Monday, September 28, 2009

Home!

Hi all, I just got home after four days of driving! I'll post later this week with pictures of the whole trip now that I'm home. Thanks to all who've been keeping up! Also, I'll detail plans for the next trip...looking like Hawaii between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but more later!


Seth

Monday, September 21, 2009

My favorites from Saturday.

I know the slideshow had a lot in it, so here are my favorites from Saturday. You should be able to click on each one and see a bigger version.
Dane Reynolds showing he's more than just an aerialist.
Rob Machado staying low, showing his perfect balance.
Josh Kerr with a big ole' boost. He came close but didn't manage to land this.
Adriano de Souza with a perfectly placed, super-fast, speeder off the top.
Kelly Slater, as always, perfectly positioned.

If there are any others from the slideshow you want to see the full version of holler!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Hurley Pro Highlights!


Let me know what you think! I spent a lot of time on this one!

Later,
Seth.

Forgot to mention the music, it is:
"Brooklyn is Burning" by Head Automatica
"C'mon C'mon" by The Von Bondies

Cheers!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Another fun day of surf!

I made it up to Rincon this AM and caught it great! Chest to head high, super glassy, and not too crowded. Still riding my new flyer quad which works great at the point breaks because its so fast down the line. I made some sections today that wouldn't have been as easy with my regular board. I also saw a seal today! It popped up about 20 feet from me, starred for a minute or so, and then dipped back under and disappeared. It was really cool to see!

The Hurley Pro took another lay day today so the final will def be tomorrow. I'm still debating on whether to go...I'll need to leave here around 4:30 for the two hour drive and the thirty minute walk from the parking lot down to lowers to make the 7am start. Sure would be cool to see the best in the world at such a rippable wave! If I make it I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures and post them here!
Have a great weekend!
Seth.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

C-Street fun with Tim Curran!

Just got back from a fun morning surf at C-Street which is the point break here in Ventura. I got out there early enough before the crowd and the wind and got some good waves. I had my first pro spotting! Tim Curran paddled out about an hour after I got there and he was ripping for sure! I managed to get some good shots of him surfing and made a little video from it, enjoy!


As you can see the surf was fun! I'm hoping to go see the final of the Hurley contest at Trestles which will probably happen tomorrow. I was at Bestbuy yesterday looking at camcorders since I sold mine to Jay. I'm considering getting one before I go to Trestles, though I think the picture video turned out well! Let me know what you think! Leave a comment!
Later,
Seth

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Update with lots of cool links!

I'm really enjoying Ventura! After my video yesterday I surfed for a couple of hours and decided to stay another night at The Inn by the Sea. The waves were waist to chest and super clean until the wind came up around 1130. The water is chilly here now and I decided this is as far north as I'm willing to surf. I really don't like water any colder than it is here(I'm wearing a fullsuit) so except for a possible trip up to Rincon, I'm going to keep round SoCal for a week or so.
After surfing I drove up north to Santa Barbara along the Pacific Coast Highway. This is possibly the most beautiful stretch of road I've ever seen! The road goes right along the beach and the views down to the beaches and points and further out to the Pacific are incredible! Looking inland, the beach is framed by mountains with picturesque hillside houses mixed in with vineyards and orchards and the occasional oil well-head.
My reason for visiting Santa Barbara was to go check out the Channel Island Surfboards flagship store. Channel Island Surfboards are one of the best known makers in the world. Shaper Al Merrick makes boards for the best surfers in the world including Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, and Dane Reynolds to name a few. All three are still in the hunt in the Hurley contest at Trestles this week, click here to watch the contest live. I wasn't planning on shopping but how can you resist so many shiny new toys?! I ended up grabbing a 5'9'' Flyer Quad which will definitely be useful since I didn't have a good smaller wave board with me.
I've taken a quick liking to the area and decided to spend a week here so I found a cottage to rent for the week on Vacation Rental by Owner(thanks Allison!) and I'm moving there this afternoon. It's basically a little pool house in someone's backyard but looks cool, check it out here. I'm hoping to be able to fully explore the area in the coming week and then start making my way back east. I'm thinking about drving down to Trestles to see the contest final so if I do I'll be sure and take the camera and get some pics!
Later,
Seth.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Back to it...


Gotta love Cali! Didn't have to wait for the surfshop to open, at the recommendation of a local I tried the liquor store(which was open before 9!) and got some wax! Headed to the surf! Later!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Home again, but already missin' the road!

Picture numero cinco.

Not many of the local surf but those who do usually rip! The local boys and a few girls as well know this wave well and it shows! One of the girls named Roxanne who works as a waitress at the hotel restaurant even gave it a go on a longboard while I was there. She managed to get a few waves one afternoon and had a big smile on her face the whole time! It's always special to be there when someone discovers a love for surfing, it's always easy to see when it happens!

Picture numero quatro.

Surfing isn't the only fun to be had in Las Flores. This group of Brazilian surfers took the afternoon off to catch dinner. They were quite proud of their catch as you can see! Click on the photo to see a full size version.

Picture numero tres.

This is one of my favorite shots from El Salvador.

Picture numero dos.

Most of the local seemed much more interested in soccer than surfing. On the weekends, field lines were drawn in the sand and goalpost erected from sticks and the games would go on all day. This group ignored the sand drawn sideline and took it to the water! So fun to watch kids having such a good time!

Picture numero uno.

This is the small village right by Las Flores Surf Club. If you saw the earlier pictures of the point, this village sits at the end of the rock pile of the point. This was the general hang out spot in the afternoons especially. i finally figured out why I had so much trouble uploading the pics and it is because of the size...if you click on the photo, you can see it full size.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Not much happening here...

It's been pretty much flat here since Saturday and I've been less than enthused which is why the lack of updates. The next swell is set to arrive just as I depart on Friday, which is how it goes I guess! I've been spending the day relaxing and catching up on the happenings of the world and seeing to my lately ignored trading account(in regards to this, it was probably the best timing ever to be able to ignore considering the unstoppable advance in the world markets up until this week).
Luckily, the hotel has a guitar that was left by notable guest Donavan Frankenreiter. I have been playing in the evening while enjoying a few Pilseners(the local cervesa!) I'm sure Donavan in his expansive surf trip experience knew that leaving his guitar might very well save the sanity of a guest or two during flat spells! Thanks Donavan!!!!
All of the guests who were here when I arrived have now left, and some new guests have filtered in every day. The mood is pretty sour considering the lack of surf, it has been flat since all the new guests have gotten here. I keep trying to tell them that just one day of good waves will make the trip worth it and it will! When the point here is doing it's thing, it is the most fun wave I've surfed! It's one of those waves that make you feel like a better surfer than you are because you can really do like ten turns on one wave! I'm hoping for one more good session Friday AM before heading to the airport. I've tried a few times to upload more pictures, but I keep getting error messages. I put a few on my FB page so you can check them there if you're interested!
I'm really looking forward to getting home this weekend and spending the week in Pawleys. My drive home from LA that will take place from Sept 14th to the first of October is going to be interesting as well and I'm looking forward to that as well. I've met a few people here from the Pacific Northwest and thru talking to them, I have plenty of recommendations on places to go check out! I'm told it is possible to snowboard in the AM and surf in the afternoon in Oregon on the same day, so I'm strongly considering giving that a go, time permitting!
I realized another cool tidbit that I haven't shared but I doubt many people can say the same: In the third week of August I surfed in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans! I thin that's pretty cool!! Perhaps I need to try and get a session in somewhere in the Arctic Ocean. I think I'll need a more serious wetsuit than my 3/2!

