My friend James came back home to visit. He's been up in San Jose for the past month working. He is away from his son Riley-who just made 1 year today. Good thing James could fly back to spend sometime with his homies and his son.

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Kicked it at North Shore for the day. Really miss the beach and surfing.

Hiked up Kealia Trail; damn it's a lot longer than it looks from the ground.

The view is nice while you're hiking.

Finally made it to the top.

Went to the Okinawan Festival today. Considering that my friend Jared dragged me out of the house at 6a so we could get a "good parking spot" I had fun. The food was pretty good and there was a lot of interesting things going on. Traditional performances going on throughout the day, sounds of the Tyko(sp?) drums, and the smell of Andagi. My favorite part was the Bonsai tree showcase and the cacti for sale. I couldn't resist and bought a cactus, too bad I didn't spring the extra $40+ for a Bonsai tree.

It's been a while since my last update, pretty much due to the lack of free time that I've had lately. I feel like a grandpa already. So tired after work I pretty much just come home and want to eat then sleep, in that order. On my days off from BoH I work at the Beachcomber, if they need me. Lately that haven't been needing me, so thats nice-getting a day off.

I hope to go hiking and do more outdoor things like that soon. Wish the surf would pick up too.

Around the Island, for the most part.

Went crusing around the island with Mel && Aislen

First stopped off at Paalaa Kai Bakery, mmm they had some good doughnuts. I even grabbed some of their Lilikoi Butter too.

Stopped at Lani's to play tourist and check out the turtles.

Kava Roots; some good Acai bowls.

Still don't really know the name of this beach Mel took me to, but it was nice and we could not hide from the sun.

Went to Papa Ole's in Hau'ula for lunch, the food was soo good.

A Monkey Bowl from Lanikai Juice.

A cool spot to cruise at.

A nice modern looking house smashed between old plantation style country houses.

She was a trooper, drove the whole day :p

It's been a nice relaxing week before I start working at Bank of Hawaii...

Stopped by Shimazu Store

Too many flavors to choose from.

:)

@an aquarium in Paris

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Cactus in a keychain.

How cool is that? There is a company in France called "Baby Tree" www.babytree.fr and they make a bunch of these. Plastic casing is made of recycled plastic. You care for these Cactus, watering them twice a month or so (dipping the bottom in to water for a few minutes), and when the plant reaches the top of the case you remove it and plant it. It's such a GREAT idea, and you can reuse the case and start your own cactus or plant, whatever you desire.

Continuous Change.

Change. Change is something that, while growing up, I have had the hardest time grasping and understanding. It's something that many try to resist. We constantly want to remember how good things were or how they "used to be". But life is really all about progression. And how can we truly have progression without change? Life was so much easier and so great a few years ago, but the future holds such promising things, events, situations, and experiences for us all. All I'm saying is that I am ready. Ready for this next chapter.

Before and after. Amazing huh? hah.

Random picture of my cactus Estaban. I just transferred him into a new pot because he outgrew his previous one.