day in the life

just chilling with the family

Otis turns two years old, holy crap. Next thing you know he'll be ripping out in the Tamarindo Rivermouth with Daddy and baby Happy.....Here he is at his birthday party in SD. We decided to have his party early and in SD, as getting Happy's passport has been a bit more trouble than we thought. Its been quite a while since my last blog. I go through spurts where I'll write a blog every other day, then at other times I'll go a couple of weeks or longer without popping up for air. If they say a picture is worth a thousand words, then I guess I'm going to have a 20,000 word blog today, because all I've been doing is chilling in San Diego with my family for the last ten days and taking photos of everything on my iphone (best invention since the headband). I've been doing a bit of work via my trusty laptop, and life just keeps on doing it's thing just like normal. I hope everyone had a good Easter and had some time off from working for the man.
A lot of my friends have asked to see my new son Happy Zephyr Walsh, so here he is (those bunny ears are fake). Happy is going to be turning two months old on April 1st. Holly and I think that he is bigger than Otis was when he was the same age, both boys were pretty big when they were born. Holly's brother is named Happy as well, thats where we got the name from, and he's 6'8, so if Baby Happy is going to be anything like his uncle I'll be accepting college basketball recruiter gift baskets at the surf camp. I've totally turned into that parent that spends so much of his time talking about his kids and showing kid photos to the stranger I sit next to on the airplane, pretty much the guy I used to make fun of, probably because I spend so much time with them whenever I can. It shouldn't be a bad thing and I think I've just gotten old enough to understand what life is really supposed to be all about. I guess its better in some ways than doing nothing but thinking about surfing. Here is Otis Easter morning right after he found all of the eggs the Easter Bunny hid around the house.
When you hang out with Otis, you have conversations, he tells jokes, it just doesn't seem like you're hanging with a two year old. I'm pretty stoked that we decided to have kids, no matter how much pressure it puts on me when I think about the responsibility of being a dad. I have a hard time with telling him that I'm leaving for Costa Rica because he wants to go with me, and soon enough he will... but for now I'm doing some solo trips to focus on working on the camp. I'm writing this from the airplane, currently somewhere above Mexico or El Salvador or ?, going to the surf camp and back to work. I'm burnt out from doing my taxes and seeing exactly how many days I spent in an airplane just like today. I've got the routine down pretty good, as in I only pack what I know I'm going to need and nothing more. I usually pack in the hour before I'm supposed to leave for the airport. I don't know anyone else who commutes to another country for work and I'm looking forward to the time when I have my family back in Tamarindo. Not that I mind things the way they are, I'm the last to complain, but lately its been working full time in CR followed by going back to SD and things being equally crazy at home. My house is a total disaster, there are kid's toys everywhere. Otis stole my credit cards right after I got home and I just found them last night. I trip over his wagon, step on legos, stack up his stuffed animals and try to clean enough room to sit and check my email. All he wants to watch on tv is Handy Manny, the days of Family Guy are numbered as I can only watch them when he's sleeping with fears that he'd otherwise turn into Stewie. This week the big thing was Otis' party, which I learned is the most important event in the first two years of a child's life for their mothers. We chilled in the park on Saturday in the same neighborhood of Tierrasanta where I grew up with my uncle Cory. Here's a photo of him and I from the party, looking as if we're sponsored by some surf camp in Costa Rica or something.
Cory is a really good guy getting his life back on track. He just got out of prison and just celebrated his one year sobriety. He has a job in the shipyards repairing navy ships, working for the same company my mom worked for for almost 20 years. I hope to bring him to Costa Rica some day, after his parole is up and he can leave the country. We are all really excited for him and his new life with us, he moved in and is working on getting his drivers license again. I can tell that this time things are going to be positively different for him and it makes me stoked. I'm not sure if I ever told anyone, but my dad has started writing a book about our bus drive to Costa Rica back in 2001. He has always looked back on that trip as a life changing one, I did too. I mean, we bought an old school bus and drove it through some crazy shit and not only lived to tell about it but have a surf camp to boot. It reminded me of the covered-wagon era, going west, but in this case I was heading south for the land of warm water where the poor college grad could find a life he wanted and could afford. Here we are, chilling on my parents deck, having another one of our all-too-common sunset conversations, enjoying what California has to offer, and no that isn't a denver broncos beanie.
Having such a solid family has helped make me what I am today. I'm truly lucky for this more than anything else. My buddy Kent and I chilled out at Otis' party, he has been trying to get me to finish some music I recorded last year. I put down some guitar and some vocals but really haven't done much more with it, so if anyone wants to take it and work on it be my guest, its a song about family which is always a good thing to have.
02_Family_Man.mp3
I wrote this song while Holly and I were on a road trip across America. We had just found out that we were pregnant with Otis, I figured it was the end of life as I knew it and kindof freaked out and bought this old Chevy camper van that we named Uncle Rico's van, and departed on a cross-country surf mission to Nova Scotia so I could get some hurricane swell during early September.
We made it to upstate Maine when we realized that the fact that Holly didn't have her passport meant that we weren't going to Canada. From looking at a map I don't think I could have started out further away from Nova Scotia and in the end never make it there. We drove back west, made it as far as Atlanta when I lost my patience and left the van in the Atlanta airport's long-term parking lot. We wrapped my surfboard in bubble wrap from Kinkos, left the van keys on top of the front-right tire, and boarded a plane for Costa Rica. Ironically I met a guy in my bar who was from Atlanta that same week, he picked up the van and took it to his house where it sat until past-WRSC-photographer Jamie Bott picked it up and drove it back to Cali so he could live in it and surf the winter season. Anyways, somewhere between Oklahoma and whatever state was next, I wrote that song and it reminds me of road tripping, which I love more than beer itself. Now that I'm heading back to the surf camp, I look forward to seeing the carnage from Semana Santa. Easter week is craziness in most any latin country, and Costa Rica is no exception as everyone from everywhere has the same idea- go to the beach. There are always plenty of things to do at the camp besides surf, and trust me I find them. We're getting ready for a group of 58 from the company Skull Candy who have booked out the entire surf camp starting April 5, so I guess WRSC enters a new era of corporate events and large groups taking refuge. I think it's awesome, as we've never had the entire camp booked out before. I'd like to throw a huge luau during that week, since my plans for a concert never really happened. Its would be a nice end-of-the-high-season party, roast pig, marimbas, cold beer, surfing, sunset, you know, pretty much what a Costa Rican luau would be. I'll put more info up as soon as I figure out wtf I'm doing, as I never really know until I do it, but for those of you that know me its no surprise at all. See you in the water-

