Well, we all had a great time as usual. Cheez came out on Thursday, we BBQ'D and then hit The PCS Show on Friday. Got up Saturday and headed to Mission Bay. The kids were there early and we set up Shop with The Crew. A gusty breeze showed up for a bit, then it all mellowed out which was nice. I really thought it was going to be another uneventful day as not much was happening till Myles landed a nice Bat on Jerry's rod ( Thanks, Jerry !) Then the bite turned on and Tom was The Hot Stick for a while with a couple sharks and a bigger Bat. I finally got hooked up and it felt good to finally tug on something other than a hand rail in a handicap bathroom stall Nice chit chat around the fire and things were slowing down so I figured it was time to head home. Of course I get a call from Max before we even get to the freeway that Tom is on with a Monster !  We could hear the excitement over the speakers in the car, Max was worked up more than Tom I think   A 53" Bat hit the sand for the GRAND FINALE !!!  My boys have progressed from playing the sand, to out-fishing Dad most of the time, they put lots of time and effort into it and it shows! Thanks again,Tom for putting this event together !  Hope your shoulder isn't wrecked too bad but at least San Diego can carry the Torch for another year while the other teams up North are cleaning their sand blasted gear

  Next week is the PCS Show in Orange County, always a cool event. Then it comes to San Diego. I plan on going to both shows just in case I missed something   Anyone else going ?

 Last week was time for my annual brain MRI to monitor my brain tumor that ruptured back in 2014. You would  think I would be used to them by now but they can really get the anxiety kicked into overdrive !
My head gets placed into this small cage, then I get lifted and slid into the machine for 30 minutes
I do have a Panic Button that shuts it down and I get pulled out but I've only had to do that twice in 12 years   This is an Open MRI Machine,the regular ones are just a tube and due to Claustrophobia I use this one. They both SUCK !!! Glad it is over till next year !  I will get the results in a couple weeks, till then it's time to focus on The Bat Fight 

 Well, the kids are growing fast and making me old   Aaron will be 29 and is now a Journeyman Electrician for SDG&E working on all the Sub Stations and has one of the highest paying jobs in the company (Dangerous too) The Twins are going to be 20 and are working at Albertson's as they figure out what they want to do when they aren't fishing   Today Max signed up to get his Boater's Card and Myles is going to get his too, I told them a couple years ago it would be a good idea to have it and they actually listened to me     Is this a ploy to overtake The Cyclops   Time sure did fly by and I am approaching 60, seeing my kids grow to be responsible and productive is a good feeling and a proud moment as well     We are all looking forward to The Bat Fight and hanging with The San Diego Crew once again !  Hope everyone else is doing well too, this site seems to have slowed down a bit so I wanted to add some reading material    C-Ya 

Well, this has to be the most difficult of my 8 surgeries. My eye was the worst but physically the knee has been the most challenging since I've aged by 10 years since the eye   It's been 5 weeks and the knee is looking better. Physical Therapy twice a week has been helpful as well and I hope to get back to walking my 3 miles a day soon (I know...baby steps) The Bat Fight is just around the corner, I will be there !






I ditched the cane, now to get my strength back and get The Cyclops wet 

 Haven't been on the site much cause my office and computer are upstairs along with my bedroom, I just cant get comfy in my bed yet so I have been sleeping in my recliner downstairs. I saw the Doctor yesterday and he removed the bandage and gave me the go ahead to start Physical Therapy, here is my current status






I have an Ice Machine that pumps cold water around the knee and keeps the swelling down




Hope to start walking with a cane this weekend and start driving when I run out of Oxycodone  Pain Pills

 Well, it was time for a Total Knee Replacement so I went in on Dec. 3rd and got busy


The food of choice was a plate of Fries and a Diet Coke but they only had Shasta   (NASTY)



Had to stay overnight cause Vitals crashed a bit so I came home on Thursday.





