Thankfully August is nearly over, it’s always fun, but can be exhausting. For some reason it’s always the busiest month for me. This past weekend was full of canoeing, t-bone steaks, grilled cheese, and s’mores. Otherwise known as camping! Camping at Knoll lake up on the Mogollon Rim is one of our annual trips. With the 110 degree heat this past weekend in the valley, it was nice to sit in front of a campfire all night, enjoy the 85 degree day weather, and sleep in warm & cozy sleeping bags without worry of sweating. I found an excellent beer based steak marinade that made our t-bones so incredibly tender and tasty.. almost better than the usual miso glazed salmon we make. Now you may say t-bones and salmon aren’t camping food, but by my definition, anything you can cook over a campfire (or more specifically hot coals from a campfire) is camping food.

The weekend prior was 3 days spent at Ocean Beach San Diego in a 3rd floor 4 bedroom condo 20 yards above Pelican Point by the 2nd longest pier in the U.S. We (my girlfriend, self, and 6 others) went to see a band play 2 nights at Winston’s Bar (the band was Particle), also acheived by the visit was some good beach time, good food, and the chance for my girlfriend to see her brother, recently transferred to San Bernadino for work. Can’t forget to mention the weather, a beautiful 85 in the day and cool breezy nights that smelt of salty air.

Also notable this month, my girlfriend has been writing for Contact Magazine, a new urban lifestyle magazine that is slated for launch at First Friday on September 2nd. It’s free, so you might as well check it out, you might find out something new about your state.

$2500 later my truck finally has a new engine and is back on the road, made the 300 mile camping trip with hardly a problem other than the fact that my alternator is starting to go, there goes another $200! Land Rovers are a blessing and a curse. They’re way too expensive when new, but under warranty. Used they’re dirt cheap but can suck money due to repairs. In the end it’s probably a wash, this is the first and last I’ll own. It’s been 5 great years filled with camping and snowboarding trips, and if nothing else I’ve gained lots of automotive repair skills.