Meat Market Hold em Hold Up

This is just too funny so I thought I’d share….

Talking with the butcher at the meat counter while getting some steaks the other night and when I said, “see you next week”, he said he’d be on vacation next week so I wouldn’t see him. When I asked where he was going he pulled up the arm of his white smock and showed me a tattoo of a royal flush on his bicep, (dang that must of hurt)!! Said he’s not going anywhere but is taking the week to play a bunch of poker at the local casinos.

I’d connected with another Texas Hold ‘em junkie!! We chatted about poker for the next half-hour - too funny!!

He told me about a great no limit tourney every Friday night at Hawaiian Gardens Casino with a $150 buy-in, $30,000 guarantee and no rebuys. I’m heading over there this Friday and will let you all know how I do… oh ya, he also said they’ve got the best ribeye in town over there… steak and poker baby!!

Adorable Kids Board Shorts

OK, I know I just wrote about the new women’s board shorts I found over at BeachTrading.com but this morning I just noticed they have a new line of kid’s board shorts that are adorable!

I have to say it’s tough to find board shorts in children’s sizes but they have got some adorable girl’s board shorts in pink and some handsome boy’s board shorts in navy blue that are styled after their line of men’s and women’s board shorts.

Surf is small to day I’m doing my surfing online and will pass along other cool things as I find them.

2008 Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race - 8/24/08

For all you SUP, (Stand Up Paddlers), out there here’s a head’s up that the Catalina Classic is coming to the Manhattan Beach Pier at the end of this month, (August 24th to be exact).

This is the famous, grueling, 32 mile paddleboard race!

It will begin at 6:00am at the Isthmus on Catalina. The top finishers will arrive at Manhattan Beach Pier roughly around 5 hours later, followed by the back of the pack taking up to 9 hours to complete the grueling 32 mile paddleboard marathon.

I’d start my carbo loading now…

Cool Womens Board Shorts

Stylish womens board shorts.

Just doing some online surfing and found these really cute women’s board shorts!

They’re simple no-name shorts, (I’m not into brands, logos or wearing advertisements for multi-million dollar companies), that look like they’re comfy and totally wearable with a rash guard shirt for some summertime surfin’ fun.

They come in pink, baby blue and black - I’m going to pick up a couple of pairs and report back…

What the heck, for $19.95 you can’t go too wrong.

Is Your Sunscreen Helping or Harming You?

If you haven’t already heard, there’s a lot of new info coming out lately about the safety and effectiveness of chemical sunscreens.

Our friends over at Buy-Rash-Guards.com have got an interesting post in their blog where you can read about the fact that four out of five name-brand sunscreens contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or offer inadequate protection.

The biggest and most used chemical in sunscreens, oxybenzone, is causing concern that it can disrupt hormones, cause allergic reactions and damage cells.

Personally I stopped using chemical sunscreens about a year ago and now only use mineral sunblocks that use zinc and titanium. I also wear more UV protective clothing including a rash guard shirt when I surf or swim.

Sunblocks and rashguards are really the way to go as opposed to sunscreens with all the chemicals they use, (which hurt us and are killing coral reefs), along with all the dang plastic bottles they come in!

Cool Longboard Complete On Sale

My friends over at BeachTrading.com are at it again with a sale on one of their longboard completes: the Pinstripe by Madird Skateboards.

This is one sweet longboard skateboard that looks so much like a surfboard you’ll be cruising and cross-stepping down the street!

Checkout the blog over at Beach Trading for the scoop - thet’ve got a coupon there that you can use when you checkout… SWEET! 

Malibu Beach - Fun at the ‘Bu-Bee Hatch’

With the buoys and surf reports showing signs of a decent south-swell and my old surf buddy Seaweed Steve calling me last night from Malibu with a head’s up, I filled up the gas tank bright and early to make the 45mi trek up to my old stomping grounds: First Point at Malibu.

I pulled up to the curb at 6:45am to snag the last parking spot on PCH next to Jack-in-the-Box - that meant that the water was already packed and that there were probably 50-60 guys all waiting for the same waves… ready to snake any and all comers…

It was overcast but warm, with glassy conditions as I ran across all 5 lanes of PCH and took my spot on the sidewalk with the regulars. Chatted with Steve Dunn, Woodsy and Snowman while we watched the clean 2-3′ sets roll in with Alan Sarlo tearing it up from the top of 1st all the way down. I even snagged a frontal spot when somebody left while we were standing there!

Just as Woodsy was about to leave, discouraged at the small size and huge crowd, a nice 5′ set rolled through and we all charged to our cars to put on our wetsuits. 

Within 10 minutes I was paddling up the inside, (never have liked walking up to the top of the point), taking position in my ‘area’. I watched and waited, wondering what my chances were going to be today with this elbow-to-elbow crowd all around me.

Low and behold my spot was working when the occasional wide swinging set would roll through the inside where I was positioned. Knowing it was not quite makable from the top of the point, I paddled as riders coming from the outside yelled at me but I confidently dropped in knowing there would soon be a section of white water between us that they were not going to make. The inside was packed but maneuverable and I got some super-long rides all the way to the sand. 

Never managed to catch any of those 5′ sneaker sets that rolled through but let’s just say I was out for an hour, I lost track of the number of waves I caught and only got snaked twice. 

It was a damn good day at the Bu… she can still put a smile on my face after 30+ years of riding her…

Annie Duke and Dan Harrington - All In For Kids

Just volunteer last night at a charity poker tourney for The Alliance for Children’s Rights and had a blast! It was their 5th annual “All In For Kids” event and was a smashing success.

Chatted with Annie Duke and Dan Harrington who were gracious enough to donate to the charity and come play.

Annie Duke beat the field of over 80 people to win and then generously donated her entire winnings, (over $7000), right back to the charity - what a class act!

Surfing Another Fun South Swell

Was up at the crack of dawn yesterday, (a Sunday!!!), to hit the new south swell that rolled in but was sadly disappointed to find howling onshore winds when I made it down to the beach.  Got up at 6am to foggy skies so I knew we had some onshore flow, but man it was super choppy! I was back in bed by 7am…

With the swell holding I tried it again this morning and imagine my happy surprise when I woke up at 6am this time to sunny skies! Flew out the door and down to the rivermouth at Seal Beach to find glassy conditions and super-fun 2-4 surf with occasional bigger sets! I threw on my trunks and rash guard, slathered on some sunblock and hit it for a hour… had a bunch of fun rides with a couple of standout waves that I will replay in my mind the rest of the day. 

Found Some Hawaiian Seat Covers On Sale

Just checked in with our friends over at BeachTrading.com and see that they’re running a sale on their Hawaiian seat covers this week so I thought I’d pass it along…

I’ve got a pair of these seat covers in my truck right now and I do have to say it’s nice not having to worry about what gets on my seats, plus I love the tropical floral pattern.

If you’ve got leather or vinyl seats you really gotta get a pair of these now that it’s Summer… nothing like getting back to your car after it’s been parked in the sun at the beach for hours and hours and having to sit on a flesh-melting seat!! Or worse coming back to find something, (usually a food or candy item), melted, not ON to but INTO your seat!

They’re inexpensive, they look cool, they’re practical, they’re easy to install, they’re machine washable and now… they’re on sale - so grab a pair of these Hawaiian print auto seat covers and stick them on your car before anything happens to your car’s seats, or your butt. :-p

Checkout the Beach Trading blog for more info…