Weekend Events

311
Friday 311 played the Kona Brew Pub. I was fairly impressed with the performance, the concert was even more fun than I expected. I love their distorted rock guitar sound, and their island style and rhythm made for some good dancing music. Throw in a bunch of great friends and a few ice cold Fire Rock Pale Ales and you've got yourself a great evening.

End of the World
Saturday we had breakfast at Aloha Angel Cafe before going to End of the World. Sarah spearfished, Nate and I cliff jumped and Nadia worked on her tan.

Pine Stumps
Sunday I went to church and surfed Pine Trees. (or Pine Stumps as Ken now calls it) It's one of the best places in the whole world and seeing bulldozers clear the land for 500 luxury homes and a golf course makes me sick. To add insult to injury they put wood chips down over the worst parts of the road, so driving my Jeep down there isn't even fun anymore. I saw a Pontiac Sunbird down there for crying out loud! It's even more disgusting to think that when I drive over those woodchips I am running over what used to be the famed Pine Trees that were recently cut down and mulched. Kinda like chopping up a good friend and throwing his body parts out in the street for public display. Trust me, this won't be the last I write about the tragic devastation of Kohanaiki.

Can a baptism get rained out?
My other Sunday excitement came when I went to a baptism/ pot luck at Old A's. I have been attending a different church lately (Grace Community Church, which I find to be totally awesome) The weather held out but it looked like it would start pouring buckets any minute which made me wonder, "Can a baptism get rained out?"

Hail-y Cow!

This photo and headline courtesy of Ilona. It hailed today up mauka in Captain Cook. (all of us at work missed the fun) Ilona's husband, Dave, took this picture of the hail piled up on his lanai about 20 minutes after if fell. He said it was marble size before it started melting.

Nothin' New

So my life isn't ALWAYS exciting. Today Sarah and I went for a swim in Kailua Bay. There was a lot of wind chop so we drank plenty of salt water. I dove down about 10 feet and watched the water's surface thrash about and listened to the chain from the buoy clinking and clanking. It was peaceful and creepy at the same time. We spotted some Spinner Dolphins off the end of the pier.

What's up with all the darn Kai `Opua Canoes in the swim area in the bay? They have an entire ocean yet they choose to paddle in the swim lane. Sarah almost got nailed today by a one-man.

We watched Jarhead last night. That movie is a piece of crap. Don't rent it.

Tomorrow is the 311 concert at the brew pub. That's something to look forward to.

St. Patrick's Day in the Morning

I was actually playing "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" on my fiddle at 7:30 this morning in the front yard with my ridiculous clothes on. Yes, I even ate me Lucky Charms for breakfast. Now that work is pau, I'll move on to black-N-tans.

Important Documents

I broke the advertising sales record for my territory in February. It was crazy busy, especially considering I was only at work for two weeks in February before I went on vacation. But the madness paid off- and I am not talking about my commission check. Dianne worked like crazy to hold things together while I was gone and Tom and the rest of the Five Star team even presented me with this dandy certificate in our recent team meeting. It's nice to be appreciated.

The second important document is my NCAA bracket. I'm not normally a sports fan, but the tournament is importnant to me now because I have ten bucks on this bracket in the WHT basketball pool.

Fun with the Girls

There's never a dull moment when there are kids running around. We had a great visit with Lydia, Camille and Jen. We worked puzzles and told knock-knock jokes, played at the beach and ran through the sprinklers. I especially enjoyed spending time with Jenni and taking her to some of our local watering holes.

It sure was hard to send them back to Indiana. Especially the kids because they change so fast- they'll be really different next time I see them. But I am grateful for the time we had together and look forward to our next set of adventures, whenever that will be.

Hiding in the Fort

My nieces and I built a fort on the lanai using a tent and some blankets. It was a big hit!

Hay is for horses (and so is my dad's lawn)

The animals in my neighborhood were particularly noisy last night. The horses that live in the field next to us stomped their hooves and brayed. Dogs barked. And howled. Finally, my dad got up. The next thing I heard was, "Shoo! Shoo!"

