See Do Think and Feel

Imagine if you will: A friend calls you to go Geocaching or a new Geocache has just been published and you dash out the door to be First To Find. But then you hesitate and think "Do I have everything I need?!" You've done it before, you get to the Cache location but you've forgotten your pen, or your GPS batteries die or there's nice swag but you don't have any trade items or you've got a splinter with no way to extract it.  If only there was a way to ensure that you bring all of the gear you'll need with you. There is: Build your own personalized Geocaching GoBag !  A GoBag is just that: a dedicated bag or pack that, when you're frantically headed out the door, you can just grab, without much thought, and GO!  A GoBag should be separate and distinct from your daily backpack, purse or hip-pack that you might regularly carry. You should not keep your wallet in your GoBag and you shouldn't keep your GPS receiver in your daily backpack or purse....

I'm rather eclectic (to a fault) with my hobbies. It's a blessing and a curse ... really. I'm easily distracted by the "next thing" that happens to grab hold of my interest ... at the time. Last month it was playing the didgeridoo, last week it was lock picking, today it's paracord fob (lanyard) weaving.  I've gone through this phase of paracord weaving before. Back then it was paracord bracelets. You know, the kind of "survival / tactical" looking bracelet that you can unravel for a length of paracord just in case, for "emergencies". At that time I bought plastic buckles and paracord to make those bracelets. But after making about a dozen bracelets, my phase ran its course and I was done with paracord ... for the moment. Jump to a few months ago and I was once again bitten by the paracord weaving bug.  Out of necessity and practicality, none of my hobbies can be very expensive. I doubt I'll ever get into Bass fishing, Off-roading o...

  I posted about my "Every Day Carry" (EDC) pack with the minimal items I  always have with me. If you look at the 2nd photo in that post, you'll see that most things are contained in the little belt pack. One item, not in the pack, is one of the most useful urban tools that I carry.  I've found the Victorinox - Swiss Army Knife (SAK): Explorer to be best balance of size and functionality. A bit thicker than I'd prefer (it has 4 layers), I'll often use the scissors , knife and screwdrivers (2). I'll sometimes use the toothpick, tweezers and magnifying glass. I haven't found a model with 3 layers or less that suits my needs. The exception is the model called the Compact . But at $60, it lacks the magnifying glass, real can opener and proper Philips screwdriver. I carry the Explorer in my left pocket as a most convenient go-to tool. It's quick and nimble: I don't have to dig through my backpack and it's always at the ready. I have anot...

  When I go for a run, go geocaching, scooter, bike or play disc golf, I like to listen to music, an audio book or a podcast. It's not for everyone, but I find the audio can often add to my experience. Gliding past the roller coaster at the Mission Beach boardwalk listening to Bob Marley, Jimmy Buffet or the Beach Boys ... ahh! But San Diego is a busy place, chock full of other pedestrians, bikers and cars, any of which could sneak up behind, surprise me and make for an unfortunate encounter. For this reason it's important to me to be able to hear what might be coming up behind me and maintain situational awareness . I've experimented with a couple variations on the portable audio to solve the situational awareness problem and they are just "OK". I have one that I wear around my neck. Looks like a black horseshoe (see image below). One shortcoming is that it's fallen off several times and clattered on the pavement. They really aren't designed to run with. ...

 "Every Day Carry" or EDC is a "thing". Search it up on Google ( here are some search results ) and you'll see hundreds, nay thousands of references, websites and companies devoted to this topic. I think you'll be amazed at what some people claim to carry every day. Some gear choices are very fashion conscious, matching colors and styles. Others are very self defense themed (hand guns, knives, etc). Collections might have themes of rescue, handyman or a little bit of everything. I've gone through several iterations of what I carry when I leave the house. NOTE: What I describe below is actually what is ON ME. I will sometimes carry a small sling bag that contains even more items and sometimes a daypack (backpack) that contains even more than the sling bag. Although they are both trimmed down to what I believe is essential, the full daypack has just about everything that I might need (and have used!) on an outing. I won't go into DETAIL, but just for e...

