:: greetings from the big island --- wish you were there ::
i tried to update from the islands to give y'all a day-to-day but we didn't get wired. for 15 cents a minute, i decided it was more healthy to unplug for a while. i spend way too much time surfing that pipe, time to step into real liquid. the picture above records our lava hunt. yes, that is real 2000+ degree lava. we hustled over rough terrain (like that scene in chronicles of riddick) at sundown to get a glimpse of this ooze and make it back before it went pitch black. most visitors don't get to see this at volcano national park. it was a pure marvel.

this was one of the most enjoyable times the wife and i had shared. i appreciated how she willingly pulled off some jennifer-garner-alias-esque action with me over this treacherous 3 mile terrain. i was moving like riddck trying to get to our final destination and back safe before it went pitch black on us. besides the terrain, we had to overcome the mix of our asthma and the sulfur in the air besides not having done much physical activity in quite some time.
"There's only gonna be one speed - Mine. If you can't keep up, don't step up. You'll just die." --- chronicles of riddick
it was really great how we strove together toward a common goal and enjoyed the reward together.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++notables +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

:: food ::


- plate lunches with kalbi for 4.95 is quite the bomb as are other asian inspired dishes like katsu, curry beef, etc. this truly is paradise. non-asians can't grasp what a steal this is. there's one in nyc on fulton street - hit up the L&L Drive-In.

- there needs to be a mos burger out here too. not much on the beef but it's a nice spot to hit up.


:: folks ::
we enjoyed our time with our hosts. thanks for the prayers. i know you prayed for us.

even more neat was that we were able to spend time with the my old roomate dennis who's stationed out here on the army base. i've lived with him longer than lauren so far.

and for you volleyball fans - we got to chill for a bit with the hawaiian star setter for UH --- Kanoe Kamana'o
a very nice girl - - - AVCA National Freshman of the Year...Earned AVCA third-team All-American Honors...also named second-team All-American by College Sports Television...a first-team all-WAC and first-team all-region player...WAC and Region Freshman of the Year.

look forward to hearing more news about her in the future.




:: fun :: 
the big island is the one island that you can ski or board and go surfing all in the same day. woohoo. praise for islandsnow




of course... my favorite spot - the north shore. real waves. real surf. well, i wussed out. 20-30 foot waves are insane. but surfing, stepping into liquid is a pure spiritual experience.


now please return your seat to its upright position. mahalo ::.
it's good to be home. truly. it's sort of a reminder that it's where we belong, just like heaven. we actually wished that we could experience the snow from behind our apartment window while we were resting on the fine sandy beaches. but oh, it finally feels like winter.

so set your sights on a memory bliss for these cold gray days ::

the view from our balcony at dusk   |   the place where we lay our heads


+++++ big thanks to jon for lending me his precious for our travels +++++

posted by affectionate @ 1/27/2005 03:50:00 PM