Hope all is well and looking forward to seeing most of you this weekend!
Later,
Seth.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Hola from Las Flores Surf Club!






Sorry I've been so slack on the updates since getting here three days ago but it was nice to have a little break from reporting! The travel here from Pawleys was super long! I had to fly to LA first and retrieve my boards from my car at LAX. I had about an 8 hour layover in LA, just long enough to be a pain in the butt, but not long enough to get a hotel room and get some sleep. My flight to San Salvador left at 1:40AM and I arrived in ElSalvador about 7Am local time. Once again, not much sleep on the plane so I was pretty worn out after getting here to Las Flores around 10am. The waves were going off so I got straight in the water and not long after had a 250yard ride from the tip of the north point all the way to the beach at the south point! The waves have been consistently good since I got here even though the swell is fading. Today has been the smallest day, but sets are still overhead. I surfed this AM at Punta Mango which is a 15 minute boat ride north and got some really fun surf including a few nice barrels, one made cleanly!
The resort is quite nice and the food is good as well. I think anyone would like it here, even if you don't surf. The staff is super nice, the rooms are nice, there are two pools and a jacuzi(pronouced with a soft "j" en espanol), a beautiful black sand beach, and the resort is next to a local fishing camp. If you do surf, the waves here have size and power, but they are easy to surf and not at all critical. There are people here on longboards and funboards as well as shortboarders. The paddle out to the point is a long one though!
Until today I was sharing a two bedroom suite with to other guys but they left today so I'm livin' large now! Most of the other guests are leaving tomorrow as well so I should have plenty of uncrowded surf for the rest of my stay. I'll try to get a good video together of the place tomorrow and put it up! Hope you're all well and please leave me a comment, email, or FB me if you read this. Didn't get any comments from the last few posts so if no one is reading I won't keep it up! So holler!

Later,
Seth.

Monday, August 24, 2009

El Salvador it is!

So I got all my new plans settled last night and this AM, so I'm leaving noon today, flying back to LA, grabbing my boards and hopping on the redeye to El Salvador tonight. As I said before I'll be staying at the Las Flores Surf Club for 10 days. To check it out click here.

After that, I plan on flying back here to PI and staying from Sept.5th to the 13th then flying back to LA and taking the following 2-3 weeks to drive back home.

More tomorrow after I arrive in El Salvador!!!!

Song of the Day! Tick Tick Boom-The Hives from the Black and White Album.
Later,
Seth.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Next stop...El Salvador...I think!

I flew back for the Hurricane Bill swell that never really showed up around Pawleys. I probably should have tried going up North to NC or south to Fla somewhere but since my car is still in LA that wasn't really an option. I surfed Fri,Sat, and today and the waves left a lot to be desired, but it was great being home and surfing with friends! Since I left all my boards in LA in the car, I used Ike's 5'7'' Lost- Round Nosed Fish which I really liked! It now belongs to me, as I liked it so much, I convinced him to sell it to me!

So now it is looking like El Salvador will be my next destination, possibly as soon as Tuesday evening. I'm currently talking with the Las Flores Surf Club(www.wavehunter.com/lasfloressurfclub) about booking a room. The place looks great and they are currently offering a 30% discount to Surfline Premium members according to Surfline! They have 5 right hand point breaks within boat service of the hotel. The swell looks to be in the 4-8 foot range for the middle of the coming week so the surf should be good! If this one doesn't work out, I'm also considering Tamarindo, Costa Rica and booking a surf camp stay where they take you to a different break everyday. After my excellent Wavepark experience I truly appreciate being able to surf different breaks as the conditions allow and having a surf guide who knows where to go when!
I'll be back with more as I get all the details hammered out.

Song of the Day! Whose Authority-Nada Surf from the album Lucky.
Later,
Seth.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

New plan it the works...


The last clip is from the big AM at Hideaways. The video was shot from about a 20 foot elevation so it does take away a bit from the size. It was tough to get good video footage because from the boat or beach(in this case) to the actual break is usually such a long way and in the case of the boat, it of course never sits still. As I get all the footage together, I'll make another mini video.

Also, it's been stuck in my head all AM so for the triumphant return of...

Song of the Day! Corduroy- Pearl Jam from Vitology

Later,
Seth.

Back the US!


Hi all, I made it back safely to LA late last night after a marathon series of flights from Padang, Indonesia. From my arrival at the airport in Padang to clearing customs at LAX I think it was around 32 hours of travel time! I got some sleep on the last flight from Hong Kong to LA so if really wasn't too bad all things considered...Though I'm happy to be back in the US I already miss the excitement of being in a foreign place. I'm currently in Huntington Beach,CA.
I was planning on spending the rest of the month driving back and seeing some more of the country along the way but I'm now considering another 10 day visit to somewhere new for some more surf. Indo in no way satisfied the "surf bug" for me but just made it worse, in a good way! I've been checking out the longer tern swell forecasts and I'm thinking about maybe Central America somewhere....I'm going to go have a surf here in Huntington and think it over. Waves here are about stomach high and glassy now. Putting on a wetsuit sure is going to feel funny after 85 degree water in the Mentawais!!!
Looks like Bill is going to bring some surf to the East Coast! Wish I was there for the first storm swell of the season!
I'll leave you guys with my favorite picture I took from Indo, this is Jared the surf guide from Wavepark on a screamer at Hideaways. This was the day I decided not to surf, Hideaways looked like Pipeline for real!! I took the pic from the observation tower on the island. Jared called this 4-5 foot surf!!!!
Later,
Seth

Monday, August 17, 2009

Headed back to Padang Manana!

