I was still feeling worn out from the weekend but I was invited to go for a walk along the Guadalupe River Trail and walked almost 3 miles. My friend and I saw a mural soon after it was completed and explored the trail and streets we’ve never been down before.

I had way too much fun today painting live with the TWC gang (Together We Create) at Viva Calle. I was glued to my mural for hours, getting organized, transferring my sketch, coloring and doing the line work. It turned out a bit wonky, especially the bottom half, but I didn’t mind. It was gonna get torn down and reclaimed after the event. It was exercise in painting quickly, and in a way that bystanders can see and understand what’s happening on the wall during the process. It was also my first time in years using spray paint on a mural and only second time live-painting and vending at the same time. Major learning experience!

I’m still recovering from yesterday’s hike up to Mission Peak. My feet, legs and even shoulders are sore so I took it easy today. Tomorrow, and this weekend, I’ll be working on my taxes so everything will be ho-hum till Monday. After tax day I’m gonna try to get a hike in at Grant Park then prepare for a flea market day on Saturday to get rid of a bunch of stuff.

I went hiking today and came across this dude chilling on the trail. He was about 10-12 inches long and a bit camera shy.

No purging or scanning today. Instead, a friend and I walked the Coyote Creek Trail from Silver Creek Road to Hellyer Park and back. It was a beautiful day and would have loved to stay out longer.

I had so much fun painting a mural alongside my friends TWC (Together We Create) at Viva Calle this morning and into the afternoon. I was so so focused on my work (being in the zone) the 5 hours just flew by. I painted the EMN sketch I drew last night. I used yellow because it was the paint I had the most of. I wasn't happy with the black paint because it didn't cover well but it looked fine from a distance, and in pictures. I had to rush to get as far as I did before the event ended. I didn't completely finish. The eye with two pupils, at the bottom, didn't get a white fill. I also didn't outline the pink hot-dog shape (with my name) or anything above it. I'm still really happy with the way it turned out. In the end, the panel was taken apart and hauled away. Some day, the folks in TWC, will paint at another event and reuse the panels and paint over them. I knew that going in and was totally ok with it.

A few things I learned:

• Painting the background, drawing the shapes in chalk, and doing the white fill-ins are boring to watch. The sooner I get to outlining, the better. Maybe next time I I wait to fill in the whites at the end.
• I need to step back more often and look at the mural as whole. I was up close most of the time, about a foot and half away from whatever I was painting. It looks different when you step back. You don't see a lot of the details. Up close, the black paint looked like shit but when you stepped back 5 to 10 feet, it looked fine.
• Buy better black paint! I bought a can of Painter's Touch Flat Black and it looked like crap up close. It didn't cover the yellow well. Next time I'm gonna buy some of the good stuff!
• Don't use chalk to draw on the wall/panels. I did the same thing when I painted my brother's logo on the wall of his studio. The chalk made it almost impossible to paint clean lines. The dust also accumulated on the brush which was really annoying.

I recently got invited by my friends in TWC (Together We Create) to join them in live-painting at Viva Calle tomorrow. Viva Calle is where they close down some streets to car traffic and open them up to bicyclists, pedestrians, skaters, etc. I rode my bike at the last one and visited the TWC folks while they painted. Now it's my turn to paint. I just finished a sketch for tomorrow which I'll be painting on an 8 foot square panel. It's my EMN design.

Today I went on my first hike in over a month. I hurt my right knee riding my bike at Viva Call in September and it's barely feeling good enough to start going for walks. I did the Penitencia Creek Trail which is 5.4 miles long with only 541 feet of elevation gain. My legs and feet are really sore from not working out but I still feel good. I'd been feeling stressed out and a little depressed lately and today's visit to Alum Rock Park helped alleviate those feelings. I remembered how much hiking helped keep me sane during lockdown and it still works! Today's highlight was seeing a baby snake on the trail!

I haven't been out these last few weeks because of work and a knee injury. Today I was feeling a little stir crazy so I drove up to Joseph D. Grant Park to be outside for a little while and draw. I drew a melty monster face. There was a big feral pig nearby looking for food and I got close enough to get some video.

