June Events

Hello again,

We did the annual Resident Welcome ceremony and the boss decided to celebrate a couple of promotions at the same time. B finally came along and joined the picture. G is in the water behind H. Somebody must have made fun of L to deserve that look.

We always take a nice group shot with all the gang. It was and is always a good time.

Took a little time out for myslef this morning and did my first Team Triathlon, The Firecracker Sprint Triathlon. The held it at Barber's Point right next to the Coast Guard Air Station. The race involved a 500m swim (in open surf), a 20k bike and a 5k run. For Team Triathlons, 1 person does each leg ... I did the swim. Here is the team (anybody recognize my shirt - about 20 yrs old).

Here is a view of the lane we used after the swim when transitioning to the bike ...

The pre-race prep is kind of crazy ... this is at about 0545. I was pretty impressed at how many were there.

They assign everybody numbers, mainly so they can assess penalties if you do something wrong, there were quite a few rules. Here I am showing off my 'guns' (more like pistols ... reminiscent of Bugs Bunny when the arm dangles down instead of bulgin up, huh!)

The transition is a little tough as you have to switch off the chip, which is attached to a velcro band. You have to wear it around an ankle because the sensors are inside mats that you run over and they only work at a distance of about 18-24 inches. Here are my partners switching between the run and the bike.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and best of all not too hot. Our runner was by far the best of the team ... he rand 5:10/mile for the whole 3.2 miles and almost caught the 2nd place team. Here he is finishing up ...

The 1st place team was probably about semi-pro ranking, their swimmer is in on the UH team and yesterday he finished 1st in a 1 mile race in open ocean on the North Shore. He smoked my by about 4 minutes. I finished only 17 seconds behind the 2nd place team's swimmer. Not bad for a newbie. We finished 3rd for the men's team category (out of 4, but hey, we still got a plaque).

AND ... we got the T-Shirt!

As always, hope you are all well.

Until next time.

Aloha

FINALLY!!!

Hello again. Not so long between posts this time.

Well, just after my last post, H and I took a trip with the Senior class of the Residency and went to Kauai. We had a GREAT time. Kauai, better known here as 'The Garden Isle' is extremely diverse and has lots to see. H and I found that the best view came from an Ultralight.

H and her pilot taking off.

This little job was absolutely awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone, antime ... for anywhere (Birds of Paradise, Kauai, HI). I told L when I got back down that we'll be buying one of these babies before too long. The flight was very stable and actually pretty comfortable. The motor is a 4-banger that has enough umph to get you going about 70mph and then your off.

We took off and headed for Waimea (wih-may-uh) canyon and then flew straight to the Na Palli coast line. It was about 0620 and as we came out over the water just as the sun was coming up over the coastal range ...

Na Pali Coast. ~1700ft cliffs nearly straight out of the ocean.

H's pilot waited until she got relaxed and started enjoying herself and then he started hot-dogging a little. He was doing dives and banks, climbs and then cruising right down over the water ... she had a blast.

H over one of the hidden beaches on the Na Pali Coast.

Another view ... better scope of how big it all is.

We spent about 40 minutes over the canyon and the coast and then turned to head back. As we were coming toward the airport on the south side of the island, we moved out over open ocean and as I looked to my right, I caught site of a Hawaiian trademark ...

Rainbow in the rain over open ocean.

Back on the ground, H was nothing but smiles ... until the pilot went to take our picture and asked us to put our backs together. H says that he told us to give our best 'James Bond' look ... I sort of missed that message.

Later that day, we did a hike up in the Canyon that finished on the Coast. Some of the views were absolutely breathtaking. They call this the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Rumor has it that Mark Twain named it thus when he made his trek here in the late 1800's. (only problem ... Mark Twain never came to Kauai). Anyway, see for yourself ...

The view from the cliffs above the Na Pali coast was absolutely stunning. It couldn't have been a more perfect day. After a 3 mile hike, this is your reward ...

Sometimes, words just don't do it justice.

A large group of the residency ohana (family) went and H made some really good friends. We went to the Waimea Beer Garden for dinner after the hike. It was great. We had a really nice room reserved for the group so we could get a little loud and not worry. A perfect way to end the day.

That week we also had a nite out on the military base there at Barking Sands Military Reservation. The restaurant was ok and after we did Karaoke. H was on it and had all the guts as she got up and did one 'a capella' ...

She was a big hit.