So it's now our final night here at Wavepark and it has been a blast. This AM we surfed at Beng-Bengs and Pitstops and this afternoon at No Kandui. The aftershocks from the quake have continued up until even now more than 24 hours after. I'm pretty warn out and sore from a bad fall yesterday at Kerinchi but looking forward to getting back to partial civilization in Padang. My flights back to the US are all on the 19th and it's going to be a crazy day, like 23 hours in the air! Not sure what I'm going to do once I get to LA but I'll post as I figure it out. I'm thinking maybe a drive down to Baja but not sure. Nothing makes you want to surf a nice safe beach break after looking at sharp reef thru crystal clear water for a week. I know that sounds strange but it's the truth. I've heard quite a few horror stories of injuries here caused from contact with the reef and it really adds a twist to even a head high wave! More tomorrow from Padang!
Later,
Seth.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Earthquake!!!

Just experienced my first earthquake and from looking at the US Geological Survey site it was quite close and fairly strong, a 7.0 you can check the site here. It was only 32 miles away. I tried to post a link to a map but it didn't work...there is a map on the site linked up above. We are on one of those three small islands right below Siberut off the coast of Sumatra. The center of the quake was between Sumatra and Siberut.

I was taking a little snooze after lunch and was startled awake from the bungalow shaking. It lasted about 15 or twenty seconds. It wasn't especially violent or crazy but was definitely cool to experience firsthand. The dogs around camp were going crazy, barking and running in circles(so were a couple of the guests, haha!)

Earthquakes and tsunami threats are taken very seriously here in the aftermath of the Boxing Day Tsunami that struck parts of Southeast Asia in 2004. I didn't mention this yet but on our arrival here we were briefed thoroughly on earthquake and tsunami emergency procedures by the staff. If a serious earthquake strikes the region and a tsunami threat is perceived, we are to grab our emergency bag we were all told to pack( containing passports, money, first aid kit, and a change of clothes) and immediately get to the boats to make our way to deep water until the threat has passed. If a boat cannot be reached in time we are to climb one of the prepared palm trees around the camp and wait out the threat. The prepared trees have been cleared of all their coconuts(potential falling debris) and makeshift ladders created by nailed 1x2's twenty feet or so up the trunks.

All seems to be fine now, we have had a couple of small tremors since! The excitement never ends here in Indo!!
Later,
Seth.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Day 7 at the park.


Yesterday morning brought the new swell full on. Hideaways was pumping! Solid double overhead looking a lot like Pipeline, no joke! I decided against paddling out for the morning session and took pics and video instead. Between Craig and I we took over 1000 pics of Hideaways! This should give you an idea of what it looked like, this is Jared the surf guide for Wavepark...

The big surf led to several mishaps; cuts, scrapes, broken boards, and lots of hoots and howls as a few managed clean long barrel rides like the one above. Shane the chef, shown is the first below, wasn't so lucky and had to be stitched up in camp by "Dr." Craig! Craig is a scaffolding man on oil rigs but Shane insisted on someone stitching up his chin rather than taking a trip to the clinic in Siberut so Craig manned-up and operated!

Steven shown below, broke his best board on his first wave of the AM. Luckily he is a shaper and can crank out another when he gets home.
For the afternoon, we took off to Kerinchi and surfed an absolute perfect wave all by ourselves for about an hour and a half till some other boats found us. With all the attention given to the big barrel spots like No Kandui and Rifles, for me personally this below is why I came to Indo! This wave is a nice A-frame peak that peels flawlessly! It does end on dry reef shelf though, so you have to get out in time. I spent most of the day on the right but as you can see it's not the best angle from the boat for photos so here is one of the lefts I got.
It's now Sunday Am here and the swell has calmed down some which is fine with me. We are headed to the "Playgrounds" today which is where PLaygrounds Left, John Candies, Four Bobs, and a few other breaks are. Still hoping to surf Ebay and Pit-Stops but so far the swell/wind hasn't been right. Hope you're all doing well!!!
Later,
Seth

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Day 5 Wavepark.

Hi all, we took the morning off today and rested up for the coming swell. After lunch Craig, Andrew, and I paddled out to Hideaways but there wasn't too much going on; the occasional chest high set but it was very shallow and couldn't be ridden inside very far.
The boat picked us up, and we headed to check Tikis and Bank Vaults. There wasn't enough swell to make BVs happen so we surfed at Tikis for an hour or so till the wind switched a bit. It was fun but not as big as the last few times we've been there.
Brandon though it would be a good idea to check Rifles which is a loooong right hander that will show an early south swell. We got there and it didn't look to hot but we decided to try it anyway. The offshore wind really started kicking and it cleaned up nicely and we all enjoyed chest to head screamers all the way down the shallow reef. If Kandui is the fastest wave I've surfed, Rifles to a close second, so the name"Rifles" fits well! It was so shallow because of low tide, if you managed to stay on to the inside section, you could see the water sucking thru the passes in the reef in front of you! Absolutely crazy! We all managed to come away with no scrapes or scratches, including Steven my roomie who had to cut his trip to Wavepark short last time after his head met the reef at Rifles, resulting in a quick evacuation to Singapore after the surf guide hand sticthed his melon back together, so needless to say, he slay a big dragon this afternooon, catching a super long barrel and making it clean!
Tomorrow the new swell is supposed to come on strong so it's looking like double overhead-plus at well exposed spots!!!!Yikes! Might be giving my 6'3'' some attention the next few day! It's funny now because everyone jokes about how small my boards are! Jared the guide has been referring to my 6'1'' as my "semi-gun" jokingly, so I guess if I ride the 6'3'' I'll be on my Rhino chaser!
You'll all be glad to know my last name has not gone un-noticed here and I'm currently called Dingle, Dingler, Dingleberry, Dingo, and many other variations! Apparently Aussies, Kiwis, and South Africans aren't to familiar with my name but are having great fun with it!

Later,
Seth.
P.S. I'm no longer able to send emails for some reason...so if I don't respond sorry! Love you all!!!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A pic of the crew.

Shown here from left to right are: Steven from New Zealand, Brandon who is the Asst. Surf Guide from Nebraska, Andrew from South Africa, Shane, the Chef from Australia, me, and Jared, the Surf Guide, from New Zealand. Not shown is Craig, Andrews brother who took this pic.
This was at dinner on "Mexicana Night".

A few picks of yours truly trying to get it done...

Kandui is so fast!
Mid-face turn at Hideaways! It's the wave right out front.
Cutback at Hideaways. This was the most fun session yet!
Working on getting in there.

