GrisWorld

Happy St. Patty’s day! I am spending it on an airplane but as usual still having an interesting time. I just flew into JFK International Airport for the first time in about 5 years and I am completely blown away. This place sucks! I am not going to lie, this is the most ghetto airport I have ever been to! I get off the teeny tiny regional CRJ 200 airplane I flew here on (the same style airplane I flew on with the airlines at the start of my flying career) and walk about a mile down a totally jerry rigged stretch of outside jetway, before actually getting into the airport. Then, totally lost, wander down the terminal searching for any sign of where I might be or where I am supposed to go. My flight to Amsterdam is not showing up on the monitors so at the first sighting of a Delta Sky Club sign I turn left toward the trusty elite club. It was a very strange entry to the club, I wasn’t quite sure I was in the right place. The elevator was so old and noisy I thought I might end up stuck inside. (Strangely this happened a second time in another elevator further down the terminal.) Safely inside the club the receptionist informed me that I was currently in terminal 2, would need to walk to the end of terminal 3, then take a shuttle to terminal 4, where my flight was departing. There was another Sky Club near the end of terminal 3 and I still needed dinner, so I decided to continue on. This was about 9:30pm and the whole walk to terminal 3 showed no promise of open restaurants with real food. The flight to Amsterdam is an 8 hour flight, so they do of course feed you, but I always order the Gluten Free meal which usually consists of fruit, rubbery chicken, and rice cakes. Granted I am not allergic to any of that but I was in need of something more. After about to give up hope I spotted a vendor with some cold sandwiches and wraps. I asked the cashier if anything else may still be open with hot food and she promptly answered “No”. So thinking I would have no other options, I paid $9.00 for a tuna salad wrap, of which I could eat the tuna, the wrap contains gluten. I headed on down the terminal and discovered right around the corner a bistro serving hot food and full of people eating! Drat! Next place I passed… A healthy options café, and then an entire food court! I was silently laughing hysterically at myself at this point! I managed to find and am currently in the terminal 3 sky lounge, which is big and quite! And I can’t help but wonder what more awaits me on this 25 hour commute to Bahrain. Like I said in my first entry… It’s the little things that make a story. And this, I at least, found pretty humorous! Gotta love the Journey!

Another trip to Japan and Singapore, and another exciting 3 weeks to log. It’s been a good trip so far. Smooth, trouble free commute to Japan (which, for those of you that don’t know, is a 14 hour flight from Atlanta, GA to Narita Tokyo… in which time I generally manage to watch at least 5 movies) Excellent crew, and we have been fortunate enough to stay in the nice, new rooms on base in Yokota (the Air Force Base that we fly out of for work). Of course we have had our share of hiccups. A delay on the first day of our trip, flying out of Japan, due to an engine issue, and an even longer delay leaving Singapore, due to heavy snow and runway closure in Japan. But the biggest benefit to flying with a good crew is the simple fact that nothing ever seems to be all that bad.

The first couple of days off in Singapore were fairly eventful. Once we flew in, early afternoon from Japan, I immediately went to see my Singapore Chiropractor. I find him worthy of mentioning because he is one of the best chiropractors I have ever met. And I have been to A LOT of chiropractors. A LOT! He was also the first and only Dr. I have found that identified the root of all my back problems. Needless to say, I am very impressed with the guy. Not only do I consider him a genius in his field, but his personality is uncanny. The first time I met him, which was only 3-4 months ago, I had just started a new workout program called Insanity. A super intense cardio and whole body workout led by the famous Shawn T.! I had considered the workout program to be an American trend. Excessively popular among the fitness fanatics of the U.S. but nowhere else. So, while working on the painful pressure points in my back, Dr. Luke Ho spikes up a new topic of conversation to try and divert my attention from the pain. He asks me what the new workout program is that I have recently started. I reply spritely, “Oh, I’m sure you haven’t heard of it, it’s called Insanity.” Dr. Luke immediately shouts out, “Shawn T.!” I couldn’t believe it! This skinny Asian chiropractor not only knew the workout, but had completed the program twice, had moved on to the next level of the Insanity programs, Insanity Asylum, and had an insanity workout group that he meets with 2-3 times a week! He was so motivated and excited about the program we talked about it the rest of my time there. I couldn’t believe how friendly and funny this Dr. was! So now, even though I pay a pretty penny to get my back cracked by the guy, I still keep going back. When you find a Dr. as good as him, even if their on the other side of the world, Ya keep ‘em!

