What better way to bring in the next third of my life than with somebody who has been there since day 1, my Mom.

She came out to spend my 30th with me. Aside from giving her a much needed break, I also set out to really do some special things with her. First was sushi with our really great friends Mike and Mitch. It was her first time and she was a little hesitant, but she has come very far and willingly obliged. I eased her in with California rolls and miso soup; that was a must. We also had tempura something followed by some more adventurous nigiri sushi. She liked it, she really did and I was happy to bring something new to her that she enjoyed.

The Sunday after my birthday we headed west to Santa Monica to meet up with my friend, Scott. Ma had never seen Venice Beach and being a Sunday I thought it was a most perfect time. Boy Wonder met us at a Cuban café called Café Mercedes and we chatted laughed and drank on the patio.

The stroll along the boardwalk was nothing to us, but really something to dear mom; her eyes were wide open taking in the people and the sights. Scott, being the photographer and master documenter of events was in a most creative mood and put this slideshow together featuring my new dog, Petey. Thanks Scott. It was a most wonderful present for everybody!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the island of Catalina with a buddy of mine. His father has a great condo there and a decent sized boat. This excursion reminded me of my many trips from Boston to P’town; a beautiful sunny day going somewhere to spend time on the water in a beautiful and charming setting with nothing to do.

We arrived in just enough time to hop on a golf cart, which I later learned is the primary source of transportation in Catalina. Lunch was found at a place called Lua Larry’s that sits only steps from the port. I imagine it has all types wandering about getting lit and sunburned. I had two of my most guilty pleasures, cheese sticks and beer, while meeting the parents and little sister.

The throng of tourists cruising mindlessly through the shell shops, candy stores and clothing spots was soon left behind when we made our way to the condo on the side of a hill. It sits at the top of one of two really nice, serious developments on the island. Catalina is mostly a nature preserve and no further growth is permitted there. I was so glad to hear that a place still existed that was admired so much for its beauty that not even money could pave it over. The view from the condo was reminiscent of something one might see in “Traveler” covering Greece or Spain; huge squares of Spanish tile atop grand white structures that exude a timeless, confident beauty.

Our first activity was snorkeling. This was my first time, but it was a secret I kept from the marine family. The idea of putting my mouth below water and drawing air through a tube was a bit of a mind fuck and I had a hard time adjusting. I got it, but by then I was nervously breathing very hard and trying almost as hard to settle my breath and calm down enough to enjoy the aquatic scenery. All I could do was hear my heart pounding and suddenly the air flow stopped and I panicked. It reminded me of the several times I choked on water as a boy while swimming and terrified, tried very hard to catch my breath. One time left me so scared that for months I had severe difficulty swallowing food and water. I swam back to shore where I confessed my secret and told them of the faulty equipment. After a cursory inspection his father determined that it was because I had dipped my head down too far, which engaged a safety feature to keep water from entering the tube and drowning me; the equipment was not faulty, it was me.

After dinner let up, the bets were placed on how long the two of us were going to last in the boat. The last time I slept on a boat was about 20 years ago and this would be his first time ever. We boarded the small dinghy to take us from the dock to the boat, it was only then he confessed to me that this was his first time operating such a machine. It was a great weekend for secrets and firsts. Without warning I had visions of “Open Water” going through my head. Thankfully it was not a vision and we arrived dry as a bone and experienced the best sleep of our lives.

The next day turned out to be the highlight. We took the boat to find a secluded beach for lunch and during our search we found ourselves surrounded by a pod of dolphins 200 strong. They played with us for a while jumping alongside the boat and chattering excitedly. It was SO unbelievable to watch them glide effortlessly through the water as if they hadn’t a care in the world. At that moment I just wanted to jump in the water and play with them, but I was too busy operating the camera. Besides, they were clearly going places and could not spare the time. Still it was so great for me that they joined us for a bit to wish us well. Dolphins really do have it all!

Even though we aren’t quite ready, I decided to make my new membership website known to the world. Hazzard Ahead members were treated to a sneak preview last week and I want to thank all of you that provided invaluable feedback and helped make us feel like the project was worth all of our efforts. I also want to thank everybody that went ahead and purchased a membership. It has never been my intent to shake down my fans for cash, but generating content is more work than most people realize. And even though Boy Wonder practically gave away his services to keep my sites going each month I was still shelling out some decent change for my presence on the web.

Now it’s time for a change. Hazzard Ahead will still be completely free, but most of our videos and photos will reside at Hazzard Central. In the very near future, all Hazzard Central members will be able to view big, fat versions of the images featured on Hazzard Ahead right on this site.

If you did not receive an invitation to participate in the sneak preview of Hazzard Central and were already a Hazzard Ahead member before today, write to Boy Wonder and he will set you up with a free trial. If you weren’t a member before, just send him some naked photos of yourself and perhaps he’ll give you one anyway! It’s worth a shot, right?

Check out the new site. There is plenty to see even without a membership and I really want to hear what you think of the site. I mean, I want you to tell Boy Wonder so he can give me the Reader’s Digest version.

Chi Chi LaRue and Hue Wilde generously donated their time and expertise to shoot this promo video for my new site. That is a HUGE deal because they are very busy people that barely have time to take care of the things they get paid for. I hope you enjoy the result. There will be a behind-the-scenes video featured on Hazzard Central next month.