Riding The Waves!

The last few days I've experienced many firsts; helicopter rides, sea turtles, pacific sun rises and finally Hawaii itself. Many things are synonymous with the volcanic chain like poi, hula and of course the sport of kings, surfing. Never have I been in a position to try something so demanding and exciting at the same time, until now.     I'm what the locals would call a Barney or kook, but don't call me a waxboy or I'll put the beat down on you butt crumb... got me chubby checker!?

When I first got out on the water my surf instructor told me to wait on a good set. I forgot all his training on the first wave and wiped out. Second set I paddled hard and he told me to jump up and just like that I was surfing on my first wave. I wouldn't say I was carving it up but, I'm no speedbump I  rode it all the way in. The lesson is suppose to last two hours. I was done in one. I was totally used up and worn slap out. I won't say I'm too old but, I only thought I was in shape.

My sister Lauri was a paddle board fool. She was standing up paddling like a champ after just a few minutes of instruction. She did the surfing thing too and I got a great shot of her on the board blowing by me, she was so stoked!

We both left the beach that day frothing from the freakshow. I will be back bra. Shaka dude!

Above It All

When I woke up I knew I wanted a different perspective of Kaua'i, sooo, I took to the air and engaged my bird vision. Bird vision is the best vision for flying high above something, just in case you didn't know that. 

My psycho pilot.

 We left from the air strip at Port Allen on the south shore. We meaning Donna and me, cause my little sister is an island chicken and gets motion sickness when she flies. We took off just before 9am from the Inter-Island Hanger http://www.interislandhelicopters.com/ and started our trip north. Just a few minutes after take off we flew over Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific or something like that. 

Waimea Canyon.

The mountains are strictly vertical with little or no slope and the valleys are deep and nearly inaccessible. The canyon is exposed rock with little vegetation, kind of like the main land name sake. The western part of the island is dryer than the north and east; It receives a third as much rain as other areas.

We flew over this one.

Very high fall.

Banking hard.

The interior of the island is where the lushness of the Garden Island is the wettest and most tropically scenic. Mt.Waialeale has the most annual rainfall on earth with 451 inches. There are water falls everywhere in the center part of the island and most people never get to see them unless they take an air tour. The road system is mostly on the coast around the island, with the exception of the road to Waimea Canyon. You can hike into the center island to check out the beauty, but most don't because it would be hellish to climb those hills and if you get hurt it would be near to impossible to get you out in a hurry.

Manawaiopuna falls or Jurassic falls.

Shaka!

Near the end of the tour we encountered what I considered the most famous water fall on the island, the Manawaiopuna falls or the Jurassic water fall from the first movie. It blew me away. I would have loved landing at the base of the falls, but that wasn't part of the tour. Some people can land down there, but not my guide apparently, rats, maybe next time. Shaka y'all!!!

Sea Turtles and Luaus



Another sunrise!



We got up early as usual, 5am. I got a great shot of a sun rise, again, imagine that. We hit the road in the morning to snorkel on the North shore on Kaua'i. We passed unbelievable scenery, both mountains and sea scape's. Kilauea Light house was one of the coolest photos I got that day. 

Kilauea Light House

We got to the beach just after noon, looking to score some fish tacos before we went in, but the guy had sold his truck and retired... just my luck. The ladies settled for some organic vegetarian grub from some hippy chicks... I did not partake. I brought some Hawaiian roast pig from a store and scarfed that down instead, num num.  

We had to stop and get a shot, auto everything and my little Sony digital came through with a great pic. 

Rain is coming to the North side beach

It was just about to rain when I took the shot: It always looks like it's going to rain, but when it does it lasts just a few minutes.

A double rainbow at the resort  

Sea Turtle.

When we finally got into the water I was in just a few a minutes when a sea turtle swam past me. I began pursuit and stayed with him a half minute or so, enough for a few stills and some video with my under water camera. My lens fogged up and I just knew it wouldn't come out, but it did. We stayed on the beach until late afternoon, got dressed and hit the road, looking for the Luau experience.  

Welcome to Roast Pork Paradise!



Luau Pig coming out of the ground

We made it to paradise just in time to see the pig coming out of the ground. As I walked across the bridge to our seats the aroma of the beast hit me and my mouth started watering. We waited at our table for our turn and I had a few mai tai's to hold me over until I could get to the grub. 

Lauri's friends... Connie and Donna

You could eat and drink all you wanted. Awesome food. 

Pretty lady working the hula

 The entertainment was pretty cool with the fire dancing and of course the hula, my favorite part of the show. I loved seeing those Hawaiian Sirens work it; quite hypnotic! It was another perfect day in Kaua'i, Hawaii!!!









