We recently returned from our annual trip to Carlsbad and I put together a little slide show with various highlights. All the usual suspects were there this year along with a few additions: My sister Tracey came out from Virginia with her (somewhat extended) family and my friend Lauren came out from Tucson for the final few days. This year for us was beach, beach and more beach…no theme parks or fishing. We did manage to hit most of our favorite eateries like Taisho Sushi, Knockout Burger, Pizza Port, and last but not least…Super Donuts (best fritters in the world!). So without further ado…

Get the FREE Flash Player to view

For the best effect, hit the fullscreen icon in the lower right.

My Brother sent me a teaser pic this morning. Apparently the water temp is very nice…although you’d never know it to look at this picture. The beach looks deserted!

On Sunday I rode out to Tortilla Flat with Roger and Gary. It was a little colder than I would like but still a beautiful day. Tortilla Flat is about 50 miles from my house, North East of Phoenix out by Canyon Lake. The road to get there and back is full of twists and turns - very fun so long as you are not behind a long line of minivans! We met some very nice folks at the flats and ended up riding with another group through Usery Pass and Bush Highway over to Saguaro Lake.  From there it was on to Fountain Hills for a late lunch.

I put some pictures on my Flickr:

Thanks to Roger and Gary for inviting me to come along with them!

It wasn’t a bird or a plane….well, not exactly! Sunday we went down to the Skydive Arizona drop zone in Eloy with my brother, Brandon, and Zoe. This was the first time I had ever been to Eloy via the ground, usually I fly in. It was another absolutely beautiful day in Arizona, so….the boys rode with their uncle and I got a chance to take Eric’s FZ-1 on a more extended test drive. Thanks to Eric for letting me ride (truth be told, this wasn’t entirely altruistic on Eric’s part…he’s hoping I get “the bug” and get a bike of my own soon so we can ride together). His evil plan may be working….I can honestly say I’m thinking about it! We hung out at the drop zone for a few hours, and ate an obligatory lunch at the Bent Prop. Zoe seems to really enjoy watching the multi-colored parachutes drift playfully to the ground and the boys enjoyed it also. I have a flickr photo set with some of the pictures we took:

I took the “back way” home and even got to mix it up a little with a BMW 330i…