Water and Fire

I'm on a boat...living there...and only there.  

As opportunities presents itself in life, it is exciting to take advantage of them.  Especially when it is something you have desired.

My friend is back in England for a while, and he owns a boat and a slip (slip = Water Real Estate) which he lived on for a while.  Now its my turn.  

So, Water and Fire.  The water is what I am closest to.  Living the simple life, purging myself of most comforts.

My new home:

Fire. As more fires threatened Santa Barbara (the third time in as many years), it seemed like straight wisdom to be moving towards a wetter living space.  Fires like I have experienced since living here are actually not that common.  I would have thought otherwise, obviously, but from my understanding, the last time fires were this bad was in 1964.  Preventative  fire burns on our dry mountain passes have been overlooked, so much fuel has grown since the previous fires.  Result = lots of large burns that cost millions and millions of dollars in damageand loss of homes.

Here is a glimpse of what we saw from the Fish Market of the latest Jesusita Fires:

Pretty threatening.  It cast an odd, apocalyptic mood over the city.  Thousands were evacuated from their homes, some homes were lost.  

So everything has settled down.  Life will be easy and simple.  Rockin' the boat.

Montecito BURNSsss

A close Evactuation. Just a another night in SoCal...

JALAMA ("J" pronounced with an "H")

What does Jalama mean?  The simple answer is that Jalama is a beach on the rugged and windy coast of California...

Located at the end of a twisted road that leads through oak lined canyons, Jalama was once home to Chumash Indians who lived off the land and sea.

This is a baby Sea Urchin I found  on the beach.  Sea Urchins are an avid resource on the Cali Coast.  This is about 2 inches wide:

My friend Jaime said (his name also pronounced with and "H") that the Indians use to call Jalama the "Gateway to Heaven"

My friends come here to surf and camp.  I drove 45 minutes north up the California Coast to be in the presence of God...Peace does not escape my constant thoughts here.

I found a place on this ravine that gave me a place to sit, and contemplate HOW WINDY IT COULD POSSIBLY BE and still keep a sane, mind-thought sequence.  So windy!!  Jeez.  How do you gain peace from a place that whistles it's existence in your ears at a constant rate of 25 mph?  I came away from this escape with the knowledge that: 1#.  My BMW can hold a curve in 2nd gear like no other.  2#.  My life/lifestyle is too noisy, and I need to make it more peaceful.  The wind of life is bright and vibrant, but where in my daily life is a time of peaceful reserve?  
 

Peace and tranquility, to me, are the essentials of life.  Where do you find yours?

the Douglas Family Preserve

The Douglas Family Preserve (Michael and Kirk Douglas) is a 70-acre grassy mesa with over 2,200 feet of rare, undeveloped ocean frontage. Jaime and I and Sage explored it...

The preserve is covered with mature oak, eucalyptus and cypress trees.  The trail loops around 150-foot mesa along the edge of the cliffs.

No, Sage, don't jump!  ( she wanted too)

The waves looked good, but our day was spent enjoying the Preserve...(and the doggies)

This land was tried and tried to be developed into housing, but the locals prevailed, and we have the beautiful gardens of California as a free, public land to enjoy.

In Memory of: Davidson College

Who picks all 1# teams to be in the Final Four?!?  Well, to start my dad, two co-workers, two ESPN analysts, and the majority consensus of the nation.  

A Spiritually-laced blog is in order.  With all this competition going on, my competitive nature is on full-tilt.  After reviewing Ryan Adair's blog (http://ryanmadair.blogspot.com/) , I realized in order to compete, I must lay down some God talk., some prophetic weather-predictions, if you may...

This one is too easy.  Curiously enough, it has mentioned more by the Common Sports announcer than the Common River prophet.  Here it goes, see if you can follow:

Davidson College is/was the #10 seed in the Midwest division of the Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament, commonly known as "March Madness" or "The Big Dance".  64 teams enter, one comes out as Champion.  Davidson College came close, today (03/30) they lost, making this the first time in NCAA Tourney history that the Final Four is made up of all #1 teams.  Davidson was the only Cinderella team this year to make it this far into the tournament.  ("Cinderella Team" refers to a team of low ranking/stature to defy expectations and defeat the bigger, better team.)  Davidson was constantly referred to as the "Giant-killer" because of it's prediction-upsetting wins and convenient name.  Davidson was in the constant position of David in the battle vs. Goliath, and until today, was always the victor.

The leader of the Davidson team was a young man named, Stephen Curry #30.  Many times during games had Stephen saved the day with his expert ball-handling skills as well as pin-point shot technique.  Stephen Curry

was not recruited by any of the #1-ranked teams, even #2 or #3 , despite his father being revered, retired NBA star, Del Curry, a person of the highest status of his field.  Stephen was too small, and still holds the looks of a high school student, as do most of his team members.  They were passed over as not worthy of high-level competition or leadership.  Across the chest of each player was the team name. Davidson.  See where this is going?  Imagine Pat Sajek.  Now picture him say "Let's get Prophetic!"

Stephen Curry, the son of an NBA king, and the Davidson team represent the coming time of Solomon, King David's son.  He bears his father's resemblance in his lack of fear of the enemy and unquestioning trust in the confidence his father instilled in him.

This is expressed in Davidson #10: Curry #30...oh wait I mean Proverbs #10:verse #30...written by Solomon: "The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land."  It is this philosophy and personal conviction that shot David and His lineage into the position of inheritance for the rest of his life.  

This chapter begins with "The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father..." It is a time for "Solomon's" to grow thru submission and tutorship of their fathers.  How do you recognize a Solomon? Those individuals who are a David-wannabe, or are under the current reign of a David.

Hear this:  Wisdom will be the fruit of this season, as well as, Stability and Self-Control.  This applies to the lady-folk, as well.  

Did I beat Ryan Adair?  That's all that matters in the end :)