We arrived home safely and this past week my big day finally arrived. I made Major. We had a small ceremony at the clinic with most of my closest co-workers there. We get to choose who 'Pins' us and so I chose my Residency Director and, of course, L. She's been there for every one except 1 (in the Ohio Guard) and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

My Commander got to say a few nice things about me and then I got the plaque that makes it all official.

L was a little upset about being upstaged.

It's always good to have good things happen, but nothing would be worth much if you didn't have your family with you (B was there in spirit). Everyone got to 'Lei' me ... it got a little hard to breath.

At least everyone smiled at the end.

Here's wishing you all well.

Until next time.

Aloha!

So much to do ... Spring update ... just a little ltogate!!

Hello again, all.

As usual, I have taken a long time to get another post on. Just got lazy, what can I say.

Been busy through the first 6 mos of 2010. Early on, I had a continuing ed trip to Orlando and Luce couldn't pass up the chance to get back to Disney. We brought Nanna out to watch the girls and we took a little time out for ourselves. We got to ride all the rides we don't normally get to and were met by some friends from Dental School (thanks J and A). A good time was had by all.

Here we are in front of the Everest ride. Awesome roller coaster, but the Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster was by far the best (Luce couldn't ride it though, but we won't talk about that). (BTW ... it's the sun making my hair look so white, I promise. It's usually more pepper than salt :) )

After that, I got to go to the far East with a trip to Korea to do some Training for some of the folks out there. We had a really good trip. Here is the gang ...

Everybody worked hard and we got to do some fun stuff as well. The pic above was waiting for the bullet train ... we (the US) is so far behind the times. This train goes about 170+ mph and was so smooth you almost didn't know you were moving. It was awesome. (write your congressman to get the show on the road).

We also got to do some sight seeing ... here is part of an awesome Buddhist temple that we visited. I got pics of the inside but didn't think it was cool to show people praying in this format. The detail on the buildings was fabulous. We also got to go to some great shopping areas and, of course, had some great Korean food (though I am not all that into Kimshee, the BBQ was most excellent). Had a great tour guide (thanks Jenny) and got to see the more local side ... away from the tourist spots ... "OMG ... Show me the Money!" (sorry, inside joke).

Me and Hunter got to take some surf lessons ... finally. (Though with all respect to the real surfers out there, these were BABY lessons. They hold your board and tell you exactly what to do, and the board is so big it makes it seem easy ... NOT. We tried it on our own and didn't have nearly as much luck). Here is Hunter with a great view of Diamond Head in the background. At least we can say we got up. We're going again ... soon.

Gracie got to do some of her own riding. She started off around early April by letting me know it was time to learn to ride her bike. I tried last summer and that lasted all of about 30 seconds before she got fed up, angry with me, and just dropped the bike and walked off. This time, she was ready. I made sure by making her ask me about 3 weeks in a row. Finally, when the day came, I think I walked with all of about 20 ft and she just took off. We haven't seen her since. I think she should be somewhere around downtown Honolulu by now but nobody knows.

She also got to ride some of the furry sort ... she decided that gymnastics wasn't her bag (much to the chagrin of her older sister) and started asking to follow in Hunter's footsteps and learn to ride horses. Everybody's dream is ride Uncle and Auntie's horses when we go there. We finally relented and got her down to THH and got her first lesson. She did really well and paid close attention (why can't we get her to do that). I thinks she's a natural like the other.

We all enjoyed some time doing the eggs at Easter ... some more than others. As usual, I was the brunt of many jokes and lost of ribbing about my technique and whatever else they can think of to get me on.

Memorial Day ... Luce talked us all in to visiting PunchBowl National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific. Most didn't want to go, but to her credit it was a great idea. We waited until the crowds had died down after the Mayor's speach and were then able to drive right down. It is in a crater and it really is very nice. It is secluded from the rest of the city by the crater walls, so there is a real sense of peace there. The Hawaiian traditions help make it unique. They put lei's (sp?) on all the markers, some have the person's favorite food (couldn't show because didn't want to put name out there) and most have really nice flower arrangements. For Memorial Day, every stone had a Lei and a flag and the Medal of Honor winners had a blue flag to designate them. I didn't know they did that. It was quite moving. everyone wandered off in their own direction and all had good things to say when we left. Think it will be come a tradition ... while we're here.

Other notes ... Bailey got her license ... can you say 'white knuckles', Luce turned 29 (again), everyone moved up a grade (now 2nd, 7th, and a Junior), I had to go back to Orlando (no fun this time), and Hunter and I are off to Kauai this weekend. Should be fun.

Again, I'll try to get back sooner ... but no promises.

Aloha.