Christmas 2009

This Christmas we were joined by Eric's family out in channel Islands. We went out on the seadoo's, kayaking, electric boating, and had a great time. The music is drumer boy by Jars of clay and the messiah by Handel.

Channel Islands Parade of Lights 2009

This years parade of lights turned out to be a great evening. The forcast was for heavy rain and we are very gratefull that weathermen have no idea what they are doing. The parade was a little smaller then usual but it was still fun. Pengi(named by Luke) the penguin even made it through 3 trips. Pengi was givin to us by Aunt Mary last year but got blown into the water so this was his first successful trip. The music is called Loves theme.

November 2009

This month we had not done a post so we put together different video's and pictures from the month of November. A lot happened this month including our neighbor's Steve and Judy getting a new boat, a few great Seadoo trips, Mary, Peter and Nathan came to visit, The Slattum's and Groenveld's joined use for a boat ride and dinner and beautiful weather all month. The music is by Daughtry called Home.

CLU Homecoming 2009

This video is of the CLU homecoming weekend and 1984 class reunion. The 1984 class members that were there were : Liz Dalgleish, Linda DeWalt, Joan Emmbick, Mel Fleeman, Bob Freeman, Eric Jensen, Jay Neuhaus, Jon Stendahl, Jon Uhler, Mark (don't call me Larry) Walter, Steen Weber, Ralph Werley, Class rep Mike Engstrom ( he was voted in for the next 5 years, so congrats Mike). We also had members of other clases. We wish more could have joined us but we had a great time. Friday was the golf tourniment, Saturday was the games, campus party and reunion. The music is by Styx (80's band) and the song is the best of times. I used it for a project in Dr. Slattum's class and got a A so I decided to use it again 25 years later. The part were it talks about the worst of times was only about our golf score. Thanks for coming see you next year.

Homecoming Dolphins

Today Ralph and Steen joined me for a trip out in the Channel Islands. It was a warm beautiful day. We ran into a few different pods of common dolphins and had a great trip before heading back over to CLU for the alumni party. The music is by Genesis called home by the sea.

The Morgan's come to Channel Islands

Suzy, Gary, and Bonnie Morgan joined us today out in Channel Islands for a fun day of Seadooing and Electric Boating. We saw 1000's of dolphins and went out to the Arch at Anacapa Island on a beautiful day. The video music is by Loreena McKennitt. We had a great time with some old friends.

Guys trip San Francisco 2009

This year we decided to do our guys trip up to San Francisco. We did 4 games in 3 days. It was a great trip and a great time. I was joined on the trip by Mike, Jack, Ralph, and Blake. We missed not having Paul, Steen, and Mark with us (next year). The weekend was Southern cal vs Northern cal (if you consider the Rams still southern Cal). The A's game was packed but we were lucky to get some tickets. The Stanford Ucla game was the closest of the games we went to. Cal USC game was a great enviroment and a lot of fun. Cal was a few plays away from beating USC (maybe 30 or 40). The 49er game was great but would have been a better game if they had played USC instead of the Rams (0-16 here we come). Great trip next year looks like Auburn Alabama or seattle. The music is by Boston.

Birthday Dolphins

Today Cherie and I were joined by Sue Dalhberg. It is Sue's birthday week and she said that she had 2 wishes. (1) was to see dolphins (2) was to get wet and cold. We headed out late in the day and it was beautiful. We got out there and were able to see dolphins right away. We ended up running into 3 different pods along the way to Anacapa. After we got to the arch (12 miles) she was disappointed she was not wet so we headed around the back side of Anacapa (I did not want to go). We also had planted a happy birthday ballon out by the arch we were able to get her (see video). The backside was rough and Sue got her wish and we all got wet. We ended up doing the whole Anacapa Island loop (32 miles). Afterwards we went out for some Brazilian food and overall it was a great day. The music is by David Gray. Hope you have a great year Sue. We love you.

Anacapa Island Day Trip

Today we went out on Island Packers boat for a day trip to Anacapa Island. We were joined by Cherie's parents on a perfect day. We ran into very large pods of Dolphins on the way out and the way back. The boat cruised along the front of Anacapa Island and we got great views of all the sea caves. The music is by the Afters and is called beautiful day.