After my visit with Dr. Luke I headed back to the hotel to try and find my crew and attempt to contact one of our passengers who had flown over to Singapore with us a few days earlier to tour solo around Malaysia and Singapore for a few days. A very interesting guy, 31 years old and he has already been to 56 countries, is a major in the military, and a special agent with NCIS! I managed to get a hold of him and found my crew, and we all hung out pool side for a bit at the hotel before taking secret agent man out on the town for a proper initiation to Singapore. The night life in Singapore is definitely worth seeing if you haven’t ever been. I will not go into detail on here for censorship reasons, but it is a bit of a culture shock at first. And Singapore is a city that never sleeps. You can stay out all night with plenty to do and see.

So, the next morning, after staying out all night, we all piled in a taxi around 8:30am to head to Chingi City. From Chingi we climb on a ferry that will only leave out when no more or less than 12 people have boarded and paid 2.50sing (equivalent to $1.25 US) to ride over to the beautiful little island of Pulau Ubin. I guess you could call the island a nature preserve. Paved and unpaved trails wind all around the island, full of monkeys, boars, monitor lizards, cobras, pythons, and ridiculously large spiders. The island is a popular spot to spend the day biking and numerous bike vendors compete for the business of those individuals that venture out to the island. We all rent front end suspension mountain bikes and head off down the trail. After not being on a mountain bike in far too long it was extremely exhilarating to be out riding through the forest and along the coast line. We walked through a mangrove swamp and out over the water looking down at all the different types of fish and crabs. Sadly, the monkeys were nowhere to be found. And we did not get to see any cobras or Pythons either. But we did come upon a giant Golden Spider, luckily not hanging across the trail for us to run into. And at one point while walking through the woods, I caught sight of something quite large rummaging through the bushes in the distance. My first officer and I ducked down trying to make out what the creature may be, excited to finally have a wild animal sighting. All of a sudden one of the local rangers came walking around the corner behind us and bent down to see what we were looking at. “Oh! Boar!” He exclaimed, and then starts clucking at the pig to get her attention. He got that Boar to walk right up to us, so close we could almost pet her. Ha! So much for wild animal! Once back on our bikes we headed to the other side of the island where there is actually a small hotel ‘resort’. This is also my crew’s favorite spot to stop and have a few beers and snacks. The restaurant is surrounded by a lagoon full of manta rays and various types of fish. My flight engineer bought fish food for all of us and we acted like giddy school children watching the different types of fish fight for the food. After 5 hours of biking, hiking, and sweating our butts off in the Singapore heat, we headed back to the ferry and made our way home to the hotel. It was an extremely fun day and definitely one of my new favorite things to do in Singapore.

Now we are half way through our 3 week trip. One more full weekend off in Japan, followed by 2 more days off in Singapore. More adventures to come!
Pictures of our day on Pulau Udin Island our posted in my gallery.

This whole week I have been sitting in a classroom in Miami learning a new aircraft. Not exactly adventurous story telling material. So, even though I stated in my first entry that I was not going to recap any of my stories from the past due to lack of memory, I have decided there are a few stories that are very worth telling. Even if I don’t remember all the details.

One of my favorite stories in particular was the time I went to Costa Rica for a week long stay in a rainforest eco lodge. A few years ago, back in 2006, when I was working with the airlines, I took one of my most adventurous vacations yet. I won’t go into detail about how I discovered this lodge, but it was not your typical tourists resort, and aside for an old traveling hippie, I was the only guest. But the adventure started not when I got to the lodge, but traveling there, it was quite an ordeal.

