Summer Reading List

• Thoughts On Scouting by Clarke Green - great book on scouting from Clark Greene
• So Far, So Good by Clark Greene - wonderful fictional tale of a troop learning to be boy-led by a newly minted Scoutmaster
• Undersea Warrior: The World War II Story of "Mush" Morton and the USS Wahoo by Don Keith - a gift from my wife
• Empire and Liberty: The Civil War and the West by Virginia Scharff - decent collection of essays about the west although more about the Indian aspect than the Civil War
• Daily Life during the California Gold Rush by Thomas Maxwell-Long - more a general history than "daily life"
• Renaissance, the Reformation and the Rise of Nations by Professor Andrew C. Fix - good lecture set on the a fascinating period
• The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East by Eugene Rogan - fabulous story of the Ottomans last gasp during WWI
• Firearms: An Illustrated History - typical high-quality DK book
• Lost Worlds of South America
• Year Zero: A History of 1945 by Ian Buruma - depressing narrative of how bad things were right after WWII in Europe
• San Diego Yesterday (American Chronicles (History Press)) by Richard W. Crawford - collection of articles on interesting San Diego history
• The Way We Were in San Diego (American Chronicles) by Richard W. Crawford - more stories about San Diego
• Borderline (An Anna Pigeon Novel) by Nevada Barr - less a mystery and more a political thriller
• Great World Religions: Hinduism by Professor Mark W. Muesse - starting my survey of world religions
• All The Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West by David Gessner - I couldn't get into this book and only made it through the first 4 chapters

Big Whammy!

So my favorite game show as a kid was hacked!

Channel Islands Kayaking and Camping

The first troop outing of the season was an exciting trip out to Santa Cruz island in Channel Islands National Park for some camping and kayaking.  A couple of us headed up to Carpenteria Friday night while others headed up early Saturday morning to the boat launch in Ventura harbor.  After a nice hour or so trip over to the island, we immediately met up with the outfitters for kayaking.  We got a safety brief and split into two groups for easier maneuvering.  We then hit the water and explored the island's many sea caves.  Some were tunnel that went through the cliff walls.  Other was more cavernous.  The guides took us to many spots and everyone had a great time.
After the kayaks, the scouts did some snorkeling off the beach.  Due to El Nino, the water was exceptionally warm and no one had a wet suit.  After the snorkeling, we headed up to the camp.  We had haul our gear about a mile to the group camp. We saw many of the island's indigenous foxes which were very accustomed to humans. We made dinner and headed for an early night.  I made the mistake of cowboy camping and got eaten alive by bugs.
The next day we did another snorkeling session and then packed up. We got on the boat and got to the dock around 7:00p and headed for a long ride home.  Overall, the trip was awesome and we really want to check out the other islands in the future.

Old Pictures

Going over old posts, it seems that the pictures have disappeared.  I guess google just drops them after a while.  Maybe when I get some time I will go back and try to restore them.

Bessie is Back!

After searching for a good candidate, I finally found another Bessie!  This is the same year and color but is the Isuzu mode with an automatic transmission.  I will need some work to stop some leaks and other minor stuff but it is pretty clean compared to most of the other Passport/Rodeos I have been seeing for sale.

Labor Day 2015 Weekend Activities

We had some great activities on a hot Labor Day weekend

• Went to the Nat to see the Coast to Cactus exhibit.
• Also checked out the new garden train at the Model Train Museum
• Awesome family hike at Santa Margarita River - it was hot but the trail is mostly shaded and the there was plenty of water in the river.  Bengt did a great impression of George of Jungle with a rope swing.  If only I can get the video from Jaya...