So it's now the afternoon of day 5 here at Wavepark and I'm starting to get my feet under me finally. It's hard to describe the difference between the waves here and what I'm used to!!! The waves you see above from Kandui are 7-9 feet on the faces and are so incredibly fast that you have a 40% chance of coming out clean or being able to get out the back. So, on the other 60 % you either have to straighten out or take it on the head! If you straighten out, you get pushed in to more shallow reef and stand the chance of taking the next few waves on the head trying to get back out. It's not really dangerous, but not fun either! Kandui is also know as No Kandui for this reason! Hideaways is much less a "wave of consequence" as I have been calling them. We have only surfed it small so far though, but I'm told it is much more makeable than Kandui. We surfed two right handers now as well; Tikis and today, Bank Vaults. Bank Vaults is the place from the video that Jordan posted on the blog earlier. It's is difficult to get photos at Tikis and today at BV's most were fuzzy but I'll try and get some pics of rights soon.
Yesterday at Kandui, my leash came loose and my new Merrick took a trip over the reef, as did I to retrieve it! The reefs are pretty gnarly but I've been using a set of loner booties from my roomie Steven which make reef encounters much more friendly. I got my board back unscathed so I'm thankful for that!
The swell coming looks seriously big so far and needless to say I'm scared!!! There are some spots that won't get out of control big so I'll probably head to those if it gets too big! Last week a guy took a nastly spill and ended up puncturing his torso with a piece of corral! I'm going to try and avoid such an incident! Still taking it slow and picking my spots. I see now how much of a skill barrel riding is! The guides here are spot-on and I'm learning fast as I can!

Later,
Seth.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Wavepark Day three update.

Hi all! This place is awesome for sure. Yesterday was "flat" and we surfed chest to overhead high peelers all day. We finally got to surf Hideaways which is the break right out front of my bungalow. In the afternoon we took the boat and headed back to Tikis and Beng-Bengs(correct name this time, not bam-bams). At Beng-Bengs, I shared about an hour of surf with only one other guy, trading of the perfect peeling chest high lefts coming in. It was quite nice!

In addition to the other great guests enjoying this place with me, the staff is a lot of fun as well. There is Jared, the surf guide who is a Kiwi. Shane, the chef from Australia. Brandon, the all around helper and assitant surf guide who is from Nebraska. Matt, the bartender from Ventura, CA. There are several Indo staffers as well like Em our boat driver, Rika the cook, and a few others I don't know by name yet.

The surf is looking to pick back up later this week but I'm enjoying surfing some waves that aren't quite so big and scary until then! Hope everyone is doing well!

Later,
Seth

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Uploads a no go...

So.. trying to upload video from here is not working. It's a satellite connection so it might be finicky bc of the weather right now(cloudy, rainy).

Surfed today at Kandui a fast barreling left with about a 2 in 5 chance of making it. Surf was solid 7-9 foot faces! It's hard to describe the speed of the wave, it looks like a shoulder but comes up and pitches so fast it's incredible! I caught mostly smaller inside waves, all of which I had to straighten out to avoid getting banged.

Tried to surf a right this afternoon called Tikis but the weather made it quite bumpy. It was nice to see a right after so many lefts. Only two of us paddled out but it was just too bumpy. Reminded me of a BIG north east windswell at home.

Tomorrow looks better though and everyone is pumped after a bottle of Jack Daniels and a few surf videos! Everyone is saying tomorrow is the day they will charge it! I'm planning on taking my time still, lots of days to go! Did get a loner pair of reef booties which help the confidence a lot.

Still having a great time with the guests and all the crew! More to come!

Later,

Seth.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Kickin' it at Wavepark!

Hi all, greetings from wavepark! Got here today after a quite interesting journey here. A wavepark person picked me and the other three guests this morning at 9 from my hotel and we ll went to the airport in Padang to catch our flight. The plane was a small 20 person twin prop rig with two pilots and an attendant. The flight was a little bumpy but only 30 minutes or so. The landing was a little crazy, the airfield is quite short, so the descent is quick and bumpy. Then we boarded the two boats to the island. They are probably 25 feet long, but only 4 or 5 feet wide with two small outboards with tiller handles. They go probably around 25mph. The trip was mostly in the lee of the islands, but there were times when we were exposed to open ocean swells but the wind was easy and there wasn't much chop at all. The boat trip took two hours. The island has no dock so the boats are nosed up to the beach and you jump off. The resort consists of a main open air building where there is the eating area and bar with a pool table and ping-pong, as well as a big projector screen for movies and surf pics. There is also a large house with room s for guests and crew and two bungalows where myself and the other three guests are staying. They are also open air but very nice, but no AC.
We surfed this afternoon at a break called Bam-Bams which is an easy(relative)breaking left. The surf was overhead and fun, with nice 100 yard rides. The waves here are super powerful and breaking over the reef which is much more different from the beach breaks at home. Much more of the waves energy seems to be transfered breaking over the reef. I'm so used to making my own speed on waves which here is unnecessary. We had the wave all to ourselves until a crew from another resort showed up with 11 people in the boat! Anyway it was fun, and I'm looking forward to more!
The food here is great, the chef is an aussie and did some great burritos for dinner! More later, hopefully some video and pics soon!
Later,

Seth.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Hi from Padang!

Yo! Made it safely to Padang yesterday afternoon and was met at the airport by some peeps from the Wavepark who took me to the place I'm staying. It is called Spice Homestay and it is basically a hostel with a bunch of European and Australian backpackers and surfers, very cool! Nice people! Most lay around all day and sleep from late night partying!
I surfed this morning at a beach east of Padang that was about a 30 minute drive on CRAZY roads. There are no signs, lights, or lanes! It is a complete free for all, mopeds everywhere! Glad I have Martin to drive me around, he is a local from Padang who helps host Wavepark guests in Padang before they fly over to the islamd. The surf was small but fun. A perfect longboard wave about waist high, peeling for forever. A lot like Malibu, but breaking both ways!
Had a great dinner last night at at a local place where the menu had no English at all. They brought me into the kitchen and let me pick the fish that they grilled me to eat! It looked a lot like a red snapper and was coated with a spicy rug and grilled whole, it was great! Had rice and veggies to go with it.
Relaxing now, waiting to go eat with some other people who are arriving today to go to the wavepark tomorrow as well. Flying out in the AM! Using the hotels computer so no video or pics till I can use my own.

Later,
Seth

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Leave me comments!!!!

Hey bout to get in a cab and head to the aeropuerto! Indo awaits!

I just realized every time I try and leave response comment, I get a error message and figured it may be happening to you guys as well. When it happens just press the "Post Comment" button again and it will go thru!

Please, if you read this leave me a comment!!!! I want to see who's checkin me out! Remember you guys get to hear from me, but unless you leave me a comment I don't get to hear from you!

Later,
Seth

Day 15.


Upload problems continue...it only took 6 hours to get this video to load!

After sleeping on it I feel like I didn't give this city a fair shake...on the positive side, there are planty of things about Singapore to be mentioned. Pretty much everyone speaks English, though they have their own slangy version of it that's quite funny. Almost every sentence or phrase ends with "la". Not sure why but it's how they do la! Also, the city is impeccably clean, quite, and seemingly safe and there really aren't many cops around. The people just seem to be respectful of each other because it's the right thing to do; imagine that! The vast amount of people of different racial, regional, and cultural backgrounds is really a sight to behold as well! Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Philippine, Indonesian, Indian, Australian, European, Canadian, and Americans are everywhere. I think this is probably more of a melting pot than the US! It seems also to be a very social culture where everyone interacts with people from different cultures which is nice to see!