blog universe

I saw this guy having dinner in the surf camp last night and I had to ask him for a picture.There is something about the headband and mustache combo that is, well, just perfect. I was having dinner with James, his wife Meilyn and their son Lucas. James was so impressed he showed up to work today wearing a headband too. I would have worn one if I had one. Maybe I'll shave a mustache...but without a proper headband I look too much like that cop from Reno 911 (the one with the short shorts). I've seen a lot of headbands this Spring Break, some gangsta headbands on white frat boys, some I-just-finished-playing-racketball headbands like this guy. I think its great and I hope they make a full comeback along with ghetto blasters that you rock on your shoulder and high-tens (so much better than the high-five). For anyone who read the comments from my last blog, I literally put it out there to the world that I was needing to talk with the President from Pro Mejores regarding the black water treatment plan for Tamarindo. Literally the next morning I received a message from him, and an hour later he (Federico Amador) was sitting in the restaurant at the surf camp. He had come to talk to me about the black water treatment plan for the town. Irony? maybe. Glad that it happened? definitely. An update for the general public- there is a permanent treatment plant planned for the community, but of course different management groups are now fighting over who will get to run the service. I'd imagine that in a perfect world the plant could be operational in two years... I am more concerned about the short-term solution, and I was very stoked to know that Pro Mejores had presented my proposal to the mayor. Instead of having to build a wetlands outside of town, the Melia Conchal development in Brasalito is offering to treat all of Tamarindo's black water. Now, only the physical service and oversight of said service needs to occur. My start-up Zephyr Eco Project has offered to oversee this service, organizing everything through the new ZEP office located on-site at the surf camp.
Check out the picture I just took from the WRSC webcam. These guys are busting their asses putting all of the new blocks down for the extension of the boardwalk. Each block is actually cut rock, we sent Catalina to Nicaragua and she found the stone quarry. I guess there were 400 workers a mile deep in a mine cutting rock...pretty crazy. She found a truck and dealt with import taxes, and bam just like that we're finishing the walkway to the Sand Bar. Its pretty cool... definitely been nice to wear the work boots!
Here's Eduardo after a full day of work yesterday. He has been going up to the Zephyr finca in Alemania every other day or so as we're getting ready to start construction of the Eco Lodge and have some road repairs to do before the rains start. We have finished the Sand Bar, you can see the corner of it in the picture. The bar top comes this weekend, and we should have the boardwalk connected to the bar by then...
I can imagine some sweet BBQs happening while chilling in a hammock under the trees, just watching the waves...