​My friend Amy was interviewed by NBC Bay Area at Viva Calle yesterday while she was skating around. She was also wearing the custom purple V-neck 1.0 t-shirt that she bought from me last month! She told me about the interview when I ran into her yesterday, and I found the video this morning. Amy is totally rad! On Sunday, she ran the 5K that morning, roller-skated, and biked at "Viva Ca-yay!

Holy shit, Viva Calle was fun as hell! I drove downtown and started biking at First Street, then went to the Mexican Heritage Plaza on the east side, Japan Town, and the Alameda before returning to my car. On my ride, I saw some friends wearing my t-shirts and a couple who bought their San Jose shirts at a recent First Friday event. I didn't do the whole route but made sure to stop at all four locations where my friends, TWC (Together We Create), were live-painting. I had to walk my bike through the crowded areas, but I did over 13 miles today! My legs are crazy sore after biking today and hiking yesterday. I'll see if I have Lieutenant Dan legs tomorrow.

I went on a 7.4-mile hike this afternoon at Alum Rock Park. It's been a week since the last time I hiked, and I wanted to get a workout in before Viva Calle tomorrow. Viva Calle is a public event where they block off city streets from cars and open them up for bicyclists & pedestrians. They also have activities at different locations along the route. Tomorrow will be my first time participating, and Tonight I spent a couple of hours learning how to remove my bike's rear wheel and replace the inner tube. It had been sitting with a flat tire for months and waited until the last day to fix it. Hopefully, my bike doesn't fall apart on me tomorrow!

This morning, my friends and I went to Pinnacles National Park to hike through one of the caves. There were lots of boulders and interesting rock formations but the caves were cool as fuck! Unfortunately, I couldn't record or take pictures inside the cave because I was holding a flashlight in one hand and used the other to climb. The cave was short but definitely the highlight of the trip.

My buddy, Jon, and I went to Vasona Lake and walked the Los Gatos Creek Trail Monday afternoon. We were in my car, drinking beers, laughing & reminiscing of good times for at least 20 minutes before hitting the trails. Once we got going we saw an ice cream truck in the parking lot. The ice creams were expensive at $5 each but we bought them anyway. The last time I bought ice cream from an ice cream truck (I was a kid) the most expensive ones were $1. I picked the WWF bar and as I walked away I thought I saw Mark Zuckerberg in line to buy ice cream.

A couple friends and I got up early Sunday morning to hike up to Maple Falls at Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos. At least that was the plan! I printed a map I pulled from the park's website and soon learned that it wasn't very helpful with the poor/lack-of trail markers at the park. We made our first wrong turn early on and were able to get back on track with a little help from runners & bicyclist. Further along we made another wrong turn onto a trail that wasn't on the map. After a while I started getting suspicious and when we came upon a dirt road I knew were definitely off track. Because the climb was so steep we decided not to go back the way we came. We hiked further north a bit before taking the dirt road back to the parking lot. It was still a great hike and we had a blast even though we didn't see the waterfall. My friend and I also got stung by wasps. Me, once behind the ear and a couple times on my chest. My friend, on her finger and on her back. But like I said, we still had a great time. Next time we'll be better prepared and actually make it to the waterfall.

I went on a 7 mile hike tonight at Alum Rock Park. After only going on two short hikes in July, and feeling bad about myself, I decided to start going on longer hikes again and being more consistent. So far I've hiked 5 out of 11 days in August going out every other day. Go me! A couple weeks ago I was ready to rejoin the gym but with all the new cases of coronavirus being reported, and restrictions being enforced again, I figure I'll keep hiking in the meantime. Where else am I gonna see foxes taking shits on the trail?

Nothing artsy of fartsy today but I did get a new tent! I bought a sleeping bag yesterday and now I'm ready to go camping. It's been 10 to 15 years since the last time I camped. I'm thinking of going up to Joseph D Grant County Park, where I went hiking, and staying a night and maybe going hiking in the dark!