North Shore Oahu and the Temple

The Hawaii Temple was closed for renovations, so we just wandered the grounds and took pictures. The beach is the start of the pipeline on the North Shore. The movie "Soul Surfer" about the young girl who lost her arm to a shark while surfing was being filmed. We couldn't get real close, but understood that Carrie Underwood is in the film. It was a fun day cruising around the island.

Back to the fish

This is really where I spent the most time. I loved every minute on the water. A couple of facts about whales... these guys are all Humpbacks. They migrate between Mexico and Alaska. They stop in Hawaii anywhere between November and May to do 2 things, have their babies and breed. There isn't any food for them in Hawaii, so they basically live off their fat storage. Whales don't mate for life, in fact they are solitary animals, they do not have pods or families that they hang out with, the exception is that female whales stay with their babies for the first year, then they both go their separate ways. When you see whales together, generally this time of year you see 3, a mom a baby and a male escort. The male is there protecting but also waiting for the female to go into heat. When that happens, she may be pursued by upto 30 males at one time. We saw some of this behavior and it was very aggressive and a little violent. Males can weigh up to 80 tons, so that is a lot of fire power in the water. The babies are about the size of a Ford Explorer, just so you get an idea of the massive size of these mamals.

One more fact, the tail or fluke is as individual as a finger print. Marine biologists in Hawaii catalogue pictures of the tails to identify returning whales. When you see the fluke come up, usually the whale is diving deep and can stay under water for up to an hour. The slapping, breaching and jumping appears to be communication, but no one really knows for sure.

New Tattoo

As with all my adventures, this one had it's moments. If you look close you will see a map of the Hawaiian islands most likely permanently scarred on my cheek and forehead. So here's what happens when a rookie tries the boogey board in the waves for the first time (who needs stinkin' lessons!) I was riding a wave like the big Kahuna, until it rolled me and rubbed my face in the sand. I left a huge chunk of my DNA in the surf at Kihei. The blessing is that I didn't break my neck or come out of it a parapalegic. I hit my head so hard I can still hear the ocean in my ears. But other than a headache and a deflated ego, I will survive to surf (or just sit on the beach) another day.

Kohola

I took these pictures yesterday. It was simply amazing! More to come but the jetlag is kicking my can tonight...

Hawaii Bound

My annual pilgrimage to Hawaii is this week and I am so ready! It is snowing today and cold. I spent this past week in Minnesota and South Dakota, freezing my tail end off. The week before in Minnesota, and the week before in Colorado in the snow. I do love winter and don't mind the cold but when you have the sunny beaches of Maui calling, it's hard not to start feeling a little homesick for Aloha.

I'll be headed first to Oahu for a few days in Honolulu, then Saturday the 20th I head to Kahalui, Maui. We stay right off the beach at KiHei. I'm going again this year with my girlfriend, Linda. Just 2 girls looking to relax, unwind and have a ton of fun. Snorkeling, swimming, whale watching, flying and taking the adventures where we can find them. I am so EXCITED!

Aloha!

Never been eaten

It's kind of funny how some things come full circle or that something said doesn't mean anything to you until you get down the road a little further. I was out walking with the dogs and Sebastian this morning when we stumbled onto a fox that had been killed, probably the night before. I wandered around looking and listening for any signs of possible pups, just in case someone needed rescuing. Not finding anything, we headed back to the house. I plan to head back out there in a little while without the dogs for some CSI work, but I've thought about it almost non-stop for the past couple of hours.

Which brings me to the full circle part....


A couple years ago after becoming "retired" I was doing a road trip with a couple of gal pals. In a suburb of Seattle we came across a physic and decided it might be fun to stop in and have her read our auras for us. She called it right on when she said it seemed like I was out of gas and a virtual "wet blanket" at that point in my life I was scraping the bottom of the bucket. She told me that she sensed a huge change in my life and stress attached to it, which would subside after an extended period of time. She also told me to take time to re-boot myself and to not worry so much about the "money" side of life and then she said...."you have always eaten and never been eaten" it made me laugh and scratch my head back then, but it struck me with the fox that a lot of others, whether they are 2 legs or 4, whether they are smarter or faster, get eaten in this world.

I have been struggling just a little bit with my decision to go back to work, but this week has made a lot of difference in how I feel about it now. I spent some time in face to face sales calls. I also got to practice and use my coaching skills with the rep I was traveling with. I realized it put me right back in the part of the work world that I love and all at once I knew that I was 100% excited to get back after it. So I know now that I won't be eaten anytime soon, and that is a good thing to know.

I am grateful.....

Sebastian

Just a quick post this morning. Lately Sebastian has been a constant outside companion. He goes on every walk with me and the dogs and is basically my shadow while I'm outside. The thing he does that makes me laugh is run up the trees like he's some kind of mountain lion or something. I'm glad he does it, with all the coyotes and preditors out here, it is a great skill to have. Anyway, just a couple of "Sebastian" shots from our walk yesterday.