The surf has been really fun every day for the last five days. Actually its been fun every day since I've been here, I have no complaints. Since last year's rains moved the rivermouth more to the south, we have the longest left I remember ever having that breaks across the beach. It starts in front of the public parking lot and ends literally in the estuary. I hadn't surfed much before this trip as my back had been giving me problems, but its feeling great now and this trip I've been surfing every day except for one. The cross training has definitely helped while I've been in San Diego and suffering from cold water. Perhaps today I won't surf, I'll just watch it while I make it my goal to finish this bottle of rum in the Skybox that keeps calling my name. Pirate juice and ye sunset argh. The power was out from 8am this morning until an hour ago, so about six hours... besides sweating and watching low tide barrels I've been doing my best to chill and not stress out about all of the things I want to do with the camp while I'm gone. My plane flies out of Liberia at 645am and by 345pm I'll be cruising out of Lindberg Field in San Diego. Another week at the office. Stress is a bad habit that I've been slowly breaking. I have to keep reminding myself that the only pressure that exists is the pressure I put on myself. And from my bills and sometimes from my wife, but I can only image how tough it is to live with a lunatic like myself. Like many household appliances and whatevers, I have a innate fear of the mailbox. I never open my mail, I'm afraid of what it might say. I'd rather not open it at all and have stacks of unopened mail on my desk in San Diego (whoops). Email is too much mail as it is. To this day my mother sends me these forwarded emails about how you should never microwave water by itself because it can explode in your face (http://www.hoax-slayer.com/microwave-water.html) or how you should never eat lemon slices that come with drinks in restaurants or bars because of huge amounts of bacteria, and so on. I grew up being told never to get near the garbage disposal because a lost fork could be down there and, if the garbage disposal somehow got switched on, it could shoot out forks and stab me in the face. You wonder why I'm neurotic. She would always tell me that if I stood in front of the microwave it would be transmitting microwaves into my brain. huh? That basically means that I can never feel comfortable around a micorwave or a mailbox or the garbage disposal or the fridge (long story) or the water heater. What is the scientific term for being afraid of appliances? I'm really not sure if my mom reads this blog, but she would have to agree that she said all these things, right mom? I love you even more because you did, it keeps life more interesting (except when I'm wanting to re-heat my coffee and can't because I don't own a microwave). Whats rockin in my crappy headphones? Jose Gonzalez. I suggest you buy two albums from him on Itunes, Veneer and In Our Nature, both totally awesome. This track is called Down_the_Line.m4a

finally new vans

Remember when I said we were getting new Toyota vans? Well I finally got myself to Liberia and into the Toyota dealership and signed the papers.
A mandatory Burger King Whopper Tejano combo meal later and James, Rafa, Jonathan and myself are driving back to Tamarindo. Its about time for these vans, our current ones are pretty sad. They've been dying for way too long, and now that we have new ones we can just swap them out every year or two years or whatever. Its funny because I've bought so many freaking vans with WRSC, I can't even remember how many. Now all we need are our bus plates and these things will be there to pick you up at the airport. How do I describe my job at WRSC? hmmm.... every day is different, thats for sure. Tomorrow I get a huge shipment of Nicaraguan blocks cut from a stone quarry. Wednesday I drive up to the mountains to Zephyr, where we've just finalized the floorplan for the sustainable casitas that we are now about to begin building there. Thursday I think I'm going to paint my bedroom. Friday we open the new bar. Thats a work week in paradise I guess. Oh, wait, I'm flying to San Diego on Friday, even better. I miss my family quite a bit as its been two out of the last three weeks that I've been down here, but I'll be back there soon and staying for ten days before coming back. Life down here is pretty classic. I feel more tico than gringo after all of this going back and forth. I love seeing mariachis walking down the beach. I love walking into a tico bar, like I did on my way back from Zephyr on Saturday. I was cruising with my old college buddy-turned-doctor Andrew Illig and Eduardo. Some dude was passed out drunk on the floor of the bar, just wasted, and everyone just goes on like its no big deal.
Tamarindo is still just as difficult to swallow for someone like myself who has been here for enough time to learn how things work. This whole Save Tamarindo stop-thy-highrise is out of control. It seems as if it is supported by rich gringos trying to save their hillside views, which they'll still have, just not the same after a town grows this much. To be honest, it would be best for the growth to continue BUT BE LIMITED TO the town of Tamarindo. At least we can keep the country the country. Town and Country. I'm sure this is exactly what it must have been like growing up in Hawaii. Tamarindo is going to grow regardless, people should be rallying to be shown where our tax dollars are going. Am I the only one paying taxes down here or what? Not to bitch like I tend to do, but what about a sidewalk? hmmm. The surf has been fun, and thats good. The last two days the winds have been howling offshore, and even though it hasn't been huge its been fun on a longboard and fish. I am a little concerned that the rainy season will be here before too long (usually early May). Although it doesn't really start with serious rains until into September, I don't think the town is prepared for the rainy season as they weren't prepared last year. There are talks about a privately funded treatment plant to be built at some point soon. How soon? After going to the Greenbuild Expo in Chicago last November I drafted a temporary water treatment solution that I presented to the Pro Mejores of Tamarindo. I got it posted in a few articles. I finally get the President Federico Amador on the phone, we talk about the issue. He says that the municipality is pumping people's tanks for free. I never got the memo, never got offered any water service, nothing. I'm pretty sure they talked about it but nothing happened. I get a meeting set with Federico for last Tuesday, the morning after I arrived to Tamarindo. He doesn't show up to his office and I return to mine with an email saying he couldn't make it. I've sent another email, again explaining my plan. No reply. I read the paper, and it talks about different groups fighting for the rights to develop a black water treatment plant, which is great, but what about what we're supposed to be doing between today and when that treatment plant project is complete. Digging up all of the roads to install sewer systems is awesome, but for someone who knows Tico Time very well, it won't happen any time soon. Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