Can only lay around so long so yesterday was time to conquer the stairs



The walker is getting old and cant wait to 86 that thing, in the meantime I Pimped it out with a cup/rod holder 



PT 3 times a week and living on Oxy, oh boy ! I see the Surgeon on the 16th and then hopefully get the green light to drive (no Oxy )   

 Max and Myles had the day off yesterday so we hit MB at 6am in search of Bats, not long into it Max's rod goes off



A few more screams on his reel but they weren't fully committed Time to regroup and keep trying.


My line went slack and started moving so I set the hook   Click the pic, it's a video 



Looks like someone stayed out too late with his girlfriend 


A couple more drag burners but no hookups other than a Spotty for Max.


Back home by 12:30 pm so Myles could get to work on time 
 

 Been dealing with a bad knee for a while and I can't take it anymore. Saw the Surgeon yesterday and he took more X-Rays to confirm my left knee is bone on bone   He said the soonest he could do a full replacement was Christmas Eve    I mentioned I was hoping to have it done between Thanksgiving and Christmas, he looked at his schedule again and said he thinks he can squeeze me in sooner, looks like I'll be spending lots of time with Mongo next month

 I had a brainstorm and decided to start a project just in case we wanted to getaway for a weekend without dragging the 5th wheel. Since I got a camper shell for Bad Pig, why not spruce it up a bit and make it habitable for spur of the moment trips The 5th wheel hitch comes out no problem but the rails remain in the bed, so I had to work around them and this is what I came up with
 



Skinned it with 1/4" plywood to keep the weight to a minimum, everything else is 1/2" and 3/4"



I had an idea of what I wanted but no specific plan, just build as I go and I will admit that only having one eye sure made things tough, I measured multiple times and got different measurements     Just had to take my time and keep plugging along ! Time to build the drawer and put a lid on the bed platform




I used a torch and burned the Plywood to bring out the grain, sanded and put a sealer on it, turned out cool I think


Next was time to build a side cabinet for more storage and a support for the bed extension.



At this point my knees and back were killing me from going in and out of the truck but I had to make sure everything was a good fit.



Indoor/outdoor carpet was used for the top and I forget how many trips to Home Depot, I made sure to buy more than I needed and that worked in my favor




Measure twice and cut once.....more like measure 10 times   I had to install the rails for the bed extension and it had to be exact



I trimmed it out with aluminum angle to keep the corners and edges from splintering even though I sanded, plywood always splinters
 


By now I have created quite the mess in the Shop and it was growing each day  


I worked on this every day and the weekends, I think I spent a total of about 14 days, but I had to give myself a few breaks in between as I got frustrated with limited vision and sore body parts from constantly climbing in and out. Today I wrapped things up and I am about 95% complete. Had to represent and add a few stickers to give it Character !







I managed to squeeze in a trip to Bass Pro on Friday, Janie had to start Christmas shopping   
Now it's time to get The Cyclops wet again

 Well, Bad Pig was recovering from Surgery and I needed a break so I loaded up the Hearse and headed to Bishop and Mammoth for 5 days. The traffic started backing up just North of Elsinore


A local Volcano is always cool to see, lots of Lava Rock all around and I'm sure Tom would be in heaven looking for Artifacts


Coming into The Owens Valley the smoke was pretty thick from a fire brewing on the other side


I hit a favorite spot before I got to Bishop and landed a Brown on a Hookup Bait



I goofed around here and there and didn't catch much so I hit the Grocery Store before heading up the hill to the house. Time to cook up the goods to make Breakfast Burritos for the next few days



Thursday I hit a cool spot I like to fish before my buddy showed up. This place has some cool scenery and I usually do pretty good here. The crowds were gone and apparently so were the fish   I landed one here and that was it.



I stumbled upon this bird, not sure what kind, Hawk or Eagle but he had his wings spread like he was drying them and they were an easy 8'   I whistled at him and he walked across the log. then I noticed his buddy on a stump, I assumed they were fishing or bathing but it was cool to see so close up, Mother Nature is very cool !   



My buddy showed up and we drove all over and threw some lures but the water levels were down and the Skunk was on



Friday was Pre-fishing for the Tournament so we took the Pontoon out on Lake Crowley The Lake is really low




Fun day on the lake and then a Storm rolled in and it rained for about 10 minutes.





