I’m living near Honolulu for awhile so I’m writing about some of my highlights.
I arrived late in the night and went straight to bed. The birds and cool ocean breeze wake me up at 5:30 every morning so I get up and start stretching. I eventually work my way outside to a lava stone pad over looking the ocean waves as the sun rises. After a round of yoga, meditation and weights we go for a walk or jog. Playground equipment down the street provides hand stand and pull up bars and hopefully some soccer practice.
I’m wishing I would have brought the drone along to get some aerial shots but here is what I got to share…. enjoy!
So far the wind is keeping the volcano ash, glass and gas toxins from circulating around Honolulu is large quantities. It was raining was I arrived and I am very cautious of the toxin content in the rain however. It is only a matter of time before I get enough exposure to confirm or deny any danger. Stay tuned…..
After morning workouts were complete we went to the Kaimuki district for lunch and shopping. I found a near perfect salad at the Big City Diner with a view of these wonderful murals. The neighborhood Goodwill had just what I was looking for. I picked up a $8 Pilate ball, $12 work boots, a $3 bamboo yoga beach mat and $3 ankle weights.
For the afternoon we went to the KKC (Community College) Succulent Gardens and Farmers market. And then completed the evening at a blow hole cove where you can do some dangerous undertow cliff diving.
Day 2 (WED 6/6/18)
Time to go get a bicycle. Found a few options on craigslist to go inspect.
First chance I get, I am going to go jog up this step incline crater called KoKo Head.
Completed the days workout and then studied maps of the area until it was time to go for a ride. We drove to Waikiki for a walk and got an Acai fruit bowl and pineapple-banana smoothie for lunch.
From Waikiki, we had to go on a scout near the KCC park again. I explored a Community Center and found some weight machines to use while Vanessa and the Producer did their thing. I used the free time to do more research on places to play darts and poker. I got some good replies and began planning everything. There are weekly dart tourney’s on Fridays at Y’s Sports Bar and poker at a few home games. I also got a reply confirming a 730p appointment to buy a decent $80 bike for $20.
After answering a few questions, I was given the location for a poker game that was ready to start and I headed over to play. The game was in a private condo of a high rise so I had Vanessa hang around until I gave her a safety call. Upon entering the condo I was greeted by a very friendly and beautiful Hawaiian gal. She explained the rules as she showed me around. The first room had a buffet bar setup, the second room had the NBA finals on a big screen with a full table of card players. A third room was setup for another table game and then there was a nice clean bathroom and a balcony (Lanai) connected to it.
First time players get a free $50 and you get another $100 if you bring a new player with you. You also can make another $1-200 on bonus hands. The cards were very favorable to me this day. I had a run of high pocket pairs with medium size pots. I played very conservative the first hour as I studied my opponents. One newer player with deep pockets decided to call my pre-flop $35 raise and then call another $130 raise to chase a flush while I was pushing with a top pair over the board. This $350 hand would be the only large hand I would lose. Shortly after, I hit quad 7s for $120 pot but when my opponent folded I assumed the $100 bonus would be dead and I mucked the cards. I then discovered that I would get the $100 regardless if I showed my cards. After 2 hours, Vanessa was ready to go to a Jazz Club for the evening and I cashed out with $103 profit.
We went to a fancy Jazz Club for the nights entertainment. The Blue Room was $23 to enter with a $10 min. purchase for a 60 minute set. The theme for the evening was Amy Whinehouse, which I have never really listened to. I enjoyed the experience but unfortunately my stomach as not right when we arrived and the music was not settling. The club had too many speakers and they were way too loud to enjoy the music. I prefer a calm soothing acoustic jazz experience in a small scratchy joint like the Zoo Bar in Lincoln Nebraska. My current situation was only made more irritable by the herd of cattle stampeding shoulder to shoulder in this Waikiki district. The human over population found in such a metropolis just makes physically ill regardless.
At the end of the night we went to pickup the bicycle. I assumed there would be a few repairs needed since the bike was only $20. The owner was a bit shady about needing a new tube unfortunately. This will be a difficult challenge for me tomorrow as I need to take the wheels off the bike with no tools and then I have to walk the wheels to a bike shop to get new tubes installed.
Day 3 (Thursday, 6/7)
I had to cut my workout short on this morning because we needed to leave by 9:15. We went to midtown for Vanessa’s first appointment. I meditated from the top of a tall building over looking the mountain valley. As I came down from my meditation I noticed a massive tree claiming nearly half the block next to me.