First off, let me point out the fact that the majority of people living in Costa Rica do not speak English. And, aside for a few vital words like Hello, Please, Thank you, Bathroom, and Beer, I do not speak Spanish. A very sad fact, seeing how at one time, I lived in Puerto Rico.
I was traveling alone on this trip, as I did on most of my travels at that point in life. When I arrived in San Juan, I had to take a taxi from the airport to the bus station, which is not a problem since all airports are loaded down with taxi’s eager to take your money. When I got to the bus station I was due to call the owner of the eco lodge and get more thorough instructions on how exactly to get to the lodge. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to work the dang payphones and couldn’t find anyone who spoke English to help me. No worries, I knew what bus to get on to take me to San Isidro El General and from there I would figure it out. So I board the very crowded bus and 2 hours later arrive in San Isidro. I knew I had to go up into the mountains to a little town called Pura Suerte, and I knew the taxi needed to be 4 wheel drive. What I did not know was how to say 4 wheel drive in Spanish. The first taxi driver that grabbed me after stepping off the bus, of course, did not speak English. But when I told him Pura Suerte he nodded excitedly, “Si, Si Seniora.” I tried to sign language 4 wheel drive to him in the most crude sign language imaginable, and he just shook his head, “Si, Si”. Okay, whatever, your hired. We head off to his car and as soon as I see the tiny 4 door clunker he is driving the worry I had been suppressing all day started to creep up. But, I figured, He says he knows where this place is so that must mean this rust bucket is capable. So I climb in and we head up the muddy dirt road into the rainforest. And I mean UP! I couldn’t believe how steep these unpaved roads were! Along the way we would pass random houses, and after about 45min. of driving, my driver began stopping every 3-4 houses. “Un Momento” He would say to me while he jumped out of the car, ran up to the house, conversed with the inhabitants, and then ran back to me. “Mui Bien” he would say reassuringly, and we would continue on. I was getting a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t know where Pura Suerte was after all. About 2 hours into the drive up the mountain, it was dark and starting to rain and my driver pulled over in front of a big gate leading into a cow field. “Pura Suerte!” He exclaimed to me as he grabbed a flashlight and got out of the car. “No! No Pura Suerte!” I yelled after him as I jumped out to try and stop him. I knew from the description I had been given that this was most definitely not my destination point. The driver looked at me angrily, shook his head and went back to the car. To my dismay, instead of continuing on up the road, he turned around and started heading back down! I was not going all the way back to San Isidro, so I urged him to stop at the next house and get me a phone. I called my contact at the lodge and put him on the phone with my driver. He explained, in Spanish, that we only had to drive about 10 more minutes up the road and we would be in the town of Pura Suerte. A few minutes later the owner of the eco lodge met us on his 4 wheeler. He cursed out my driver for claiming to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle and knowing where Pura Suerte was. We threw my bag on the back of the 4 wheeler, I climbed on, and off we went. We pulled up to the common house of the property and went inside. The Eco Lodge is basically 500 acres bought up by a group of five American hippies. They built 5 bamboo huts scattered around the property which they rent out for $20 a day. They also have an organic farming and reforestation project which the majority of the land is devoted too. None of the huts were being used at the time, so I had my pick of any of them to stay in for my week. I choose the Jungle Valley hut. The hut farthest out in the rainforest and the most secluded. Again we climbed on the 4 wheeler and drove the half mile to the hut. It was a small round bamboo hut, fully enclosed on one side with a half wall on the other side. A small walkway out to one side led to the sink, compost toilet, and outdoor shower (which, by the way, taking an outdoor shower in the middle of the rainforest with absolutely no one around is a really cool experience in itself). The owner showed me around, and then told me not to leave the lights on too long, that will attract bugs. Bugs! In the rainforest!?! That’s all I needed to hear! As soon as he left I very quickly washed up, jumped in the bed (after a very thorough inspection under the covers), and turned out the light. Laying there in the total darkness, alone, in the middle of the jungle, I suddenly questioned myself. What was I thinking! Just then I heard a mysterious creature flying back and forth over my head, inside the hut. Ugh! I kept my head under the covers the rest of the night, only peering out now and then checking hopefully for daylight.