This place is a Fly Fisherman's Paradise, so this is a normal sight everywhere up here.


We put the Pontoon in a slip for overnight and then signed up for the Tournament and got ready for Saturday, the big day




Saturday morning we are on the water before 7am and it was foggy



The sun came up and it was a beautiful day. My friends were hooked up pretty quick on the Fly Rods and the excitement set in




When someone hooks up, they raise a red flag and a Ref. comes over and measures the fish (points based on size) The fish must remain in the net and in the water.



I didn't pay the $125 entry fee cause I ain't no Fly Fisherman   I tossed around a Hookup Bait and caught a couple Rainbows and that was it. Still a fun day on the water the Tournament was over at 1pm so we headed back to the festivities Cool scenery back to the dock.




Food was served and the Raffle and Prizes were handed out, we stuck around to eat and chit chat for a bit but we didn't win anything. It was fun just to be a part of an Annual Tournament and seeing how different things are up here, it's all about Flies and they take it SERIOUS !






Between the Lake and Tim's house is a Bar at Tom's Place, Historical Landmark, Just just like JoJo the Bartender, she has been here for 45 years   Not much of a Dental Plan but she is a nice lady and takes care of the locals. I don't drink so she kept me hydrated with Club Soda




Sunday morning I headed back home, but I just had to make a Pit Stop along the way





Calamari and Fries to hold me over for the last leg of the journey home


Time to put miles on my truck so I can resume towing The Cyclops !

 Since I can't tow right now I hopped on Richard's Boat




Headed to LJ and looked around, took a while before I landed anything
 

Lots of Dinks and I lost a few nice ones too , oh well, I got some Taco Meat


Hope to get back out there soon

 Last trip to Turners, Squid was $10 a pound The other day I was coming home and saw an Asian Market so I popped in and found this for $5 a pound


No Thanks Turners

I really should start catching my own

 Time for a little Surgery for my truck, only 109k miles but the joints are worn and need replacing
Took it to a Front End Shop and got the estimate to bring it back up to snuff and being a 4wd just added to the chaos but it needs to be done in order to keep towing The Cyclops Complete front end rebuild happens this Friday, but first I need 6 new tires (Dually) so by Monday and 9 Thousand Bucks later, Bad Pig will be road worthy for many more years to come

 The Cyclops was due to get wet so I met my buddy at Dana Landing at 6am, we launched and away we went. Conditions were great and I think I only saw 1 or 2 other boats, Mondays are the best !



Nice Sunrise in Mission Bay



We hit a few spots and Richard found the Dinks 


Lots of variety but on the small side so we descended quite a few   I lost a monster too   Oh well, it's fishing




We managed to get some Taco Meat


Back to the dock at after 3pm, I knew traffic would suck


Traffic did suck and something flew up on the freeway and gave Cyclops a bruise



Hope to get back out soon

 Well, The Pig Party was a success as usual so it was time to take a break and head North for a getaway to relax. My Buddy let us have his Vacation Home for 5 days since he wasn't going to be there till next weekend(AWESOME) 1st stop was Owens River just below Bishop to see if there were any Biters
 



I could see them but they had Lock-Jaw 


No hookups so we hit the local Vons to stock up on food, a storm was brewing    Typical for this time of year, 95 degrees and rain


Getting late in the day so we stopped for Dinner once we made it up the hill from Bishop.




Made it to the house and Janie was ready to get settled in


The Hearse got wasted from the rain, she got all spotted up



Sunrise at this place is great


Janie wanted to Venture North since this was her Vacation and we were celebrating our 36th Anniversary, this was my 4th trip up here this year so she pulled rank on the first day



Walked around Bridgeport and did some shopping   Cool little town


Next stop was Bodie then Lee Vining





The next day we went back to Bishop to see our favorite spots, it never gets old being up in elevation and taking in the beauty of it all !







Lake Sabrina was a bit low, I thought it would be full but they always let water in and out for some reason.



