Kilauea Hale

"Hale" means home in Hawaiian. After a few days on the island, we checked in to a hale on the cliffs above Secret Beach on Kaua'i's north shore, truly one of the most beautiful pieces of earth we have ever seen. Friends arrived, and the festivities began. At the peak of our celebration, we had something like 19 people living under one roof -- one big, happy family, an 'ohaha nui.

The view from the deck/lanai



Os and the Kid, enjoying the pool



Tailor made for romance -- the view from the master bedroom



The legendary Christer "Da Kid" Cole and his lovely Kai



A big man and his castle, Ryan Seelbach, surveying the domain



The soon-to-be married, legendary "Oregon John" a.k.a Johnny Bowling, with his garage sale find -- a choice 7'4" Terry Chung thruster, which he put to good use throughout the week.



Moni, living the dream.....



Kit, aquaman

Kaua'i the Beautiful

We arrived on the island of Kaua'i on the first week of June, and got straight to business -- out of the 5/3 fullsuits and straight into the ocean!

Hawaiian Wedding -- Kilauea Male 'Ana

So after four and a half years of dating, Moni and I tied the knot in Kilauea, Kauai, on Sunday, June 8th, 2008. We were joined by family and friends on the blufftop above Secret Beach and were blessed with all things great --- friends, music, food, laughter, memories. We hope you enjoy the photos --- courtesy of our pal and amazing photo-genius, Colin Vincent.

The old Stevie Wonder tune comes to mind about now .... "Isn't She Lovely?"

Grown Man Business

So, it takes a real man to craft a board from scratch with his bare hands, and then paddle it out in triple overhead surf and put it to the test.

Case in point: Senor Daniel P. Hess, pictured below with legendary SF Bay Area foam and wood-carving hero Marc Andreini, admiring the bottom contour and rail-line of one of Danny's bonzers.



And Senor Hess putting a 9'6" pintail quad through its paces in maxing San Francisco -- steep and deep, behind the peak. This, ladies and gentlemen, is some real grown man business....

Click on images for larger views.

California Gold

So the colonists labeled California "The Golden State" after they stole the land from the Native Americans, and despite their ethnocentrism, they chose a name that makes complete sense.

Here are some photos from our fall and winter of 2007-2008, all taken from Santa Barbara to San Francisco, 350 miles of California coastal gold. Enjoy.