Wyatt's "My Apocalypse" cover

Wyatt built this guitar.  He's been learning how to "tap", instead of picking.  Which, actually, is pretty cool.  The sound is a bit off from the video.

Gazela - Philly to New Bedford, Mass

My son, Wyatt, and I recently had the amazing opportunity to crew aboard the 1883, Portuguese tall ship Gazela Primeiro from Philadelphia to New Bedford, Massachusetts and back to Philadelphia.

We worked as crew.  Which means we work.  There are no passengers on board.  We were on "A-Watch", which was the 4-8 watch.  We worked from 4am to 8am.  We had off from 8am to 12noon.  We did "Ship's Work" from 12noon to 4pm.  Then, we had our second main shift of the day, from 4pm to 8pm.  Then, we had off, again, from 8pm until 4am.

Working as crew, we had the opportunity to do just about every job on board.  Shift work consisted of:

1. Helm (Steering the ship)
2. Fire Watch (walking from bow to stern, below decks, through the engine room, through all the storage holds, etc. looking for fires, leaks or anything that wasn't normal)
3. Deck Ready (basically a free deck hand to help Cook with galley duties or helping with deck washes, etc.)
4. Lookout 1 & 2 (posted on top of the galley, looking for other ships, small boats, things that ought not be floating in our path, etc.)
5. Runner (running back & forth from lookout to helm to report any of the aforementioned hazards)

We also had the opportunity to go aloft to assist with sail handling, furling, mast & yard scraping.  the top of the masts are at +/- 96' above the deck.

JTree

Joshua Tree (JTree)

I've started a regular trek to Joshua Tree, California. In the past 6 months, I've been, at least, 5 different times. Sometimes my son comes with me and other times, I've gone with friends.

The landscape is surreal and pretty unforgiving. The rocks, although they appear smooth, upon closer examination, are rough and, quite often, sharp. However, the shapes do make for some interesting climbing.

There are snakes (rattlers and rosey boas), tarantulas, scorpions and these wild looking lizards called Chuckwallas (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuckwalla). We've seen all of them, too. Fortunately, we've not had any problems with any of them... so far.

I think for me, as with many other people that car camp, from what I've seen, the whole experience is about the absolute disconnection from the daily grind. There is no cell service. There are no internet cafes. There are no liquor stores or pharmacies or, good or bad, no hospitals. It's about waking up when the tent gets too warm from the quickly rising sun in the morning. It's about a good, fattening breakfast of eggs & bacon or sausage, or both. Perhaps, some Bloody Marys or Screwdrivers (I KNEW I brought the OJ for a reason!). It's about campfires in the morning and evenings. Day hikes & night hikes (Skull Rock!).

But, for me especially, it's about a well thought out, excessively provisioned dinner. Steak. A lot of steak. Marinated flank steak. Seasoned rib-eyes. Tri-tip. Even the occasional Ahi steak can make it's way into the cooler. Cooked over the open flame on the campfire. Baked potatoes wrapped in foil and thrown directly into the hot coals and trying not to forget that they're in there when the steak is ready to eat. Asparagus seasoned with pepper & seasoning salt - thrown onto foil and placed over the fire for just a few minutes. Perfect.


We've stayed in the same campground every time (Jumbo Rock) but in a different campsite every time, too. So, the place takes on a different appearance every time we're there. The people, much like a Trojan Football game tailgate, will happily help you out if you need something. If you've forgotten, or run out of propane; no problem. If you need bread or hamburger buns; again, no problem. If you're walking through the campground and you've run out of beer... all you need to do is ask - and sometimes you don't even have to ask!

The sunrises are as equally impressive as the sunsets... and, usually, much more quiet and peaceful. It's an incredible feeling to wake up as the sun is just coming up and making it to a high rock to bear witness to an amazing sunrise. The breeze is blowing a cool air over the rocks but one can feel the heat starting to emanate from the desert floor and from the rocks.

I can't wait to go again.