Finally got around to uploading pictures from this year’s Thanksgiving feast at my place. As per tradition, all of the standards were cooked: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, etc. We burned off some of the massive amounts of calories consumed through some good ole mini-ramp skateboarding (much like the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621). Enjoy!

     Last week San Diego played host to East Coast representative and male parental unit of EHough and MHough, none other than the venerable Rod Hough of RodHough.com fame (make sure to go check out his site more photos). The visit was great! Eric and I got to play the multi-faceted roles of tour guide, prankster, personal valet, auxiliary photo-documentary crew team member, male model, heckler, boat captain, and personal sunglass shopping assistant. Highlights of the trip include visits to Coronado Navy Base, Cabrillo National Monument, a boat ride around San Diego Bay, a drive through the remote desert land of the Mojave National Preserve, Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, scooter rides around the city, and a classic California sunset. Did I forget to mention all of the great food? Mama’s Bakery, In and Out Burger, Lucha Libre, Phil’s Barbecue, Yo-Gart, Outback, and Santana’s to name a few. Overall it was truly an epic visit and, as I’m sure my little brother would agree, a memorable and joyful time that will bring fond memories for years to come. Enjoy the pics!

     This past weekend I was finally able to scratch off another area of the world I wanted to travel to, the remote old-growth Redwood forests of Northern California. Eric and I flew to San Francisco where we hopped in a rental car to drive north to the small town of Arcata for our cousin Pete’s wedding.
     Arcata is an interesting town that’s for sure. It’s almost like Woodstock never stopped going and only was moved from a small town in New York to an even smaller town in California. The line between homeless, hippie, drifter, and college student are blurred in the heavy sea fog that drifts in each morning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many dreadlocks or sudden performances of hippie folk songs. We went down by the ocean and I scoped out some great looking waves. The Redwoods were majestic, tall, and awe inspiring. Looking at their root structures grabbing the Earth, I secretly wished we all could be so steadfast and firm in our morals and convictions. It’s too bad we don’t have role models like that anymore.
     The wedding was not what you would call traditional by most standards, but hey, who makes up these rules anyways? All in all, for an Arcata style wedding, I wouldn’t expect anything else! Enjoy the pics!

     I know that’s a dumb title but I was just watching some news and was appreciating (visualize sarcasm here) how they name everything like it’s a wrestling match so I wanted to get in on the band wagon. Editorial note aside, this year’s Thanksgiving feast in San Diego went great! This could have been my most challenging year of cooking due to the volume of food and small kitchen. But, with help from 2 cats who shall remain nameless due to requests from law enforcement, everything came out tasting great. On the menu: turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, corn bread casserole, green been casserole, herb bacon zucchini casserole, cranberries, biscuits, pumpkin-cheesecake pie, pasta salad (thanks Chief!), and authentic Jamaican sweet potato pie. Guitar Hero kept everyone entertained until we passed out. Last night we had “Thanksgiving Part 2: Return of the Turkey” to try to put a dent in the leftovers and to satisfy our Guitar Hero addiction. On a serious note, I truly am blessed to have such great friends and family in my life. They’re what makes life great and it’s a privilege to be able to get together with everyone for the holiday!

Thread Show

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     Looking to expand our market and reach out to new customers, the Overload crew headed to San Diego’s own “Thread” show. From their website: “Check out the new spring lines before they hit the shelves. Clothing and accessories from 80 new designers for men and women. Thousands of affluent trendsetters have already been invited from around the country to attend the show and shop, with hundreds already RSVPing.” My verdict: boooring! A bunch of fashionistas strutting around stroking each other’s egos…um, yeah. I saw enough emo-hawks, rat tails, and ridiculously stupid outfits to last for awhile. But hey, what do I know? Have you seen the way I dress?

October Home visit

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     My long awaited visit back to the East Coast to get some fall weather and see my beautiful niece Amelia. I couldn’t wait to get off the airplane and feel the cool, fall weather and see the colors of the changing leaves. Only problem: it was 87 degress, humid, and the leaves had barely changed! Can you say…global warming? I didn’t think so. Highlights of the visit: lots and lots of motorcycle riding, lots and lots of food, an Apple Festival, a Car Show, getting my antiquing on, sleeping, some more food, and spending time with the star of the show, Amelia. Did I mention eating and motorcycles?

Deno Mix Tape Show

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     For those of you in the know, our newest employee at the store, Deno, aka Denovious, is also a hip hop artist. In support of Deno’s upcoming mixtape release, Overload threw an event with Deno and some friends during the monthly “Ray at Night” art event that takes place in North Park. A good time was had by all, the show was great, people were getting their swerve on, and Chevy was manning the camera. I built the stage and was relieved it did not collapse!

San Diego Fire 2007

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     For those of you who have been living in a vacuum of time and space, we’ve had some fire problems as of late here in Southern California. Although my neighborhood of North Park was best situated to avoid the smoke and fire, we still were affected by these massive firestorms. I would have liked to have taken more pictures, and possibly traveled closer to the fires, but I did not want to interfere with the massive firefighting efforts. It was definitely an interesting experience: smoke in the air, ash on the cars, reddish sky, hot wind. I did, however, learn an interesting lesson which was this: don’t go surfing with massive firestorms nearby because it makes it really hard to breathe. Go figure.

Updated Store Pics

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     I decided to throw this album up for friends and family who have been asking about the shop. I could have written an elaborate description of the store exalting the fine layout and display of product, the glistening of the glass counters, rows of skateboards inviting you to go out and scream with joy, the aesthetically pleasing lines of slot wall running gracefully along the wall of the store. But I settled for the pictures instead.

     I just returned from my annual visit back East to visit family and friends, and once again, I had a great time seeing everyone and traveling around. Highlights of the trip include a long motorcycle ride through the countryside with my Dad, brother, and some other friends (in which I got to ride my brother’s Harley Springer 1200 for the first time), seeing my little niece Amelia and all of her cute antics, the Pennsylvania Farm Show, skating a vert ramp with some old buddies at their warehouse, taking a trip to FDR skatepark in Philly, seeing the DC monuments and memorials, the Spy Museum, the Holocaust Museum, the Natural History Museum, seeing the Hope Diamond, and taking my Mom to the movies. Of course, the best part of the whole trip was getting a chance to spend time with my family and friends and once again reaffirm just how lucky I am to have such great people in my life.

     Thanks to 3hough and SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command), I finally got to visit the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The park is associated with the San Diego Zoo and features the animals in an open, natural setting where they are free to roam and interact. I got to see some lions (including a cub) up close, an elephant show, and gorillas among others. Not to mention we got a free lunch!