Saw “3:10 to Yuma” last night…great movie. “There Will Be Blood”, P.T. Anderson’s upcoming film that I am reeeeeally looking forward to, was one of the trailers. It looks quite brilliant.

Oh, California in the summer…friends, family, cheap Mexican food, shrimp tacos from Rockin’ Baja, margaritas, guacamole and Coronas on the patio, sun…

A few photos from my short trip to California last week:

Oceanside. Used to spend the entire summer here when I was a kid.

Hello, old friend. It’s been awhile

Enjoying a double double on the beach…can it be any more perfect? (El Capitan, this one’s for you)

Friar Tuck, “Beat LA!” (and beat LA they did)

The beach in the outfield, for the ankle biters

“Diego Dog” (bratwurst in a Kaiser roll-like bun topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, and mustard)

Wanted something a little different than Oceanside, so I spent half a day at San Onofre State Beach, north of Oside on the 5. Very crowded in the lineup, but everyone was chill. Lots of families surfing together. Water wasn’t too cold. Everyone jokes that it’s due to the nuclear reactors situated on the beach. Since visiting Chernobyl I’ve found nuclear power a bit spooky, so it felt bizarre to sit in the lineup and look over your shoulder at those massive domes. But it’s safe, or whatever.

You take your car to work. I’ll take my board

Tandem surfers and a crowded lineup

A lot like last year, more regrets that I moved back to DC. I think there will be a change of location in ’08.

“I hope you want the same thing I want, freedom to live and ride nature’s waves without the oppressive hang-up of the mad, insane complex that runs the world and this sick, sick war. These are incredible times. Thank God for a few free waves.” – Miki Dora, 1960s. Apropos.

You are supposed to list five new blogs. Here are the ones I’ve recently started reading:

Knife Tricks: A travel blogger who visits exotic destinations like North Korea and Turkmenistan. Yes, I am jealous.

Daily Bread: Great surf photography from SoCal, updated daily.

Chernobyl and Eastern Europe: The latest news from the Exclusion Zone. Also, check out Mark’s photos from Chernobyl, one of the most interesting accounts of an exclusion zone visit that I’ve read.

Notes from Україна: A Duke University student’s account of her research trip to Chernobyl. In particular, her interviews with the liquidators are fascinating.

The Calm Before the Sand: A soldier blogs from Iraq. This guy is a great writer