LC on Ten Dollars a Day - Day One

Here’s the deal I had an unexpected Van repair in mid November running $300. That along with the cash put aside for the mortgage, bills, etc, left me only $250 till my next check on the 21st. Yep, my checks aren't that big, do the math. There was a time when my car payment alone was $600 a month, but not anymore. So anyway $250.. That’s a little over $10 a day, and maybe, I might pick up a little extra dog sitting money, still it’s not much. Wish I had bought a fishing license earlier in the year. Haha. Trust me, I’m not in the 1%. I am in the 10%, behind the other 89%, so I am usually pretty broke anyway. Not really a big deal, I don't even expect to have to go to Coinstar to cash my change in, but it's good to know I can. No worries, it's the life I've chosen, less money, more surf. Still three weeks will be an extra long stretch. Today.. I just need beer. That’s gonna run me more than $10 so not a great start. To be clear I am in the 1%, of the 10%, in back of the 89%, that only drinks decent beer, and not 40 ounce Malt Liquors or Coors Light.

Thanks to Riley and Wilson I scored some unexpected surf today, and it was pretty fun too. Sure the wind was going everywhere from light offshore, to glassy, to hard south, and every direction in between, but if you stayed out long enough you got some good ones for sure! Not bad considering the rest of so cal had 50mph winds. I guess no one expected it since I never saw more than 6 people in the water and it didn't cost a thing! Except a little gas (4 mile round trip) I should have combined my trip to town with the surf trip so as to save some gas, but I had business in town today and had to go back and get my wallet, check book, etc..(9 mile round trip)

By the time I returned there was a power outage going on, bummer, and that wasn’t restored till sometime after 6:00 (yeah, pretty close ruining my newly purchased food in the freezer) Luckily I keep a huge bag of ice in there and everything looks good. So yeah… No power.. No internet.. And even worse, no live coverage of the Van’s World Cup of Surfing from 8’to 12’ Sunset Beach. So I read the new Surfer cover to and thoroughly enjoyed it. $12 for a year of Surfer is hard to pass up isn’t it? Plus they throw in 12 issues of Surfing to boot, how do they do it? The power outage probably saves a couple bucks for next month so I am thinking.. Maybe they should have one everyday. Force people into reading or taking a nap!

I settled on a twelve pack of Red Hook ESB at $13.99 today for change of pace from my Firestone or Sierra Nevada routine, add some Snack Mix @ $1.00, and some red chili flakes for 79 cents found in the Mexican spice section in a little plastic bag. (That is a sweet deal compared to the bottled ones in the Spice section so you might want to make note if you like spicy seafood pasta as much as I do.) With CRV and tax that comes to $17.51

For dinner I went with a pasta dish cooked tonight cooked under the candlelight. Chicken Cappelini tossed in my own Mexi-Marinara sauce, and garnished with Avocado, Sour Cream and 4 types of cheese.. Wine.. A cheap ass cab from Fresh and Easy in Ventura.

No need to go on vacation with sunrises like this.

Don't get me started on the Cormorants

I know these California Seabirds in the photo above look poised but trust me, the two on the wire are precariously close to falling off, and the one on the pole ain't doin' much better. Periodically I find myself in need of leaving the sanctuary here in La Conchita and the nearby town just north of here in search of some waves in the big city to the south. Sometimes I stay on the 101 and zip on by mostly sub par conditions, and sometimes I get off at Seacliff and hit the old Pacific Coast Highway. If you get off on old PCH yourself be sure to check out the Cormorants of Solimar just north of the Solimar Beach Enclave. They hang out on a telephone pole and wire and out of the 40 different species of Cormorants they seem to be the only ones to do so.

I don't know if you pay much attention to the seabirds around here but my dog Riley does and the Cormorant is one of the most spastic seabirds out of the water I have ever seen. There are small jets that can take off faster than a Cormorant off the beach. In the water they are a different story, sleek, agile and very productive fish hunters for sure. But how these Cormorants of Solimar can balance on that wire, or actually get into flight before they hit the ground is beyond me... Next time you drive by make sure to have a laugh as they weeble, wobble, but don't fall down. Actually there used to be seven of them but only three this morning so maybe...

Yep.. The other four fell off already...