pictures

here is a link to all the pictures taken

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=737151208277574693/l=370422766/g=115304689/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

mindless dribbble- mexicooooooooo

so this are just some thoughts on the country about nothing in particular.

transportation- holy hell- i am so glad we did not rent a car. that would have been a huge mistake. now i understand why these people drive so bad in the US- there are not many lines on the road and even when they are no one stays in the lane. they cut off traffic with a beep and go. i saw my life flash before my eyes several times. the seatbelt was an iffy sitiation for me. do i just die in the car rash or do i suffer for hours in a shitty hospital, get a staff infection from and die a slow painful death. the road make SC's look like they were just paved. the cabs are crazy all over and the buses even worse. they are cool to ride and safe but they ride like shit.

hotels- they are all circa 1975 porn palace style- the one we stayed in last night was pretty comical b/c it had a stair stepper in it- they don have AC, maybe a fan if you are lucky. overall not that bad for 70 bucks a night- we chose mainly mexcian style places- they were a pretty nice layout as in they were all kind of compounds. the one in cuernavaca had a lobby/car wash/parking area- we woke up one morning to chumbawumba or something along those lines- it was the employees washing their cars before they started work.

music- so the music here is 1st class- the day we went to the frida museum 2 cars were racing each other- they were 300z's or some shit- the one guy was blasting life in the fast lane- some of the funniest shit i have ever seen in my life. it kind of reminded me of tom cruise on his motorcycle in top gun. they are huge shania twain fans too. we heard that several time, also CCR is coming here, liza minelli and michael bolton. i guess you go from burnout in the US to the star in mexico. in the gay district it was house/trans untzing all night long.(untz is not a verb) it was not that good- they had yo mtv raps on the tv and then the techno on the speakers-

the art- the artwork here is amazing- and to buy the is so cheap. hand painted stuff for 5-20 bucks depending on what it is. the hand carved stuff out of rock is a rip off being it was all in the $200 range @ the stores. i did learn the difference in machine work and hand work though-

i think the one thing that bothered me the most was the condition of the ruins and what not. tagging, trash and whatever else they do really ruin the ruin. i know the country does not have a lot of money for the upkeep of these sort of things which is a shame b/c all of these places could be very nice with a little effort. it is pretty much like taking a big shit right in lincolns chair @ ford's theater or putting a tag on the liberty bell. then imagine walking around mount vernon(va not ga) and being able to buy a flag that was hand sewn right there- when there is a site ran store that makes no money b/c they have people peddling shit on the grounds. just kind of backward, but you def get the stuff cheap.

well this is all i have for now- i will add more later if anything comes to mind- i am glad to be on the way home. it has definitely been an experience i will never forget. i would love to come back with some better spanish and see other parts of the the country like the yukatan and then hit up central america- belize, honduras, ecuador- i also read i can get to easter island pretty cheap- i am thinking it may be better to put machu picchu on hold for a little while and hit up the patagonia/easter island. before i do anything i def have to get some more basic spanish down. with so many countries that speak the lanuage i would rather put an effort into that instead of say, italian which is pretty limited where you can speak it. sucks that there is all this corruption here and in south america

also something that made me laugh was the price of things- so they have these seed necklaces in hawaii and here- i purchased one in hawaii- it was 40 bucks or so b/c it was "made in molokai" and it used these seeds that can on,y be found there. MY ASS- i picked up a bracelet here for a buck with the same seeds- i guess i could come here 1st- make some tags that say "made in hawaii" and mark the shit up 4000%- sell em in hawaii to the tourons to pay for the trips.
i will post a link to all my pictures after i go through them all tomorrow @ work

till next time

adios amigos

set up, like a bowlin pin, Knocked down, it gets to wearin thin. they just wont let you be

