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The Eternal Summer
2007-10-27 00:00:00
journal by you, for everyone No reason to quit playing volleyball just because I'm back in California. As I work on filling in the return trip across the U.S., some more timely updates:Russ Marchewka texted me to play the inaugural US Open of Beach Volleyball. Put together by Karch, USA Volleybal, and Corona Light, the Open nicely put up $5,000 in mens prize money. Some tournaments payout prize money 'thin' -- spread out so the winner receives not much more than, say, 5th place. Others are 'top-heavy'. This one was the latter -- 5th place didn't get anything. Fortunately Russ and I took 2nd. Nevermind that I had a swing to put us ahead 22-21 in the first game of the final against Jeff Carlucci and Ty Tramblie. I've completely forgotten about it. It was a great event, and one I hope to do as well or better in next year. Another interesting event takes place this Saturday, October 6. The Jayo Invitationalis a 6 on 6 sand event at Santa Monica State Beach. Kids clinic in the...
More About: Summer , Eternal

Too early for New Years?
2007-10-27 00:00:00
journal by you, for everyone The bad: I'm going away for New Year's.The good: I'm going away for New Year's.A few weeks ago, Ed Ratledge invited me to join him in New Zealand for the month of January. As the Airstream gets a bit chilly in the mornings, and as it will be summer in New Zealand, this seems like a good option. And we get to play their 2x2 beach volleyball tour as the lone U.S. team. And he's a frighteningly good blocker at 6'8".Since I'll be missing the New Year's party with my good friends, and since everyone should brush up on the lyrics anyway, I put down this track a couple hours ago. And since I'm a featured blogger in SingShot's promotion, they'll be donating some mullah for the charity of my choice. I'm leaning towards the United Way. And to get more folks involved, any new sign-ups to SingShot.com (it's free and it's karaoke -- why not?) that put "VolleyTrolley" in the box for tags of their first recording will get an addition buck dona...
More About: Early , Years , Earl , New Years

Three Weeks to X-Country Launch
2007-10-27 00:00:00
journal by you, for everyone Venice Beach, Calif. -- The home is in decent shape. We're in decent shape. With the cross-country portion of the Tour launching in just three weeks we've got just enough time to get fully ready. We're keeping busy by training, finalizing sponsor deals, and preping the '83 Airstream ready for a summer of maintenance-free service. Thanks to a California-heavy AVP May schedule, we've still managed to compete each of the past few weekends. An easy drive last Thursday brought us to Huntington Beach for a competitive AVP Qualifier. After a short but fun stay we took the rest of our weekend in Hermosa Beach where thousands of people were out enjoying the Memorial Day Fair. Parked alongside Pier Avenue, our HeadBlade-adorned RV got plenty of attention from the estimated 120,000 attendees. Many Fair-goers also took in the action of a 41-team CBVA  (California beach volleyball Association) Men's Open at the Pier. After a windy Saturday and a perfect Su...
More About: Country , Launch , Weeks

Cruising the California Coastline
2007-10-27 00:00:00
journal by you, for everyone After the practice run to Tempe, the Airstream gets a few easy Calif ornia stops before the serious driving starts. Santa Barbara (my hometown) AVP was this past weekend. Huntington Beach is coming up, followed by Hermosa Beach. We live here, so we've seen the sights, driven the drives, but there's still something about seeing it through the wrap-around front windows of the Airstream. We were reminded of this driving to Santa Barbara for the Thursday AVP Qualifier.The AVP, the big show, is the reason for these nearby stops. The past few years, anyone can sign up to play an AVP event. Once signed up, the team is entered in the Qualifier which takes place the day before the Main Draw. Win 3 or 4 matches in a row, and you're in. Piece of cake, right?Nearly 100 teams in Ft. Lauderdale on the men's side, and 8 teams get in. 89 Teams in Santa Barbara again playing for 8 spots. Of course the number of teams isn't as important as the quality. By that sta...

Getting Rolling -- the '06 Journey Begins
2007-10-27 00:00:00
journal by you, for everyone Funny thing about engines: they're happier when they're working. Might also be true of people. Getting the engine started for our 3rd annual trip to Tempe a few weeks ago took all three batteries.  Still, after a good 10 minutes of idling she was purring like a 2-packs-a-day mountain goat. As we climbed out of California and entered Arizona, the engine smoothed out nicely. Until we let Arty drive. Arty (yes, the One-Man-Party) Baron was along for the ride, along with veteran companion Ed Ratledge, me, Jack, and Arty's surfer friend Ty. After our one stop for gas, Arty offered to spell me at the wheel. Experience has taught that the home is happiest between  50 and 55 mph, but Arty had other things on his mind. While most people might take a few minutes, or months to warm up to driving a 31' vehicle, Arty was being telephone interviewed by Volleyball Magazine within minutes of taking the wheel. Also within a few minutes we hit 57 mph. Jack re...
More About: Journey , Rolling

The NawthEast
2007-10-27 00:00:00
journal by you, for everyone After a less than stellar AVP performance in Cincinnati, we were ready to kick some East Coast butt. The host city for our next event was the slowly rebuilding city of Asbury Park, NJ. Since Susie Turner was with us we found her a partner to play the women?s event. Long story short: she and her partner (Meri-de) won, we lost. Since we were free on Sunday, we entered a co-ed Open run by Great American Volleyball about 10 miles down the coast. With the momentum exuding from our female partners, Jack and I managed to both advance to face each other in the final, but that wasn?t, by a long stretch, the story of the day at Bradley Beach, NJ. Volleyball attracts all kinds of people. Early in morning pool play, one fellow competitor caught all our attentions. This gentleman?s game was unorthodox, from his I?m-an-ancient-Egyptian serve receive stance to his totally 80?s garb: wrap-around glasses and fluorescent short shorts. Being different is...
More About: Thea