hola world its all sunny and nice

High five. The wind may be onshore and the swell may have dropped, but I just had one hell of a good time surfing my 9'6 Witch's Rock longboard on the incoming tide in front of the hotel. These reform little lefts were coming in and giving out some fun little rides. There was hardly anybody out, which has been the case with this off wind but still the waves have been super fun. The sun has been blasting. I've been doing a lot of painting upstairs in my apartment above the bar, really sweating a ton with it being so hot and no AC in the room I was painting. It was painted blue before, which made it feel like I was living in a submarine, so now I've got a couple coats of white up and its happy and nice. I'm cleaning things up little by little each day, so that by the time I leave next Friday it will be ready for the family to come back down with me. We got Happy's birth certificate and now we're waiting for his passport. Hopefully we can have Otis' birthday party down here if all goes well, which is on March 29. I cleaned up Catalina's old office, which is now part of the apartment. I put a spare bed in there as I always have friends coming down, and I can never guarantee that there will be a hotel room at the camp as its always booking up. I was showing Rafa how to do the surf report last night at my desk, and some drunk guy cruises out of the Skybox. I guess I hadn't noticed him come in and he drunkenly found his way to the bathroom without me seeing. I left the door slightly open... then as he was creeping out I spotted him, disgusted that he could have been sitting on my toilet seat. I guess thats what you get when you live above the bar. Tico Hendrix gives me messed up dreams, but still its funny as hell to fall asleep listening to him. We started clearing the area to start construction on our new rancho. This one is going to be 7 meters by 10 meters, so plenty big so that we can have our dance classes, yoga, fitness programs/surf therapy, we can rent the space out for events like weddings and private parties. We get requests all of the time, so finally I get my act together. The Sand Bar is going to open a week from today, I'm getting pretty excited about that. I found more of those large blocks, the ones we have in front of the restaurant/bar and hotel/pool area, so we can continue the boardwalk past the rancho we're about to build, past the bar, and a little bridge and pathway to the public parking area. The blocks are actually cut rock, which is crazy. They are up in Nicaragua, so we have to send a large truck, transport hundreds of them (each one weighs an incredible amount), pass them through the border and pay the duties, drop them off and install them on the surf camp property. It should all happen this next week which is pretty exciting. It reminds me of the first Revenge Of The Nerds, when they found that old house and all worked to fix it up, all playing to that horrible 80s music. Speaking of music, check out this band the Black Keys, its a two man band, only a guitarist and a drummer. They have such a rocking sound, its great.
Ill_Be_Your_Man.mp3