the title is kind of lame but can't be more fitting

The final 2 days in mexico were some of the most hectic and stressful of the trip. I had to use my ninja like training to get through these times. Friday we head to chalula to see some more ruins- the bus ride will be explained in my “transportation” blog b/c that itself needs a whole explanation. Probably one of the shittiest times in my life. I wanted to hop off and walk but we were in the ghetto so that was no go. So after getting to the 2nd tallest pyramid in the word we start to check it out with tons of obnoxious school kids. Did I mention people here gawk @ us. It gets tiring to say the least. So the pyramid is not excavated fully b/c ironically there is a church on top of them. The brainiac conquestidors said “hey there is a tall hill that overlooks the city, lets stick a church on top of it so all of the Aztecs can see who is the ruler now.” little did they know there was something underneath of it. All the money and power in the world and dumb as a box of rocks…that sounds about right- I assume george bush is a decendent of these people. The raddest part is we got to go inside. I never thought this was going to be an option but it was. The tunnels were some of the 1st arches ever built I assume- this place predated 0 AD- I don’t think the Egyptians had them but they may be wrong. Hard to believe that I could be but there is always a chance. After heading bck to puebla we go eat and hit up maya, the super tramp wook selling all of the carvings. I got a sweet piece of amber for a keychain. I figure where else can I get this for 15 bucks, now where in the US that’s for sure.

Saturday we board one of the deluxe buses back to mexico city. We arrive around 3 and the rain came. We were going to check out the floating gardens but we did not have much time and didn’t want to pay a cab and them not even be running b/c of the rain. We stayed @ the marco polo in the zona rosa- also known as the gay district. I do not mind gay people- go be gay all you want, just don’t do it in front of me. They must have not gotten the message b/c I was nauseated several times yesterday. Julie is one of those people that has a thing for them. I will never understand the fascination with it but she was happier then a pig in shit, esp to go out. I went along figuring it was better then the hotel and there were women too so I didn’t have to see the men and their very open PDA that they have here. So Julie starts to talk to these kids, around 16/17 and they start t lead us around the city looking for more gay men. Just what I wanted to do, in the rain. After them taking us here and there I just say we need to go back by the hotel b/c I did not want to get raped by some back street gay bum in some random alley. After seeing the movie hostel I know that anything is possible so I was kind of weary of the whole “hanging with the locals” anyway. We head back to this bar and now all of the hot lesbians were all over. Making out left and right, pretty much just shy of going down on each other. So Julie is talking to some and I grab a beer. They are talking about going to another bar so I step out with my beer on the sidewalk to see what she wants to do and bam, a freaking undercover cop wants to take me to jail. Yeah- jail, for drinking on the street. The whole situation was shady, I don’t know if we were set up by the locals and they were all in on it or if they were really trying to help us. We were staying right by the embassy so I refused to go anywhere with anyone- the good thing about the crooked cops is you can pay them off- problem was we had no money. They wanted 60 bucks to leave us alone- there was some money in the room so that is where I wanted to go. They wanted to take me to the ATM to get it out, I may look dumb but I am not a fucking idiot, not to mention earlier in the night my bank closed my account for the 100th time b/c they feel they are protecting me when they see random charges on the account. God forbid someone leave the area of Hilton head or bluffton once and a while. When I get back I am closing my account. This always happens @ the worst times and they are some local Podunk bank so there is no 24 hr service. So back to the cops…Julie is shooting her mouth off to these guys that claim to be cops b/c they had shitty looking badges and what not. Never have I wanted a roll of duct tape so bad. After convincing them I had money in the hotel they let us go back. I am pretty much begging the waiter and the people @ the hotel telling them I’ll give em 100 bucks of they give me 60 just to get to guys away from us. We go to the room and turn out all we had and we happen to have exactly 600 bucks- if Guadalupe was not on our side for this one then it musta been the skulls. I give the money to the bellman and they go away. 1st rule of thumb- never give them a reason to fuck with you here. 2nd never let Julie deal with them in a time like this. This kind of leaves a bitter taste in my mouth about the country yet I did break the law. The fucked up thing was there were tons of Mexicans drinking in the streets right with me. El gigante has to get fucked with though. All I could think of was how I have never been to jail and mexico city is not the place for my 1st experience, or any place for that matter. I am glad I was pretty drunk @ this time b/c it help me sytay calm being I was “one eyed” drunk. I did not care what they wanted I just wanted to get them the cash and be done with it. My life is worth more then 60 bucks- I am thinking @ least 100 on a good day but no less then 75. I was kind of insulted I did not bring a higher amount. So this morning we wake up @ 6 to get to the airport, Julie had an early flight. So feeling like ass and pretty much going through th “I’ll never do that again” phase of my hangover I take a shower and feel somewhat better. All I wanted to do was brush my teeth. My Listerine ran out and that was a problem it itself. So I walk to the sink and see no water. I ask Julie where it is and her reply was “oh I made some coffee” where is that duct tape again. I could do nothing but laugh to myself when she said “oh there’s some left” and brings a cap full over. I made it work and didn’t have to use the tap water. Thing is, it was a liter bottle- who needs 8 cups of coffee when we are about to leave in 10 minutes. I hope that was the best cup of coffee she has ever had b/c I had to stomach some tooth paste and that does not mix well with tequila from the night before. - bitch