I got up see what he was shooing. There stood three horses in our front yard, chomping away on my dad's prized green grass. No wonder all the hee-hawing and hoof clomping was so loud. The horses were right outside my window. It hilarious to watch three horses roam the neighborhood, strolling down Walua Road as if they owned it. I hoped they'd still be around in the morning so they could intimidate the parade of chatty women who walk their rat dogs down our street each day. Instead, four police cars came and lead the horses back into their field. Too bad the Kona cops aren't as skilled removing the druggies from downtown Kona.

Home Sweet Home

It's a bummer when a vacation ends, but Hawaii's not a bad place to come back to. I forgot how green everything is! Even returning to work wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. I was greeted by several pictures on the bulletin board of the Olympics with my face photoshopped in- I guess I did the bobsled, luge, ski jump and I even got married on my vacation. That's what I get for leaving photos of myself laying around.

The Kids Are Here
My sister-in-law is here visiting with my 2-year-old niece, Camille, and 4-year-old niece, Lydia. It's pretty wild to have kids running around the house.

Orchestra
This weekend our community orchestra (the Kona Ohana Orchestra) played a concert at the Aloha Theatre and another at Hualalai Academy. We prepared so long for the concerts it's a shame they're over already. We used to be called Kona Chamber Orchestra but after three years of having the name the Kona Music Society demanded we give the name up to them. They say they used the name years ago and it still belongs to them. We don't think they ever had the name to begin with. What a crock.

I Beat the Boss
Peaman was the other highlight of the weekend. It was a 1/2 mile swim and 4 mile run, but I only did the swim portion. It took me 20 minutes and 12 seconds. The exciting part is I beat Tracey. Not by much but I beat her. I beat the boss. I beat the boss. I beat the boss. Victory is sweet!

Vacation Time!

The following posts brag about some of the adventures I had on my recent trip to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Everything was incredible, from visiting with my aunt, Alice, riding my snowboard, or just relaxing and admiring God's handiwork.

Biggest Thrill: Riding the X-Games half pipe

Biggest Challenge: Surprisingly, it was something I grew up doing, cross-country skiing. I always liked to think my dad and I were two of the best skiers in the Indiana Dunes, but these Colorado people REALLY know how to use a pair of X-C skis!

Best Brew: Never Summer Ale brewed in Boulder, Colorado. It made me think of when I was a little kid, I would throw ice cubes out the door hoping it would lower the temperature so the snow wouldn't melt. As I downed a Never Summer Ale after my last day at Sunlights Ski Area I wished drinking it would make the snow, and my winter vacation last forever.

Most Fun Day: A toss up between spelunking in Glenwood Caverns or riding 6 inches of fresh powder at Sunlights.

Craziest Sight: It wasn't the vultures I saw gnawing on a bear carcass. It was the crazy 5-foot tall ski jump the kids build on a sledding hill at Spring Gulch. Ten feet after the jump was a landing ramp with a mattress set into the snow. These kids are extreme sledders!

Most Beautiful Spot: Hanging Lake

Wildlife Observed: mule deer, elk, a big horned sheep, two huge vultures, lots of other birds, fox

Other Outdoor Activities: ice skating, down hill skiing, sledding, hiking, swimming in a hot springs pool, snow mobiling

Colorado River!

Snow covered mountains reflect on the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon. Next time I see the Colorado River will be when I hike the Grand Canyon with Sierra Club in the end of September.

Buttermilk:

A view from the top of Aspen Buttermilk (where they hold the X-Games) You can see Aspen Highlands in the background.

Superpipe

The X-Games ended a couple of weeks before I got to Aspen which meant the half pipe built for the event was available for anyone willing to ride it. I snapped this picture from the top of the pipe just before I took my last run for the day and for the entire trip. I wiped out twice and I wasn't brave enough to get any air. In fact, I only made it about 3/4 of the way up the side, so I wasn't the best boarder in the pipe but I did have as much fun as anybody else!

