Would you buy real estate from this man?

The scene:

Opening Day Dodger Stadium 2008

A young man runs out of Dodger stadium and begins a furious late afternoon drive to UCLA to attend a real estate principles class. His real estate career at UCLA is just starting. He is still teaching at Torrance High School. Over the next two and a half years he returns to Westwood, sometimes making the 1.5 hour commute twice a week, to pursue his real estate dreams and acquire a brokers license. Fast forward to late summer 2010. He has completed all of his course work, he has studied hard, he owns his own company. This same young man now sits in his office, hands nervously logging in to look at his name and see the magic words next to it: Passed

I am a real estate broker!

So, who wants to buy some real estate?

The duality of man

"What I admire is a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity and the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."

-Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy

Some people look upon Mt. Whitney and see:

sleep deprivation, altitude sickness, a 50% failure rate, nausea, defecating in a bag and carrying it out with you, 22 trail miles of an aching back and sore knees, three miles of brutal switchbacks, gasping for breath, a massive headache, bone-chilling wind, and a day full of pain and boredom.

Other people look upon Mt. Whitney and see:

Boundless beauty, a test of will, sweeping vistas, an adventure, "a day they will never forget," abundant wildlife, roaring rivers, peaceful meadows, crystal blue lakes, God's country, lush streams, 50% success rate, camaraderie, a fun all day hike, a chance to eat gummy snakes, blue skies, pride in standing on top the highest peak in the lower 48.

On August 3, I stood with five other people who decided to look at things from the second point of view. This was my third trip up Mt. Whitney and I enjoyed myself in experiencing all that the mountain has to offer. This time our group had perfect weather, not a cloud in the sky, and temperatures that allowed me to nap on top of the mountain in my boardshorts. We spent a few days getting acclimated in Mammoth and took a nice day hike down in Red's meadow to look at Devils post pile and Rainbow Falls. The following is a brief recap of my fellow hikers.

1) Tasha aka "sweaty" aka "jabbermouth"

This trail veteran was the only one who seemed immune to the lack of oxygen and just kept on climbing. I would stop to take a breather and Tasha would just calmly wait as Mark and I caught our breath and took a rest. Once again Tasha brought the candy, never complained, always had a smile, and just serenely moved along and seemed to be in her element at all times. A trusted companion on the trail and always up to buy me a sandwich but not down to buy me a McFlurry. (also can throw a wicked snowball at you when you least expect it)

2) Tina aka "blackbear"

I was able to get to know Tina a lot better on this trip as we had more time to spend together in Mammoth and on the trail. She dedicated this hike to her Grandmother and carried a picture of her up to the top of Whitney. Tina is a very strong hiker who showed true grit and determination to reach the summit.

3) Mark aka "lucky bear"

Mark did a fantastic job on this hike and was a constant source of positive energy. He would stop frequently to take pictures, marvel at the scenery and was in awe at the beauty of the hike. I really hope that lucky bear comes with us next year because he brought the perfect weather and sunshine with him.

4) Laurent aka Frenchy

We did not see much of Laurent on this trip as he went ahead and hiked with his faster buddy up the trail. We would see him at trail camp and the summit and he experienced some altitude sickness but was overall in good spirits and was a great addition to the group.

Another summer, another summit in the books and I look forward to next year with the Nespors and the crazed red billy goat joining us in 2011!

The Epic of Half Dome

"There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."

-Bruce Lee

After my Dad and I said goodbye to the Mammoth fishing crew we got ready for the next part of our vacation: Climbing Half Dome!

Monday: We slept in a little bit, grabbed coffe at the Looney Bean, and took the beautiful drive up the 395 and turned west onto the Tioga Pass Road. We made our first stop of the day at the Whoa Nelly Deli and had breakfast overlooking Mono Lake. I decided to have smoked trout for breakfast because I got skunked on the fishing trip. We drove on up and over the pass, into Tuolumne meadows and finally down into Yosemite Valley. We checked in at our tent cabin at Curry Village and spent the day looking at waterfalls, meadows, deer and riding the free shuttle bus around the valley. We had dinner at the Camp Curry buffet and turned in early in anticipation of climbing half dome.

