Back from the islands

Amanda and I are back safely from Hawaii and we had a great trip. Click here for the video, or go to the gallery to see all the photos.

Sunday we spent the day doing tons of fun stuff for our aniversary. We climbed Diamond Head and took lots of pictures from the top of the hill. Next we drove out to the waterpark (see a map of their rides here). That night we went to Aloha Towers and feasted at the Big Island Steak House while watching the sunset. Then we went for a romantic walk on the beach and visited Duke's for some margharitas and Lava Flows. What a perfect day!

Monday I got up at 7am and took a 1 hour private surf lesson on Waikiki beach. It was my 2nd time on a board and still not easy to do. I went out later in the day and rode with the crowds on some bigger waves. I'm definitely going to Oregon to try it again this summer. Amanda and I lounged on the beach the rest of the day until we finally had to leave.

I would recommend Hawaii for anyone who needs a sunny vacation. Their hotest months are from June-September and the rainy season is during our Winter. I liked Oahu as it has great surfing, lots of tourist attractions, and a big city with night-life and all the amenities. However Honolulu is a city of 800 thousand people and the traffic can be pretty bad since there are almost 2 cars for every person! I'll come back to Waikiki but in the future I'll visit the other Islands as well. I hear Kauai is great for hiking and Maui has the best beaches.

Mahalo for checking out the site and Aloha for now.

Hawaii update

This is a quick update on the trip so far in Hawaii (Oahu). Amanda and I are having a great time! Here's some of the awesome stuff we've been doing:

• snorkelling in the middle of the ocean on a huge reef
• rented a convertible and drove up to the North Shore to checkout the huge waves
• watching the beautiful sunsets from Waikiki beach
• attended a Luau Wednesday night
• went to some clubs around honollulu

Overall my first impressions of Hawaii are all positive! It's incredible that a city of 1 million people is sitting out here in the middle of the Pacific on a dormant Volcano. The rainy season is almost over and we've had sun every afternoon. When it rains it's VERY warm and short lived. The hotel is clean and in a good location.

Tomorrow we're celebrating our THIRD anniversary of dating. We're going to rent another convertible and climb Diamond Head and visit a water funpark. Then dinner and sunset followed by some dancing. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend wherever they are.

Aloha! We'll be home on Tuesday.

70 inches of snow

That's how much Baker has had in the last 7 days. Today I was finally able to unwrap the new snowboard. Here are pics of George and myself at 9am today. There was complete coverage and lots of untouched pow. George learned a lot and I broke-in the new board.

After snowboarding we drove to Canada to pick up Amanda. She's super excited about Hawaii in THREE days! Then a quick stop at Tim Hortons to pick-up coffee for Dan and Sarah and back to Seattle lickety split.

Tonight Kelsey and Sid are celebrating their birthdays. Happy birthday to both of you!

Moto GP 2005

The riders have completed testing for the 2005 motogp. Edwards and Hayden from the USA have a good chance of doing well this season but Gibernau and Rossi of Spain and Italy will definetly be the racers to watch.

Click here for a video to get you warmed up. Speed channel has their viewing schedule posted here. Let the races continue!