peubla

thursday morning arrived and it was time to head to puebla. i packed pretty light so this was the 1st day of recycled shorts. my clothes all smell the same and i am starting to look forward to being home- i am not a fan of fast food but i have a desire for a mcdonalds cheese burger and a good ole sweet tea- although the selection of fruit juices is very good especially the orange soda department- my fav. we hopped the bus and took a 2 hr ride watching licensed to wed- with jim from the office in it, it was def some bootleg which you can get all over for 10 pesos. puebla is the 3rd largest city in mexico and it feels it. i am not sure the population but i would compare it to jacksonville. the way mexico is, the major cities are built around the major cities back 1500 years ago. every city has so much history and things to see. it doesn't compare to any city in the US as far as the vibe and feel of it. the central square here has a pretty big european flare to it. there is one main central square with a cathedral on one side then the other 3 are all restaurants. we kicked around the city some, checked out some with one of those double decker buses. it was the best way to see it all. there are so many churches here that it would take forever to go to them all. besides, once you have seen one mural you have seen em most all of them. yeah there are some real stand out places but @ the same time there are lots of generic ones too. we checked out a band and dancers in the square and took the night pretty easy- the highlight of the evening was getting the stuff from the guy after dinner.

sector 9 in mexico

i have to write about this now while its still fresh in my mind- so this whole trip we have julie and i have been spotting out dreddies here and there and its been kind of funny to see em around just b/c its such a taboo thing here, so we just went to eat- we went pretty late and the entire square closed down pretty much- on the return trip to the hotel we spot a dreddie with gauged out ears- i would say about an inch or a little more- he and his lady had 2 large blankets laid out with all stuff they made. so we stop to take a look and he happen to speak english- his name was maya(forgot his last name)- i assume he was mayan being his name. he had jade, black jade, chunks of amber with bugs in it and she was making stuff out of hemp and colored string. he finds all of his stuff and carves it down into pipes and necklaces and what not. the stuff was better then what we have been seeing in the stores for 3-4 times as much not to mention the commercial stuff has seemed to have lost some sacredness along the way. so we got to taking and there was just a whole good vibe about him. his main concern was not selling us anything but to meet us and just to talk about our trip, why we were here. he said that many mexicans are not welcoming to foreign people in general but they are just stupid, and he wanted to welcome us to the country. i think the most interesting thing he showed me were the works in progress he had. he had a huge chunk of amber that was around 2x3 that he was making into a necklace- it has 2-3 ants in it. ever since jurassic park i have been in love with seeing amber and how bugs and what not get trapped in it- then they are there for millions of years. we went to a few places that had the carvings but most were machine done and the hand done ones were in the $2-300 range just for a small carving. pretty much a tourist rip off- buying something from the guy that found the rock, carved it down to something of beauty and then pretty much travels around mexico and the US selling this stuff just felt like a much better buy then the people that sell out their culture to turn a buck. he asked how we have been accepted during our trip here and we told em about how we have been freaks of nature- he said that they are viewed the same way by the mexicans and are run out of places b/c he is not "normal" - pretty much to sum it up he does it for "the love of the game" and to see north and south america while doing it. sounds like many people i know except he has no music to follow- he just tramps here to there with his lady and dog(go figure, a puppy puller in mexico) just to be out there. i think the most interesting thing was he wanted to keep in touch with us- he was glad to have gained one friend- so thats all i got about this experience but i must say i came away with so much from it- i am sure he woulda made for some good skull talk too but i forgot all about it @ the time