Finally, after a very broken night of sleep, the first signs of dawn started to peer into my hut. Right as I started to relax a little, I heard the most terrifying sound I have ever heard in my life! It literally sounded like there were dinosaurs outside my hut. (Come to find out later in the day, these were actually Howler monkeys, now I know where they got the name.) I lay there paralyzed with fear until it stopped. When I felt like a safe amount of time had passed I peered out from under the covers and saw, for the first time, the beautiful view from my little hut. The side of the hut with the low half wall had a porch wrapped around the outside, lined with hammocks, overlooking the most stunning valley. I could not believe the beauty I was completely surrounded by. All concerns and fears melted away and I became completely immersed in the place for the next several days. I befriended the old hippie staying up at the common lodge, the only other guest, and he took to showing me around. Exploring the jungle and surrounding village. He introduced me to a couple more hippies living in a small house overlooking another beautiful valley. At one point, one of the men from the house went to the side of the house, picked some various fruits from the trees, and made us fresh smoothies. So cool!

I asked the lodge owner if I could go horseback riding, so he asked one of the village men to take me out the following day. I ended up having my own private 3 hour tour of the jungle and surrounding land, on horseback, all for $20! We even stopped at a beautiful massive waterfall, at which time my guide got off of, and tied up his horse. While pulling out his machete he instructed me to do the same. Granted, he did not speak English. Uh, yea, Giant Gulp! He smiled, seeing I was nervous and confused and pointed up to the waterfall. We were going to the top and he was going to chop our way up! I felt so adventurous!

Every night I ate dinner at the common house with the one (and only) owner of the lodge that I had met, his girlfriend, and the old hippie. Food and Beer was included in my $20 a night fee. One night after a few too many beers, the dark of night had crept up and I still had to walk out to my hut. Every other night I was sure to be in my hut before night fell. The owner gave me a head lamp for my walk, and with no concerns in mind, I took off on the half mile trek alone. I was walking along, enjoying the quiet of the jungle, when all of a sudden a flying insect as big as my face and attracted to the light on my head, literally landed on my face! All I saw were legs coming at me! I screamed and took off running at a full sprint waving my hands frantically at my face. I would love to have a video of that little moment. It still makes me laugh to think of how crazy I must have looked and sounded. And there was no one around to see it! I ran all the way back to my hut!

Thankfully, aside for the terrifyingly loud howler monkeys, and the face eating insect, I was in harmony with the jungle the rest of my stay. It was an incredible experience and something I will never forget. Especially after looking at myself in the mirror for the first time in 5 days, after I left the lodge. Now that was probably the most terrifying moment out of the whole week! The jungle life does not do wonders to the skin and hair!

What an amazing 4 days off in Hawaii. I absolutely love this island. And thanks to my new, good friend Josh, I have now seen a vast majority of this beautiful place.

