Shark!

I used to surf at a place called Sunset Beach when I was in high school.  Its right next to Gladstones on PCH below the Palisades. I saw this picture from the LA Times taken at the same beach and thought it was kind of crazy.  Its the same place I cut my head open surfing after my freshman year at college.  I guess the rocks were the least of my worries.


http://sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shark8-2009oct08,0,2454627.story

The horror of it all!

Here is the aftermath of a recent road trip from San Francisco to Vancouver.  I thought this was a good compare and contrast to the flying with children pictures.  The good thing about the airplane is that you can walk away feeling only minimally guilty, since you probably had a worse go of it than the cleaners will.  With a car you can’t externalize the grossness.

 

Travelling with kids on very very long flights

Do you ever wonder what its like to fly on a really long international flight with little kids?  Well, it generally starts out fine - an initial fascination with the airplane evacuation brochure, a bunch of questions about whether the plane is going to crash, lots more questions about when the food will come out and about how much Sprite they will give you, then a trip or two to the bathroom.  Then you take off.

After that, they'll watch the loop of kids movies and cartoons on the in flight system.  On a US airline this takes only 3-4 hours.  Most foreign airlines have much better entertainment systems so you can get a lot more time.  Eventually the boredom sets in and the questions about how long until we arrive.  The airline food gets cherry picked for the dessert and crackers.  The vegetables get squished around.  Half the fruit ends up on the floor and it eventually starts mixing with everything else that the floor begins to attract - shoes, socks, books, DVDs, crayons, sippy cups, snacks brought from home.  Then all that stuff starts getting smooshed up and stepped on until it becomes a really gross and sticky mess.  Kids fall asleep in all kinds of weird postures.  When you arrive, most are asleep.  Some are excited to arrive.  Others just want to keep sleeping, upside down covered in smashed grapes and dirty socks.

Its actually not as bad as it seems...