lost in translation, again

back to civilization, or more like back to the land with an internet connection. the past 2 days have been pretty interesting with yesterday being the best day of the trip so far.

tuesday- we took the bus to cuernavaca- the bus system here in mexico is 1st class- and that is not laced with my usual sarcasm. it really makes the dirty dog, real dirty. they have a bus class system here and the 1st class and deluxe buses are pretty tight. they have a movie, AC and bathroom. we board a bus from mexico city to cuernavaca making stops along major highways to pickup and drop people off. we stayed @ a B&B which was a pretty nice place. it was a horse shoe style house with a courtyard, with no view- but it would have been nice if they did. we arrive in the city and we go to the "central" which pretty much all cities have a central square. we walk around and check out a few churches, ate some dank ass food, saw cortez's place, but pretty much took it easy. the best part of the day was the market. it was a craft market that was a city of its own. it was booth after booth covered with tarps in a square. they had everything from bart simpson marionettes to hand painted boxes and bowls. everything is pretty cheap and they all deal with you. the common line of communication when dealing is a calculator and them giving a thumbs up saying they want more or you giving the thumbs down saying less. it is pretty funny b/c they are pretty anxious to make a sale. if you start to walk away most will give you th e deal they want. there was also lots of silver jewelry there being cuernavaca is one of the many "silver cities". after the market we head over the the sqyure where there was lots of drumming- it sounded like a pack of wooks invaded the square with a drum circle- we walk up to find a bunch of people dressed in traditional aztec attire and a tall white chic that was lost dancing to the music- it was very choreographed and pretty fun to watch- behind them were the cuernavaca hipsters skating. being el leche el diablo aka candy (julie) is a hipster she spotted them a mile away. they were were not bad but they were no tony hawk either. after that we decide to head back to the B&B- easier said then done. being you are advised not to hale any cab you have to call one that is authorized through a company. the number i wrote down was not getting answered and we didn't have the number for the hotel to help us. after calling a bunch of people- to which none answered- thanks to you all- my mom helps us out and we get a cab- our goal was to be in by sundown just so we didn't have any problems. we get back to the B&B and make a trip down the street for some cervesa. we grabbed a couple of 40's, mexican style and headed back. it was kind of weird because along the way we pass a black SUV with talking in it- and same on the return trip...