Kayaking Anacapa Island

Today was a perfect day out in the Channel Islands. We were joined by Eric's brother Chris and his wife Cindy. We headed out to Anacapa Island (12 miles from the channel island harbor) with our kayaks loaded on the Seadoo sledge. The water was perfect and flat all day it could not have been better (it felt like a lake). We ran into dolphins and seals and had a great time kayaking the East end of Anacapa Island. We got to go through the arch and sea caves it was a beautiful day. The other big success was Cindy did not get eaten by sharks. The music is by Hoku called Beautiful Day.

Channel Islands August 2009

Today was a beautiful day out in channel islands so Cherie and I decided to get on the Seadoo's and go for a ride. Our neighbor's steve and Judy joined us on their boat also. It looks like for their last ride on the boat as it looks like it has been sold (Judy is having a hard time with the sell so we brought over a bottle and shared it on their boat after the ride). We went out to Anacapa Island and watched a sailboat race, saw jumping seals(1st part of the video's), and lots of dolphins. The music is by David Garrett.

British Isles Part 4

This is the last of our trip as we go to Edinburgh, Paris, and Stonhendge. It was a great trip and everyone had a good time. We only wish we could have taken our luggage on one more ride on the subway. We hope to have more of the family next time.

British Isles 2009 Part 3

This is the 3rd part of our trip and Includes Greenock, glasgow, Loch Lomond (peddle and Paddle), Inverness, Invergordon, and Loch Ness (you can see the monster if you look real close).

British Isles Part 2

This is a video of the 2nd leg of our trip. It covers Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast and the Giant Causway.

Europe 2009 British Isles Part 1

This video is part one of our family trip to the british Isles. We were joined by my parents, Cherie's parents, and my brother Chris and his wife Cindy. We had a great trip and perfect weather. We got to spent some time with Christina in London and meet her boyfriend Kevin. We went to the Phantom of the Opera and had a great time in London. Guerneys the first stop is one of the british channel Islands and we all really enjoyed this little island. Cork the next stop was a beautiful stop and we got to kiss the blarney stone at the castle.

4th of July

4th of July is always a great time in the channel Islands Harbor. This year we had the Kilpatricks, both sets of parents and Phil out for a fun day. The Kilpatricks, Cherie and I went out on the Seadoo's. It was pretty choppy so we stayed close to shore. I lost my hat and went back to pick it up and a wave knocked us right in the water, we had fun swimming for the Seadoo and all got a good laugh about it. After we got going some bottlenose dolphins swam right by us. At night we had a great fire works show from the Navy base and all had a good day. Thank you troops for protecting our country.

2009 Flora street golf

This video is from our yearly fouth of July golf tournament. This year we played at Brighton Crest golf course in Fresno. It was a very cool 99 degrees. Thanks to Cal for setting everything up and Greg for the shirts. Team Cantrell was the big winners this year at 15 under par. Three teams tied one shoot back. We all send out our prayers to Ernie and Sue and there family in the loss of Sue's dad this last week. The video is from our day and the music is by Nickelback called if Everyone cared.

Fun Sunday

Ready to go

Lars felt the need for speed.
Below Kori teaches Mike and her dad how to drive.

After going to church (we almost made it on time) we were joined by the Groenveld's, Engstrom's, Cory and Marnie. It was hot in the valley so it pushed all the clouds to the ocean and we had a cloudy day. We went out Kayaking, electric kayaking, 2 trips on the Seadoo's and had a ride around the harbor on the electric boat. It was a little rough on the ocean so we did not go out to far but we still had a good time. Had a nice lunch from Yolanda's and was an all around fun day.

Birthday Party, Family and a great time

Today we Celebrated Cherie's Mom's birthday,Evelyn. Cousin Kym, Jon, Baylee, Nathan and Owen came out from Arizona to relax and be with family for a few days. We were also joined by Uncle Danny and Pat from Arizona. Cousin Jennifer and Zephyr came up from Redondo Beach. Jonathan, Kymberly, and Eric went out on the Seadoo's for a run around Anacapa Island. It was a beautiful day out on the ocean and we saw a few dolphins, lots of seals, beautiful Islands, and had a great trip. Cherie, Jennifer, and Zephyr got out kayaking, David and Phil went on the electric Kayak, the rest of us including George went in the Electric Boat.

