I don't need a shovel, I have my head

Everyday Tanner manages to do things a bit differently than the usual kid. The advantage is that he doesn't care how things are supposed to be done, he doesn't think about making impressions or pleasing others, he just does what seems logical to him. So, if he can move sand with his head, then why not?

Channel Islands Dive Trip 2009

Catalina and Santa Barbara Islands June 2009 The "Sand Dollar", our home for the next 3 days

Kelp is beautiful!!

I feel pretty in my 7mm wet suit and mask





Dave gets ready for a night dive

Fresh Halibut speared by the cap'n

The Cap'n speared us fresh fish daily and made us eat it raw!

nice and comfy, just don't sit up in the middle of the night



We just returned from our annual California dive trip. Cold water diving involves the laborious and exhausting task of squeezing oneself into a thick, tight wetsuit. After the wetsuit is on then it's a piece of cake. On this trip we visited a huge colony of sealions, many of which swam out to play with us. As we hovered on the outskirts of a kelp bed, the sealions swam and spun around us. Sometimes they would swim right toward our faces and then at the last minute change direction to avoid a collision. Then when we had to swim back to the boat they escorted us to the ladder and stuck their little heads out of the water to watch us.

We slept comfortably and ate often, plus 10 great dives. Nice Trip!

Dave's Black Birthday

June 18, 2009 was a dark day for Mr. Erickson. He arrived home to a house full of black balloons and crepe paper, 40 mourners all dressed in black and a sign proclaiming to all the world that he had just turned fifty. Then he was forced to wear brown polyester pants, an old man's golf shirt, an ugly trucker hat and some flannel slippers. As we sat him down in a rocking chair we made sure he had a urinal and a walker handy while he opened his birthday presents. Welcome to middle age, Dave!!!