wednesday- after being treated to a traditional mexican breakfast of tacos and cafe we head out tepoztlan. we asked for a cab but they advise us to take the bus- on the walk we pass the spot where the SUV was the night before to find a few used rubbers in the street- guess they don't have pay by the hour hotels in mexico. we go to the bus stop and wait, and wait and wait- we get anxious and start to walk towards town- after walking for 30 minutes or so we go grab a drink and ask directions. we ask in our best broken spanish and we get a reply that was 10 times faster then we could comprehend. then we hear a sound as beautiful as any siren- the sound of english. it is kind of funny b/c if they know english they prefer to let you get it out in your worst spanish and they they tell you no need they speak english. this lady that was 5 foot nothing starts talking in english and is very helpful and leads us to the bus- the enttire trip, 5-6 block was just "just 2 more blocks"- with her little legs moving swiftly it was hard for me to keep up. we briskly walk to the bus to catch it as its leaving. this was a 3rd class bus i assume. it was a pretty funny trip- all of the roads are cobble stone and the bus is almost like a bread truck with windows. it was bumpy and would just pull off where ever to pick up and drop off. after about 30 minutes we arrive in tepoztlan. the town is very small and surrounded by mountains. it says in the 60's and 70's it was a huge retreat for the hippies and is considered a very spiritual place, not often visited by tourists. we have been pretty lucky with what days we are in a chosen city- wednesday is market day in tepoztlan so we hit there 1st. it was a market of crafts and food- many people from surrounding towns were there to buy food till the next market day, which is saturday. meats, veggies, beans and crafts lined the square as far as the eye can see. the meat- what can i say about the meat- if you ever leave beef, chicken or goat out don't worry- is ok- just grab a few gocery bags, shred them and tie em to a stick to shoo the flies away. at least thats how thy do it here- being somewhat of a germaphobe it kind of made me sick thinking that our meat we eat in the restaurants is the same way before it's cooked. the markets here are like nothing i have ever seen. stimulation fo ever sense in every way. the colors, textures, music and just seeing how hey locals interact with each other is just something that would take pages to explain. in th center of the market we stumble across this seed and bean mural of a church scene, like everything here. this has to be 2nd to rome in churches and murals. it is on the gate @ the entrance to a church- we go into the church and we are both just awestruck. the paintings in the church were bar none the best thing i have seen this whole trip. after some more wheeling and dealing with the market people we start a hike to the pyramid that overlooks the town of tepoztlan. about a 2 mile hike so steep it needed steps in most places, i mean rocks assembled into steps. neither of us were really ready for this but we made it with a few stops. the views from the top were pretty nice and overlooked the entire town. after about an hr @ the trop we head down to catch the bus home. we go to the bus stop where we were dropped off and wait, and wait and wait. after 3 rounds of buses a random fellow comes by and asks us where we were going. turns out in mexico the pickup and drop off locations in a town are not the same. he tells us to go around 2 bends and there is where we need to wait. we thought we found the bus stop3-4 times but we kept asking people as we went just to be sure. we wanted to be home by sundown. everyone told us different or i should say there was a huge breakdown in the communication. after having to walk about a mile all the way out of the town pretty much we get to the station. we buy our ticket and i am thirty- i tilt up a bottle of water to notice that it's empty- i toss the bottle away and go to sit down then i feel this thing in my bag, a bottle of water, my bottle of water, yeah you guessed it- i tried to drink some random bottle of water- i wanted to cut my lips off and drink a bottle of clorox. we head back on a little better bus then the one we came on- which was suppose to drop us off @ the bus station by the B&B- nope- we could have probably jumped on a local bus to the stop but we did not want to end up in some random place by accident so we humped it. when we get back i wash with listerine twice in hopes of getting any germs from the water bottle. nothing actually went in my mouth it was just lip contact- i am going to assume i was ok, for my sanity being nothing has happened to me yet and i have no cold sores. we walked a total of 27 miles or so it felt like it over the course of the day. i must say taking the public transportation has been some of the most fun along the course of the trip. i know many people would not tolerate it @ all but we just say "what the hell" and do it. i am still awating my bus ride with the chickens and goats but the trip is not over yet.

