Friends from all over started arriving into Hawaii before Kaimana, and it was really great to see everyone again. It brought back a lot of good memories. We had a nice pre-party down at Magoos with mostly Texas kids and a sprinkling of Atlanta and Hawaii folks. Solid showing. And from there the wonder of Kaimana began. Everyone made their way down to set up camp and gather for the first night. Most people were jetlagged and realllly tame. That ended up being fine, though, because after a few days of escalating party and play intensity we went all out at the last party. It was incredible! The whole area pulsed with energy and dancing and games and just plain debauchery! I spent most of my time dancing, but was able to work in a few body shots here and there and dominate flip cup with the Japanese team. The frisbee was great, too! I played with the Georgia women that came all the way over. We were Mahalo, Y'all! Many of the women I had never played with, which was great. Mostly, it was just really awesome to spend time with so many amazing people.
Next came Maui and the Maui Hat Draw. Spent a few days traveling around with some amazing Atlanta folks. Met a few new people that were a lot of fun, too! Chris O'Cleary and I took a side trip to see "one of the 10 most scenic drives in the world," the Hana Coast. It was amazing. Great bays, great views, great jungles, great waterfalls, great banana bread, great side-of-the-road shops, great company. Got to see Humpback whales breaching for the first time. And this one did 5 times in a row. That was at the nude beach, where later there was a drum circle and fire dancers! The Hat Draw tournament was a success. I was on an awesome team. Team Orange/Team this is serious. Great fun. The party was great too! Team South beat Canada and Australia in a boat race and then the Australians incited a shirtless dance party for several hours.
Shimmy and I headed to the Big Island after that. We did so many activities that I have trouble recalling them all. The highlights were definitely shave ice with ice cream, snorkeling with turtles in the freezing morning water, Hilo market, staying with Joel and his hospitality, kakaka waterfall park, what a 25% grade reallly feels like, and getting lost on a dark, active lava field trespassing, then finally finding a little bit of lava going into the ocean. Shimmy, you're a great travel buddy! I hope you had a wonderful time, too!
Then, after a wonderful, whirlwind vacation it was back to Honolulu. Things got crazy right away with research deadlines for university composting research and Earth Day celebration planning, doing LOTS of planning for spring league, and making plans to go to Italy for Paganello 2009. OH, and yesterday I finally finished my SCUBA certification. Hazah!
It's been crazy, it's been busy, but I love it!
