when life gives you a stalled crabbing season, make it a weekend trip

well, thank goodness the actually significant lock out has been resolved. most every year, there seems to be some sort of posturing done between the crabbers and the wholesaler but they usually stamp out the details before the very important local san francisco crab meal night, thanksgiving.

this year they didnt. talks stalled till just this week. we finally have some commercially caught dungeness crab in our markets!

of course, stalled talks didnt stop us from having some of these ill fated tasty creatures....

some of our buddies LOVE the outdoors. we love to hang out with these guys because theyre always doing something, whether its racing around local racetracks on motorcycles, fishing in the bay or like this particular trip, crabbing and having a little picnic.

we were supposed to go up with them when the recreational crabbing season started, but we didnt make it our.

we missed out. they pulled limits. but we did get to share in the bounty. fresh crab right when the recreational season starts... thats a good beginning to the dungeness crab season.

we wanted to make sure we were there for next visit. and we were.

a little bit north of the oyster farms in tomales bay is lawsons landing. its a recreational area with rv/camping, fishing and crabbing. clam digging is very popular out here also. we will most definitely be here when the clam digging gets good.... geoduck (mirugai) hiding out? yeah, we are there.

you couldnt ask for a more picturesque view. kids playing in the sand. calm clear water in front of you. dungeness crab being pulled from the pier and boats coming in setting traps or bringing the latest haul in....

unfortunately, i must have brought some bad luck with me because our haul wasnt as good as our buddies last trip, but you really cant go wrong here. a bad day at lawsons landing is better than any day behind a desk. and no fear, cause the oyster farms are right down the highway. a little past nicks cove, you hit hogs island. grab a bag of oysters or two, and youre just fine again...but who really cares. how often do you get to be a crabber?

maybe it wasnt all my bad luck. the fishing reports out of lawsons landing says the crab haul was great in the beginning of the season, but since tapered off.

stuck sitting on the couch, watching tv on a sunday afternoon wishing there was some fresh dungeness crab around or out on the water on tomales bay? no brainer.


and i got an idea.... setup a camp sight, bring bikes to get you from one spot to another, bring the caja china, throw in a whole pig, toss in crab traps, catch a halibut, dig out some mirugai..... FIND SOME SEABEANS!!.... cook up a storm and enjoy the night.

dude, seriously, i almost died on that mountain!

ok maybe not, but i thought i was dying. lack of oxygen. altitude sickness... hurry call in the helicopters.

at one point in my life i was in shape. now the only shape im in is round.

but as im quickly approaching the mid 30s, i decided its up to me to get back in shape.... everything is up to me. if i want to succeed, i need to chose to succeed. if i want to get into shape, i need to go out and do it.

someone told me recently during a conversation about starting a new business, if you strip down everything to its basics, the only reason people dont start their own business is fear. if you want to do, theres no other real reason anything will hold you back.

so i went hiking.

koreans love hiking. i had no idea until i started working in korea back in 2000. went on a couple hikes. i went in shorts, some airmax 95s, a tshirt.... them natives came all out, hiking boots, collapsible sticks, backpacks.... they looked like swedish koreans. i think i now understand why they like it so much. its not just a faddy exercise. its not just another reason to eat and drink somewhere cool.... its the mental challenge at any level you set for yourself.

and playing dress up is fun, no?

mission peak in fremont ca isnt something that should "kill" anyone. but when you havent done much training wise, it can be a bit challenging. i wasn't really prepared for it, drinking the night before probably wasnt a good idea either. i didnt bring enough water... mentally, i was there though. kinda. just needed a push.

the hike up wasnt that bad... well at least until you reach that rocky trail that leads you to the summit. then i started to feel the 2500 feet altitude change! i was almost completely spent. the last 500 feet or so were the hardest of the hike. i took a few steps, then a minute to breathe. rinse lather repeat.

on the way down, i had even more trouble breathing,  got extremely light headed, started seeing stars..... i wanted to sit there and just sleep.... good thing i had my trusty trainer aka better half with me. now i want to be able to say she was comforting me, asking me if i was ok, if i needed help...... but that just wouldnt be true. she did what she was supposed to. she got me off my ass and forced me to start hiking down. the altitude WAS getting to me. a few hundred feet down, i started to feel much better. then a few miles later, when i got winded again, she pushed me down more.

i swear, close to the bottom of the hike, i started to do some serious lamas breathing. little kids, seniors.. all doing this hike were looking at me like WTF did that poor guy just go through.

i LITERALLY had to force each and every step.

i had to ask some random older gentlemen for some water. he took one look at me and hes all have it all!

after the hike, i had this complete content feeling. sure it was a "moderate" hike, but its something i wouldnt normally do and it was something i really had to push my out of shape self to complete. its something to be very proud of.... (i redeemed myself somewhat the following weekend with a 9 mile hike (no elevation change), where i did just fine... )

it didnt matter that many of the people around me finished the hike faster and without all the drama.

i did it.

ive come to realize this is very key in life.

it doesnt matter some 25yr kid made 100million dollars with his totally useless internet company and youre still stuck at your 9-5. the important fact is that you are doing your 9-5 the best you can.

it doesnt matter if a new business idea fails or succeed, the important thing is that i do it.

(insert 100 more cliches here)