"mucho gracias" ; "mama bichu"

day 2 and 3 in mexico have been great and even more antics from the locals to keep us entertained. yesterday was a recovery from the night before- 1st off check out is @ 2pm- the hotels in the US need to learn from the ones here. that woulda saved many "late checkout" calls after a show. this trip was not really planned out as far as places to stay and what to see. after taking a look @ the frommer and lonely planet we decided on a hotel with lions, yes lions. we are @ a place that is pretty much its own world behind the gate, like many houses in the area. a little money where we are and most places are compounds behind huge iron gates, as is our hotel. we arrive here and grab a few drinks. the wait staff was not too happy with that and the lost in translation conversation ended us up with some food that we didn't ask for yet we couldn't say no. after that we headed to the frida kahlo museum. we took the metro, i was kind of apprehensive @ 1st yet i am so glad to took it. it was pretty much like the NY subway but not as shady as far as staring @ the wall. there was lots of eye contact among the travelers and in a city of 22 million it was odd to see 2 families know each other and exchange hellos and goodbyes like they may have been related. after the incorrect map in the guide book we figured we could not find the museum and just took a walk around the area to see what was there. we happen to stumble across the street that led to the house. frida is a person i knew nothing about really. heard the name here and there but that's about it. julie is a huge fan and i am thankful for this. the art was very advanced as far as what it was. some 3d stuff with drop shadows in her drawings and stuff like that just seemed very advanced for its time, yet i am not an art guru so that means nothing. there were also many things that were kind of alex grey sorta, psychedelic inspired stuff. human heads on animals and things like that. they had her sketch books and it was like looking @ stuart's sketch books with lots of line drawings. i was very impressed. she was alive in an oppressed time for women in mexico and to make such a statement just kind of blows me away. after the museum we returned to the hotel for a meal and to hit the sack pretty early. this is where the fun began. we go to the restaurant with the lions and had the same server from earlier in the day. he asks us our drink order and he suggests a few beers and i told him to bring me his choice...wrong decision. he bring a corona. i tell him i can ge that @ any store by us and i want more a local beer, he returns with a negro modela. i return that b/c of the same situation and this must have made him mad. so i speak a very broken spanish and i mean more broken then hal the broken clown. this is where i became a real life chevy chase in european vacation when he is in france @ the restaurant. he brings me the dinner i ordered and i say gracias, his reply was mama bichu- being my dad knows every spanish profanity there is to man i knew this was not good yet i didn't know what it meant. (it means suck my dick). i was unsure of what i heard so i didn't say anything yet i mentioned it to jules. i order another been and same thing. i was more aww struck then anything. was this guy really saying this? it was kind of pissing me off but i did not want to cause a scene so i just let it go. i should have left his ti as "thanks suck my dick too" but i left him what he deserved and i hope is evening was a waste @ work, being we were the only people in the place.


most people wake up to the crow of a rooster- we wake up to the roar of a lion. this place is the circus we thought it to be. this morning we wake up and board a tour bus to Teotihuacán and the shrine to guadaloupe. the shrine was 1st and it was pretty much a group of churches where mexicans take a pilgrimage to to make sacrifice in exchange for good in their life. the oldest church is sinking like the leaning tower of pizza- so the mexicans have their leaning tower of tacos. they are installing a whole inner support system for this to keep it from sinking more, which is a whole engineering marvel in itself. the ride to the ruins was a sad one. we got to see the poverty stricken parts of mexico city. imagine the worst projects you have ever seen and then make it 10 times worse. houses with tarps as roofs and made of plywood and not much else. i have been asking myself "why do these people come to america, its not that bad here"- then i saw this and now i know why. i think the one thing i have gained out of this trip so far is the respect for the mexicans that have migrated to america in hopes for a better life. there are times in the past they have bothered me and i have made a comment here or there but now that i have seen what the come from and why and that gave me a whole new respect for these people. i would be the 1st one on my way if i was in their situation too. people may bitch(i am one of them) about free handouts in the US to them and some other people but really if anyone deserves them it's the mexicans. they have nothing here, they are not taking what they are given and throwing it away like others for the free ride, they are using our fucked up system to make something from nothing. is it right? maybe not 100%- is it wrong? not nearly as bad as the millionaire with kids on medicade or the family that has been on welfare for years with no ambition to find a job. this trip, mainly today has opened my eyes to this in a whole new way.