An early start to the day Thursday morning, Josh picked me up at my hotel at 8:30am. The plan was to head to the North Shore for a little beach time and exploring. We drove first to Dahui. Known for the long strip of houses bought up by the many surfing sponsors, and the popular surf “Off the Wall”. This is the final stop for the WCT World Surfing Tour, The Pipeline Masters. Some of the top surfers in the world take on this dangerous set of waves for photo and video ops, and of course experience and competition. Because of the close proximity of shallow water reefs and the break of the waves, this spot is dubbed one of the most dangerous in the world. The waves were nowhere near as big as they are known to get this time of year. Typically averaging 20-40ft. swells. But they were still extremely impressive and entertaining. Watching these professional surfers take on the huge waves almost seems to put you in a trance. It’s easy to see why the sport is so addicting. Even more impressive were the water photographers. There were two that I could see that swam in and out of the waves with their photo equipment. Not only do they have to have strong lungs and good swimming abilities, but they also have to emerge from underwater at just the right time to snap shots of the surfers on top of the waves. I was absolutely blown away by the skill these men possessed. After a good hour of watching the waves and chatting with some Brazilian surfers that were sponsored by Oakley, Josh and I decided to move on to the next beach. We moved next to Pupukea Beach which was only about a half a mile down from “Off the Wall”. If you are familiar with the singer/songwriter Jack Johnson, this is basically his backyard. His house backs up to the beach and Josh tells me he has met the singer several times out surfing the waves or playing with his kids. There are also several of his music videos that have been filmed on the same beach. We set up camp and hangout for a good bit. Josh went off to play in the surf and take photos, while I worked hard at sunbathing. Two goofy happy north shore dogs made their way over to us. One, a black lab that lay down on Josh’s foot to enjoy some human companionship, while the other provided us with the entertainment of his strange ritual. Dig, dig, dig, pick up coconut, take it to the water, rinse it off, and eventually drive the humans crazy dropping the wet sandy coconut directly on top of them to throw. It was cute for the first 5 times. Josh was having entirely too much fun with the dogs. At one point I turned to see him digging in the sand with the OCD dog. And I didn’t even need a camera, he was already filming, Haha!

Moving on… After a few more stops for photos at various beaches, we ended up at the end of the road. A beach all the way down the road to the North West of Oahu. Literally, the end of the road. Again, we set up camp. This time Josh paddled out on his surfboard to catch some waves, while again, I took up the difficult task of sunbathing. Such a hard life! Nothing much to write about here aside for the beautiful beach, and hump back whales I saw jumping out of the water. We watched the sunset, took some more pictures, and decided it was time for some Mexican food and margaritas. We headed to Cholo’s, A popular Mexican joint, for an incredibly satisfying dinner, and then started back toward Waikiki. Almost back and Josh turned off into Manoa valley, telling me he had one more thing to show me. We drove into a rainforest where Josh parked the car and got out. It is about 9:30 at night at this point, and the rainforest is very dark. I was a little shocked to discover we were getting out here. Especially, after Josh had just finished telling me about the strong spiritual activity in this valley. I squealed and jumped around a little to try and shake off my fears, then followed Josh into the forest. This is actually a popular hiking trail to Manoa falls. Perfectly safe, but in the dark, a little daunting. We hiked a short distance out to a beautiful valley. Josh set up his camera and shot some gorgeous photos of the stars and valley. The perfect end to the perfect day.

I was back to my hotel a little before midnight, exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in the next morning. Just before laying down I noticed the blinking red message light on my phone. Two messages from my captain and first officer. Changing hotels in the morning be ready to go before 9am. Grrr… so much for sleeping in!

I spent all day Friday settling into the new hotel, running errands, and of course, sunbathing. Around 9pm I made plans with Josh to head out early the next morning to watch the sunrise.

