Lauren & Luau

(Bryon and Julie enjoying the sunset at the Paradise Cove Luau.)

Lauren had an exciting week and got to explore the entire island.  She literally saw every major part of the island in one week!  She got to explore and shop on the North Shore, go to the weekly swap meet, snorkel at Hanuma bay, explore Waikiki, Honolulu, and Kailua.  She also got plenty of beach time on all sides of the island.  One of the big events for the week was the Luau at Paradise Cove in Koalina.  She also got to experience all our local friends in their full bowling glory.

Besides the great times with Lauren over this past week their really isn't a whole lot to report.  I'm still fighting of some sort of illness, but its getting better.  I'm also still dealing with my foot injury, as it doesn't seem to be healing properly.  Hopefully the antibiotics the doctor put me on yesterday will do the trick.  Sales have been really slow at Land Rover, but I'm hanging in there.  I've been out kiteboarding a bit, but the winds have been on the low side of good, and gusty.

You should also check out this cool website (www.riversindemand.com) from my old paddling buddy Andy Maser.  I only dream of adventures on this magnitude.  Maybe someday... I'm just happy to hear that he made it safely through Tibet during the recent political uprising in the region.

(Lauren and Julie get into the hula under a Hawaiian sunset.)

(Lauren gets a Hawaiian "tattoo" from a local hottie.)

(Julie enjoys the local "culture".)

(Lauren and Julie looking cute with the local flowers.)

(The fire dancing at Paradise Cove was spectacular.)

Julie and I are both missing our friends and family back in Baltimore.  Lauren brought a little bit of home with her when she came out for a visit.  Please be sure to keep in touch.

PS- Everytime someone comes for a visit they bring lots of wind with them.  What I'm saying is that you all need to come visit so that I can get out kiteboarding more:)

Visitors Bring Wind!!!

(Julie and Lauren enjoying a hearty breakfast under the Hawaiian sun.)

Once again when visitors come to see Julie and I they bring with them strong winds.  Cheers to that:)  I got four days of kiteboarding over this past week!  I'm now able to ride way up wind, keep in relative control in gusty conditions, and jump a bit.  I had a few sessions where I was out on the water for over 1 1/2 hrs.

(Bryon body dragging off the beach while trying to dodge the kayak, windsurf, and kite traffic in Kailua Bay.)

Julie and I also were able to get out Yacht racing on Friday evening in some heavy winds.  It was quite fun, but the boat didn't do to well in the race.  We were actually 4 min late to the start due to a torn jib sail while hoisting.

(Friday night yachting in Honolulu)

Lauren came to visit us for the week, getting in late Saturday evening.  She has been busy exploring the island, relaxing on the beach, and trying to fight off the jet lag.  Lauren also got to experience St. Patrick's Day Hawaiian style, a drunken block party in China town!  It was a bit crazy, even by my standards, so after I had the obligatory Guinness we headed home.  Luckily Julie and I will have some time off later in the week to spend with her.

The exciting news for the week is that Julie is now the official boat painter for the only outrigger canoe manufacturer left in Hawaii.  She started her training tonight.  Stay tuned for updates on this exciting new project.

Sadly I'm still feeling really sick, even though I've been trying to ignore it for some time now.  I also got REALLY sun burned on my face while kiting Sunday.  On top of it all I was helping out a kiter on Sunday, that had no clue what he was doing, and ended up putting a big hole in my foot.  It's healing up well, but hurts like hell and is keeping me off the water, even though the wind is still blowing!

Offroading, Sailing, and Sickness

(Julie enjoying her birthday in a Land Rover with her new hat on.)

