Moto Escapism - Sport Touring, Motorcycle Rides, Travelogues and Tech

2008 In Photos

Written by Daniel Hienzsch
Friday, 16 January 2009
Page 3 of 3 October Diving on the Sand Dollar One day in October, while I was accompanying Robyn to the Mini dealer where she got her LoJack installed, my father called and said "Would you like to go to Egypt?" He was going to cover the hotels as a birthday gift for me, so all I had to do was come up with the airfare. It took all of about 30 minutes of thought and I called him back and said "yes!". The trip would start in Alexandria, and I had read about diving on Cleopatra's Palace and the Pharos of Alexandria. I thought, what the hell, if you're going to be in Alexandria, you damn well better go diving. So it became imperative that I refresh my diving skills. One weekend, I took the PADI refresher course, which was followed by a night dive a few days later, which was followed a week later by a 3 tank boat dive off of Catalina. That's a quick refresh. This photo was taken on the Sand Dollar while we were between dives off of Catalina (I have no idea who any of those people are in that picture.) November Egyptian Merchant November. Egypt. It didn't seem real until the plane touched down in Cairo and I suddenly realised I couldn't read any of the signs. There will be travelogues and photo albums about Egypt in the weeks ahead so I don't want to write TOO much here, but I will say, it was a delicious trip that was so far out of the ordinary you didn't even realize how truly strange and otherworldly it was until you're actually sitting in a Nubian village, drinking mint tea and looking at a camel. There is so much more to explore in Egypt, that I know this trip only scratched the surface of a few temples. There is all of Cairo left, Antiquities Museums, the Pyramids, Siwa Oasis, Abu Simbel, Lake Nasser and more time with Ahmed's family at the very least. A life time's worth of experiences all in a stark and beautiful country. December New Years Eve Dinner The end of a year that I feel left me fundamentally changed from the beginning to the end. I'm not a different person, by any stretch of the imagination, but I am ... distilled. I spent Christmas with Oma and Opa up in Winters and then on New Years, I was at home and my cousin Katie came to visit me here in Los Angeles. She, Robyn and I had dinner at Cantalin's in Playa Del Rey, an old haunt. It was tremendously foggy outside, but nice and warm on the inside. And even if the service was off a little that night, the wine certainly wasn't. I am looking forward to how 2009 unfolds. There is a definite focus to my activities now that I know I didn't have in January or February of 2008. There is a drive that I can feel during the hardest moments in the gym, and a determination not to waste any more time. I like that. Let's see where this year takes me... << Start < Prev 1 2 3 Next > End >>
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 January 2010 )