I hiked over and discovered this ancient Kapok tree covered in human waste. This tree has survived longer than most any other on the island and here it is being disrespected by people too self centered to keep the space manicured. It made me cry a little as I looked around for something to hold all the rubbage as I picked it up. After 30 minutes I filled a plastic tote with the help of 2 lizzards. I was tempted to dump it in the middle of the street to make a point but choose to set it on the corner for people to notice as they waited at the light. Hopefully a few of the 1000+ driving by were inspired to make a change. There is little to no reason for us to support packaged products in this day and age where everything is in such abundance that lightly used items are available in second hand markets. And what packaged items we do need to buy so badly, need to be responsibly biodegradable or mass recycled.
Islands especially, have no where to bury this trash so they burn it and recover a very small percentage for energy production. A much larger upcycle is present with the recycling process instead.
Our next few stops were at film & job site sets. It is always interesting to experience construction and film mixed together while in progress.
We then drove this long bridge road through a safe section of the volcano to go enjoy a few hours on Kailua Beach and pickup some things at the areas shops.
Day 4, Friday 6/8
My goal is to start working out shortly after day break each morning and have breakfast completed by 8am. I want to jog to the beach or other parks and start writing before the mid day heat. In the middle of each day I want to drive or bike around exploring and then play poker until I make $200. Te sooner I hit my $200 goal, the sooner I can get back to enjoying the outdoors.
Here is a image of my workout area in the back yard over looking the ocean.
After my workout I took a skateboard over to the beach and completed the first 2 pages of the 2017 Helping Hands Comic. (Long over due I know!)
This would be my first day to go explore on my own so I needed to get the bicycle tuned up. I was worried that the tire tubes would need replaced because the hand pump was not working. After I was done writing I took the bike over to a service station to use their compressor. Everything worked out great. Both tires ended up being good so I was able to start riding around. I lubed everything, picked up a new lock and some lights and started biking to the beach.
I enjoyed the Pan Pacific Festival and sunset at Waikiki before ending that at a blind draw dart tournament.
The tournament was very challenging because it was very crammed together plus it was handicapped against me and the throw lines were too far back. I struggled between the appearance of cheating as I stood in front of the line but at the actual correct throwing distance. My opponents knew why I was doing it but yet they honored the incorrect distance and just the psychology of the situation really lowered my accuracy. I compensated just well enough to win the tournament with a friendly lady who enjoyed her drinks while staying calm when the games were a bit hairy.
Day 5 Saturday, 6/9
Today was a King’s birthday so there was a parade from the Palace to Waikiki. We enjoyed the parade and a larger farmers market and then walked around a nice art district.
We also found a Banyon tree that the locals use as a playground. Several people were taking turns swinging from the vines so we joined in.
When I was exploring yesterday, I found a great secluded park where people openly accepted pets and the clothing optional custom so I took Vanessa to hangout there until it was time to go to the evening dart tournament.
Day 6 Sunday 6/10
Spiritual Sunday is a good reminder to doing something extra spiritual. We used the day to explore some temples. On the way to our first destination fate steered us towards a nice hiking trail at the peak of the valley we entered. It was surrounded by a Pacific Pine forest. I hiked until the elevation surpassed the Pines climate and it opened up to more of a brush vegetation. The path was constantly muddy because I was so high that I was in the rain clouds. I reached the summit and got a wonderful view of all of Honolulu on one side and the mountains valleys on the other.
We then spent a few hours eating our picnic lunch, reading and drawing at the Japanese Garden on the UH campus.
We closed the night with sunset at Bellows AF Base Beach and then watched the Han Solo Star Wars movie at the theater by our house.
At the end of week one, I have made $103 at poker and $35 at darts. I’ve spent $20 on food, $40 on supplies (Bicycle) and $11 on a movie.
WEEK 2 –
Day 7 Monday, 6/11
I was falling behind on my writing goals so I did a quick workout and then spent the first half of the day writing. Around 2p I headed to the beach and then over to poker for most of the day.
On the way home I took a road that follows the coast around Diamond Head crater. It was a very enjoyable path with amazing mega mansions. It is hard to believe that nearly 40% of them are vacant. You can even explore several lots where the original structures have been demolished. The expensive landscaping features are just left behind to give you the feeling that you are wondering around a park of some kind.
