the kids
Johnny and his first big drop in
“At first, your really scared to do it, but then you tell yourself “I just have to do it”, and then your glad you did” Johnny, after his first big drop in.
Leaving for Houston in the Green Machine
Sarita and Johnny
Joey at Adio
Showing off…
Joey, Matthew, Johnny, and Demetri
Johnny ripping at Adio
Adio, the boys with a pro
Grace
Joey
Keith and Johnny

Veg truck
From L to R: Rebecca, Joel, Mikey, Joey, Keith Malloy, Johnny, Dan Malloy, Gracie, Sophie
Finding the perfect shoe at Adio
Keith and Mikey
Grace, Dan, Rebecca and Joel
GiGi and Baby Mia at the Zouvas’ house in San Diego
Adio meeting room
On the way, a short stop in Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Lunch with PoPo
Grace, Matthew and his new board, Johnny

We finally tracked Craig and Kelly down in Summerland, CA

We all had an amazing time in CA. We left early (6:30 AM — YIKES!) on Saturday morning — but it was worth it. It gave us the whole day to play once we got there. It was great seeing PoPo again, Johnny and I haven’t seen him in almost 2 years — so it was like a mini family reunion for us. Of course as soon as we made it to the house, Johnny wanted to hit the local skate park. In CA, they have parks with the typical swings and slides, but usually next to each play area is a mini cement skate park, and there just happens to be one within walking distances from dad’s house.

The boys left, and the girls stayed home. I actually fell asleep, I went to bed late and hardly slept the night before because I was so afraid I would over sleep and miss the flight.

It was funny, when Johnny saw the bowl that he has been skating just about his whole life, he said “WOW. Looks smaller.” I guess in his mind the last time he saw it (kindergarten), it was huge, and now it actually is smaller to him. He was able to skate the whole park, which really boosted his confidence level, he acted like he owned the place, and was grinning from ear to ear.

Sunday, we drove up of Ojai, California and Mike bought a truck. It’s not new, it’s actually a pick up — Dodge to be exact. It runs on diesel and recycled vegetable oil. Crazy. But we love it. We decided that if we were going to move to the Island this summer, we CANNOT afford Mike’s commute everyday into Houston.

Mike did some research (okay, he saw it in one of his surfing movies) and thought this is the way to go, and mentioned it to me a few months ago. Of course I shot his idea down right away. No way. I don’t want a used truck with lots of miles, with some after market stuff on it we aren’t even sure will work. No.

Then I read about it, and thought “what a great idea!”, and told Mike about this new kind of alternate fuel truck, and that we should really look in to it. Mike called the owners of Veg Powered Systems, Joel and Rebecca, and started talking to them about converting a truck or possibly buying one that has already been converted. Turns out the exact same truck that Mikey saw in a surfing video was for sale, and he could buy it. So of course he did. It was Keith Malloy’s (a pro surfer), he and his brother Dan came down on Sunday to meet Johnny and the rest of the crew. Dan put together a back pack full of DVD’s, watches, sunglasses, hats, and stickers for Johnny, it was very thoughtful of him. Johnny LOVED everything too, I finally got the back pack off of him when he fell asleep that night. It weighed more than he did, but that didn’t stop him from carrying it around all day long. It was a neat experience for all of us!

I drove all week on vegetable oil, and 1/4 tank of diesel. When you turn the truck off, it smells like fast food. Mike left for Houston on Monday, and returned on Friday to drive the truck home, and I flew home with the kids.

Tuesday we drove down to San Diego to see some friends and to stop by the Adio Headquarters. We met some guys through the Make A Wish event last November, that told us if we are ever in the area, to stop by. Travis is the Team Coordinator, and gave us the tour of the place. It was pretty cool, their offices all have sliding glass doors, and everything was new and clean — not what you expect from a skate company. Most companies have perks for their employees, things they can do to relax on their breaks, like ping pong tables, gyms, etc., Adio has it’s own indoor skate park. It’s is pretty big, and will being the expansion of the park very soon. How cool is that — to skate on your coffee break at work?

When we got there most of the pros (guys I had never heard of, no, it wasn’t Bam or Tony Hawk — those guys I have heard of) were getting ready to leave, so we waited until they were finished. While we waited Travis handed Grace, Joey and Johnny Adio catalogs and paper, and told them to write down whatever they wanted. Then Travis took their lists and came back with mountains of shoe boxes filled with the kids “orders” and tons of stickers. WHOA. Our eyes must have shot out of our heads, it was incredible.

By this time most of the pros left and Joey and Johnny had the run of the place. They skated for about two hours, and had a total ball. Johnny even got the courage to drop in on one of the taller ramps. Once he started that, there was no stopping him — he was so excited, and proud of himself. Travis and I talked about our trip and what Johnny wanted to do while he was in CA for the week. I told Johnny a long time ago, that if the conditions were right, I would try and take them snowboarding. In the Spring, you can sometimes ski/snowboard with just jeans and a t-shirt — but not this year. It was still snowing up in the mountains, and I thought it would be too cold for everyone. When I told Travis, he asked what size we all were, and that he would try and find stuff for us, but I told him that we weren’t going this time, and he said “If you were to go, what size is everyone…”. WOW! I told him maybe next Spring, but I wasn’t prepared to take the kids this time. I guess Adio is under the K2 umbrella as well…

After the kids skate session, we headed down to San Diego to see our friends, Sarita and Matthew. It was great to see them again! We had planned to spend the night, but Mia started a cough and runny nose the day before, and we decided to play it safe and just have dinner with them. Earlier that day I asked Johnny what he wanted to do and he seemed little reluctant to visit. He wanted to see them, but didn’t want to get sick. I suggested just dinner, and he agreed but added “If I get sick, it’s your fault…”. WOW. Talk about pressure. Luckily, he is still doing well. The kids played and the adults caught up with each other, or tired to at least, with six kids running around. It was a great visit, and I hated to leave, but I knew it was for the best. This summer we will spend more time together. I wanted to thank them in person for the money they have raised for Johnny. Last summer, Sarita raised $2,500.00, which helped out tremendously — it paid for our two months of COBRA, and just recently, she sent us another check! Most went to medical bills, but we kept some for our trip as well. It allowed us to do pretty much whatever we wanted, when we wanted.

The rest of the week was spent in Huntington and the park. Friday night came and everyone was sad knowing it was our last night in CA. We decided to start a count down for our next visit — T- Minus 116 days and counting…