Memorial Day 2009

We had a great 4 day Memorial Day weekend out in the Channel Islands. We were visited by family and friends. The weather was perfect and we got to go Seadooing, kayaking, electric boating, and biking. We also got to play some Ma Jong. The video has music from one of my favorite bands the Plimsouls and the song is a million miles away.

Bay to Breakers 12K

This weekend we were in San Francisco for the Bay to Breakers 12K run. This run is on ESPN's 101 things every sports fan must experience before they die. It was a great experience and we had a great time. I do not think it should be called a run as it was so crowded it was very tough to run, although we did get to run some of it. There was a lot of drinking and it was one big party but everyone was undercontrol. There was some naked runners and Cherie even got to dance with a naked 95 year old man (see Video). Afterwards they put on a great festival. We also got to go to Stinson Beach and have dinner in our favorite city sausalito. The video music is Jungle Love by the Steve Miller band.

Mother's Day in Channel Islands

Nice day to sit on the deck

Today we had mothers Day out in Channel Islands. We were joined by Cherie's mother and family. We got to go out on the Kayak's, Electric Kayak, and the Electric boat for a nice ride.

Miami Vice Dolphins

This weekend John, Alison, Justin, and Jeramy, joined us out in Channel Islands. We had a great time cruising the habor in the electric boat and John joined me for a great trip out in the ocean to hang out with the dolphins (see Video). The music is from the Miami Vice sound track.

Newphews and Uncles go to the Islands

Today Nathan, Peter, and Philip joined me for a trip to the islands. It was a very nice day with some haze (looked like smoke) over the islands. The water was pretty calm and a lot of boats were out today. We first went to Santa Cruz Island then went around the back side of Anacapa Island. We had some good news and bad news today. The bad news was that we did not see any dolphins (lots of seals). The good news was Nathan got very sunburned and now thinks he well have the only tan of all the kids in his high school back in colorado springs. Overall we went about 40 miles and had a very nice day

Oregon Waterfalls

This week Cherie and I were in Oregon at stayed at the beautiful Skamnia Lodge on the Columbia River. We had a great trip and really enjoyed the microbrewery's, Lot's of waterfalls, and the beautiful views from the vista house at Crown point. One of the falls we saw is multnomah falls, it is the 2nd largest year roundwaterfall in the US. The slide show is of our trip and the music is by enya.

Morro Bay Birthday party

This weekend we had our March birthday party. We went to Eric's parents cabin in Morro Bay and were joined by his brother Chris, his wife Cindy, her parents and Cherie's parents. 6 out of the 10 had a march birthday. We had a great picnic on saturday and a very nice weekend. The video is of blog superstar jacpot who you can see more of at http://adventureswithjacpot.com/

Channel Islands Slide Show

This is a slide show of different shots in Channel islands harbor and out at the islands (Anacapa and Santa Cruz) we have taken over the last year. The music is by Coldplay.

Scarlett Belle Paddle Wheel Boat

Today Cherie and I got to go for a ride on the local Paddle Wheel Boat. There was 150 people on the boat with a live band. We cruised the Channel Island Harbor and Had a great time. The weather was perfect and we could sit inside or outside. It was our first trip on the paddle boat and look foward to going again.

Anacapa Loop with Philip Bailey

Today Cherie's brother Philip joined me for a trip to the islands(see photo of phil at Arch Rock). The day could not have been any better. It was a little cloudy but warm and the water looked like a lake. We headed to Anacapa Arch rock and had a perfect ride but did not see any dolphins and just a few seals. The water was so smooth we did the loop around the backside of Anacapa. On the way back we got going at a speed of 30-40 MPH and ran into a hugh pod of dolphins (see video). We stayed with them for awhile then it was time to head home. The video has music from coldplay and you will notice I am getting better at splicing the video's together.

Anniversary and Jensen Private Reserve weekend

Some of our Zinfindel grapes

View of the main channel with snow in the backgroung.

