Holiday in the Southern Hemisphere

This year we were lucky enough to spend the holidays in New Zealand. Three weeks of visiting family and friends and getting out and about. After an uneventful 12 hour flight where we tried to pass the time sleeping or watching a multitude of movies, we finally landed in Auckland on December 15th. My Sister-In-Law and Brother-In-Law were there at the airport to meet us and help with the kids and the bags. We immediately went out to find a good Kiwi bacon and eggs breakfast.

We spent the next few days out in West Auckland in the town of Waitakere. I was able to tag along with my Brother-In-Law to one of his 18' skiff races. A skiff is basically a high performance sailboat. Go here to learn more. I helped to unload the skiffs and get them rigged up to race. I was then able to score a spot on the chase boat ans spent the rest of the afternoon out of the water watching the race first hand. No, I didn't have the camera but lucky thing since right at the end of therace there was a HUGE downpour and besides I had to get i and out of the water to help with the boats.

A few days after that my Brother-In-Law and I went out mountain biking at a place just North of Waitakere called Woodhill. All I can say is that you have to bring your "A" game for this place. Woodhill provides, and I quote, "We provide over 100kms of riding on over 50 trails with hundreds of different jumps, stunts and man-made riding structures." Tht is no lie! The place is a highlight reel waiting to happen. If your boys are feeling big that day you could be a star of wind up in intensive care. Both come with a sweet story of how awesome you rode or how gnarly the crash was. Check out the Woodhill website here. Needless to say we had an awesome time with only a few minor impacts with the ground, trees, or other immovable objects.

After a few days in Waitakere we then sped up to Whangarei to Michelle's Mums house for Christmas. Here is where I will insert the gratuitous sheep photo that comes with all New Zealand holidays.

This fella lives next door at the neighbors place with two other wooly friends. They keep the neighbors lawn nice and low. No mower required there. Emily and Aengus loved to go out every moring to feed them.

We had a great Christmas with loads of family to eat the moutain of food that was prepared. We went to see Michelles Dad and the extended family. All hell broke loose when Aengus got his Christmas gift from Grandad. A Super Soaker watergun. In no time flat everyone had to take a turn soaking another member of the family. After visiting Grandad we went to see some of our friends. They had a real Kiwi Christmas going on and both of my kids joined in. Slip and slide on Christmas Day! Here is Aengus on the slide.

With Emily not far behind!


After Christmas we went to explore some of our favorite beaches in Northland. We went to Matapouri, which is one of my favorites, to have a picnic, a swim, and maybe a little hike. Here is where we pitched our blankets. Under a Pahutakawa tree right on the beach. Here is Michelle and her Mum with all the lunch goodies.

After we ate some lunch Aengus and I started off for a little hike.

Here is a good look at Matapouri. It is a really nice little cove with the left side protected from the surf so the little kids can swim and on the right you can catch a good wave on some days.


When we were tired of hanging around in Whangarei we decided to drive down to visit some friends of ours that just moved to New Zealand from Topanga, CA. The Kirby family arrived in NZ on December 27. They moved to a little town called Raglan about 2 hours south of Auckland on the Wild West Coast. The Kirby's were just getting settled in when we crashed the party. They were very gracious hosts. The have an awsome place right on the water in Raglan Harbor. Here is the view from their back yard.

So right down a little path through their property takes you right to the waters edge. The Kirby's wated little time in getting a few kayaks to paddle around the harbor in so we had to go for a spin.

We stayed with the Kirby's for New Years and had a great time hanging around Raglan. It's a great little town and world renowned for the surfing. I didn't get to surf but the kayaking was fantastic. We had a short rain shower while we were there and caught this good pic.

It made me think of LA for the first time since I got to NZ. I thought to myself, "Lep, I found your damn pot o'gold now!!" It was a sad goodbye to the Kirby family after the New Year but we had to jam back to Auckland to meet up with Nik and Chris(Sister & Borther In-Law). Michelle and the kids did some last minute shopping. We also went to the top of the Auckland Sky Tower which for some reason I had not done before. It was a beautiful day and we had an awesome view.