There is only one elevated climb for about a half mile and the rest of the way you can relax. Near the highest point you will see this lighthouse and a few grand entry’s like I have shown above.
Day 8, Tuesday, June 12
Leg day workout! I shifted in to high gear soon after waking up. I skipped my morning yoga routine and went straight to the bike. By 7:30 I was biking 2.5 miles towards one of the highest peaks on Oahu called Koko crater. It was used as a military missile defense bunker at the top and it has a rail system that was established to haul supplies and soldiers up and down. It has been opened to the public to use as a training trail. Over 1,048 rail tie steps assist you on a climb to the peak. (images below from Google Images)
Once I reached the top I did a 15 minute meditation and 15 minutes of yoga while being surrounded by a group of college girls from Brasil. A few other yogi’s were also practicing near me and (IG) @YogiNja81 took this amazing picture of me below. The silhouette of a Brasilian gals hair blowing in the wind towards me while meditating makes a great picture.
For the evening, Vanessa and I went on a lovely wind down hike. We were joined by a lovely rainbow near us at the top of the Wa’Ahila Ridge.
Day 9, Wednesday June 13
What a great way to spend my 21st anniversary of what I call “my second life”. On June 13th, 1997 I should have been killed when hit by a car while riding my motorcycle but higher powers spared me to continue inspiring others towards positive change.
After focusing on an upper body workout to start the morning, I committed 4 hours to complete some more writing goals before hitting the beach.
We finished the day with a light tower hike. It is about a mile long trail with a gradual incline that provides lovely cliff views.
Day 10, Thursday June 14
After stretching I began searching for a plane ticket back to Texas. I used the morning to get some more writing done and then went to the beach for awhile. The next 2 days we made reservations at a camp site on the northern shore so a few hours today were spent packing for our weekend adventure.
The drive around the north shore is much more enjoyable because there are far fewer buildings and people. The roadside however, has a large amount of abandoned vehicles.
The north shore is also home to several shopping centers where groups of ran down food trucks provide the locals a way to generate income. There are several within minutes of our campground. We loaded up on food just before checking in to our cabin.
The Lanei campground contained about 20 cabins and another 20 tent spots with several outdoor fresh water showers spread in between. There were two private bath houses with plumbing which help validate the $65 nightly fee.
Our #10 cabin probably had the best location out of all of them. Check out these pictures!
As the sunlight faded we enjoyed a walk on the beach and then settled in for the night. The cabin beside us had 3 ladies in their 30s and a mid aged man who enjoyed their alcohol under the stars. It was a bit breezy for me but we sat outside and watched the stars for a bit before going in to play a Hawaiian language card game. The sound of the waves and the cool breeze was so comforting that we were sleepy within minutes of starting a movie.
Day 11, Friday June 15
At times the wind and waves would wake us up. The view was so amazing that we could not help stepping out on the porch for a few deep breathes and late hour meditation.
As the sun rose, here was the morning view out the door.
The day was spent relaxing and doing yoga on the beach, swimming and laying around reading and writing. We went over to a food truck court and had some wonderful Thai food for dinner. The evening was a perfect repeat of Thursday night.
Day 12, Saturday June 16
More walks on the beach followed by short workouts and a little reading before packing up. On the way back to Honolulu we drove the rest of the way up the North Shore to the H2 expressway exit. We stopped at a farm fresh cafe and got an amazing veggie pizza and smoothie. I pulled over at a few beach areas along the way. One spot had some cliff jumpers surrounded by coral pool snorkelers. We also walked around Haleiwa waiting for time to catch up to us. I was going to a big $3500 dart tournament for the evening and Vanessa had fun night planned with the ladies.
I arrived at the tournament site 2 hours early to allow me time to play 10 games on a Dartslive rating card. It was a requirement to have this in order to play the event. The boards were unable to pair my card rating with the handicap software though so I still ended up borrowing the top rated card available from the event organizer.
I was fortunate to get paired up with a solid player. Paohoeo was a 5 foot, 120 lb. local from the Wahiawa area. He has lived here over 50 years and has watched the sport of darts evolve around him. The top pro rating on the Dartslive rating scale is 18. Pao (Peter) was a 5 and that basically means he hits what he is aiming at 1 out of the three darts.