Josh picked me up around 5:30am and we headed to the east side of the island. We made a short hike up a trail called “The Pillbox Trail,” and settled in a spot overlooking the valley and ocean. Two islands called the Mokolua Islands added to the beautiful setting. Josh set up his camera and began taking pictures as soon as the first light started to show on the horizon. I sat down on a blanket to soak up the peaceful, quiet morning. Down below, between the beaches and the Mokolua Islands, we could see surfers paddling out to the reef to watch the sunrise from their surfboards. It was a beautiful sunrise, absolutely picturesque, as are most all sunrises and sunsets in Hawaii. When the sun had risen and began heating up the island, we hiked back down the trail and drove over to Lanikai Beach. Yet another piece of paradise. We took more pictures and then headed on to the north shore. We stopped in a field by the ocean next to Chinaman’s Hat, an island that looks just like its name, and spent a good 20min working on the perfect picture. A timed shot in which we were both jumping in the air at the same time. A great shot that took many tries to get right. But it was as fun as it looked in the photo. A little ways down the road Josh asked me if I had been to a lookout point, which I do not remember the name of. We drove down a little side road and came to a spot looking out at a giant rock with a hole in it. Even more interesting then that giant rock, were the 2 cliff diving jump off points. One at 25ft, and the other at 30-35 ft. This was actually the spot used in the movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. When the 2 main characters hike out to a remote spot and jump into the ocean. At first, the thought of jumping in was not even an option that crossed my mind. But, the longer I stood there and talked to Josh about it, the more I felt the need to give it a go. Josh went ahead and performed an impressive back flip off of the highest jump point, and then swam over to the area below the lower jump to scope out the depth of the water in case I decided to try it. The other tough factor to this jump was getting back out of the water. You had to time your climb out onto the rocks with the waves coming in. Then climb up through a narrow path that led up through the rocks. Josh, of course, made it look easy. I was having a pretty serious mental battle with myself over making the jump. Mainly, because back in my younger days, I wouldn’t have thought twice about doing it. The idea that along with getting older I may be losing my daredevil side was not sitting well with me. Josh explained to me exactly how to make the jump, hold my arms and legs in the air to stay straight, and then tuck in when hitting the water. At this point, about 7-8 people were watching us from a short distance to see if we were going to jump. I looked away from Josh to examine the small crowd and when I turned back he was gone. I looked over the ledge and saw he was already back in the water. He had already made his second jump and I had yet to make one. I took off my shorts and sunglasses and then stood there shaking with fear trying to will myself to jump. I looked back behind me and saw the crowd had given up on me and left. Crap! Now I really had to do it! I took a deep breath, pushed through that invisible wall, and jumped. I swore I wasn’t going to scream, and I would make the perfect jump. I did the complete opposite. I screamed closed my eyes and failed miserably at following my companion’s instructions. Because of my flailing arms and legs, my body tilted backwards and I hit the water hard, butt first! The shock of hitting the cold water so hard masked the pain I felt in my bum, and my friend grabbed onto me bringing me back to the awareness that I was now in the cold ocean and had to climb back out. I had so much seawater up my nose, I kept swallowing it without even realizing it. Boy did I feel silly! Ok Sarah, time to remember how to swim! I did not make it onto the rocks nearly as gracefully as Josh did, but I made it nonetheless. Once back up top I realized how badly I was shaking, and the pain in my back and bum set in. But none of that mattered. I had overcome my fears and made the jump! I felt great!

Back in the car and continuing on our “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” movie tour, we headed to Turtle Bay resort. The spot where the majority of the movie took place. It was absolutely beautiful! We walked all around the resort, sat in the hot tub to soothe my Tush a little, took pictures, and swung in the beachside hammocks. Very refreshing! Even more refreshing was the fresh coconut juice drank straight from the coconut at Kahuka Land Farms Fruit Stand. I tried and fell in love with the fried bananas, a popular item at the roadside stand. After buying some papaya and passion fruit for later, we headed to our last beach for the day for a quick nap on the beach for me, and surf for Josh. The best part was the fact that we had done all that and it was only noon! A major benefit to getting started before sunrise. Around 2pm, Josh dropped me off at my hotel and went on to work. I had dinner plans with another friend later on, so I went in for a workout and power nap. Later that night after dinner, I ended up drinking entirely too much wine with friends at a local’s hangout, causing me to cancel my plans to go sailing the next day on the local’s party boat that goes out every Sunday. Sailing and Hangover do not mix! I had a relaxing day instead. Back to work early Monday morning!

I am no writer. I don't even have nice handwriting. But to be having the experiences that I have on the road and not be sharing them or even documenting them is beginning to feel like a crime. I have been traveling my whole life. As a kid we always took family vacations. Camping throughout Canada, Skiing in Colorado, Cruise to the Bahamas. My parents have always had the travel bug and they passed that gene along to me. Before becoming a flight attendant I lived a very nomadic life. My belongings spent more time in storage then in a house, and to be honest that is still the case. However, now I have an address in the U.S. that only changes every couple of years, and I am there much less then part time.

