Why I Live on the North Shore

I will warn you. This post might cause you to resent me a little bit. Here is how I spent my day today with Rosie:

1. Woke up, had breakfast and sipped a chai latte while checking the waves.
2. Came back and went surfing for an hour.
3. Had lunch, grabbed body boards and had the most absolute fun boogie boarding in big waves for 3 HOURS!
4. Grabbed another snack, and some hot tea and walked back down to the beach to watch the sunset in some hammocks underneath the palm trees.
5. About to go to the store to grill BBQ pineapple chicken sandwiches on the porch ...

Yeah, that's how I spent my Wednesday .... so happy : )

A few fun things since my return ...

Since coming back to the rock I have gotten the chance to do quite a few fun things! First and foremost, I have discovered the first form of exercise that I have ever been wholeheartedly excited to go to - kick boxing! It's an all women's class, girls anywhere from age 11 to 60, and an hour and a half of stretching, core work, and best of all, boxing! I fully underestimated the satisfaction (and great workout) punching and kicking the hell out of things can offer. I feel the six pack coming in already - ha!

After returning to the endless summer that is Hawaii from California, I got to experience a little more of an 'endless summer', literally. The Surfer Bar at Turtle Bay hosted Bruce Brown (the narrator and producer of the movie The Endless Summer) for a live Q & A. It was so much fun and so interesting to hear him speak! His voice is so recognizable, and his sense of humor is exactly the way it is in the movie. Check out some of the interview to get a sense of what the interview was like ...

Cal-i-forn-i-a

Wow. California was quite the trip. We did about as much as you possibly could in two weeks.

Of course we ate at some amazing restaurants - pumpkin ravioli with crispy sage, out-of-this-world sushi, and duck ragout to name a few meals...

... we drank delicious wine in Napa...

... we went snowboarding in Tahoe...

... we bar hopped in San Francisco ... watched the freezing surf at Ocean Beach...

... sipped cappuccinos and sampled tiramisu in Sausilito...

... walked through the red wood forrest in Muir Woods....

... and hiked mountain ridges in Upper Lake.

What a trip! It was a great vacation, and an amazing first trip to Cali, but in the end, I am so happy to be back in paradise :)

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Get your own

... Long time, no post

Hello everyone! I know, I know ... I am a terrible blogger. Who abandons their blog for almost two months and then starts posting again and expects people to read it?? ... me that's who. Sorry.

Moving on ... to make an extremely long, embarrassing, ridiculous, and hilarious story short, my 'move' to San Francisco lasted two and a half weeks. Literally. I think I started looking around and realizing what I had here in Hawaii. California was beautiful and filled with great people, good wine, and delicious food. But if there is one thing that can trump all these great aspects of a place, it is the weather. I hate the cold. My mom tried to remind me but I guess I had to feel it again for myself to remember "Oh yeah, cold weather is not for me." And in the grand scheme of cold, San Fran wasn't even bad. Highs in the 60's. However, that's pretty much what the temperature is always like, and there is no way I could live somewhere like that. Which is why my roommate Rosie and I booked our return tickets back to Hawaii before we even left - hahaha. Crazy, I know. But that is part of the joy of being young, single, wild and free!

How did we ever think we could leave this???

2012

Happy New Year everyone! I made it through the never-ending holiday work shifts! Rosie and I have off tomorrow so we will be spending the day at the beach on the North Shore relaxing. Yay!

I talked to her yesterday, but also just want to say Happy Birthday to my grandma! She was very influential in my final decision to come out here. "If you don't like it, come back," was her advice nearly half a year ago (wow - can't believe its been that long already) and those simple words got me out here. On quite the adventure that may be taking another turn pretty soon ...

Danny's Last Day

... man I am a slacker. Posts went from Danny's first days, to his last, with nothing in between. Oops. I think I can say Danny had a good time here. Surfed a lot of the North Shore. Hiked on the South Shore. Ate some good food, a lot of which came from the grill I work at. His flight takes off at almost midnight tonight. Ouch. Hopefully he will sleep through most of it ...

Unfortunately this whole holiday weekend I will be working doubles at my jobs. I must say I am pretty sick of having jobs where I am scheduled on the weekends. It feels like that is when everyone else is having their fun, and I am pretty much always working. It might be time to lose one of them ...

Anyway - I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas, and has a fantastic New Years!!

Over and out.

Danny's first week...

So Danny has been here almost a week... here's what we've been up to:

First night he came with me on a week for my run around the park. I lost him. My music was up too loud, so when his bike chain broke I couldn't hear him yell. (note to self: should probably start listening to music a little softer). I ran all the way home before realizing he wasn't behind me anymore. Oops. I did find him though, and he was very thankful.
The rest of his trip has been spent on the North Shore with our auntie Shar Lyn and cousin Conner. He and Conner have been surfing a lot, and Danny already broke a board at Rockies. We cooked a lot and have had a lot of fun. One lunch we saw Pam Anderson at the Wailua Bakery! ... Conner missed out on that lunch, so funny enough they went back a few days later, and she was there again! Lucky boys.
I'm back in town at the moment, back to work sadly, but I will hopefully be back up Tuesday night.

I think I already heard Danny dreading having to leave Hawaii. Now doesn't that sound familiar...