It has been a really long week here in HI.  Julie and I both worked this past Thursday, our usual day off.  Julie had to put in some extra hours so that she could take some time off next week while Lauren Honeycut comes for a visit.  I worked 12+ hr days Thur.-Sat. at the dealership and the Honolulu Car Show.  The dealership has been a ghost town this month and I'm hoping that all my time at the show will result in some sales.
(16 Rovers cruising around Kualoa Ranch)

(A Range Rover having some fun on the obstacle course)

(My loaner LR3 in the valley at Kualoa Ranch)

Sunday was the action packed day of the week.  It was Julie's 28th birthday!  I can now call her my old lady:)  We first attended the Land Rover Wheels event at Kualoa Ranch, the set location for movies like Jurasic Park, 50 First Dates, Windtalkers, Mighty Joe Young, and many others.  This is a quarterly off road owners event put on by the dealership.  It was a beautiful day and it was great fun thrashing a Land Rover in its natural environment.  After the Wheels event Julie got a call to go for a practice sail aboard the boat she has started sailing on Friday evenings out of Waikiki.  I tagged along and had a great time out on the water for a few hours.  I might have to join the crew for a few Friday night races:)  After the sailing we headed over to Hawaii Kai for a birthday dinner at Kona Brewing Company.  We had a group of about 11 people for a big dinner and some quality micro brew.  We were exhausted after the long day and went home to pass out, at about 10pm.  I know, sad isn't it.  Oh, I forgot, Julie was asleep within 5 min. of leaving the restaurant:)

The last few days I've been really sick actually.  My throat is all messed up.  I passed out on the couch last night and didn't wake up to go to bed until about 2:30am, hence the reason this blog entry is a day late.  Hopefully everyone else is doing better than I.  Keep in touch. Peace...

(Julie out on the 40ft Benetoau 1 toner sailboat)

(This is the Mercedes, the yacht that we took out whale watching a few weeks ago.)

-(Just realized that I didn't put up a post last week!  Sorry about that.  I've been in a bit of a funk here lately.  Besides a drive around the North Shore looking for surf, not finding any, and taking Julie shopping on Thursday the 28th there wasn't much to report.)-

Slow, but moving...

(Full moon hike at Makapu Point)

Yet another crazy week in HI. Work has been REALLY slow! Luckily I made two key sales yesterday. On Thursday Julie and I headed up to the North Shore to surf for a bit. It was a beautiful drive as usual and we surfed some solid 3+ ft waves at Puena Point. I was still a bit sick and only surfed for about an hour, but Julie rocked it for a solid 2. Thursday evening we took a hike up Makapu Point under a full moon. It was an amazing hike with good friends, steep off-road trails, and a few bottles of wine at the summit. Saturday night Julie helped one of her friends with save the date cards for her wedding. I ended up getting talked into shooting pool at a friend’s house and then going out to the local bar for a while, to check out Natural Vibrations, a north shore reggae band. Sunday Julie got up early for a bike ride with friends on the North Shore. I stayed home and got a ton of odds and ends done with the house all to myself. We also managed to watch Sweeny Todd at the local $1 theater and cash in our recycling. We made $22! Monday night was full of the normal debauchery at the 651 and again grew in size. I did manage to finally get out running this morning with my sweet new shoes, thanks Heather!!!
(Shot ski with the housemates on Monday night)

I have been in touch with many of my B-more people and really miss all the friends and family. Hopefully the snowboard crew has a blast in Vermont this weekend. Be sure to check out the hilarious video below. Jib Jab is a great website with some hysterical political cartoons (check out "This land",http://www.jibjab.com/originals/this_land, from the last presidential election). Until next week, peace…

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Valentines

(Valentines Day)

-Julie's Words-

Bryon surprised me with an amazing valentines day.  Everything was a secret.  First he gave me a very classy reading lamp for our room.  Then we went on this hike of Kahana Valley in Kahana State Park.  It was very steep and scrambly and what I didn't know was that Bryon was carrying a bottle of wine, wineglasses, cheese and crackers the whole way!  After lingering at the top, checking out the spectacular view, for awhile.   I was whisked off to our next stop, which was watching a romantic movie that just came out, "Fools Gold".   Finally he took me out to dinner at a Thai restaraunt I had been wanting to try.   I thought this was especially thoughtful because Thai is not his favorite.  He topped it all off with some chocolates.  You know how I feel about chocolates!  He totally blew me away with this romantic series of events.  Do I have the best boyfriend ever?  I think so.   Hope you had a great Valentines day as well!   

