Friday December 3rd -
Lake Elsinore

Thanks to Accuweather we got the perfect wake up forecast North winds at 12mph. It was right, we got there around 10am and flew til 3. I had a lot of ridge lift as did Jason (pictured right). We were the only pilots there that day. Amazing. The topography creates unusual air currents at the lip of the hill. Strong lift in narrow corridors. It was fun mapping them out.

The Landing Zone is huge (below). Plenty of room with some nice shady trees to hide from the 83 degree sun. Nice big wind indicators and a great view. There are zoning issues here just like in Alaska. This site is threatened as well. Visit The E Team's web site for more info or to see how you can help.

Saturday December 4th - Marshall peak

Friday evening we drove to San Bernardino to meet up with Richi and Anni at a Motel 6 next to the Marshall LZ. It was great to see them again. They drove us to launch in their big white van which is also great as a wind block for preflight. There were a lot of locals on launch taking advantage of the first flyable day here in quite some time. We flew all day then we all went out to dinner at a great Thai restaurant and checked back in to the Motel 6.

A great weekend indeed. Jason scored a new Airwave Sport2 (orange/white) from Vuello Libre. See it in the Marshall Photo Gallery.

We like to chow at a local Thai cuisine called Matoom that has the best prices, the most food and is good. Jason has a couple of small "chopper" style bicycles that we cruise the short distance with. It's a nice glide.

Thanks so much to Richi and Anni at Vuello Libre for transporting me to launch. I cant wait for next summer in Alaska when I can return the favors.

They have a photo gallery of all the trips on their site eparaglide.com. The next two are from there...

Friday December 10th - Lake Elsinore

Another accurately predicted day from accuweather! We got up at 6am and got into the traffic for another full day of flying Lake Elsinore. It was epic. One other pilot showed up, so we were able to all fly at the same time and use two vehicles for retrieval. Wow was it hot today. 83 degrees and 75 until 8pm. and See the Photo Gallery! A perfect day for the AC to go out in the car. A small sacrifice for the soaring to be had. Jason got to fly his newly purchased paraglider. It shows up very well in the sky. The Airwave Sport2 (dhv1-2). He loves it. They retail for $3200. If you are interested contact Vuello Libre.

Saturday December 11th - Malibu

I have been very curious about this site since I first got to the area. We got up and hit it on a whim. We got directions from a local friend and met up with them at launch. It is a very beautiful site with paved access, rolling golden mountains and ridges to soar, and a beach to land on. I love to land on the beach. Conditions were too light for soaring today so we just had a sledder. Sorry, I didnt take a single picture the whole time. I look forward to trying it out again someday. I hear it is to become a sanctioned site with tandems.

December 12th - 14th - West Hollywood.

Weather conditions are no good for flying so Jason is back to work and accupuncture school. I am getting ready to come home. Before I go I am helping Jason out with his new iBook. He would say I'm "pimping it out". Fixin up my website and hooking Jason up with a Logo for his business. TiaFuChi.com currently being hosted by me whilst under construction.

SEE ALL YOU GIRDWOOD'IANS SOON!

And so the lone adventurer heads of into the sunset. Will he return again to fight gravity another day? He hopes to in October 2005. Dreams of visiting far away lands like New Zealand and Brazil tug at my wing. We will see. Until next summer then, fellow adventure seekers. The Ten Days of Solstice awaits you in Glacier Valley. Land of the Midnight Sun, Alaska.