Anyway, I would probably have enjoyed my visit more if I had been traveling with others. So much here seems to be focused around social gatherings and things to do with friends. So next time I won't come alone. I think my jet-lag and surf withdrawal have effected my mood some as well! But, on to Indo today with new sights, sounds, peeps, and SURF!!!!

Song of the Day! "For Reasons Unknown"-The Killers from Sam's Town.

Later,
Seth.

P.S. I'll be in Indo-frickin'-nesia later today!!!!!!!!! Super pumped!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Jay, you remember doing our geography project on Indo for Mrs. Humowitz class?! We basically cut out a bunch of surf pics and pasted them to a posterboard and called it a day!


Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Mini Video! And an update from Singapore.

So...here it is! Putting this middle of the night wake up time to good use!


So, now that I'm in Singapore I'm kind of lost on what to do. This place seems like one big shopping mall. It is very nice, clean, and modern but my first impression is that it lacks local culture. It may be from my location since I'm staying in the business/shopping/hotel area. The city has a Chinatown and Little India sections. I'll probably check them out today and I have a feeling I'll get to see a bit more of what I'd hoped too.

I did have an excellent meal last night at East Ocean which is a Teochew style restaurant. What exactly is Teochew style you ask? Well I had to ask too and it's a form of Chinese cooking that differs from the more Cantonese style Chinese found in the US. The menu was gigantic and had all kinds of strange and bizarre items like duck tounges, goose feet, shark fin, fish stomachs, etc. The Teochew tradition is to start the meal with Oolong Tea and also drinking it in between courses. I had a cucumber salad to begin, then Strawberry Pork, and finally curry-ginger chicken. All were exceptionally good! On the table as well was a great chili paste condiment that was very spicy but awesome! After dinner I was also brought a small complementary desert of awesome little pastries called mooncakes. They tasted liked nothing I've ever has before. I asked what they were made out of and was told they contained lotus paste and custard. I got the feeling they do not get many western diners. I was the only one but the place was very busy, lots of big family groups. I think the place was popular for birthdays and other family celebrations.

It seems the local culture has been largely lost in commercialism that is so consuming here. Aside from the vast amount of Asian people, you would be hard pressed to not think you were in a western city here at first glance. The first restaurant I tried to go in last night was a california based steakhouse. I didn't know till I got the menu and then I left.

I'm really ready to just get to Indo now...but, the journey is as important, if not more than the destination! So, with an open mind, I will welcome the experience.

Later,
Seth.

Oh yeah, one super awesome thing, I've yet to have to pay extra to carry my surfboards on the plane! I was expecting to have to pony up big dough to carry around three boards with me but Cathay Pacific apparently allows them as long as you don't check any other luggage. As a comparison, Delta charges $300.00...per board!!!!!!!! I'm flying Singapore Airlines next to Jakarta, hopefully they will be as surfer friendly!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Picture upload problems...

Hey all, it is a rainy but still picturesque Tuesday morning here in Hong Kong. I just can't get over the incredible views of this city! I still can't get pictures to upload, must be the internet here.

I fly out to Singapore in a few hours, just booked my hotel there and should have wi-fi in my room which will give me more opportunities to upload pics and video. Here in HK I have to come up to the Business Conference Room at the hotel which is nice though(free drinks and snacks all day). If any of you have a facebook account, I was able to put pics from Hong Kong up on my page, so check'em if you have not yet.

I'm not really jet-lagged anymore, but my internal clock is completely haywire still! I took what I thought was a two hour nap yesterday afternoon and then got in the shower and went up to the restaurant for dinner. I thought it was 7 or 8, I don't know what gave me that idea but turns out I had slept for like 8 hours and it was near midnight! I woke up this morning at 6 so hopefully after today I'll be back to normal!

I'm starting to get real excited for some Indo barrels!! Check out this trailer for a super-cool looking movie coming out, kinda captures the essence of the experience I'm looking for on this trip. Can't wait to see it! http://www.hurley.com/index.cfm/aid/33799/THE-DRIFTER--TWO-MINUTE-SPECIAL-PREVIEW

Later,
Seth.

Hong Kong.

I took my still camera with me walking today instead of the video camera. I walked around Kawloon on Nathan Street, the Temple Night Market, and the waterfront park. All the far off city shots are of Hong Kong Island as seen from Kawloon. Hong Kong really is the Manhattan of the East, the similarities are quite distinct. It really is a large melting pot where many differing nationalities, cultures, and economies come together. People are quite worked up about swine flu here. Many people wear face masks and there are signs and literature everywhere about it. I had to fill out a health screening form at the airport and at my hotel when checking in. All in all it is a clean, friendly, and interesting place to visit. I don't think my short time here is nearly enough to scratch the surface of all the experiences that could be had on a proper visit here. The influence from British Colonial rule is still quite prevalent here. Almost all the street are English named, and most everyone speaks English. I got the most bizarre looks from people carrying my board bag, I guess surfers and surfboards are not a real common sight here! The taxis here are small and it was quite an interesting adventure getting my board bag into the taxi. The driver was not very excited and kept saying "this not safe, this not safe!" Haha! We made it to the hotel just fine though.

Well my pictures do not want to upload for some reason...I'll try again tomorrow. Flying out to Singapore around lunchtime in the AM!

Later,
Seth.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

China!


More to come later today after I tour the city!

As I'm waiting for the video to upload I'm just enjoying this incredible view! I could just sit here and watch the ships all day!

Song of the Day! "King of the Rodeo"-Kings of Leon from the Only By the Night, Live Bonus Disc. I listen to this album every time right before takeoff in an airplane. I like flying and this little live set from the Kings always gets me amped!

Later,
Seth

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Day 12.

Since my flight is not till later(11:50pm) I'm going to head to the Home Depot Center in Carson and watch some of the X-Games events! A few of the moto-x and supercross competitors from Team Troy Lee are staying in my hotel! Talked to them this AM on their way out. They were super nice peeps so cheer for them if you watch!

Also, got my hotel booked in Hong Kong. Staying at the Hotel Panorama in Kowloon. I'm nervous about going to Hong Kong for some reason...maybe it's the size of the city that gives me pause. It's supposed to be like the NYC of the far east. I like NYC a lot but everyone speaks English there! Really not looking foward to lugging my surfboards around in Hong Kong and Singapore...It will certainly be an adventure!

Later,
Seth.

SethAroundtheWorld iMix!