(The summit spread.)

(Julie enjoying the refreshments.)

(The ridge down the center of the photo is what the trail follows.)

-Bryon's Words-

The trail we hiked is called the Pu'u Piei.  It gains 1,700 ft in just over a mile and involves a lot of scrambling through the dense vegitation.  A slow week besides our very busy Valentines day.  Julie was sick for most of the week, and then passed it on to me:(  This post is a day late because I felt awful last night and had to get to bed.  Hopefully everyone else is feeling well and staying healthy. Peace...

Work Hard, Play Hard

(Shannon, Julie, and Catherine)

(Julie with a helmet urchin, "Ke'ukeuke")

(Julie with a little "Captain" in her.)

(Layson Albatros)

-Julie's Words-

The hike to Keolu Point, the western-most tip of Oahu was enchanting.  I went with my friends Catherine, Shannon and my room mate Aaron.  We did not get a very early start as was originally discussed because we had been out late regaling Kailua with some spectacular Kareoke.  The hike goes along the shore line of the North Shore.  There were some cool waves, but the only surfer I saw was a turtle.  The Ke'ukeuke I am holding in the picture is an urchin that grows on the rocks in the tidal zone, right where the waves are crashing.  I love to pluck them off the rocks and see the glowing purple creature under the helmet.  He reaches out his little tentacles searching for something to hold on to, sometimes my hand.  Don't worry I put him back after the photo op. Urchin Paparazzi that I am.  It happens to be Albatross nesting season and I was eager to get a glimpse of these amazing birds.  We saw many and quite close too!  They are large birds, very gracefull in the air and downright silly looking walking around on land.  Once we got to the point we were rewarded with lots of great whale watching not too far off shore.  There were at least 4 or 5 whales blowing and breaching and doing their humpback whale thing.  Did you know that during the breeding time in Hawaii the mother whales don't eat anything?  The krill, their food does not live in our waters.  After the hike we went out to dinner in Haleiwa town which is the quintessential North Shore Surf town, and the only restaurant were you can get somewhat decent Mexican food on the island.  A beautifull day was had by all.  I wish you were there! 

-Photos provided by Julie this week.-

-Bryon's Words-

A trying week, to say the least. In the end I lived by the motto: “Work Hard, Play Hard.” On the work side of this equation I’ve been doing little to nothing at Land Rover, as customers just aren’t coming in. Apparently the current US economics have slowed car purchases to a crawl. I’ve grown to be impatient about things like this and have been more than a little frustrated at having nothing to do, and having tons of work to be done at home. On that front, I have been working until the wee hours of the morning every day on the Baltimore City Yacht Association DVD for the ’07 race season. I should wrap it all up tonight and ship it off in the morning, in order for it to be shown at the Commodor’s Ball this Saturday evening in Baltimore.

On the play side of things I got out in the water a little last Thursday, but the winds were just too light to get going on my kiteboard. I’ve been down to the beach a few times this week with my gear, but the winds have just been to light. Apparently this week was meant for big parties instead of outdoor excursions. Thursday night was again open mic night at one of the local bars in Kailua. Our roommate Aaron can sing and plays a mean guitar. On Saturday night I was talked into a night of Kareoke, at the local bowling ally bar no less! I learned a few things with this excursion: Julie and I can’t hold a tune, Aaron & Shanon can sing, and Yeager shots don’t go down well after a night of drinking beers. On Monday night we again hosted a big shindig at our place, again with about 20 or so friends. The party just seems to get bigger and crazier each week. This week it ended at around 2 am! It was a good time, but this week I had to work through most of it as the deadline for the BCYA DVD is fast approaching.