Happy New Year to all. From our family to yours,
we wish everyone the best in the twenty-ten decade.
A little late, but better than never. We were the kinda family that took down the xmas tree in mid-April, until we all moved to Mexico and the tree became a small palm in the front yard.
Photos taken by my sis at some friends’ wedding a few days before the holidays.
Which is why the dense YouTube account of Nicholifavs, filled with a kid who vlogs exclusively from New York City's Fifth Avenue Apple Store, is merely a natural progression in the realm of Things Kids Do Now." via Beau Colburn
We’re still up in Upstate NY, exchanging hurricane swells for sweet corn, heirloom tomatos, herb salad and as many different kinds of root beer as I can get my hands on. Little Man’s two bottom teeth came in a few weeks ago and he’s been enjoying his first tastes of hard foods, he’s diggin’ on hard crust bread, watermelon, banana, butternut squash, green grapes, oatmeal and a ton of other good foods. We’re here for another week or so, and then back to the uber hot-humidness to catch up on my tube riding technique.
I haven’t updated in awhile, as you can see, as I’ve been enjoying a much needed vacation from the ridiculously oppressive mexican summer heat and humidity. I’ve traded in summer swells for a small cabin1 on a tricklingl river, tucked between the trees at the foot of a mountain range above Woodstock, NY. I’m enjoying some good ol’ fashioned summertime americana. In fact, we’re here for a month and it is the longest amount of time I’ve spent back in the US since I moved to Mexico 5 years ago2. We’ve been busy traveling around the NY/NJ/PA/CT area visiting various relatives. Spacing out 3 and 4 hour car trips with a few days in between with nothing more to do than sit in the river and enjoy the cold water or mosey into town for the farmer’s market. It’s been so relaxing and tranquil, I’m very thankful for the perfect storm of awesomeness that made this trip possible. Here a few photos. pulled back and quiet:
Photos by uber destination wedding photographer extraordinaire Elizabeth Lloyd.
So one month ago to this day, Luca came into our lives with the intensity of a shotgun blast. He has managed to keep us on our toes and not give us a split second for quiet contemplation. It’s been an awesome, tiresome, sleep-deprived, glorious month. Each week seems to present an entirely new twist in the caregiving of this magical little man. He’s definitely softening me up. I know kids do that to you, but man, this kid has my number.
Marcia and I still can’t quite believe that we are parents. Capital “P”. Personally, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for anyone over thirty to have kids. I say that with a smile, but in some regards I completely mean it. Having kids is for the young n’ less cautious1. We know we’re still in the first few months and all the sage advice we get says that the first three months are the hardest and that life will change after that. They call it the “fourth trimester”, as the baby is still essentially a fetus. And they are most certainly right. Despite the inherent awesomeness of having Luca in our lives, the past month has been loooong and haaaaard.
On the flip-side, there is something amazing about the cocoon like environment that we’ve created in our house in response Luca’s arrival. This process is one of those unexpected delights in becoming a parent. We are on a mission, the three of us – together – and our little house is The Headquarters.
Here’s to one solid month. woo-hoo!
Relatedly, I’ve been thinking about creating a blog specific for ‘Luca’ updates, videos, photos and stuff. Rather than have it here on QP. I’m sure the vast majority of people who happen by QP don’t like looking at baby photos. Still mulling it over.
A photo of the backside of Burros and the frontside of Pools, taken through a set of binoculars.
My little cousins are here visiting us from New Hope, PA. and we’ve been hanging out this past weekend. They are beyond photogenic and my camera seems to love taking their picture.
more pics over at my flickr stream
UPDATE: the above photo (claire + bella + lilah) was featured over at PhotoDoto, thanks John!
That big ole swell that rolled through Californ-i-a this past week has finally made it down Mexico way.
Last night, against my better judgement I went out to Burros. As I drove past Destiladeras, the southern end was breaking overhead in long rolling arcs and lined up like corduroy. Lines stretching up the entire length of the beach. Burros was dumb packed. And the swell overhead and consistent. Magic Seaweed said something like 10 feet at 20 seconds. The outside sets were almost as big as I’ve ever seen Burros. But the gluttony of jerk-offs in the water made it almost not worth it. I grabbed a few choice rides and floated over/under a couple of pristine examples of rampaging natural beauty. But ultimately I spent most of the time jockeying for position, kicking myself I didn’t opt for my new favorite break.
Today I kicked off work early, a treat for working late in to the night, and hit up Burros again. The wave size had dropped significantly, the wind was making a mess of everything and time in between sets was much longer. But with only a handful of people in the water and riding the blue Zippi fish, I had an impressive session with some really nice waves. Not clean by any standard, but nice. Still some really nice outside sets and worth the extra wait. Burros is gorgeous when it’s relatively empty, but when it’s not it’s completely frustrating.
Hi, my name is Ed. I’m a graphic designer who lived in L.A. I quit my job, sold my car, rented out my house and moved to Mexico. Along the way, I learned how to surf and fell in love. This blog is my story. In these pages I write about and photograph my daily experience. I also post about things I find interesting: art, design, photography, music, tech, etc...