You can see the waterfront and the land mass just out in the harbor is the suburb of Devonport and out past that is Rangitoto Island. Obvious that it's a volcano isn't it? Well for the last few days we just bummed around Auckland and frequented our favorite areas Parnell and The Quay(The Waterfront) and all the cafes and bars we could fit into each day. We wound up meeting an old rugby pal of mine in the city for a bite and some rehashing of old rugby tales. The Kirby family came up to Auckland on our last day to see us off as well as having Nik and Chris with us. We all hit an Irish pub in Parnell called "The Bog" and threw down a pint(or two) of Guinness to put our trip to NZ to a close. We all said our goodbyes and dragged ourselves to the airport for another marathon flight.

We made it back to Topanga alright but we have all had NZ on our minds since we returned. It was great to see our family and friends again and we hope to see them soon. It was nice to be back home though and the kids got to have another small Christmas since Santa left some presents for them in Topanga. It took us about 4-5 days to get back on Topanga time but we're all sorted out now. Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday as well and maybe if I take another trip soon you won't have to wait 12 months for another post.

Tour of California

Well, finally have some more time to get another entry in. I had the opportunity to go and see the last leg of the Tour of California down in Redondo Beach. I took Emily and went down to Redondo Beach with the Hodgson and Ireland families. I was lucky enough to get hooked up with a VIP pass prior to the race thanks to the Hodgsons. The VIP area was a row of tents along the start/finish line with a great view of the riders going by, all the big screen TVs that you could want to watch the race, free promo gear, and best of all free food and booze. It was luxury spectating at its finest. Anyway, since I was so close I got to take a few good photos as the riders moved up for the start of the race.

Here is a good photo of Bobby Julich heading to the start line.


This next photo has George Hincapie in the foreground followed by Floyd Landis(Tour winner), David Zabriskie(#9 hiding behind Floyd), and Bobby Julich getting ready for 1.5 hours of pain.


This last photo is the peloton passing by with Floyd Landis right in the middle behind his team mate Martin Perdiguero.

As you can see, the rest of the Phonak team were right there to support Floyd.

If there was one bad point it was the crappy music that they kept pumping out of the huge speakers at the start/finish line. You couldn't even hear the announcers! All in all, it was not a bad day though. I didn't score as much cool promo stuff as I would have liked but I did get a sweet Phonak hat! The crit format was good since it allowed you to see the riders come by more than once and the flat course allowed them to hold some speed as they came by. I would definitely recommend attending the race and plan on being down there agin next year. Who knows, if the Tour of California organizers get smart I may get to see a stage come through Topanga!

About time for a new post.....

Well, I have to say that I let the blog entires slack quite a bit. I figured it is time for an update on the life and times. There is a lot of news to report. The Fall of 2005 was a little slow. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our new home. It was one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I have ever had. The Hodgson and Grossman families joined us along with the ver popular Uncle Terry. Michelle cooked a fantastic turkey and everyone brought something special of their own to add to the feast. We all ate outside on our patio and enjoyed the warm weather, great company, and fantatic food. It was a really special day and I was happy to have spent it with my family and friends.

Not too long afterwards we had out first Christmas in our home. Michelle and the kids did some great holiday decorating. To clebrate the first Christmas we decided to buy a 10' tree since we now had room for one that size. We trekked on to Home Depot and found a perfect tree in the mix in only about 3 tries. Once the Home Depot guys put the tree on the roof of the car I knew I was going to have some problems. Being 10' the tree was a lot heavier that I was used to. To make a long story short, it took me about 2 days to get the tree set up in the living room with help from Uncle Terry. Also, most places do not sell tree stands big enough for a tree that size to be careful. I had to do some major modifications of the tree trunk.

On December 27 we headed oout to the East coast to visit my family. It was a nice trip. We spent the first few days in NYC and spent time in Little Italy, a whole day at the Natural History Museum, and a few hours to get to the top of the Empire State Building. Emily and Aengus had a great time, especially at the Museum. We took the train back down to NJ where we hung out with my Mom and Grandfather. Made a stop to see my good friend Phil and his family. Sadly enough, we all wound up getting a stomach virus and had to take Aengus to the hospital to get some fluids in him since his vomitting was horrible. By the time we had to get back on the plane for California the virus had passed and we were all feeling much better. It would have been crappy plane ride back if we still had the bug. Flying and puking ado not mix.

The end of the year saw our friend and colleague Karen Fergason, aka Fergie, pack up here stuff along with her husband Steve and head down to the Southern Hemisphere for a 7 month trek in New Zealand and Australia. They have been keeping us informed of their trip through their blog. The trip sound slike it has been a blast and they have taken some awesome photos. I warn you though, by looking through this blog you may find yourself longing to trek the Milford sound so badly that you pack up and take off. Which is not a bad thing.