Time to find some fish again, Janie relaxed and read a book while I scouted, remember, this is her getaway 

 
Had to water a tree along the way but we found fish......about 40 or so all on a Rooster Tail




The next day was rinse and repeat and I ended up with about 60, Hookup Baits worked even better  






Monday rolled around after landing about 100 Trout, we were going to stay till Tuesday but it's always nice to come home with a day left to chill and unwind. We left about 6:30am and stopped in Bishop one last time for some Treats




Since we were passing by on our way home



Great trip and nice to be home so Janie wanted to "Look" at at RV's to get ideas on a smaller rig, our 36' 5th Wheel is way too big to navigate most of the Campgrounds up there so a 2nd rig would be nice
Just Looking today !!!


Today we had a Lunch Date with a visit to Carlsbad for a bite to eat



Ok, time to chill on the Junk Food and get back to reality   Thanks for looking and be safe out there !

I have video of all the action, not sure how to post them here but I'll try this

https://imgur.com/a/czhMugk
https://imgur.com/a/wOihrWB
https://imgur.com/a/OTZccuy

 Well, time for The 28th Annual Pig Party and it ain't a party without Cheez
 

Then more Trailer Trash showed up


Decorations were in order too



Time to get busy and get the Pig and load it into Max's new truck



Pig Prepping is a snap after all these years





The pit was all ready to light and I needed to 86 a couple Bar Stools, Cheez lit the Flare and we had fire !




We threw wood from 5pm till about 11pm





The Rocket flew over the house too


Time to bury Mr. Pig






Saturday, time to PARTY ! My neighbor even had shirts made up  
 

People were showing up and things took off from there, even had a Little Italy sighting



Time do dig




Chow Time, the line was long








I believe Tom knows this Mechanic from The Wild Animal Park


Some great friends from Elementary and High School


Sunday rolled around, time to clean up and return some stuff back to SDG&E (Aaron works there)


The neighbor came and loaded their stuff and Cheez rolled out too 



As of today, The Pit is still hot and will be for a couple weeks


Great party as usual, hopefully some fishing buddies show up one of these years

 Haven't been to Bass Pro in over a week   Been too busy getting ready for the Annual Pig Roast, so that means work ! The big chore was trimming the Giant Bird of Paradise



Then a little weeding on the slope


Had to stock up on Supplies too


I had to move some dirt and do some grading with my Skiploader, then some Trailer Trash showed up 




The Twins helped get the Pit ready and stockpile some wood:)




This will get the fire started


This will get it close to cooking temperature, might need 1 more load


Well, the yard is looking pretty good so far, almost ready to Party


A few minor details and it's Go Time !

 My Brain Tumor ruptured back in 2014 and really Jacked me up for a long while and I really never got back to 100% as far as my balance was concerned   I adapted and got by after some Vestibular Therapy, then I lost my Left Eye and that was a challenge, but once again I adapted and got by. I get an MRI of the Brain once a year and so far the Tumor has remained stable but I have noticed my balance is off again like it was in the beginning I started Vestibular Therapy again and it has been brutal. They say I will probably never be 100% again but I have to at least try. The exercises at the facility are intense and when I leave it just puts me in a weird mood but at least I am alive and I can still drive I've seen a Neurosurgeon since 2014 and he finally referred me to a Neurologist for an evaluation and he referred me to the Top Specialist in Ca. so I am waiting to see him in August. In the meantime I am planning more time on The Cyclops and at least one more trip to Bishop/Mammoth as long as my kneed holds up (F*CK)

Rant over, hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July weekend !!! 

Well, I finally got The Cyclops wet again. Decided to head south for a change into new territory after a brief stop at The Whistler Buoy. Nothing but Dolphins there so we headed South to The I B Pipe, scratched a few there and that was it.



Ray got a short Halibut


The wind picked up and so we headed back to The Bay, not at 30MPH like the trip down, had to take it slower cause it got a bit bumpy and the wind was causing some spray on the windshield, oh well, Cyclops handled it just fine Got back to The Bay and used Spot Lock on a few areas and Richard (Ray's Twin Brother) got a Sand Bass



Made it back to The Launch Ramp, time to head home



Hit some Traffic  cause of this


A quick Fry for Dinner tonight


Hope to get back out soon !