Hanging Lake

This may be the most beautiful place I have ever been. Getting there required a 1.2 mile hike up the side of an icy mountain (an elevation gain of 1,000 feet) Well worth the effort! The lake is fed by a stream of water that spouts from a hole in the cliff, then forms a waterfall that pours into the crystal clear water below. Huge icicles at least 30 feet tall cling to rock ledges. They have a blue, glacier-like irridescent glow. The entire hike was amazing, from the Colorado River at the bottom of the hike to the gurgling sounds of an invisible creek covered by ice and snow above.

Boarding is Better


A view from the top of Sunlights with Mt. Sopris in the background.

I rented a pair of skis this one day. It was OK but not nearly as fun as my snowboard. One thing I can say about skiers, however, it's pretty stinking impressive to see the tricks they can do while sliding down a rail. If you ask me, they can totally outdo a snowboarder with their creative mid air poses and gnarly rail sliding abilities.

Zoom!

There's still a little Indiana left in me. (Indy 500 that is) I went on a snowmobile tour and there was a little competition going between me and another guy on the trip. I didn't want him to be in front and he didn't want me to be in front. It was quite a rush to fly through back country trails at 55 mph as we whizzed by trees and kicked up snow . We'd stop often to take in the view and wait for everyone else on the tour to catch up. At the end of the day our tour guide told me he's giving me a slower machine next time. TREAD!

Steamed Muscles

That's what the ad on the ski lift for the Hot Springs Pool reads. It's the largest pool in the world that is heated by hot springs. It's kinda funny to go from a tropical paradise to a place where the life guards wear winter coats, observing the pool from the comfort of their heated, enclosed life guard shacks. It feels great after a day of boarding, but it's awfully hard to make yourself get out and face the freezing cold air. A sign on the pool deck says, "Beware of Ice."

Powder Day

It snowed all night long, I was so excited I could hardly sleep. The next day was the best ski conditions I have ever experienced. It was just like the image you'd see on a post card or ski resort website. When I rode down the hill snow flew everwhere, I couldn't see much of anything from my knees down. I spent the day at Ski Sunlights, a local ski area with reasonably priced lift tickets, a friendly staff, down to earth mostly local people, and best of all, no crowds or lift lines. There was still plenty of fresh powder to be had when the shut off the lift at 4PM.

Adventures in Glenwood

I've been snowboarding almost every day. I went to Beaver Creek Saturday, it's owned by Vail. It was a fun day, the snow was fantastic, and the resort was HUGE. I resolved to ride every lift they have (I think there's 17) I rode almost all of them, but missed at least one. It was apparent that Vail is for the rich- $81 lift tickets, $14 slope side buffalo burgers, ect. My most exciting time was getting stuck on the lift for a half-hour when the entire valley lost power. Apparently, below zero temperatures in Denver lead to a natural gas shortage that resulted in rolling blackouts. Ski patrol was about to evacuate the lift with a belay (something I really wanted to be a part of) then they finally got the secondary diesel engine going that powered the lift. Bummer!

A view of the Ritz-Carlton at Beaver Creek: (home of the $14 burger)

Yesterday, I spent three hours crawling around in a cave at the top of Lookout Mountain. Check out http://www.glenwoodcaverns.com/

I felt like a kid at Chucky Cheese crawling through the cave and checking out pits, stalagtites, cave bacon, cave corral, ect. The smallest crack we crammed through was 18" wide. I didn't bring the camera in the cave but here's a photo of a wooden mold of "White Rabbit Hole," the smallest spot we went through. If a large customer comes to the tour they have them crawl through the mold first to be sure they'll fit. The mold has hinges and can be opened if someone gets stuck. The cave does not.

White Rabbit Hole:

BRRRRRR.

I haven't been updating the blog because I am on vacation. FREEDOM!!! Sorry there are no photos, I am not very tech savy and I cannot email in photos on my phone like Baron does. I am here in Glenwood Springs Colorado (near Aspen) snowboarding, sledding, cross country skiing, snow eating, snow fort building, wildlife watching, etc. I doubt I'll be updating the blog much while I am away, but you may expect a full report on my trip when I return at the end of February.