Michelle and I went to the openeing of the Paul Smith store here in Los Angeles. I'm defintiely not about the fashion/clothing thing but it was a great place to do some people watching. Many interesting, and some down right crazy people, attend these things. Got to meet Paul Smith and have a quick chat. Free drinks and snack made things even better. Some of the clothes were cool but $300 for a shirt is a little steep. We had a good time with our freinds Michael, Gill, and Charlie. Michelle looked great all dressed up and was chatting with all kinds of folks. It was nice to go out without the kids for once.

Besides that things have been quiet. Some good things to note:
It has rained in Los Angeles, finally!
Super 14 season started up and the Hurricanes are on top right now!
Six Nations Tournament is in full swing. Let hope Scotland can take the title this year!
Today is Talk in Third Person Day! Please visit the official website and support the fun!

OK, that pretty much sums it up. We are all doing well and looking forward to some good times this spring. You may want to come up and visit us in topanga if you get the chance.

The Sport of Kings......RUGBY!

Yes, RUGBY!! A fantastic team sport that does not get enough press in the U.S. but overseas you will find a tremendous fan base and following. Almost as fanatical as Soccer in some countries. Right now one of the most prestigious tournaments is taking place in the Southern hemisphere, the Tri-Nations. The Tri-Nations Tournament brings together the three top rugby nations in the world; New Zealand (All-Blacks), Australia (Wallabies), and South Africa (Springboks). So, this years Tri-Nations has been going on for the last 4 weeks or so. This last wekend saw New Zealand beat South Africa in a spectaucular matchup of power and skill. South Africa has been the team to beat this year coming back in to the form which has eluded them the past few years. New Zealand had just enough to pull out the victory and has positioned themselves to take the Tri-Nations title if they can pull off a win this coming weekend in Australia. I am sure the All-Blacks will stomp the Wallabies to take the title. As you can tell, I am an All-Blacks fan. New Zealand needs this win and they are hungry for it. There has been a lot of change within the All-Blacks squad and a win would give the team some well needed confidence.

Just to give you a quick line or two about rugby, it is a sport with 15 players per side. A field, or pitch, about the same size as a soocer field is used. It is a continuous game like soccer but, of course, much more physical. In simple terms, it has been defined as "Kill the Guy with the Ball" with rules. You can find out more about the rules, the pitch, and the players by follwing the links.

If you are interested, you can find out some history on the Tri-Nations tournament here.

Camping at El Capitan

Did some camping with the family and friends at El Capitan Canyon over the weekend. Besides my family, the Hodgson family(Michael, Gill, Lilly, Maudie, & Lucy) came along to camp with us. Started the trip off with my first Century!! Rode 110 miles up the California coast from Topanga to El Capitan with my friend Michael. It took us just about 7 hours for the trip and we passed some beautiful coast since most of the ride as along old Hwy 1 which runs along the west side of the Hwy 101. We had very little head wind, thankfully, and no mechanical problems. Ran in to some crazy folks in Port Hueneme when we stopped to get a refill on the GatorAde. Some guy pulled up to the store in his car looking for a place to hide since his wife just called the police on him for domestic violence. Port Hueneme is all about class.

After 110 miles in the saddle we were really happy to make it to El Capitan as you would guess. The girls met us there with the cars and all of our gear. After unpacking we had a chance to look around. It is a really nice camp ground with good proximity to the beach and loads of hiking trails. We stayed our first night in a safari tent which I would recommend especially in the summer months.

After the tent we moved over to one of the cabins. Nice but not recommended. A little too pricey for what you really get and it definitely does not feel like camping.
The weather was good. Thick marine layer in the moring but it burned off just after lunch. The beach was nice but no good surf. Of course I brought my board but the SW swell was blocked by the Channel Islands.
We took a few good hikes and brought along a picnic with us each time so we could enjoy the views while having some lunch. Enjoyed cooking over the fire in the evenings and then turing the cook fire into a five alarm inferno aftewards is always my favorite.
Michelle, Michael, Gill, and myself got a chance to go out to have dinner one night. Michael took us to the Los Olivos Cafe which was made famous by the movie Sideways. I have not seen it so I can'y say how much like the movie it was. Good food and really good wine.
By Tuesday it was time to go home. We bid the Hodgsons a farewell, since they were staying a few days longer, and made the drive back to Topanga. All in all a really good get away but it was great to get back home.