As you can see to the right, I've made an imix from my Song of the Day! picks. To here any of them click on the imix box and it will take you right to itunes where you can sample or download any of the songs that are available!

I'll add songs to the mix as I mention them.

Friday, July 31, 2009

I'm an idiot!

Just realized my flight leaves here tomorrow at 11:50 PM! Not AM! I have no idea what to do tomorrow. The surf looks to be pretty small....so dumb! Doh! Guess I'll check out LA...

Day 11, PM.

Just got to my hotel in LA, it's called the Custom Hotel. It's really cool and modern and was less than 100 bucks! Seems just as nice as the W, but much less expensive(www.customhotel.com)!

Surfed at Malibu this afternoon which was really cool! By far the most chill people in the line-up! Everyone was friendly, talking and laughing, probably enjoying the thin crowd. The waves were small but up peeling nicely. The wind was offshore and some rides were more than 100 yards, peeling ever so slowly down the beach. I was the only person who was on a short-board, but I did ride my 6"3""(my largest) and pretended it was a funboard. I did a couple of cheater-fives and nobody seemed to notice I wasn't riding a log! The water was colder than the more southern breaks I surfed. I didn't wear my wetsuit, but would have needed it if I wanted to stay out longer. The water was probably 65 0r 70.

Traffic in LA county sucks! I'm sure everyone was going to the beach for the weekend, but it took me twice as long as it should have to get there!

Song of the Day! "You Only Live Once"- The Strokes from First Impressions of Earth.

Later,
Seth.

Day 11 Am update.


Later,
Seth.

Teaser.

A little taste...



Thursday, July 30, 2009

San Clemente.

Yo! I'm in San Clemente now after leaving Oceanside. Surfed this afternoon at Lowers which is at Trestles. It's called Trestles because on the footpath to the beach(which seems like 10 miles!) there is a train trestle you walk under right before the beach. Waves were fun but small. Waist to chest but breaking quite nicely at Lowers. The crowd was not too bad but there is really only one peak, so there is a lot of jockey-ing going on when a set rolls thru. I shot video before and after surfing till the battery died and I'll edit it down to a 10-15 minutes mini video with some music and a bit more production than my normal clips when I get the chance. I didn't recognize anyone at Trestles but there were surely some serious rippers in the water! You'll see from the video!
As an aside, somehow, I ended up driving into Camp Pendleton which is a big Marine base between Oceanside and San Clemente today by accident. I'm glad I ended up finding my way out before someone noticed me and arrested me for spying or something! I thought I was getting onto I-5 and came up on a Guard Station. The guy didn't give me good directions to get back to the interstate and I took self-guided tour of the base.

Song of the Day! "One Month Off"- Bloc Party More like six weeks, but close enough!

Later,
Seth.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Swamis!


Surfed at Swamis which is in Cardiff by the Sea, CA for about three hours. Super fun, super long rights that would reform 4-5 times as they worked there way over the reef. Most waves were waist to chest with some bigger sets just peelin' as nice as can be. Set waves were like the one in the video above. Mostly longboards out, and at most there were 10 people at a time at the main peak. Doesn't get much better!

Decided to give y'all a view of the beach and how different it is from here.




Got lunch at a really cool place called Beachside Bar and Grill in Encinitas. Kinda like a Kickin Chickin but Cali style if that makes any sense. Saw a guy who was surfing at Swamis when I was out named Justin who ended up being from Wrightsville. He said it was really lucky to be able to surf at Swamis with so few people since it's such a quality break that is relatively easy to get to.

Came back to Oceanside and surfed this evening for a while. It was bigger here, but not as clean. More people out today than yesterday as well.

Song of the Day! "Don't Stop"- Chali 2na from the Fish Outta Water album. I heard it first on this Quiksilver video of Clay Marzo. http://go.quiksilver.com/go-moments/#/clay-go-moments/ Click it and check it!

Later,
Seth.

P.S. No, I wasn't high in the video from this AM, I had just woken up, that's probably why I looked so rough! No "fish whistle" for me! Haha!

Day Nine AM.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Day Eight in Oceanside, CA.


You can check out the new Merrick I bought here: http://www.cisurfboards.com/sb_tangent.asp
Cool video with Kelly Slater and Mr. Merrick himself.

Surf Ride Board Shop in Oceanside here: www.surfride.com

And here is the Surf Ride board, mine is the 6'3'' round pin.

Song of the Day! "Lassoo"- The Duke Spirit from the Neptune album. I don't have this one but I've been hearing it on the radio a lot and I like it. Alternative rock band with a female vocalist; I'm all about it!

Later,
Seth.

Adios San Diego!

Headed down the rocky cliffs to the break at Sunset Cliffs.
Sunset Cliffs.
View north from Sunset Cliffs.
Longboarder rippin' it up at Sunset Cliffs. After walking down the trail it's about 150yds out.
Beach at Sunset Cliffs.
Longboarders out at dawn as seen from Sunset Cliffs on Ocean Beach.
View from Imperial Beach, south towards Tiajuana.
Downtown view from my hotel room.
Split peak at Ocean Beach pier.
San Diego sunset.

Time to head out! San Diego has been awesome and I have to say thanks to my buddy Jay Lewis who proudly showed me around and showed me some really cool sights and good surf! We tried to surf today but wasn't much out there unless you had a longboard. We took a cool hike down to the beach at Sunset Cliffs. Jay really showed me some cool spots like the one's in the pics above. In Cali to get away from the crowds takes some long hikes, but it's always interesting things to see along the way.
Well now I'm off, headed north. Probably to Carlsbad or Cardiff. Update coming later!
Seth.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Day Seven. Imperial Beach!


Song of the Day! "In One Ear"-Cage the Elephant. Didn't think I was going to have one today because didn't spend much time in the car so didn't hear a lot. However, this came on the radio right before I got back to the hotel. Don't songs that you have on CD or your ipod seem more enjoyable when you hear them randomly on the radio? I think so.

Later,
Seth.

Day Seven. Getting my ducks in a row...

Yo! Big Monday in San Diego...


I know these are getting longer, if they are starting to get too long, let me know.

After this I booked my return flight as well and its going to be a marathon. Only an hour or two between stops but I'll leave Indo in the AM on 19th and arrive in LA a little before midnight the same day but spend about 24 hours in a plane. Same track as getting there but in reverse. I was considering a different return path and staying a night or two at each changeover city but instead I'm going to hurry back so I can see more of the US. More on that later!

Working on getting travel insurance now...

Later,
Seth.

Day Six PM.