Tuesday:

I was up at 4:00 am and eager to begin our climb. I waited until 5:00 am to get my Dad up and we began our hike at 5:30 am by walking out of camp curry and adding an extra mile to get to the Happy Isles trailhead. As we began our walk we noticed that many other hikers of all ages and sizes were up with us and on the way to hike half dome. It is interesting that people complain about "crowds" on the trail when in reality it is an amazing thing that so many people are up early pushing their bodies to the limit. The hike goes along a paved road for about one mile until you reach a spectacular view of the falls and than we veered off on to the John Muir trail for another 1.5 miles. We reached the top of the trail and saw our Aussie friend form the night before, Shane. He was doing the hike solo and in true Aussie fashion he was in excellent spirits. Along we walked through little Yosemite valley, up the swithcbacks and than on to the subdome. After a brief rest we were ready to tackle the cables and this is where Bob used his patented death grip himself to the top. We enjoyed our time up on top of the world, took a rest, and than began our descent back down. The return trip is always long and hard as you have used up so much energy to get to the top of the dome. We took our time and stopped along the river to rest and get water. Our day ended at 7:30 pm when we got off the trail and were able to get the shuttle bus (thank God) back to camp curry. I got my Dad a couple of gatorades, some ice-cream and got myself some beer. It was an epic day that we will never forget! My Dad has set the bar very high for me by summiting half dome at 62!

Wednesday:

After a great night of sleep we woke up and headed over to the Ahwahnee hotel for breakfast. We drove up to glacier point to look at the spectacular view of the valley and than drove on home. It was a fantastic trip!

Fishing Trip

We had a great trip up to Mammoth for the first "guy's fishing trip." I can't tell you that we caught a lot of fish but we sure had a lot of laughs. The crew was Jeff, Mike, Dennis, Joe, Kevin, Zach, Bob, Garrett and Matt. All of us stayed in the Riley house so it made things real cozy. Kevin really enjoyed his time fishing and learning all about the bait and how to cast. A couple of highlights from the trip:

1) If you are eager or in a hurry to go fishing, stop by Brocks in Bishop. They are world famous for their speedy service.

2) Dennis and Mike going off-trail to summit Mammoth rock and look at the old mine.

3) Fishing at Lake Mary on Saturday in a beautiful alpine setting.

4) Walking a mile to the gorge in what has been described as a "post nuclear" setting.

5) Telling Kevin and Zach that I am the King of the Raft.

6) Playing Mike's new favorite Sinatra tune, Chicago.

A moment of Zen

"The hardest thing to do in life is to simplify, it is so easy to make things complex."

-yvon chouinard

photo: Mattsel Adams

The best chicken tacos this side of the border

This post is dedicated to the captain and cook of the S.S. Serenity Now:

A few weeks ago I planted a cilantro plant on my patio and it has grown to be a giant. (picture 1) So, this past weekend I wanted to use my fresh herbs and my b.b.q. to make dinner for a nice young lady. I went to whole foods, got two chicken breasts and marinated them overnight. (picture 2) As you can see (picture 3) my b.b.q. skills are second only to the captain. After getting the bird off the grill I chopped up the chicken for fresh chicken soft tacos. I put the chicken in jalapeno flavored tortillas, added shredded cheese, salsa, diced onions, fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime, guacamole and bango: you got yourself the best chicken soft tacos this side of the border. After dinner we took a sunset stroll along the beach. Life is good.......

This meal just might outrank the "deluxe" on the b.b.q. scale.

Math with Tasha: 6=15

I had a great time hiking the ENTIRE Zuma Ridge Trailhead with Tasha, Susan and Laurent. Just like Gilligan I set out for a three hour tour of thinking we were going to do an easy six mile hike. But no, Tasha had other plans as she relentlessly marched us up the ridge, down the hill, up the hill, back down and back up again. I am kidding but we did end up hiking almost 15 miles in over six hours. It was a much longer day than I anticipated but I learned a few things along the way:

1) Trail Names- You don't pick your trail name your trail name picks you

Susan aka "Thrifty"

Dennis aka "Elmer Fudd" aka "Rattler"

2) If you go hike with Tasha bring enough food, water, clothes and shelter to feed a small Ethiopian village. As a rule of thumb, whatever mileage she tells you that you will hike, just triple it and than add a few more miles.

3) Laurent will be a great addition to the hike. He is a very cool native of France and he has really got me re-thinking my position on "Freedom Fries."

4) Susan is tan, rested and ready for Mt. Whitney. She did an excellent job today on Tasha's death march and will have no problem on Whitney.

5) I like to look at Snakes ( saw 3 today and got a good photo)