Teotihuacán is a city which contains the 3rd largest pyramid in the world. the 2nd is also in mexico- i find pretty fascinating being i always thought it would be in egypt. it also boggles my mind that chichin itsu is one of the "new 7 wonders" yet this place is way bigger. there are the pyramids of the sun and the moon. its kind of funny about them b/c when discovered the president of mexico took some engineers there to see how to excavate it the fastest. they had the brainy idea to use dynamite @ the top to blow all the growth off and what not- @ the same time they blew the top off the moon pyramid, so its missing th complete top 2 levels- i guess government engineering agencies are all fuck ups- ala army core of engineers . this place was ancient ruins means shakedown street. ruins to the left and the right with mexicans selling handmade crap all over on the "avenue of the dead"- all it needed was a few wooks slinging some t shirts and it woulda been perfect. to see something of this size made 2500 years ago, being so exact with strait lines and perfectly level platforms was just amazing. we saw how they used cactus as paper, the same thing used to make thread and then the evolution of tequila. we also saw how they did the carving of the decorative work and the statues and silver smithing- i asked about the crystal skulls and if they had anything of the sort with the aztecs but i got some blank stares and a "como" from the guide so i am going to guess no. we climbed to the top of both the sun and the moon and the views would have been great except the smog is outrageous. my nose has been on the "bleed" setting the entire time from it. this took up pretty much the entire day and kicked out ass- el leche is not el diablo b/c of her lack of sun screen till it was too late. one of the highlights of the day was watching a typical american family make the haul to the top. dad 150 lbs over weight filming the 2 loud mouth complaining kids ahead with the ragged out mom in the back just hating life panting like jenna jamison in a gang bang.

after returning to the hotel we plan the rest of th trip, reserve the hotels over the phone with the translator in 1 hand and the phone in the other. kind of funny in its own respect. we wanted to leave it @ "2 gringos need a room, see ya tomorrow"- so then off to dinner- we get a suggestion from the desk man about where to eat- he gets us a cab and we go to this place that was mcdonalds meets baja fresh. the food was outstanding. i had enchiladas with mola sauce. my mouth was loving it. mola is a blend of chilies with chocolate as a sweetener. we are going to peubla - which is renowned for this sauce and i can not wait. it was so good i wanted to take a bath in it. this was the 1st place we went where no one knew english but we go by. the waiter was so nice and there for our every need. i am not sure what the customary tipping is here but i have a feeling 20% is not the norm. after we left we went outside to wait for the cab and he wanted to give us free drinks on them and wanted to know when we would be back. this is our last day in mexico city till we go home and it was great. the city is great and the people are pretty much welcoming with a few acceptions along the way. the rest of the trip is going to be in the smaller pre colonial towns- which is where we expect to see the "real mexico"

cuidad de mexico el día uno

This is a little longer then I hoped it to be but to get across the true sense I have to write this much. Hawaii did not require much b/c it was lots of hiking and there is only so much to say about a view- this is all about the people and the culture. We decided to stay pretty central the entire trip and pretty much try and do what the locals would do. The crime thing for us limits that to some extent but not a ton- just have to be smart with where you go and what you do.

The time has arrived, time for mexico. I must admit I was very apprehensive going into this. Reading the info about kidnappings for ransom, theft and just crime in general in the worlds most populated city had me a little anxious. I have known Julie for around 4 years now but our social setting was always with a group of people, never juan on juan- thoughts meandered of how that may come into play with this whole thing too. Our personalities are very similar yet we are drastically different people. Friday morning has arrived and I am getting together the last essential items for the trip, tumbs, pepto and imodium. Right now we are winding down from our 1st day in the city and regrouping for meal in another part of town.

