Life doesn't suck

My body is still adjusting to the time difference a bit and because of that I've been falling asleep around 10 and getting up at the ass crack of dawn.  Earlier than that actually.  So maybe the butthole of early morn?  Haha, I'm sure phrase will catch on.  Ok so anyways, today I got up at 5 a.m. and decided to hike to the top of Diamond Head.  What's Diamond Head, you ask?  I could tell you, but the world wide web will probably do a much better job if it: http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/oahu/index.cfm?park_id=15 .  So I walked about 2 miles to the actual park, then started the climb up to the top in hopes of catching the sunrise.  Now, before I continue let me share a fact that I've recently learned - 1 out of every 5 residents of Hawaii is of Japanese descent.  And from what I could gather, all of those folks were at Diamond Head this morning.  It was rather remarkable actually.  Some surface level observations: elderly Japanese people appear to be in far better shape than the American demographic.  Dozens of 70+ year olds were out on the trail, happy as could be, not out of breath at all.  Good stuff.  Also, the sheer volume of pictures taken was mind boggling.  Entrance sign...click.  Bathrooms...click.  Handrail...click.  Garbage can...click.  Need to pick your wedgie?  Look over here and smile while you're doing it...click.  Not sure what the photo albums end up looking like but they've certainly got a lot of options to choose from.  Ok, moving on.  I did indeed make it up to the top by the time the sun showed up to say hello.  It was pretty sweet, but there were far too many people around for my tastes.  I prefer those kinds of moments to be a little bit more tranquil and a little less tourist trappy.  But it was a beautiful sight and one I'm glad I made the effort to see.  Here are a few pictures to help you visualize:

In case you forgot where I was, here's a sign.

 

That's a tunnel that you have to walk through to get to the entrace of the trail.  Spooky.

 

Pretty

Haha, what a loser!

View from the top

I hope you can make out what's going on in this picture.  The couple standing next to me had these two stuffed animals, (one of Tweety Bird, theother I'm not sure) in a cage like package.  They would stand in front of various backgrounds, pose the stuffed animals accordingly, flash the peace sign and take a billion pictures.  I think I might start learning Japanese because I would love to know the significance of things like this.

Greener pastures

Solo shots are so hot right now.

Realized I had yet to bust out my patented pose.  This one's for you, Dad!

On my walk back to town, I passed by the campus of a local community college and, as luck would have it, they were hosting a farmer's market.  So I gradually made my way through all the tents of fresh fruit, honey, hibiscus flowers, smoked fish, and other various goodies.  I sampled some pineapple, mango, smoked ahi, and roasted macadamia nuts before deciding upon a breakfast of shrimp and vegetable summer rolls and a mango/ginger/mint iced tea.  Quite possibly the best iced tea I've ever had.  If I could figure out the recipe and add some vodka, it would be my new favorite cocktail.  But I'm not really supposed to drink liquor so there goes that dream...

Farmer's Markets are fun!

Durian fruit.  It's illegal to ship in some countries because it smells like crap.  Apparently it tastes good but I couldn't quite get past the distinct rotting garbage aroma.  Maybe next time.

Rest of the day consisted of snorkeling, lounging and then surfing with Forrest the long boarder.  We tested the waves for a couple hours in which time I remember thinking three things:  1. surfing is fun.  2. I suck at surfing.  3. I'm definitely not wearing enough sunscreen right now.  All three things ended up being true.  Good thing sleeping with a sunburn is so enjoyable!

Not much else to report beyond that.  Oh but I did buy a Longboard Island Lager on my walk back home from the beach and was reminded of a suggestion that my seat partner on the flight from Minnesota to Seattle made.  Her name was Judy.  She, like my old lady beach friend, was also from Wisconsin.  She didn't offer me any cheese but she did give me a pretty solid idea. She said I should keep a running tally of all the beers I try as I travel along. Sure thing, Jud!  Here's the list so far:
-Pike Brewing Company Red Ale at the Sea-Tac airport.  It was ok, a little too much bite for my super sophisticated palate.
-Alaskan Brewing Company Amber on the aforementioned flight.  Quite tasty and served in a glass bottle which seemed to violate some sort of TSA standard, but what do I know.
- Longboard Island Lager - my favorite of the bunch.  And I can get a tall boy from the corner convenience store for under 3 bucks. Score!
- Big Wave Golden Ale - Surf (and two thumb)'s up.

Hang ten.

So that just about wraps things up.  I'll be heading to a bar in town today at 10am to start my Championship Sunday.  Hopefully I'll meet some transplanted yinzers and Hawaiian Steelheads.  Greatly looking forward to it. 

Until next time, party on and Go Steelers!

P.S. I'm at a Starbucks right now and some guy sitting in the patio seating area outside just stood up, whipped out his junk and peed into the bushes in plain sight of all the coffee sipping patrons.  Quite a powerful stream.  When you gotta go, you gotta go.  Ok, the end.