I’m a 16-17 so we took both our ratings combined as a team and in comparison, all of the other teams had total’s below ours with the exception of one team. This would require us to give all the other teams a head start most of the tournament. The head start makes it very difficult for pro’s to win. Dartslive software also has created a shadow around the fair start procedure. Top competitions use a cork/diddle to choose the player who starts first in a tie-breaker game but this tournament allowed the computer to choose.
We won our first 3 matches with the help of a lucky finish. We escaped a very close game 3 where we played cricket with only points. A standard cricket game hits 3 marks on the 20 through 15 zone and the bullseye and the winner is the first to do that. The winner may be ahead in points if needed. In this game both teams closed the 20 & 19 zones. I closed the 18 and our opponent closed the 17. Our opponents remained slightly ahead of us on points and went most of the game without closing the 18. It was so close that I told Pao to never throw at the 17 because the Dartslive software stops the game at round 25 and it was likely going to come down to points. Our opponents gained a 100 point lead and threw at the 18 four darts in the final 3 rounds giving us the advantage. My very last throw of the game in round 25 required me to score over 100 to win. Two tripple 18’s equals 108 points and I was very fortunate to do just that to allow us to win the match.
We had a great run to the final 8 on the winners side before meeting Hawaii’s top ranked pro, Philman Reyes. The winner of this match would have a smooth path to the $1900 final. We split the first 2 games. Pao hit a perfect finish to win the first game of 701. Philman out shot me in the cricket game 2. We were awarded the start in game 3 and began with the advantage. I held my average and the lead down to the final rounds before having a twist of bad luck. I made a poor decision and slightly over corrected my final throw which allowed Reyes to take the win. My $550 for first started slipping away into the night.
We won our next match on the down side of the bracket and I began studying the other remaining 6 teams. The losers bracket format was only 501 games. All the other teams had low averages and I knew we would be giving up a large head start and I would need to throw near perfect to make it up. The next match had a player evenly matched with my skill level but he had a 43 point head start and won the start. We both rarely missed and took turns winning the first 2 games. He got the start in game 3 and his partner out scored mine just enough that I never got a shot to win. We both missed 1 dart in round 3 and he finished the game on 116.
It was a fun night with many new friends but I’m left with the bitter finish and lack of a Philman rematch to make up for my quarter final failure.
Day 13, Sunday June 17
We were so worn out that we took the day to relax and watch movies. We did take a nice sunset walk. It was a perfect cloud formation and the beams of light were amazing.
Day 14, Monday June 18
I twisted a muscle wrong during my workout so I spent most of the day writing and taking it easy. At the end of the day we went and hiked Kuliouou Ridge. You drive up the neighborhood and park on the street at the top of the valley and enter the trail there.
I could have taken better pictures but I was focused on doing a trail video for the YouTube channel vBlog. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF934F9293E21137B
Day 15, Tuesday June 19
Spent the morning updating my WILL and organized videos on the youtube channel. Finally added the 360 videos from last week and promoted them on the Facebook group. Spent the afternoon writing some more.
Day 16, Wednesday June 20
Still recovering from some back pain. Went for a walk to the park and spent the morning writing. After a challenging poker day last week I convinced myself to avoid Monday’s game and go into today with a better attitude and larger bankrole. I was still feeling the disappointment from letting 1st place at Darts on Saturday slip away from me but I convinced myself to stay positive. I’m glad I went because I had a good run of cards and took down an extra $350 in pots. Every once in awhile you get that Ace-Jack TX Hold’em hand where the board runs mixed 8,9,10 and you get 2 callers chasing into a massive pot. The Queen turns to keep the flush alive while making our straight with the Ace as a river bonus. I put it all in to force out the flush draw and one caller with 10-Jack stayed in expecting a chop at worst. My night would be made if a non flush King showed up for the river and that was exactly what we were delt!!! 🙂
I left shortly after knowing a win like that would rarely come back in the same night. After getting home I was able to get a few more hours of writing done thanks to the rush from that success.
Day 17, Thursday June 21
Today I finally finished the 2017 edition of the Helping Hands Comic. Issue #13 is now available on Amazon. A sneak peek is also available here on the blog for our supporters.
I spent the day with Vanessa as she did her tasks. The bike tire was flat this morning so we stopped at a shop and invested another $17 for a new tube install. We ate a great salad and smoothie at a Vegan Peace Cafe and then went to a lovely hidden beach cove near the Ko Olina resorts. I about injured myself on the slippery reef rocks trying to lay down with a Tortoise. TAKE YOUR TIME & STAY LOW ON REEF ROCKS. The lava rocks especially have jagged Knife edges every few inches that will end your life quickly.