Finally made it! Got to San Diego about 1:00 today and met Jay Lewis at his house in Ocean Beach. We decided to head to Blacks Beach which is at the bottom of a big cliff, north of the city. Surfing here is no small venture. We had to park in a neighborhood at the top of the hill and walk down a trail for about 1/4 mile to the beach. The walk back up is even tougher because of the steep incline. The waves were 5-7 ft with pretty good lines and just a touch of onshore wind breaking probably 100 yards out. The sets broke out farther and were pretty easy drops and if you got to the inside a little barrel section would sometimes pop up. Water was around 72 and people were wearing anything from full suits to baggies. It was fairly crowed by my standards but Jay said it wasn't bad so I can't imagine what "crowded" look like here. I rode my new board(the WRV) and it rocks! After surfing I got a guided tour of Ocean Beach from Jay and then we ate at some mexican place in Ocean Beach which was quite tasty!

I'm now downtown in San Diego, staying at the W (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1433) My room is sick! Had to step it up from the 29.99 fleabaggers from the last few nights on the road! Planing on getting a good nights rest and getting my flights lined up to indo tomorrow, then see what the surf is doing and maybe check out the city a bit.

Here is so video from early this AM in the Mojave. I'll hopefully have some more surfing footage sometime soon. I uploaded this video in a larger format. Tell me if it's better or not.



Song of the Day!-"I Got Mine"-The Black Keys from Attack and Release. Two guys, one guitar, one set of drums. What else do ya need?

Later,
Seth.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Day Six AM.

Up and hitting the road. Just checked the Surfline forecast for SoCal and the surf is 4-6ft occasional 7ft. Sounds good to me!

Now that it is light, I can see some of the Mojave Desert scenery for the window of my room and it sure is beautiful!

Later,
Seth

Day Five Update.

So I was in Oklahoma this morning and now I'm in California. Went Through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona today! 960 miles! Please just go to Google maps, put in those two places and look at the ground I covered! Thanks for all the FB posts today from all of you! I sure needed the encouragement!
Good news from San Diego though. I talked to my buddy Jay who says he was surfing 12-15 ft Pacific perfection today! After my ground covering today, I'll be there by lunch time tomorrow! Hopefully there will still be some swell for me!

Song of the Day! "California Waiting"- Kings of Leon. 'Nuff said!

Later,
Seth.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Day Five Update.

Relaxing at a Starbucks in Albuquerque, taking a break from the road. Here is a little footage from this AM.

The plan to get to San Diego from here is to go thru Flagstaff on I40 to Lake Havasu City and follow the Colorado River down to Yuma, get on I10 and head to San Diego.

Gonna hit the road now! Later,
Seth.

Day Five AM.

Bout to hit the road from Elk City, OK. I'm pretty close to the Texas border and will cross thru TX at the top where it is quite narrow, then on in to New Mexico. I'm super excited about the Southwest! This will be my first visit. San Diego is about 1200 miles from here, so I think I'll be getting there Sunday evening. Not sure where I'll stop tonight, maybe near Flagstaff, AZ.

For those of you who remember Mark Sutton from high school (before he became a country music star !), he said to tell everyone hello! He saw on facebook that I was near Nashville and called me yesterday. We weren't able to meet up, but it was good to talk to him, it's been like 10 years. Check out his band Brother Trouble on myspace http://www.myspace.com/brothertrouble

More later from the road!

Seth.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Windfarm footage!


I found out that this footage I took is of the Weatherford Wind Project owned by NextEra Energy Resources. It takes up 3800 acres, consists of 71 turbines made by GE Energy and produces enough power for 31000 homes(106.5 megawatts). Each tower is 262 feet high and each blade is 126 feet long. Pretty darn cool!


Must be living right! Found a cheap hotel in Elk City, OK with wifi and the TV remote works.

Later,
Seth.

Day Four!

Hi all, I am currently in Oklahoma City getting a bite to eat and taking a break from the road. Here is a video I made earlier today.


Arkansas didn't stay flat for too long once I got closer to the Ozarks. In Little Rock I missed an exit and had to take an exit of the interstate on to a surface street. While I was there I figured a bathroom break was due, so I pulled into a parking lot of an empty building and ran around back. In the back I saw a huge black widow spider, in a web on the building. I ran to the car to get my camera but the spider was gone when I got back. It was probably the size of a silver dollar. I've never seen one that big and wish I could have gotten a pic.

Here in OK it is hot! 97 degrees at 5:30! Nothing much to see but Indian Reservation casino signs and cows with the occasional oil well-head pump. Don't think I'll make it to Amarillo like I was hoping, it is another 275 miles, so I'll probably drive till dark and call it quits for the night.

Song of the Day! "One Big Holiday"-My Morning Jacket from the Okonokos live album. This one fits in title to my current situation and happens to be my favorite song as well. It is an all -out rock and roll, guitar riff heavy, jam. I would put it in the same class with Eric Clapton's "Layla". Just like the latter, the former gives me chills just about every time I hear the first riff. It absolutely is pure musical energy and once it starts it doesn't let up till the end. The entire Okonokos albums which is a two disc live recording, plays like a classical concert. If you are a fan of music I can't see you not enjoying Okonokos or at least appreciating the band's incredible musical writing and talent, so check it out! Just like WSP's Till the Medicine Takes, this one always gets a play while I'm on the road!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave me some comments! I need to know y'all are reading or I'll quit going to all this trouble! :)

Later,
Seth.

Day Three! a day late...

Hey guys! Sorry no post yesterday. I drove all day(14 hours !) after surfing in the AM and when I got to my hotel in Lebanon, TN that claimed to have wifi, it was nowhere to be found. Guess you get what you pay for(my room was $34.99). I can't update from my iphone either.
My plan today is to keep driving west on I-40, not sure where I'll try and stop, prop just go till I'm tired(maybe Oklahoma?). Here is the video from me surfing at Ocracoke on Wednesday.

As you can probably tell, I did all my airs, layback snaps, and other cool tricks RIGHT AFTER I went out of frame! haha!
The next video is from Thursday AM, before and after surfing. I'm pretty sure I left Hatteras early and it's pumping by now and clean(it was nasty when I left), but plenty of waves await on the Cali coast and beyond!

The drive yesterday was pretty easy considering the distance(765 mi) and time it took(14 hours). The longest part was getting out of eastern NC and to the interstate. It rained a lot of the way which was a blessing because it kept it cool. Between Asheville, NC and Knoxville, TN is absolutely beautiful and a fun drive. I-40 twists and turns like the Blue Ridge parkway but at 60-70mph, lots of fun and really nice scenery!

I'm keeping to my healthy eating plan so far. Bought a cooler and stocked it with lots of fruit and veggies and drinking nothing but water and hot tea. Had my first fresh apricot yesterday! Until now only had them dried. Got another for breakfast this AM! I am missing my coffee for sure, but getting use to not having the caffeine.


