mako Shark we saw a few weeks back and realized that it had reawakened a trepidation (not fear) of swimming in deeper Ocean Waters. I “hemmed and hawed” to myself and then knew that if I DIDN’T go in, I would return to my trailer with a feeling of defeat. Therefore, I rolled in and swam around for a while and then lay on the surface on my back until all feelings of concern were gone. I am so glad I did that, and the new suit was a delight.


New suit and a beautiful day in The Baja

Below is a recent picture of my dear friend Christine Gist "playing" on a glacier. In 2010 she, and her friend (and mine) Linee, accompanied me on a whale search and “called” in some Humpbacks. It is just that energy that she radiates in this photo that I believe The Humpbacks were attracted to that day.


Christine Gist.....being Christine!

A reminder, and an appeal….help us preserve the Marine Environment, respect Grandmother Ocean!!


The World Ocean is no place to hide the trash!

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