Wanna' see my leisure suit?

HIKING FAVORITES
Idyllwild, CA - Less than 2 hours from San Diego or Los Angeles, Idyllwild is a great weekend hikers getaway. This small town, nestled in the San Jacinto mountains, offers woodsy charm and warm greetings from the friendly locals. The area provides everything from light to strenuous day and overnight hikes. I found the South Ridge Trail to Tahquitz Peak to be quite a thorough workout. Ranked as only a moderate day hike at 7.2 miles (round trip) with a 2000' elevation gain, I'm glad that I didn't tackle one of the more strenuous hikes that day.

Sequoia National Park / King's Canyon - Beautiful hiking here. I hiked on a drizzly day, which I hear is better because there tends to be fewer folks around. So far, I've only taken a comfortable day hike here, but it's on my list of places to return to.

If you're looking to hike San Diego or Southern California, I recommend the books by Jerry Schad for more information. He's hiked quite a wide variety of the trails around here, and his reviews are clear and to the point. My wife and I often work our way through his book Afoot and Afield in San Diego County checking off hikes and filling in our own trail notes as we go.

ROCKHOUNDING
Jalama Beach has some really cool stuff that you're actually allowed to take home with you. Here you can barely talk ten steps without stubbing your toe on a hunk of rootbeer agate. We collected a number of "tumbler-sized" pieces, plus a few bigger chunks that were too irresistable to pass up.

Heading north leads to cliffs riddled with whale and shell fish fossils. Fossil hunters will probably spend most of their time here, but rock hounds will want to head even further north to the onyx jeti that juts out into the ocean. It doesn't take much more than a large screwdriver or a small pry bar to dislodge the small hidden crystals.

Nephrite Jade near Big Sur - We stumbled upon these deposits by accident. Driving up the Pacific Coast toward Big Sur, my wife noticed a greenish tint in a number of the cliff walls as we passed. She mentioned that they looked like fuschite, a green mica-like rock. So, pulling over to investigate, we found chunks of glassy nephrite jade packed in walls of talc. It was extremely easy to separate the jade from the talc with my handy (and ugly) giant screwdriver. A bottle of water was also useful for removing compressed talc from the jade's surface. We returned with more than 10 lbs. of the stuff and I plan to try my hand at carving some of it soon.

READING
Yup, I like to read. I'm currently reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. So far, it's disgustingly funny. It's a Pulitzer Prize winner about the most unusual and grotesque character you'd never hope to meet.

I just finished Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and I plan to tackle the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien before it hits the theaters later this year.

MOVIES
Hmm, if I were forced to recommend a few movies, they would have to include the following: (the grouping might not seem to make sense, but who really cares anyway)

Comedy
Uncle Buck
Dumb and Dumber
Grumpy Old Men

Sci Fi
Galaxy Quest
The Fifth Element
Matrix
Aliens
Contact

Family
The Princess Bride
The Jungle Book (cartoon)

Drama
Snatch
Sneakers

Well, these are a few of my favorites. That's the best I can do on the spot. Rest assured, more will come soon (but, just in case, don't hold your breath).

FAMILY
My wife and I are currently expecting twins! Check back here after February 2001 for pics.

My brother Chris and his wife Catherine live here in San Diego, but ALL of the others (8 siblings total) are spread between Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Minnesota. Both of my parents also live in CT. Pics coming soon (better make that eventually).