Hawaii at last!

Hanging!

It took me 15 hours of air ports and being jammed up in tiny jet seats to finally make it to Hawaii. I only slept 4 hours the night before the trip so I was rubber legged all day. Coffee is your friend when you got the jet lag thing going. My sister Lauri  has a time share at The Point at Poipu Resort in Kauai. Lauri, two of her friends and of course myself checked in at 3am Central time and pretty much crashed soon as we got there. I got up before the sunrise the first day and proceeded to walk the beach and look for a few photo opportunities. My sister was up and tagged along. Those crazy surfers were already in the swell, grooving on the tasty waves. We got some great photos of the sunrise and I used my Go Pro video camera to get some up close and personal wave shots. We hung around the resort the first day, by the pool, trying to recoup and plan for the week. Saturday we plan on snorkeling, boogie boarding and going to the Bon Dance at the Buddhist Temple. This adventure is just starting with lots of stuff left to try. Stay tuned. This is gonna be a blast!





Sister Lauri and I.

"Local"... net fishing.

John

Hemmed In Hollow

A hot June day is not the time to take your first spring hike in the Arkansas Ozarks, but apparently I'm too stupid to know that. It was 94 degrees when I got going down the hill to the falls. I saw a few citters along the way, chipmunks, salamanders and snakes. The trail was easy, on the way down; I felt pretty good and wasn't out of breath to speak of. I met hikers from Poland, Switzerland, Texas and Arkansas. Lots of people hiked the 5 mile round trip from the Compton trailhead to get to the valley. I would advise coming in from the Buffalo River on a float trip; A short hike with fairly flat terrain, as an alternative to the steep decent from the top. It you aren't in pretty good shape and well hydrated I don't advise the hike this time of year. I drank all the water I brought, 2 quarts, and it really wasn't enough for the trip. I felt light headed on the way back up. I stopped at least 10 times to catch my breath and check my pulse, it was 146 at the highest, but I could feel the pounding in my ears, so I figured it was high enough. The falls are still flowing, but the early spring or just after a heavy rain fall would be a better time to view it. The water felt awesome on the last shot, I got soaked! The woods as always are beautiful and alive, just don't forget the bug spray. Happy hiking!

Churchill Downs and The Kentucky Derby

At 52-years-old I made my first trip to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY. It was a working gig with Wess Moore for our sports department at KTHV. We were there to cover a local horse named Archarcharch from Jacksonville, AR who won the Arkansas Derby in April. Owners Bob and Val Yegos bought the colt at an auction in Kentucky last fall and moved him to his new barn at JB's Auto Salvage. We would spend the next few days driving to KY and setting up our schedule for coverage.

The day of the race was an exciting day. Churchill downs fed us well and I tried my first mint julep, which tasted nasty; sorry Churchill traditionalist. It was a cool and cloudy day and I thought we might get rained on, but it held off. We walked around looking at all the ladies in their big hats. Lots of men were wearing seersucker suits and smoking cigars. NBC owned the rights to the race, so I was limited on what I could shoot until after the race.

Just before the race Wess and I took our place at the rail for a birds eye view. For those of you that don't know, which I was one, standing at the rail to watch the race is apparently a big deal. The only thing in front of me were the horses racing by. It began with the crack of a pistol and they were off and running. Archarcharch stumbled right out of the gate and suffered a stress fracture. He finished the 1.25 mile race, even beating four horses with his broken leg. It was a tough ending for the Yegos' and their junk yard dog.

Archarcharch had surgery to repair the fracture, we were told he would recover. He was sold and permanently retired to provide stud services for his new owner on a farm in Kentucky. The Yegos' will retain some breeding rights and hopefully will salvage some of the fiery eyed grit and heart the little horse from the auto yard brought to the race track.

Mardi Gras 2011

Mardi Gras 2011 was a blast. New Orleans and The Quarters were great for people watching. This young couple had just moved there and outfitted themselves at the thrift store when we met them on the parade route. Lauri had decked herself out in Mardi Gras funky attire from one of the local stores. 85-years-old, apparently is not to old to party, she was catching beads, but I'm not sure if she was drinking adult beverages. We caught lots of beads and saw four parades before we had to leave due to exhaustion. The seafood was great and I loved the sampler plate. Lauri ate the obligatory beignets and chased it with coke, she's not a coffee drinker. I got an unusual photo of a lady leopard. I didn't realize she was topless until later when I looked back at the photo; very artistic paint job. We walked around Jackson Square and saw artists and The St. Louis Cathedral.