Well....I tried...

To be an XKCD stick figure for Halloween...but it didn't turn out so well. I couldn't find the stuff I needed second hand (and frankly I started late because I didn't get the idea until this past week). So, buying new stuff and resorting to electrical tape instead of a Sharpie didn't get too far. You can see the amusing result below.

So Halloween was great fun for the kids and adults. The kids made out like bandits. My son now has enough candy to last until next year.

My brother came up for the weekend and I got to spend some time with him on Saturday in the morning and during the day. We went out to go surfing and skim boarding first thing. I brought my son along too. The waves were nice even if the water was cold. It was the first time I had worn a wet suit surfing. I only have my scuba wet suit and I quickly learned a few things.

First, you don't notice the water temperature when you are trying to paddle out through a nice set. You only notice that any headway you made is quickly erased.

Second, you can't paddle in a wet suit (3/5) like you do without one. It is a LOT harder. I was still inside the break and just couldn't paddle anymore. So surfing turned into something that was more like a prolonged drowning. I finally gave up and just went back in. Next time I'll wear the spring suit, or get something more designed for surfing.

As if that wasn't embarrasing enough, I decided to do some skim boarding too. Really it was my brother showing my son how to do, which he picked up incredibly quickly. I mostly watched. When they got tired, they would hand the board to me and get a few minutes of good laughs. Here is some necessary information to be successful at skim boarding. First, you can go too slow. You need a bit of speed, which requires a bit of coordination because you have to jump onto something that is moving and not quite stable. After you get some speed you throw the board down, flat, and a little ahead of you. On windy days this is challenging. For my brother and I, more so because when he and I get together near water, the winds are ALWAYS 25+ knots. My brother's wife went rollerblading on the board walk, but she made it back in time to get some good laughs at my expense. We all had a lot of fun.

After that we picked up my girlfriend and her children to go to my favorite sushi place. It is simply the best sushi anywhere ever.


More pictures from Halloween:
Picures