I sold a toy last night that I havent been using it so I figured it’d be good to let it go to someone who would. As the Kite was getting inspected I felt more and more like a Judas not just to the Kite but also to myself. The deal didnt take long to close and as the shekels of silver hundreds eased into my palm I felt horrible. Watching the Kite come to life again in front of me was so exciting, it was vibrating in the sea breeze just waiting to get lifted and ripped into the water by some shreddy eddie. I hope the dude that bought it rides it hard, I think he will, I know I wont. I also know Im not selling anymore of my toys, not the big ones at least.

A couple years ago I had cash to buy a really nice motorhome, a big Class A. I was hell bent on selling the Black Pearl and getting into something with a couple bedrooms and massive kitchen. Jeff Manoske spent two weeks talking me out of it, he tried explaining the emotion of letting something go but I didnt understand it then. Thank God I just listened to him and took his advice; I dont think I would have had the juice to sell the Pearl had it come to the wire and I sure as hell couldnt do it now. She will come to berth in the backyard as a social club for my boys to drink and play cribbage in, one great day.

The Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) by Fred Falke

Sunday really was June 5, 2k11. Sunday really was a shred day, we went to Crystal and ripped around the mountain all day, just killing it in the Spring ski Mtn vibe, it was exactly what needed to happen. About ten of us went up, the whole crew was really tight so it made the day even better. I peeled off mid afternoon and hiked up a ridge to get some freshies that Id spotted earlier in the morning, it was blazing hot up there, I took my shirt off at the top and chilled in the snow/sun, watching everyone below me, the mountains around me and just taking it all in, the air tasted so freaking good. I realized what a crazy time 2k11 has been, I dont know that Id really stopped to think about it all before Sunday afternoon up there all alone……its insane, whats been accomplished in the past 5 months.
The website is done, my attorney has finished up his stuff, the accountant is dialed in and working on what needs done, the bank is pleased to see Shipwreck money coming in but bummed I had all the capital already mustered to start everything up comfortably. Shoulda seen the branch manager’s face when he got my answer to his question: how did you fund all of this, Daniel? That moment will be one of those times you wont ever forget, it felt good…never felt better in fact, when that little word comes out my mouth: cash.  Everything is finished, there’s contracts coming in for next year and for some reason Im not tired. I think I should be dead…I certainly went through moments when I wanted to be dead, or was certain Id end up dead from all this effort….but here I am, standing tall at the Helm again.
Feels good.
Snow is good for people, its good for me. Mountains are good, motorhomes in mountains are even better.

After the sessions in the snow we sat on the patio at Crystal and had a few pops, checked out the band and told our stories of last season to each other before heading down to the Naches Tavern to throw back some red bull/?’s. Horseshoes, nachos, red-bulls, stories, crazy assed biker dudes and drunken loggers were the order of the night, we all had one hell of a time.
Thats whats up, its nice to write about even if it is poorly written……We will be heading back at the end of the month, anyone wants to come is more than welcome to join the party. You only live once, may as well make it count.

Daniel.

oh hey guys, check it out: Shipwreck dot com is up and running.

Its going to be one hell of a ride this week; it begins now.
Ski season ends Sunday, honeybee season begins the following Wednesday and still-secret contracts get signed somewhere in between. If your savvy, theres an internet leak that tells all but it aint from this operation, not yet at least.

Heres’ the new Kurt Vile video for Jesus Fever, he is playing Seattle very soon.

Watching the Bay…

Watching….the streets.

Hide the children, the Black Pearl never sleeps…

We spent the morning ripping around chutes and trees.

A few of us got bored and decided to take a nature walk, see:
(I added a tune here, its the same thing I always sing every time we hike: press play!)
Dropkick Murphys – The Rocky Road to Dublin

These are the chronological pictures from that hike and those epic lines we each got. Click through any of them to get to the Flickr feed where there are more; we hit huge fields, dropped waterfalls and tight chutes all in between near perfect glades and it couldnt have been done with a better crew. We dropped into Highway 2 and picked up a ride from our man, Chuck.

We dropped into the road and crossed over here, this is our walrus slide.

Hey bee-man you got two phones d’ere by your drink, d’ose yours? Ya know dats whats killing your bees is dem phones, I tell ya what dats eggzactly what it is…d’ose signals burys da gps in dem
bees. yup dats why your not doing good wid em.

hey beeman hows yer beez? ya see that thing thar on KING5 bout how dese bees are all disappearin didja? well hot-damn man I heard you had some gud honey but it was damn dark, now why is that? you think it might be bad news? I bet it is, you better look at that stuff afore ya start sellin it now.

your hives are too far apart, ya better bring em in closer than they are.

you feed em that shugarh syrup then your gonna kill em, might as well burn em down now son.

Naturally none of these experts have ever seen my Hives, nor will they anytime soon. Funny how everyone is an instant expert on honeybees, PARTICULARLY at the ginjoints. I always thank them for their input whilst I grumble on the inside, see Im cantankerous and usually beset upon by an unwillingness to suffer the fools however as the beekeeper, particularly the one with an untested product in an overwhelming market, I simply must behave. At least for now.

Im off now, on this fine Sunday night to build a fire and rebuild a cocktail and not necessarily in that order. Also have some serious reading to do, catching up on “Flashman” by George MacDonald Fraser. A damned good book given to me by a damn-good friend, early last week. Damned good books and even better friends, thats what I say.
To him I say simply: S’lainte’ and Boru.

Before I sign off……

I am on the cusp of “going public” with Shipwreck Honey. Everything is almost done, legally everything IS done, its almost time to break the bottle over the bow and cut her into the salty swell.
Here at ninja I average 100 hits a day, with only 20 or 30 of those hits considered by me to be the core audience. I know most of you in fact and in many ways, I keep this here for you, I like that you like it, I like that you get it. I want to keep moving along here, but its true beauty is its overall …I dont want to say privacy……i reckon the word Im looking for is…….

As I unveil Shipwreck to the masses, hoopleheads and eco-freaks alike…I expect all hell to break loose. NinjaMotorhome and Shipwreck Honey dont exactly “fit” together and frankly I dont know how I will juggle them both, will Ninja will turn into a brine barrel of impassioned expression about my idea of the hippies? I hope not, I’m gonna need those hippie dollars so I can build more beehives next year! Ninja is nice b/c now more than ever and even moreso in the future, it’s a quiet place, it’s somewhere I like to be and I like seeing my core here, that’s you guys, the ones’ who come in a couple times a week and say hi. Keep it up, I enjoy it, im honored by it, by you thinking enough to come in and drop a line. Thanks, many many thanks. Its gonna be a big year, I envision this little blog as the eye of my storm. Should be fun.
Stick around and again, as always: thanks for reading.