Song of the Day!(for yersterday) "California on My Mind"-Wild Light from the Adult Nights album. The title definitely is how I'm feeling! Great song even though the title betrays the gist of the song. WARNING it has some harsh language for those with sensitive ears.

I'll try to post an update tonight whenever I get off the road!
Later,
Seth.


Wednesday, July 22, 2009

New Video!

Finally got it to load!

Thinking I'm going to head back down to Buxton area and give it a go tomorrow morning(I'm in Kitty Hawk now, not too much surf here, must face to much to the north for this SE swell). Want to get a good session in before 4-5 days of landlocked driving.

Song of the Day! "Should I Stay or Should I Go"-The Clash. Exactly my predicament right now!
2nd Place! "The Fixer"-Pearl Jam. New PJ and it rocks! Heard it today for the first time.

AM Update.

Something happened trying to upload my video from this morning so I'll try again later this afternoon.
I'm headed up to Hatteras Island now, hopefully surf will be good up there this afternoon. This AM the surf was waist to chest breaking way outside which made it pretty mushy, hard to make it all the way to the inside. Wind is onshore so it tended to be pretty sectiony. Had a good time though!

Looking like WavePark(www.wavepark.com) will be my destination in Indo, got a spot reserved for AUG 8-18(yup 10 days baby!), just got to check on flights now!

Lastly, looked at possible routes across the US today and it looks like I-8 would be cool, most of it I have not seen before so it kinda looks like this: Asheville, Memphis, Little Rock, OK, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Phoenix, then San Diego and up the coast to LA!
Later,
Seth.

Change of plans again!

Still trying to nail down my plans in Indonesia and it looks like now I'll be going to a place called Wavepark(www.wavepark.com) from August 8th-18th. Have to hustle to get there! But for now going to hit the surf for a a couple hours here in Ocracoke. Checkout of my hotel is 11, so I'm going to surf till then, check out, and head over to Hatteras this afternoon. Hopefully my cell phone will work over there, no service here on Ocracoke!
Later,
Seth

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Howard's is still the jam!

If anyone was wondering, Howard's Pub(www.howardspub.com) is still awesome! Had an awesome grilled teriyaki tuna salad! I've resolved to try and eat really healthy this trip. Nothing but fruits, veggies, and fish. I think this can be a good opportunity to break bad eating habits so thats what I'm going to try and do. No processed food, nothing fried, no coffee(gonna be tough!), and no booze! I was going to try and not eat meat but I figured a piece of grilled fish would be healthier to eat than pass up. So we'll see how it goes.

Also, just a thought.... there are a TON of people here! You sure wouldn't guess there is a recession going on from looking around here. Maybe peeps who usually go out of country to vacay are staying in the US and coming to places like this... If so, that can't be bad. US dollars staying in our borders rather than going overseas!

Lastly, I going to post a song of the day that I listened to and stuck out in my mind. Gonna try and do this everyday, so today's was: "Surprise Valley"-Widespread Panic
WSP is great car music and I usually start any car trip with the Till the Medicine Takes album.
Until manana!
Seth.

Day One Rundown.

Hi all I've made to Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks! I was in the water 15 minutes after the ferry got to the dock! Caught a little surf this afternoon; waist to stomach with the occasional bigger set, but closing out pretty bad with onshore wind. So cool here, you can just drive right out on the beach, park and surf right in front of your car. Might try to set the video camera on the dash while I surf and get some footage in the AM!
I'm staying at the Silverlake Hotel in the Village, cool place nice view of the inner harbor area. Got to go get something to eat, haven't had anything but water ALL DAY! Headed to Hatteras Island tomorrow most probably! Later!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Final Farewell!

Getting it all together...

Going to need this for Cali I think...

My new addition! 6'1'' x 18 3/8'' x 2'' Rounded Pin, Flexlite Epoxy. Should be a great barrel board for me!
The new guy with the old reliables. The Natural Art is my "good surf" board(Chest high and bigger). It has been with me on both trips to Costa Rica. It's a typical 6'0'' x 18 1/4" x 2 3/16" Squash tail. The Sharp Eye is a 5'10'' x 18 1/4 x 2 1/4" with fuller nose and tail for small surf. The Sharp Eye will be going for the Florida stop but won't be much good after that(I hope).

Depending on how the new board rides I might or might not pick up a bigger one. We'll see. Hopefully Cali/Baja will be a good test to figure out what I need for Indo.

Just getting a bit longer...and a bit crazier!

Tentative schedule so far!

Been working on my trip to Indo this morning; so far it looks like this but yet to finalize anything:
Leave Myrtle Beach AUG 1 for Los Angeles(spend 3 days at Huntington Beach)

Leave LAX on the redeye for a 14 hour flight! to Hong Kong(spend 2 days)

Leave Hong Kong for Singapore(spend 2 days)

Leave SIN for Padang, Indo via Jakarta (yikes! where those al-qaida bombings were last week!)

Stay overnight in Padang for early puddle jumper flight to Mentawai!

Going to take a totally different return trip and hopefully see some more of the world! More to come!

SUPER PUMPED!!
Seth.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

SethAroundtheWorld1 p.2

So, videos can only be 100mb so here is part two.

Also I forgot to mention the thought to do this came from my good friend and neighbor, Julia Hickman Ryan. She has a great blog you can check out at http://www.pawleysislandposh.blogspot.com.
Later,
Seth.

Video Intro.


So here is the first video. It's crazy how funny you sound to yourself talking on video! Hopefully I'll become more polished in front of the camera as time goes on.

I'm also going to try and post any links to any sites, authors of any books/articles, etc. Just general giving credit where it is due to keep it legit. So I think Surfline is the only thing mentioned so far, the address is www.surfline.com . It is a great resource for anything surfing related; from webcams of spots along with forecasts to articles about surfing events.
Later,
Seth.

A bit more of the plan.

I'm planning on using video to document a good bit of what will be presented here. A trip to Best Buy this morning produced a Panasonic SDR-S26P/PC camcorder that I'll begin recording with as soon as the battery has a charge. As usual with my electronics purchases, I did no research or planning before buying(which is dumb), but came home with what seems to be a pretty good camera. It is flash memory based which I figured would be better for travel since it has no internal hard drive. It has a 70x optical zoom lense which I'm hoping will be good for shooting surf footage. It's small enough to easily fit in my backpack and it was comparatively cheap.

So, with that being said, hopefully later today I'll have my first video post ready to go! Later!
Seth.

Day One.

So, I guess I'll lay out the basic plan for this and give a little insight into why I've decided to do this. I'm planning a solo surf trip to Indonesia, hopefully leaving around August 1st and lasting the better part of the month. I thought it might be cool to document the research and planning leading up to the trip, and fully document the journey along the way. This is my first experience with blogging so any feedback or recommendations are welcome! Later!
Seth