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Sun. July 8, 2007, 09:42am PDT

Picking up skimboarding again

Seeing that skimboarding competition a few weeks ago out at Dash Point inspired me to get on a board again for the first time since high school. That was 10+ years ago so I wasn't sure how I'd do. New co-worker Michael and girlfriend Roxanne both skimboard a bit so Sarah and I joined them on an outing yesterday. First we stopped off at the place of the Dashboard guys so I could buy a newer board. I emailed with them earlier in the week and they were totally cool with me stopping by on a Saturday minutes before hitting the beach. They had the board ready for me and sooner than I knew it we were on the beach.

I even brought the great old disc-shaped board made for me by a friend of the family that I used on the occasional trip to the beach back in high school. With a little sticky wax on it's smooth top Michael had no problem skimming it. I gave it a run as well and found it to still work really well. Even looks like it was similarly built to even the brand new board I just picked up. Great job with that, Jim!

We hit the water a bit, fired up our little coal grill, then stayed out skimming and tossing an Aerobee the entire afternoon. It was a great day out there and the shallow water was even downright warm at times in the summer Sun. For my first time out in a while I did pretty well and even started working on trying (not landing, mind you) some basic tricks. No injuries and just some soreness today so I count myself fortunate. I had a great time out there and think I've found my summertime sport that will keep me satisfied while waiting for the next snowboarding season.

Without further ado, here's me riding:

Sun. July 8, 2007, 09:58am PDT

Art on the Ave today!

I have something to confess. I told someone not to go to Art on the Ave yesterday. I told them to go today 'cause the guy was assuming it was Saturday when, in fact, it's today! (Had you there for a second, didn't I?) Definitely, go. It's a great open celebration of so much of the local artistic community. There's plenty of food and vendors with their work as well as art in action, music, classic cars and even a dunk tank featuring various local leaders eager for a splashing.

Check out the fun in photos from last year and head out there today from 11am-6pm. Sarah and I will probably walk over and be there in the early afternoon so keep your eye out and feel free to say hi!

Sun. July 8, 2007, 06:56pm PDT

Photos ~ Art on the Ave 2007

We had a great time out at Art on the Ave today. The weather was stunning and there was a great crowd. The clouds stuck around most of the day and it kept things somewhat cooler. There were tons of quality vendors and great music stages. By far my favorites were all the active artists. Kids painting a mural, the huge Chaos Into Order project, and others made for a fascinating time. When I think of engaging art I think of that which you can see created right before your very eyes.

Cheers to the event organizers as Sarah, Angela and I all thought this year's was a more successful event in quality and quantity of people than last. Sure wish even a fraction of this kind of activity could go on every week in Tacoma. Maybe an artists' market to compliment our great farmers' markets.