Road Rage

Yesterday I was at the receiving end of some serious road rage. This was a first for me but I guess with so many psych cases in Los Angeles it was bound to happen. It started out with Fergie recommending we go to lunch at Tandoori-A over in Westchester which sounded like a good idea to all involved. So we hopped into the Subaru and jammed over to Westchester no problem. The Tandoori-A restaurant has a tricky little driveway leading to the parking lot. It took me a few seconds to process the info but in that time I had applied my brakes and moved to the right hand side of the road. No, I did not indicate but sometimes that thing happens.

Now here is where is gets good. This freak in a new Mercedes almost rear ends me, pulls just past me, and shouts some obscenities which I happily return. Mercedes boy pulls away and we continue on into the parking lot for Tandoori-A. As we are walking down to the entrance of the restaurant, who do you think is waiting for me? None other than Mercedes boy! He obviously wanted to extend the length of our brief argument from earlier on.

Now, I have to think this guy had some serious rage issues considering he knew there was more than just myself in the car and still had the need to confront me. Anyway, I believe he considered the situation for a brief second once we rounded the corner and decided to give me a few words on how not using your blinker can cause an accident. Thanks Dad but I'm a big boy and you should be paying attention while your driving instead of looking at yourself in the rear view mirror and thinking how cool you are in your new Mercedes. Now, maybe when I was younger things would have escalated but I'm now able to keep my cool a lot better knowing that I am a father, have responsibilities, have to set a good example, blah, blah, blah. There was still a part of me that wanted to beat the #!@* out of him. I let it go and feel better for it.

So after another brief encounter we were on into the restaurant to have some righteous Indian food and Mercedes boy was on his way to harass some more non-blinker using commuters. As we all sat down to eat lunch and discuss the surreal events, and make fun of Mercedes boy, it seemed as though I did have one dissenter amongst the ranks who was siding with the enemy. All I have to say, Lucky McVeigh, is I keep my friends close and my enemies closer.

New Addition to the Family

We have added a new addition to the family this past weekend. Weighing in at just over 6,000 pounds this newbie is not on the trim side. As you can see, our new baby is a 2005 Volvo XC90, AWD V8. We bought the XC90 with the Titanium exterior with the Tan(or Taupe) interior. Definite upgrade from the Toyota 4Runner that this car replaced. We were the first to drive this baby and it had only 2 miles on the odometer when we left the lot! These photos are from the Volvo web site but are basically the same car we purchased.




We like the 7 passenger seating which makes it easier for us to get around when visitors come in from overseas. The 93.5 cu. ft. of cargo space are just what we need with 2 kids and a dog. Tons of other options make this SUV really stylish. Handles very well for a larger vehicle and has good acceleration with 311 horsepower. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get to drive it again if my wife decides to share.

Fruits of Our Labor

I had to have my first entry focus on the project that consumed my life for the last few years. So after over 3 years of hard work we finally moved into our new home this past February in Topanga, CA. A short time line of events rolls out like this:

• Purchase property in Oct 2001 and close escrow in July 2002.
• Plans begin August 2002 and the first submittal to LA County in March 2003.
• Receive permits in October 2003 and start building in December 2003.
• House completed January 2005 with move in February 2005.

Definitely not a lean process but well worth the wait. A few specs on our home:

• The property is .82 acres with a flat building pad and some hillside.
• The house is just under 2100 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms.
• We have a 400 sq. ft. detached garage(basically 2 car garage).
• Propane, and septic system(no sewer) with water, electricity, phone and cable run from the street.
• Good views on the Santa Monica Mountains.

I have added just a few photos so you can see the finished product. I'll add more later but with over 800 photos taken since we started there are just a few to choose from. The first photo is a view of the front of our house from the guests parking area.

This photo of the back of our house is taken a you come down the driveway. You can see our front stairs on the top left with the propane tank at the top. The retaining wall for the upper hillside which runs along the driveway pretty much around the entire house.

This photo is a view from our property just behind the master bedroom. Future plans are to put a patio on this spot. Great place to relax and enjoy being outside.

As I said I will post more photos later. One of the best things about the house is being able tohave visitors. So you're all welcome if you get up the Topanga way.

The First Brick

OK....after a few folks kept nagging me about staring a BLOG I've finally made it to the first entry or brick as we call it in my house. We'll keep it short and sweet today until we can gear up for meaningful entries.