vibrating walls

Living in San Diego half time and above the bar at Witch's Rock Surf Camp half time has its ups and downs. Definitely more ups than downs, but really it sucks to not be hanging out with your family as much as you "could" be, since its you that makes the decision on where you go and when. When you work for the man, you get told when to punch in and punch out, and what you're supposed to do. Meanwhile you find the time to check your email or get new movies from Netflix. When you own the company, when you are "the man" so to speak, I believe the best explanation is to simply say that you'll never work harder for someone else as you will for yourself. Having said that, I'm upstairs listening to the band play in the restaurant while I get caught up on my long to-do list. I spent a few hours on the plane yesterday organizing my documents, documents which are scattered as if they could have somehow been hit by a train. Its like "what was I thinking, saving that file there" or "holy crap, I remember when this was like, the most important thing I had going on in the world and all I did was bug the shit out of my wife talking about it". I'm referring to the big surf boat that I never bought, the one I dream about. One day I'm going to get that boat and go surf all of those decreasing empty surf spots. Not that being in Costa Rica isn't awesome. Or San Diego. San Diego is the bomb. I thought that it would be cool to get back up there and hang out with my friends from high school / college whatever, but then you realize that everyone has been living their lives, and that theres not enough time to have ten or twenty best friends. We moved back to SD to have baby Happy, which went off without a hitch so to speak. I mean, when a woman has a baby, there isn't a way to describe what I imagine she must be going through, and I was there both times! And now that I'm here, and the three of them are up there, Holly is such a champ. I really don't tell her enough. She never reads my blogs, she's always been horrified by them, worrying I'd be bitching about something having to do with her. I can't though, because even though I'm at work, she's holding down the fort with a one-month-old that needs to eat 24 hours/day... craziness. You know... I've been really getting back into music so much more in the last few months. I've been downloading tons of stuff from Limewire, finding some great artists that I otherwise wouldn't have found. It helps me decide what albums I want to buy and what shows I want to see. I wouldn't have found out about Pinback had I not stolen their tracks from Limewire, but then I spent $50 on a couple of tickets to see them with my uncle. I guess thats how the new music industry works... Check out this track, been stuck on my itunes playing over and over the last couple of days, her name is Kimya Dawson and she had some music on the Juno soundtrack. I think she has a really cool sound. The%20Beer.mp3 Its simple and raw. The surf today was pretty big, I actually got stuck inside for a while. Big lefts, good size on the sets. The wind came onshore but it was still fun. I got a dirty barrel out in front of the rivermouth, literally watched the wave barrel over me and thought that I'd be hitting my board or the ocean floor but didn't. I'm stoked because after a heavy surf I'm feeling pretty good all and all, going to bed so I can get up at 5am and surf the legendary Riverpoint Right :-)

wally world

Some people think that owning the surf camp is all fun, and although it is, it is also a ton of work. I have never put as much energy into a single thing in my life as I have with WRSC, and I'm sure a lot of other people could say that too. Even though the way we've got things set up is great, being able to work in Costa Rica and then come to San Diego and chill with my family, I'm waiting for baby Happy to get just a little bit older so that I feel more comfortable taking on any more life plans. In the meanwhile I'll be spending my time in SD with my family and good friends, and then working my ass off in Costa Rica (and of course getting some waves while I'm at it). Happy just turned one month old today. Here I am with my boys this morning before breakfast-
Its been nice being up here and doing the dad thing for the week. We've done a ton, from going to the museums in Balboa Park to the OB Street Fair to the San Diego Zoo, chilling out at Kate Sessions park with our dog Gus, flying a kite and drinking a couple Tecate 24 ozs. Everything short of going to Wally World. Every day we've been cruising around and doing things. We have this ridiculous 2-child stroller, its one in front of the other, like a big battering ram. I feel pretty funny pushing it around, especially when its packed to the brim. Now I'm looking out for any triple-strollers, just so I can feel better about our situation. Otis is killing me, he has such the sense of humor these days. Check him out making a face like the llama he's riding at the street fair.
The surf in Tamarindo the last couple of days has been pretty freaking good, you should check out the last surf reports. I've been watching it through the web cam to get my fix while I'm away for the week, and I must say, there are a couple of you website visitors that are always scanning the beach for chicks with that thing. You can use the web cam as you want, but please don't just perve out for hours while you're at work. There are a couple of guys in particular that could ease off on the surf porn, or at least use that time to write a column on what they're seeing on Tamarindo Beach daily . Or I could just get one of those fixed web cams, but they suck compared to this one. I'm very interested in hosting a Tamarindo surf contest that is viewed over the internet via our webcam. Viewers log in and then vote on every heat to decide the winners. The event would be hosted by WRSC and we would control the video feed for the duration of the event. Its going to happen this summer for sure, we just need to have a good swell and have done some planning... I'm happy to say that the Zephyr Eco Project office has just opened it's door. It is located street-side at Witch's Rock Surf Camp and you'll find Larry McKinney there daily. Please feel free to come in if you have any interest in sustainable building. We have a showcase of native plants growing on the WRSC property, as well as a couple of sustainable development projects of our own (a water treatment facility and an earthbag construction). We are offering building services such as traditional Costa Rican rancho constructions, simple structures built from earthbags, and nursery products from our nursery in Alemania. We are also getting ready to start an organic farm in Alemania. Contact Larry for more info. I'm looking to coming back down after the weekend... either Monday or Tuesday... hasta la pasta- joe