Luau to the Monster

I was really impressed with the Luau. There were probably 200-300 guests, but we talked to the owner a few times and they made it still feel intimate. The pork was the best. The tasteless poi paste, was, well tasteless paste, kind of like toothpaste without the mint. Our dinner company was cool. Two edgy tattooed californias drinking out of a bag with the diva child, and a newlywed Floridian couple on their honeymoon. I was happy when they were shocked we've been married for almost seven years. Not about being together so long, but that we look too young for that, lol.

The show at the Luau had dancing from Japanese, Chinese, Tahitian, Maori, and Polynesian cultures. The Maori part makes me want to go to New Zealand. We toured the estate and they had every type of plant, flower, and tree that the island has to offer. The grounds were highly manicured and beautiful. We were treated to a sunset photo shoot with the owner taking the shots.

At the end of the show, Krista carried the baby all slumpped in her arms to the car. She behaved so well.

The next day we got up early, packed the car with beach gear and my hot rod and drove back up Waimea Canyon. We got there early and it wasn't too busy yet. We drove by the Sky to Sea tourist operator with about 20 tourists and bicycles. They paid about $100 for the service. Krista dropped me at the top of the canyon and I duct taped a camera to my ride.

I cruised the 12 miles downhill, woohooing every corner. The road is in great shape and there was no traffic behind me. You can bike down the mounitain faster than a car. The video is not the best, but I'm glad I have it.

After the jaunt down the mountain, we went back to the secluded beach we went to a couple weeks earlier. We were more prepared, but it's just not a spot for babies, or inexperienced tourists. I had fun taking photos of Krista in big waves. They were big and knocked her suit off. There was no one in the beach near us for miles. I got slammed in the waves taking video and we both had sand in all our nooks and crannies.

We were back to a Wednesday, ultimate days. In the morning, I booked a horse back ride to a waterfall picnic and back. Krista went to the beach with Melody. I met two couples, one cool, one dorky. The dorky couple were two math teachers from Texas and they looked miserable. They whined about their hotel, their car, the towels....The other couple was cool. The whiney couple claimed to be very experienced with horses, but everyone knows that if someone has to claim to be good at something, they're usually not. Anyone who is really good at something usually says they're just alright. Anyone really good at something knows that there are more people even better than they are, so they don't claim to be the best. Even if you are the best at something, you don't stay the best, just ask Tiger, or Lance, Or Michael, or Wayne.

On with the horseys. Rhonda was my guide, a true cowgirl. She was a fourth generation Kauain, mixed with Portugese. My horse's name was Waicoco. He was a good horse and did his job. All 77 horses at the ranch were boys, so they didn't fight over the ladies. The last 15 horses came from Calgary and Rhonda wanted to go the Stampede there someday. Sha asked if Calgary was close to North Bay. Her island is only 100 miles across, so I said no, it's not close. I had to convert my kms to miles for her. She also laughed when I said Eh?

We only walked the horses which was fine because it was probably the nicest day we had had yet. We rode to a trail head, scrambled to a beautiful waterfall, swam and had lunch. The dorky couple complained about how cold the water was incessantly. The other couple looked at me and winked. After filming I jumped in for a dip. Refreshing cool spring fed water. Lunch was fine and I sat alone staring at the waterfall trying to take it in. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit in your pocket. We rode back and got some pictures with Melody and the horses. By the end of the trip, the dorky couple were so happy. they were compeltely trasnformed. They never get exercise so they didn't know what to do with the endorphins pumping through their systems. They actually sat in shit and were loving it.

Krista had found her favourite spot called Anini beach and had fun playing with the baby in a seculded yet safe spot.

Later that night, I went back to ultimate and there were different people from out of town there. A bunch of the same old locals returned and we had a great 7 v 7 game. It was close but we prevailed. That was fun to be in a real game again. After the game we chilled in the park with a pop and shot the breeze. Troy and Ken were mountain bikers, Angie ran marathons, Ben was the cool guy, Ian was a skydiving pilot, and Jeff was the quiet guy. Ian and I hit off the week before and he plays a role in a later adventure.

That night, I drove back to the apartment with the roof off the jeep, Jawaiian tunes on the radio, and loving the star show. That was a nice moment.

The next day, Krista had a stand up paddle (SUP) lesson booked. It was kind of weird because it wasn't a private lesson, but she was the only booked. I joked that she was on a date with a studly Hawaiian dude. Melody and I roamed the beach for awhile. I pulled out my rod and casted a dozen times, but there wasn't enough weight on the line to get it more than a dozen feet from shore. After they paddled down the river, they returned and asked that I drive down the beach and pick her up. I was really proud that Krista picked up the sport that quickly and really seemed to enjoy it.

I drove dwon the beach to where there were 20 people taking surfing lessons. All of a sudden I felt like an ididot for just renting a board and going to a big surf spot on a big surf day. I could defintely handle what these people were doing. Maybe, before the end of the trip we'll give it another shot.

After the beach, I went to my weekly pickup soccer game. We played 5 v 7 and I scored 12 goals. These guys weren't terrible, but every shot went in. I was invited to another game the next night at a different field.

I sweat here. I sweat like I've never sweat before. I'm wringing out my shirts after workouts and they pour like draft from a keg, not that I'm drinking much. I've only had a couple Coronas here and there.

The next morning was saturday. It was really grey, rainy and ominous. I had a skydiving jump booked for 1030. We got there on time, but the weather had stalled the earlier jumps. We didn't bring a cell phone, so the owner was calling ontario to tell me to come later. We sat around with some crazy characters telling stories in the red dirt. We watched a jump and it seemed like a well-oiled machine. Ian, my ultimate buddy was the pilot. I've always wanted to skydive, but just never got around to it. It was definitely mixed emotions. I figure there are people in the military, firefighters, policemen, race car drivers, lifelong skydivers....What I was doing was with trained professionals with a 100% success rate.

We got in a plane and rose to 10,000 feet. When we were above the clouds and before the door opened, I prayed to God. I am not overly religious, but I felt closer to the big guy than ever before.

I jumped tandem with a guide. This means I was strapped to a guy named Enzo, we jumped out of a plane, did a couple summer saults, free fell for 30 seconds and then he pulled the chute. We swung around the sky for about ten minutes. There was a rainbow every time we arked around the ocean. We landed on our feet, I watched the video, got a free t-shirt for waiting, and that was it. I wouldn't do it again, but that's done. We left there and I played soccer at an exotic church to the purple setting sun over the lush green mountainside. It was a fitting end to a glorious day.


The next day was hunting the monster. Today, is coming to an end. I have about 5 bites of dreyer's chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream to eat and I'm hitting the hay.

We don't have too much planned for the next week, but I'm sure there's more adventure in us that needs to get out before the 28 hour journey home.