Ol' Blue

A good friend (and semi-neighbor) just inherited a beautiful blue Old Town 17 footer. Now with 2 canoes (and an extra interested paddler) in relative proximity, there should be more river time in the near future!

Casey's New Orleans SnowBalls

These are the only snow balls you're likely ever to see in Austin. Of course, in Texas, we call them snow cones. But these are New Orleans style, and Casey's is THE BEST place in town to get them; it's one of my favorite things about summer. I get the orange with whipped cream (real) on top, the wife gets sour apple with caramel on top, and the boy gets something new every time (tiger blood? they got it). Labor Day is the last day they're open each season, so we had to get one more before they closed. We have had such good Casey's kharma this year. Everytime we've been, we get there and there's 1 person in line. When we leave, the line is around the building. Here's to you, Casey's - until next year.

Castle Hill

Up on Castle Hill, where the thugs meet. I discovered this place a couple of weeks ago in a neighborhood I haven't been driving through in a while. It's a great find, and more reason cell phone cameras rule! Check out the slide show here

. PS- If you go, wear close-toed shoes, or risk contracting HepC.

Last of the Summer Weekend Projects

As I got home today, and set my groceries down to fish for my keys, I could hear the local high school marching band practising in the distance. Makes me think of that White Stripes song about going back to school. Anyways, here's a short of my last weekend project of the summer: a guitar I made out of an old neck and a couple of brownie tins. Many thanks to cigarboxnation.com for tips on how to wire it for use with an amp. I will definitely be making more of these!

As the Summer Winds Down

The temps are still in the hundreds, but the days are noticeably shorter and the talk of football is back. A nice weekend with not too many responsibilities left me no choice but to brew and bottle, and sail in the last race of the Summer series. It's been a while since I was under sail and without a paddle, and it felt good. Projects are limited with the number of hours I will be taking at school this Fall semester, but I'll see what kind of adventure I can cook up for the Winter break. Any ideas?

A 10 Foot Trailer for a 40 Foot Boat -

Hmmm... looks like some balancing will be in order. Here is the new (used) trailer platform for Long John Silver (name is not official) and a stack of lumber. We will soon begin building up a trestle on which to carry the new 40 foot aluminum. Wish us luck.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...

step right up, step right up. Two bits is what it costs, just two bits. Witness a spectacle... nay, an aberration of nature. A freak of the canoe world. Behold: FRANKENCANOE!
What you are looking at is Team Marines' 2010 Water Safari entry - a home built forty foot aluminum canoe for 6 paddlers. Forty. Feet. Made from cutting an Osagian canoe in half and welding 23 feet of metal in the middle, those guys finished the race in 60 hours.
Team Cuatro Sinko planned to race the CR 100 in it, but about 24 hours after our team captain bought the thing, race officials finally returned our emails and informed us that the race was limited to solo and tandem boats. Wow. Oh, well - their loss.
We will be racing instead in the Jr. Safari, the first 16 miles of the regular Texas Water Safari (familiar territory). Will this mean we get competitive? First let's see if we can even steer the thing!