This weekend Cherie and I celebrated our anniversary and also opened up the first bottle of our wine. We have been growing Zinfindel grapes on our property for about 5 years and we finally got to make some wine. It was a messy and learning experience. The process was fun and a little frustrating at times but I learned a lot and will make better wines in the future. I had opened a few half bottles for tasting but this was the first full bottle. We were joined by our great neighbors Steve and Judy(they are getting ready to start planting vines on there property up north). They had an interest in what I was doing so I was glad we got to share the first bottle with them. The good news on the wine was that we gave it a score of 94 the bad news was it was on a scale of 1-200. It was OK, not bad not great but it did get better as the night went on and we had a good time discussing what could have made it better. We also got to go to the new Smokey's BBQ on the water and have a great dinner. Sunday we had a great boat ride and wished we had gone out on the Seadoo's. It was great Anniversary weekend.

Dolphin Opera

I have been wanting to do a dolphin video to opera music and here it is. The music is from one of our favorite opera's by Puccini called Gianni Schicchi. The song is O Mio Babbino Caro. It is a great comedy opera with beautiful music and is a lot of fun. I took dolphin clips from the last year that I had not used. The clips are from 10 different trips out on the ocean. Hope you enjoy it.

Visiting Family in Colorado Springs

This week Cherie and I went with her parents to visit Kevin, Mary, Nathan, and Peter in Colorado Springs. We had a great trip and wished we could have stayed longer. The weather was a little cold but it was beautiful. We got to go to the Air Force Academy(thanks for the tour Mary), play cards, scrabble, Have some great food(thanks Mary and Kevin) and go to nathan's basketball game. We also got to talk to Christina from London and wish peter good luck as he prepares to leave for the air force training center.The slide show of the trip has music from Bruce Hornsby called the old playgroung ( it is a basketball song).

Tall Ships come to Channel Islands

Shot of Anacapa Island from the electric Boat

Today we took the electric boat out for a little ride to see the tall ships. The tall ships come to the harbor about 3 times a year. They let you go on a tour of the boats or you can pay and go for a ocean sail. We went last year and had a great time. The water was so calm tonight we took our electic boat out the farthest we have ever gone and felt we could have gone to the islands. It was getting dark so we decided not to try.

Kayaking without a paddle

The sun breaking through in Ventura Harbor

Kayaks ready to go

Today was one of those days that did not turn out as planed. Marnie and Cory joined Cherie and I today. Our goal was to take our new Seadoo sled and kayaks out to Anacapa Island and go Kayaking through arch rock and into some sea caves. As we headed out clouds rolled in and it was pretty foggy and the water was rough but it did look like it might clear. After going a few miles Cherie noticed we had lost a paddle somewhere. We looked but could not find it. Since it is hard to Kayak without a paddle we took the sled back and headed out on the seadoo's for lunch in ventura. It was a rough ride going there but we had a great lunch and the weather did clear so we had a great ride back. We also got to see the very rare Channel Island Penguin(we really have no idea what kind of bird it is but it did look like a penguin). The weather does change alot out here so you just have to take what it gives you and overall it was a good learning experience and turned out to be a nice day.

Whales, Dolphins, and 2 Islands

Santa Cruz Island

Blake at Anacapa Island Arch Rock

Sea Caves at Santa Cruz Island

Today I had the honor of having Blake Mueller join me for a seadoo run out in the ocean. It was a perfect day today. The Santa Ana winds had died down and that is usually the best day to get out there and it was. We had perfect weather in the 70's (I do feel for you people on the east coast and do hope this gives you a little warmth) flat and clear water. We ran into dolphins about 3 miles from land(we usually do not see them in so close). We continued to see dolphins on the way to Anacapa and they keep trying to race with us. We then went around Anacapa Island and got to see some Gray whales on the north side just hanging out(Blake gets credit for the video I got a video of my foot). We then went to Santa Cruz Island ( about 6 miles) and ran into more dolphins on the way back. It was an amazing day and hard to believe it was January.

Whale Video

Blake running with the Dolphins

This video is of Blake trying to out run the dolphins

Video of the Day

We had so much video I decided to combine Blake's video's and mine and put them together and add a little U2 music beautiful Day.