AP - The Aspen that James Charles Blanning knew as a competitive skier, lumberjack and truck driver was nothing like the swank resort town it is today, and friends and family say it ate at him.

AP - Oh, what a difference a bath can make.

AP - When many islanders look at Barack Obama, they see not only the next president, but a skilled bodysurfer, a man who flashes the "shaka" or hang loose sign, and someone who wears the same rubber slippers they do.

AP - To get around the city, Yutaka Makino hops on his skateboard or rides commuter trains. Does he dream of the day when he has his own car? Not a chance.

AP - It's like the world's biggest beach party, hosted by the world's richest beach bum.

AP - High atop Dante's View, overlooking sheets of salt flats and ribbons of sand dunes, night watcher Dan Duriscoe shone a laser beam at the North Star and steadied his digital camera at the starry heavens.