I currently fly for an International Charter. I spend 2-3 weeks on the road at a time, and here lately I spend my off days traveling as well. Anyone that does a lot of traveling, or even takes the occasional vacation, knows there is never a dull moment, and as long as you are on the go there is always a good story to tell. And so, I am starting this blog to tell my stories.
Now... where to begin?

I guess I could start by recapping the past 2 years of my life flying internationally. But to be honest, its the little things that happen on the road that make the stories the most interesting. And, its the little things that we tend to forget the fastest. Basically, I dont feel I remember enough to properly tell those stories. So I am going to start with the Now. Right Now I am in Hawaii. For two weeks I will be either soaking up the sun, exploring the island, or... working. Flying from Hickum Air Force Base to Kwajelein Marshall Island, and Wake Island.

The trip started with the depressing news that we would no longer be staying in the beautiful resort that we were so accustomed too, but instead moved to a much older, much less fancy hotel in a slightly more run down part of town. Now I will admit, I am a bit of a spoiled brat. Yes we are being paid to be in Hawaii, but I did my fair share of whining about these new accomodations. When you live the majority of your life in hotel rooms, you tend to become accustomed to your own ideals of a suitable place. But never the less I did not start this blog to complain, and as all living creatures do, I have adapted to the lesser quality hotel. And to be honest, I don't spend that much time in the hotel room anyway. I mean it is Hawaii! And I am very fortunate to have local friends. Anywhere you go in the world, the best advice I can give is to make friends with the locals. Especially if your traveling for business with some free time on your hands. It is because of this, that I have had some of the most amazing experiences in my life. Just this past monday night, after a long 13 hour day of flying, instead of sticking to my plans to workout and go to sleep, a local friend of mine offered and invitation I could not refuse. He and his best friend, who had recently aquired a fancy new camera, were heading out to take pictures of Hawaii under a full moon. The desire to pass on the offer and get some much needed sleep was strong. But that adventurous voice in my head was screaming "Don't you Dare!" So I agreed, and an hour later my friends picked me up at the hotel, with a complimentary Red Bull. Smart Friends!

I honestly have no idea what part of the island we drove too. But about 20 minutes later we pulled over to the side of the road and a stunning view of the full moon lighting up the ocean and the view of Hawaii from that point. We spent the next hour goofing off with the camera. Playing with different settings of light and shutter speeds. It was creative and fun and exactly what I needed to bring my spirits up from the not so happy mood I had been in all day. We left our roadside spot and headed to a popular cliff diving spot called spitting caves. Along the way my friends are name dropping to me "Dog the Bounty Hunter lives here... Eminem and Dr. Dre have a recording studio over there..." And of course the homes are emaculate. We park the car and start walking, where to I had no idea. We turn right onto a rocky path leading down and through the trees. At this point I am fairly delerious from being awake for almost 24 hours, and a little nervous about this dark rocky trail. But I held in my fear and plodded along trying my best not to slip and break anything. When we get to the bottom and emerge from the trees I am finally able to look up and see the beautiful spot my friends had been boasting about. The smooth jagged coastline dropped off into the ocean about 40-50 ft below giving way to an amazing and dramatic view. Even in the light of the full moon I could see how this was one of the most beautiful views in Oahu. I walk over to the popular cliff diving jump off spot and look way down at the ocean below, violently crashing against the rocks. I have a very adventurous soul but vow right then to never attempt this adrenaline rush. Especially after hearing stories of the many unfortunate souls who have perished making the jump. Nope, not for me.
We hike down the cliff a ways to take some more photos and my friends point out another popular dive called The Leap of Faith. An 80ft. plunge into the ocean. A beautiful picture and thats good enough for me. Finally around midnight we head back to the car. Im so tired at this point I could lay down on the rocks and go to sleep. 20 minute drive back to Waikiki and I part with my friends, turning down the offer to go up to the north shore early the next morning to watch the surfers and the massive waves popular this time of year. After 3 days of traveling I need a recovery day. So my first day off in Hawaii I spent sleeping on the beach as far down from the craziness of Waikiki as I can walk. I will head to the North Shore for more adventures on Thursday.