For dinner we went to a Sushi cafe where the items go around you on a conveyor belt. We spent the evening with another one of Vanessa’s amazing friends. They all have such interesting successful lives. Today’s friend was a Laker Girl alumni.
Day 18, Friday June 22
I try to start most days with a new exploration during a bike or jog after a brief lifting or yoga session. Today I went to a new beach called Kawaikui. It was one of the best yet. You start at a nice park with plumbing and showers and stone picnic tables and then you can walk about a mile along the beach behind nice mansions.
I did a bench workout and then jogged the beach. Along the way I found the best nomad shelter yet. This person found a great clump of tree’s to hide a large tent and several coolers. Most people would not have noticed the entrance. I found several nice teal rocks, coral and petrified walnuts. I also found 2 perfectly weathered limbs to use as walking sticks. One section lies behind a church that had organ music and a wedding service in progress. The best discovery was a black sand section. A black sand beach with very few reef rocks or large chunks of coral is very rare on Oahu.
Once I returned to the house I checked the latest youtube blogs that I like to follow.
Hall of Fame Poker Player, Daniel Negreanu has a great blog going during the WSOP. Today he posted a heart felt message about wanting to help more charitable causes after a big multi-million dollar win so we wrote him the following message. We have been on a mission to get more supporters of his caliber so it would be great to be on his friends list.
*CHARITY POST – So sorry to hear about that horrible beat today Daniel. That was the definition of sick…. to be near top stack with the best hand & suck a big stack all in just to be crushed on a 2 outter. I’m about to play a PLO cash game in Honolulu today and hope to avoid such a hit. I even feel bad when I’m on the winning end of a huge suck out.
I PLAY FOR CHARITY also. I have set up a national network where our supporters share stories about causes in need and then I direct the resources as they become available. You can read about our Charity at: wordpress.com/FreeHelpingHands and message me for more info. We have currently raised about $6k of $50k needed to purchase a community center property east of Dallas and that is our main cause this month.
I follow your path more than most because we share a lot of interests like soccer and Vegas life and healthy veggie eating/living etc. My life is basically the low budget grinder yogi version of yours. Hope to talk more with you about your Charity/Philanthropy goals soon. Blessings.
I spent the afternoon starting comic issue #14. I’m way behind my writing goals at this point with only 3 days remaining on the island. I really hoped to have the next edition of “Life’s Little Secrets” ready by Sunday.
After the morning routine, I went to a beach further east of the house. This beach had the best stretch of soft black sand that I have experienced on Oahu.
After Vanessa was done working I took her back to walk the black sand beach at sunset before going to a dart tourney.
For the evening tourney my partner was a quite shy Japanese woman named Nao. She was calm and confident in her ability and only asked me what to aim at when our Cricket games were close. We only lost one game on our way to a first place finish.
Day 19, Saturday June 23
We went to a flea market and did some urban hiking along the city marina.
I don’t write about food very often but I can’t close out this blog without talking about how many great health food options there are on Oahu. There are very few sources for junky fast food which allows for an abundance of these health cafes. On the days we were out for meals, we would get veggie sandwiches, gourmet pizzas or fruit filled Acai bowls and smoothies.
We closed out the night with a romantic gourmet pizza under the stars on the marina and then went to the new Jurassic Park movie.
Day 20, Sunday June 24
On Sundays we try to focus on doing something spiritual. My final full day on the island would be spent driving the east coast up to the north shore to go to the Buddhist temple with the highest praise. The Byodu-In temple is a shrine to the god of balance and equality. We had an amazing day of meditation. Check out these images.
There are more videos on my Instagram and Facebook. Including some 360 images. Enjoy.
We ended the night with a walk along Waimanalo beach.
Day 21, Monday June 25
Time to pack and go enjoy one last beach day. Heading to the airport at 7. I hope you enjoyed this photo journal adventure. Our last night was spent on a ocean cliff the locals call China Wall. It is a perfect spot to tan and jump into some deep waves.
I arrived home to some plants in need…
After lunch we went past Sung’s new house to get a tour and then he took me back to the train. I made it back to north Hollywood right on time and Vanessa picked me up to go to her birthday party at a Pizza cafe in Studio City.
The Helping Hands Network Blog 