I realize that I am afflicted with over-enthusiasm, especially when it comes to communicating my experiences as i move through life. That said, this was just about the most perfect day I’ve ever had.

I was a water person in earlier years, starting at 4 years of age when I fell in a lake and while underwater until my dad fished me out, enjoyed the experience. In high school I swam competitively and one day after a swimming meet at the great Fleishacker salt water pool out at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, a swimmer named Jim Fisher and I went out across the Great Highway to swim in the ocean. I couldn’t believe it. The waves, blue water, invigoration. I was hooked.

Had my first surfboard ride at age 18, then changed my major at Stanford so I was through every Thursday at noon and able to head to Santa Cruz until Sunday night. I was a lifeguard, taught swimming, and then somehow over  the years, drifted away from the beach in comparison with my serious surfer friends.

WELL — I’ve come to this small island of Kauai to get back in the water. Today I was in the ocean 3 times — a little bodysurfing, mostly swimming (the last time in the rain tonight) and in a fresh water pool 3 times..

A barista coffee shop on wheels with wonderful coffee, muffins, and vibes. A hostel on the beach with rates (in this expensive resort area — Kapaa –) of  $40/$80 per night for shared/solo rooms. A guy in the country with about 300 beautiful roosters and tangerine, grapefruit, macadamia and lychee nut trees.  A day of clouds and sun and clouds and rain. This island like a large boat in the Pacific Ocean. A Mexican restaurant that feels like you’re in Mexico with delicious food and 3 TVs with Mexican soccer games.

I’ll try to get around to writing it up (with photos) before long…

Blogs I’m putting most of my posts on building on TheShelterBlog now. I’m starting to link to those from this blog. TheShelterBlog focusses on building, homesteading, gardening, and the home arts, whereas this blog tracks my eclectic path through life. Note: if you go to the “Categories” button on the right and select a subject, like, say, “Natural Materials,” you’ll get all the posts on that subject. The info available this way is growing each day. This is getting to be a body of work.

Dwell Magazine I can’t help myself from continuing to knock this soulless, sterile publication. Who are the people that live this way? Certainly different from our tribe.

Stretching—The Pocketbook Edition Rick Gordon is about halfway through building a 5″ x 8″ pocketbook edition of our best-selling book (3-1/2 million copies, 23 languages). Pocketbook editions of Stretching have been very popular in Spain and Germany and we feel it’s time to introduce it in English. Out in 2015.

Small Homes Our next building book is under way. Contributors are beginning to send us photos, descriptions. Note: Contact us if you know of (or have built) an imaginative, artistic, practical, and/or economical home in the 400-1200 sq. ft. range: lew@shelterpub.com

Mini-Skeleton I was looking through Cool Tools for Christmas present ideas and one of the items led me to this unique little (9″ high) skeleton, available from Amazon. One of the comments from a nursing student said that both the leg bones (tibia and fibula) were switched; same with the arm bones (radius and ulna) This is true, but I was able to switch all 4 of them into the right positions. This is a fine little skeleton, ingeniously produced, for a very low price. BTW, there is a great children’s book on anatomy that’s selling on Amazon or $.01 these days: The Human Body by Ruth Dowling Brunn and Bertel Braun.

My Life Since I quit competitive running, I’ve been taking long walks in the woods, looking for mushrooms, wild foods such such as yerba buena tea, cattail pollen, watercress, miners lettuce, etc. Been getting clams, fishing for eels. Picking up oak trees knocked down by storms on the roads for firewood. Skateboarding when I can.

–Yoga started again after a year’s absence, it’s so good for stiff, banged-up bodies like mine.

-Kauai Going there the last 2 weeks of January, to get in the warm water, do some hiking, shoot photos of small homes.

Comedian David Dean on the radio last week:

“Honk if you love Jesus.

Text and drive if you want to meet him.”

A free example of “Foundation Training” by Corey Goodman. In the intro, he says that this is “…good for anyone with a lingering back injury, an older body, or if you’ve used yourself more than others have.”

I can sure relate to those last two.

I think Corey has got something very good here, and with his book and videos.

Posture!

https://www.foundationtraining.com/videos_and_blog/free-foundation-training-with-dr-eric-goodman-master-the-basics-of-movement/

Mike Basich was our featured builder in Tiny Homes. This is his home built of rock, local timber, steel and glass in the High Sierras of California.

   Mike is the featured speaker at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif. on May 18th. I’m doing a presentation just after Mike on Tiny Homes on the Move (in which we show Mike’s pickup truck/camper/snowmobile carrier).

Click here for an article last week on Mike and his homemade ski lift in Make Magazine.

I’ve wanted to do it for a couple of years. On foot, out my doorway, into San Francisco—or, I should say—on my own power, because the first part of the trip involves swimming. The night before, I was so excited I could hardly sleep. Got up at 5:30, walked down to the beach. My son Evan met me and paddled my day pack and clothes across the channel in a kayak.

   Sun just starting to glow in dark eastern sky. 6:45. I’d psyched myself up to do this. Crunch time. Stripped down, waded out into the channel, and it was c-o-l-d. Had been a windy week, chilling the ocean. Mama mia! It’s only a short swim across, maybe 50 yards, and it felt like forever. BUT once out of the water I was stylin. Got dry, clothed, walked barefoot along the beach and got to the Parkside Cafe coffee stand at 7:30, got latte and a really good donut and was off along the coast. Got to Slide Ranch by 9, to Muir Beach 9:30. Nice morning, winds had died down, you could see as-they-say for miles. It’s maybe only 30 miles to SF, but pretty much all up and down.

View north from Tennessee Beach. I kept along the coast here on the southern side, rather than go on the (prescribed) Coastal Trail, which goes inland for a ways. There were faint animal trails and I eventually made it to the Marin Headlands. What really stokes me about this photo is that in the very distant background to the north (very faint, just to left of dark low peninsula), you can see the tip of Pt. Reyes, which I hiked to (from home) a year ago.

   I have a bunch of things to say about the trip, a few photos, will try to get back to it later, but in a nutshell, it was fucking hard. Probably mostly so because, dumb shit that I am, I didn’t drink enough liquids. I was dehydrated and didn’t realize it until I limped home. Plus I can’t seem to walk slowly; the old race horse (competitive runner) syndrome.

   I got to the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate Bridge at about 3:30, about 8-1/2 hours. Caught buses home, saw two friends downtown; one said, “Did you hurt yourself?,” the other said, “You look tired.”

   Getting enough liquids in me last night got rid of most of the tiredness and soreness. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I kept telling people it was do-able, and it was. There are lots of adventures to be had in anyone’s neck of the woods. More later.