All I Really Want is a Dog

Dogs, Apple TV, Magazines, Xmas Beans and Life

Been thinking a whole heck of a lot about dogs lately.  Total consumption.  Maybe because I finally feel at home somewhere.  I haven't had any sort of beast in my life since I first left TN a gazillion years ago - and my mom + dad took over the care of my boy Charlie.  Why now?  Every day, I get all wrapped up on line, searching, digging, rooting thru websites looking for the perfect dog.

Ran into this guy in a dark bar in NYC a few months back and he'd be my perfect dog.  Just chill.  100% at home in a bar.  Everybody's friend.  What about all the travel?  Does the critter come with?  Guess it depends?

I've been nesting the past couple few - short break.  Taking care of lots of little things. My buddy Wade just made a super-sonic donation to 4th World Love, which sealed the deal on getting the Sembalun/Indo CDC a brand new Apple MAC computer.  They are gonna be nutty with joy.  And, with all the volunteers coming over there these days, there will be plenty of teachers.

I've got some Christmas Beans on the stove.  The smell is intoxicating.  I dropped a whole onion in the pot and tomorrow the soup is gonna come out killer.  PERFECTED the most insane veggie sandwich ever last night for my parents  - mega high fiber bread (Squirrely) toasted up on stove with a bit of butter and one side topped with shredded sharp white cheddar, the other side topped with sliced apples and grilled onions...plus some long slices of smoked veggie sausage.  All of it drizzled with sweet honey mustard from the farmers market.  We were all like what in the sam hell kind of flavor is this.  Worth at least a million.

Been brainstorming 4WL ideas for 2011 (Surf retreat in Baja for sure on the horizon) and finally moved my sailboat into its new slip.  It's always FREAKY as hell getting into a slip the first time cause deep down, you just know that the beast of a boat ain't making it.  Met all the neighbors (couple of whom are taking off on round-the-world jaunts in the near future) and have just been laying low.

OH - back to the dog.  My pal Gina always says I need a Mexican dog.  A puppy is what I need.  A Mexican mutt.  I wanna get back to San Miguel de Allende so soon - and maybe I'll pick one up there.  Remember the joint I volunteered at while Iwas there a few years back?  SPA?  Their doggie page has some cuties.  Maybe I'll swoop me up one right down there and jam her across the border with me.

All I know is 2011 is coming right up...and I've never been more on top of my smile :)

Oh, and btw - for all of those folks who think me and my magazines are just too much...well, that little colorful wall of madness is about to be a FloBo flip unlike no other.  BAM!  Years and years of source material finally being put to use...yes, the inner sanctum has been penetrated.

Ahhh, and one more thing - Wexler, one of my favorite vendors, got me Apple TV for Xmas.  HOLY SHIZ.  Just get it.  Best thing ever.

 

 

I'm Taking Alternative Living to the Next Level

When I say I'm drifting...I really, really mean it.

Nobody really knows this, but a few months back I bought the FloBo.  That's short for Floating Boat.  Which is another way to say Floating Home.  I scooped it up while I was out East working and just got back a few days ago to Marina del Rey and the the FloBo.  It's 3 floors (2400 sq ft including the top deck - which happens to have the highest 360' view in the marina) and quite simply, a floating beast.

Here's the thing.  I want to flip it 100% and make it as green as possible.  Solar array, rooftop garden, possible radiant heat flooring and maybe even geothermal (why dig a well when I live ON TOP OF the Pacific?). The green list goes on and on, and the possibilities are utterly endless.  Or not.  See, that's the quandary - this thing floats on platforms, so there is only so much you could add before you start to sink.  Or, you could add more flotation.  But, how does one do that?  Exactly! 

I was gonna wait til it was all done and done to move, but then I got back and couldn't resist moving onboard - why not?  What an amazing way to live.  Like right now - it's pouring rain, the tug-horns are honking somewhere in the marina, little ducks are racing across the water for shelter and this joint is tight as a tick. I got my HD DirecTV all hooked up and the wi-fi is 4G and fiercely fast.  Sure it's old and a bit like a cabin right now, but who cares, it's so cozy...What else is there?

Of course I will be documenting the entire flippage as it goes along, piece by piece.  So much research to do - so much reading, 'net exploration, site surveys, scouting trips, talking to designers/architects/contractors.  What a straight-up FUN journey this will be.  Just trying to make my footprint in the world a little bit lighter.  Oh, and check this - I can see my beautiful sailboat right out of my office window.  Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Tonight was the first night I've made a home-cooked meal in the small kitchen (get ready to be ripped out little kitchen) - and it was delish.  First of all, to have a gas stove again, ahem...propane...(electric is the worst thing ever)...I whipped up a tidy little bowl of whole grain pasta tossed with fresh sardines, lemon juice, lots of butter, a clove of garlic and a couple of spoonfuls of this super-yummy kale and almond pesto I got today from the farmers market.  Topped it all off with some big, fat feta crumbles.  Lord, I've missed cooking.  But, guess what?  I'M BACK)

-MST

 

The Best Fish Sandwich in the World

Fish Sandwich Nirvana

The roof is made from weeds, the chairs are plastic, the parking lot is gravel...and the fish sandwich is quite possibly the best in the world.  Carlito's Place in the tiny pitstop of Pescadero, Baja is at the top of my list of killer meals needed again ASAP. 

Soft toasted bun, creamy slaw, crispy battered fish (probably caught that day).  My god, the JOY.

I'm finally leaving Jersey today - headed back to LA and my boat and my life.  And, you know what's just a hundred + miles away?  Baja...

 

 

 

Why Can't the Whole World Be As Lush As Mexico?

A different side of Mexico...

This last sojurn to Mexico, I tried somewhere new.  A tiny slice of heaven you should all get to know called Costa Careyes.  It's a funky mish-mash of a boutique hotel, a Mediterranean village with amazing condo-style rooms, and super-high end villas for rent by the night/week/month.  Incredibly exclusive, but very affordable.  Yes!  Just up my alley. 

I opted for the village area - where I was done up with my own private plunge pool.  Just insane stuff.  All open-aired and somehow I scored a full on 2 bedroom/3 bath 2-story beast of a room.  The silence was golden.  The air was always flowing through the open windows.  The view was sick. The hammock on the front deck was swaying.  The flowers were flush around the entire property.  The private beach was quiet.  The fish were out in full force for snorkeling.  The passion fruit drink was killer.

See that giant rock out there - we kayaked around that thing and then just around the bend was the shack of a beachfront palapa with fresh ceviche and cold beer.  How in the world could this be topped?

Basically - you fly into Puerto Vallarta, rent a car and jam 3.5 hours all the way south down the coast til you come upon the most incredibly lush stretch of Mexico out there.  It hast to be.  I will be back.