Me and My Beard: Day Two Hundred Twelve

Dear Readers,
      It was a wonderful day at the beach yesterday. We spent the entire day out there. Going early in the morning to guarantee a bonfire pit. I then went on a nice little five mile run to the pier and back. Enjoying watching them set up for the festivities that is the U.S. Open of surfing. It was just Raina and I in the early morning until about 9:30AM when Chris and Liz showed up with our delicious breakfast of Nick's breakfast burritos. It was a wonderful way to offset all that hard work I did in running five miles. If I am going to eat, it might as well be delicious. We spent the early part of the day tossing around the football, flinging the frisbee back and forth, and playing some Bocce ball. Which Liz happens to be the queen of. For some reason she has mastered the game and beats the rest of us more than half the time. I don't know how she does it, but she knows how to play every throw just about perfectly. Whether she is knocking your ball out of the way or placing it perfectly just inside yours without disturbing it. Queen of Bocce. Which begs me to ask a question. In Star Wars: A New Hope, Uncle Owen asks if C-3PO can speak Bocce. Is it a different Bocce or is he asking if he can speak the language of the game itself and play with him? Curious.
      I went into the water for probably the first time in about four years or so. I can't really remember the last time I went swimming or wading in the ocean, but I did try to learn how to surf about five years ago in Pismo Beach and nearly gave myself hypothermia because I don't own a wetsuit. I never even stood up on the board so it was all for naught. Well, I had a blast out there yesterday, just hanging out in the cold water, waiting for waves to body surf. I don't remember it being that much fun, but it definitely made me want to go back at least a few more times before the summer is out. What made it extra cool was that it was probably the clearest I have ever seen the water at Huntington Beach. I could see the ocean floor at about three or four feet deep. I don't remember being able to see bottom, even as a kid. It reminded me a little of being in Hawaii. Which reminds me, that the last time I went into the ocean was on my honeymoon when we went snorkeling a little over two years ago.
      The evening brought on the bonfire and all the smoke and cooking hot dogs it brings. We had some shady wood that was taken from someones garage being torn down. I threw in a piece of plywood that must have been full of glue an lacquer, because it built a huge plume of black smoke as it burned. It was reminiscent of the smoke stacks that were near us out there. From then on we had to keep from burning the boards that looked like they had paint or lacquer on them. We ate hot dogs, hot links and bratwursts. Then we had s'mores and rice crispy treats for desert. It was great just sitting around the fire while eating and enjoying the conversation with so many great friends and family. Some I haven't spent much time with in the last couple years. It was probably one of my best birthdays. At least top three, if not the best.
      I got so many wonderful gifts and am very thankful for all of them. I did get two very special gifts out of them. One, was a very prestigious looking watch that is pretty stinking cool looking from my parents. It looks so nice that I don't even want to take it out of the box for fear of getting a scratch on it. The other is to have my name go into Dodger Stadium history as a donor. Money was donated in my name to a certain Dodger organization, which then has my name put on a baseball that is then put on a wall in Dodger Stadium, so that all can go and see that I am a donor. It also comes with a signed baseball by either Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, or Andre Ethier. Any one of those is a pretty stinking cool ball to have signed by. The way I got my gift was pretty awesome too. It was given by a group of people that includes Brandon, Brooke, Chris, Liz, my mother in law Karen, and my beautiful wife. In the gift bag I was given was a ball signed by all of them, including fake signatures of the three potential players I could get a signed ball from. It was a really cool idea. Brooke even signed it "Monkey Feet", in honor of the nickname I gave her while watching her catch a ball with her feet at the park a couple of weeks ago. The only flaw on the whole thing, was that Clayton Kershaw was actually signed "Klayton Kershaw". Brandon, of all people, made the mistake. I don't think that as a Dodger fan, he will ever be able to live it down. Haha. Thanks again for all the wonderful presents. And thank you to my wonderful wife who made the whole day happen. She was the driving force behind it and it would never have happened or been as special without her.

This Day In History: 1956
The phrase "In God We Trust" is adopted as the U.S. national motto. Although originally stamped on coins during the Civil War, it was officially adopted in response to the growing influence of the Soviet Union.

Born This Day: 1863
Henry Ford - American auto manufacturer who pioneered the assembly line.

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

-Henry Ford