I love scootering and I love hanging out with my dog, so why not combine them both!? It was a beautiful, classic, Southern California, San Diego weather day. My scooter of choice on this excursion was my Razor A5 Air . It's nimble, reliable and has nice rough-road smoothing pneumatic tires.  Selah is a good dog. She's a 3 year old Chihuahua / Corgi mix. She's very smart and loyal. I'm her favorite human. This day, I got a breakfast burrito (a very California thing to do) and found an isolated, quiet spot on a large grass field in Balboa Park . You might remember that I came here one night for a scooter - photo shoot .  It was a VERY lazy morning. My belly was satisfyingly full and the weather was PERFECT. Laying on my blanket, warm air, underneath the shade of a tree I felt the familiar drowsiness urging me to nod off for a few. At 11 pounds, Selah is tiny but mighty. She's VERY protective of our claimed "space". As I dozed, I rested easy knowing there is ...

Being able to efficiently carry your luggage and "stuff" while scootering is important. Unlike riding a bike, the weight of what you carry on a scooter matters. Wearing a backpack while riding a bike, the weight is "static". That load will sit on your shoulders / spinal column in a "static" way, not really moving much as you sit on the seat and pedal. Scoot on a scooter with a backpack and EVERY up and down stroke means lifting that load up and down again and again. Over time, it adds up. Your legs will tire more quickly. Better to offload that weight onto your scooter. Let IT carry the load.  There are MANY ways to carry your load. My current favorite solution is the KlickFix rack.  To mount it on my scooter, I use this adapter Here it is on my Swifty Here it is mounted on my Boardy The KlickFix Vario Rack and mounting adapter seem to be well made and sturdy. The rack clicks on and off easily. It carries some of my heavier items: my water bottle, a batte...

Portable AC / DC Air Pump This is a great air pump. About $50. I can use it to inflate tires of my scooters, bikes and cars. I set the PSI that I want to reach, turn it on and it'll automatically stop when it reaches the designated PSI. Sweet! It works off of a 110v power outlet or a 12v "cigarette lighter" in your car. I use this to quickly pump up tires of my scooters to max pressure which helps reduce rolling resistance. It comes with some adapters for other things like soccer balls and inflatable pool toys, mattresses, etc. There's even a built in LED flashlight that might come in handy if you need to inflate your car tire on a dark, desert highway with cool wind in your hair.  On Amazon

Handcrafted Scooter Kickstand - for Photos I love to take and share photos. I love to document my experiences and show what I've seen, done, thought and felt with others. It's one of the reasons that I started this blog.  When I scooter, I enjoy taking photos of the scooter I rode at the time and display it against an appealing background. I feel it gives the image a sense of place and "being there". To draw others into what I experienced.  One of the challenges that I quickly experienced was "how to present the scooter". Leaning it up against an object (wall, tree, post, etc.) is possible, but I find it limits photographic composition and creativity.  Freestanding the scooter opens up numerous photographic compositional options . Set the scooter on a leading line, move it into or out of the sunlight, frame it with background trees or juxtapose it with another object. The problem is that most scooters don't have a kickstand. I don't think I'd wan...

  EDC stands for Every Day Carry and that’s exactly what these are. They are typically small items that you can easily carry with you EVERY day. Items that you’d have with you no matter where or when you leave your home. Almost everyone will have a set of keys, phone and maybe a driver's license and some money. EDC items are with you, on you all of the time and are typically easily accessible. The image above shows a little pouch that I always have attached to my belt or in my backpack (which is full of even more useful items). The little belt pouch, made by Case Logic, is old and very well used. I think it was originally meant to be a small camera case. It also carries a few credit cards, my driver’s license and some cash. It’s “about” the size of a deck of cards. If you ever meet me, I’ll probably have it on my belt. In the pouch, I have THREE items that I think are KEY and ESSENTIAL to always have with me and one more “bonus” item that I’ve found to be useful. Note that all of t...

The other day, my family and I hiked around Lake Calavera.  Carlsbad’s Lake Calavera Preserve features wetlands, a lake, coastal sage-scrub, and volcanic Mt. Calavera. This oasis tucked into the suburban sprawl of North County offers satisfying diversity for a hike this brief, as well as a few adventurous moments and surprises on the trail. This 3.2 mile lollipop loop visits the most interesting and attractive features of the preserve. A Geocache Another Geocache Lots of Geocaches in this wilderness area! This Geocache container was in bad shape. Bent and mangled, the lid no longer fit on which meant that water from the next rain wouldn't be kept out. My Leatherman Wave Multitool to the rescue. One of the most useful things I carry. I used the tool to re-shape the cache so that the lid fit on properly once again. Mount Calavera is 513-ft volcanic plug that was created 22 million years ago in what today is now Carlsbad, Ca. A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, ...