We like it – even though it doesn’t smell like Christmas.

The closest we get to snow on the Hawaiian Islands.

Sure they look cute, but there’s a healthy rivalry there. Look, just don’t bring up the 2000 Super Bowl OK?

Every so often, the ocean reminds me how insignificant I really am.

Living in Hawaii – it’s easy to take the ocean for granted. I mean look at her. She’s a gorgeous combination of blue’s and is always warm to me – even on the stormiest of days.

Today, the ocean gave me a small glance of the first real summer swell. Nothing crazy – I’m not talking North Shore here – but definitely significant enough to make me feel like I have no idea what I’m doing on a surfboard.

After a winter of surfing ankle and knee high biters, I paddled out in head high waves. It wasn’t the first time, but it sort of snuck up on me. A winter of borderline hibernation (one to two surf sessions a week instead of four or five in the summer) left my body in not exactly game-day condition.

I was a mess. I was flipped, tossed, held under and exhausted from getting stuck on the inside again and again. On a few of the bigger sets where I was ready to show the sea who was boss, the bottom fell out before I was able to stand up. Instead of cruising down the line I was falling through the air – praying that my board wouldn’t fall on top of me.

I was exhausted, defeated and a little embarrassed – then Kimmy signaled to me that she was ready for the last wave. I saw mine in the distance, but I was nervous to even go for it.

It built slowly and I was in perfect position. Even still, I was expecting to get clobbered like all the times before. At this point I had only caught a handful of waves where I actually made it out alive. But not this time – I earned one.

I paddled hard and stood up on a wave that was easily over my head. I took a clean drop that seemed to last forever. My legs were shaking the whole time but I managed to stay up. I even pulled off a couple of decent turns.

After what felt like minutes, I finally sat back down and realized that I was only a few feet away from where we originally paddled out. At this particular break (which is about a football field out) I had never taken a wave in this far.

After losing 14 rounds to the ocean, the judges finally gave me the points in the final round.

Rocky would have been proud.

Climbing rail-road tracks into a dormant volcano? Yeah – just another typical Sunday around these parts.

Koko Head is a well know hike on Oahu. It’s a great resource for a quick workout for the type of people that aren’t into the whole gym thing (me being one of them). You get a challenging hike that’s quick (about 45 minutes round trip but leave extra time at the top) with a real nice view the whole way up.

It can get crowded, but there is an unspoken etiquette where folks going down have the right of the way. Most people have earphones or a hiking buddy so if you want some time to yourself – you can have it.

The beginning is a bit overbearing – this bad boy gets steeper with every step. You get into a groove at first where you find yourself skipping steps, until at one point you stop to catch your breath and realize you still have a long ways to go.

The summit is gorgeous. You can walk around a bit and get multiple views that are worth a snapshot or two. It’s a 360 degree view that you don’t want to miss.

Today was the first time I did the hike alone – it was really nice to sit in some quiet and let my mind wander. There are enough spots at the top to either find a group to chat with or find a quiet spot and reflect.

The one thing I recommend you do is to make sure you have plenty of sunlight when you’re coming down. I’ve done the decent it in the dark and it’s a bit tricky. Plus if you time it right, it’s nice catching the sunset on the way down.

I captured a few other photos in the slideshow below, I hope you dig them.

These are from a fun day we had back in December. We were hoping to catch the Pipe Masters, but the waves didn’t really cooperate.

That’s cool – we had a nice chill day on the beach with good friends.

On a whim – Kim and I decided to drive over to the Botanical Gardens behind Koko Head and have a look around. It was great.

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make your day. A two mile loop around a unique and diverse garden for instance. We strolled, took some pictures and talked about all kinds of random things.

It was just nice to be outside.

It’s more like a great place for a little workout or a nice walk – some ambitious folks will even run up and down it multiple times. The majority of the path has a wide view of the ocean, and in the right season you can usually catch a whale or two.

Since we’ve been to the top a few times, we decided to explore down instead. The tide pools were always something we heard about, so we decided to take a look.

Although the main path isn’t very challenging, the hike down to the tide pools requires a little more attention. It’s a steep vertical drop with bits of broken rock and awkward angles. Nothing too scary (small kids can be seen on this path regularly) but it definitely deserves your attention.

The tide pools are basically nature’s version of  hot tubs. The rocky coast has bits of lava rock that formed pockets – when waves hit the coast, the pockets fill with ocean water.
On a day when the ocean is calm, the tide pools heat up from the warm sun. Our day offered cooler water conditions, but with some incredible waves hitting the rocky coast to go with it.

After a relaxing day watching the waves roll in – Kim and I finally broke in Frank (that’s my Jeep) in a nearby off-road spot. Let’s just say I’ll be doing that again – real soon.

But it’s nice to mix it up, which is why I was looking forward to my first whale watching tour with Atlantis. It was a gorgeous day and I didn’t need too many reasons to enjoy it on the water, but watching whales sounded as cool as any.

You board the vessel (I’m not sure if that’s what it supposed to be called but it sounds cool), and after a few announcements you set sail. Within about ten minutes the food is served and each table jumps in a buffet line. The food is good but that’s not why you’re there, so as soon as the first whale is spotted you drop your fork and run outside.

There are plenty of places to check out the whales. Multiple levels, areas and viewing decks. And surprisingly, there were a ton of whales. For some reason I thought you had to be quick to spot one, but in fact there seemed to be dozens and dozens of chances to see them.

Another nice touch is the expert on board that educates you about the whales and helps you point them out.

So you have beautiful weather, a day at sea, Diamond Head in the backdrop and all the whale watching you can handle. What are you waiting for?

Big mahalo to Atlantis for having me, it was a great time.

Kimmy and the beach.

A peaceful Waikiki Beach.

Just a palm tree… chilling.

A view from the Mokule’ia climb.

Cool looking tree, no big deal.

A tip of the hat to  Instagram.

Things have changed. Fueled by Oahu’s climbing headquarters at Volcanic Rock Gym, a few friends and I have been practicing at the gym and finding new spots to climb around the island. The Mokule’ia Crag (or the Moks), is one of the better spots to play on.

Gearing up for a the 30 minute accent to the face. It isn’t super hard but with gear you start a huffing and a puffing.

See – there’s the huffing.

…and a puffing.

Mokule’ia boasts about twp dozen routes – various difficulty levels but all good fun.

David Chat making it look easy.

Kim calculating here first few moves.

Captain Jack and some smearing action.

A view from the top.

Me rocking the one foot in front of the other technique – and needing a haircut.

Closing time…

Celebratory beers, food and tunes are in order after a great day of climbing.

Autumn colors are a little tough to find in Hawaii – but they’re around if you look hard enough. This Thanksgiving we celebrated our second “orphan’s dinner,” a collection of all our friends and ohana who have families on different islands or on the mainland. Somehow when you get us all together, the feel of a family isn’t too far behind. We even had two cute twins and a puppy running around.

This year I’m thankful for all the amazing people in my life – here, there and everywhere… Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

Happy Turkey Day, courtesy of Captain Jack!

Kimmy waiting for our Thanksgiving guests…

She eagerly welcomes an unexpected one!

Ed working in his office.

Ed’s “desk.”

Jack’s turkey…

Ed’s cooking has lead to some… “side effects.”

Cutting the turkey…

Our two cutest guests anticipate some turkey…

Our host green-lights our feast…

Here’s to good friends…

A scramble to the turkey line…

Not the best photo-op (when Kimmy’s hungry).

The spread…

More spread…

A little post-turkey slumber party – minus the pillow fight.

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