the trip has been wonderful so far. It started out a little rough yet things kind of went in our favor. After arriving @ Julie’s house one drink turned into several next thing we know it’s 5:30 and we have a 7:40 flight. The storms were rolling in and tornado watches all over, luck was in our favor and the flight was delayed 2 hrs. as we were checking in an announcement came across the loud speaker “the airport is closed, your bags will be returned in a few hrs.” the omniscient staff of delta airlines was no help what so ever to whether the flight was going to depart. After much debate we decided to check the bags and go grab a bite and some drinks. After passing through the contra banned lined hallways of turtles and tiger tooth cure alls of the E concourse- that’s E as in echo, we arrived @ our destination, gate E-2- a 757 direct to mexico city with 3 Americans on it, me Julie and some girl that had not traveled much. She was a small talker and I could see this was going to be a long flight. I didn’t want to pick up any single serving friends on the flight but I didn’t want to be a dick either. Just to be nice I did entertain her some before I was put into a self-induced coma listening to thievery corp so soothe the soul for some rest. It was short and sweet till I decided I had enough. I drew the line when her reply to my “where are you from?” was “a farm”- 3 ½ hrs later I come to and see a vast amount of lights for miles. It made the view flying into LA busch league. Some of you may or may not know, I kinda have a thing for airports- hence my degree- I was shocked with how the airport moved people being such a shitty design. One long building almost a mile long. I can hear dr young taking about it right now- this is the airport that was used as our “what not to do“ in a design. This was no kansai but not as bad as I was expecting it to be.

We grab a cab and head to the hotey. Let me tell you what 75 bucks a night gets you in mexico city. This room is super deluxe. They didn’t spare a dime when it came to furnishings that’s for sure. It’s right outta Debbie does mexico city. We got the jr suite. How can it be a jr suite if you don’t even have a suite? It has 3 beds- which is weird- all doubles too. When I yank the cum quit off the bed and it was like finding the holy grail. Staring back @ me was a blanket with a huge tiger on it. This was the 1st of many laughs on this trip so far.

So the first stop was the 7-11 for a few drinks. This was my 1st real language barrier problem, I asked for a coke, she brings a water. After a few minutes of pointing @ a near by parked coke truck I get the coke and a “dumbass gringo“ look, I smile and walk away. So coke is written in arabic on one side and english on the other, so weird to see that. That would cause WW3 in the US.

After more communication problems @ breakfast we hit the town bright and early @ around 8:30 or so. Stores were setting up for the day with their rolox watches and dolce banana purses. I want to add that this is like any other city. There may be a problem of rape, murder and robbery if you take one of the “forbidden cabs” mostly being green and white VW beatles, but I am a mini giant so I am not fitting in the back seat of a beatle anyway. After walking around for a little while like lost kids in the grocery store we find what we were looking for- it was only the 2nd largest square in the world after red square yet we couldn’t seem to find it. We start to notice the crowd around, there are not many tourists and the ones that are, are Europeans or from some other place, not america that’s for sure. To these people we are a freak of nature I think. coming in almost a foot taller then most of the local people and Julie with her bleached blonde hair and blue eyes we must look like a real sideshow attraction. El Diablo is also noted as having blonde hair and blue eyes so there is no telling what they are thinking when they see her. There are lots of stares and oohh’s and ahh’s- people 1st see me coming from a mile away and then they see jules come on the scene lookin like madona circa 1983 with her vintage clothes an her hair. I must say it is quite the pair to be in the land of the dark skinned and black hair. Like many cities in the US mexico city has it share of street performers…with a twist. They are in full Indian dress(I assume Aztec being we are not around the maya) doing their chants and dances then you can have them cleanse your soul with some incense and a few plants. I saw this opportunity and had to do it. My fear was the shaman may freak out and run away when he saw my cloud of black smoke rise from my body. After that we went into some big buildings, I would tell you what they were but I couldn’t read the signs. One was some sort of govt building with soldiers and shit- it was like we weren’t even in a city once in the court yard. We saw some ruins and that was kinda boring yet there was not a whole lot to see really. It was just a few mounds of stones with some carvings on em. As we are in the ruins site we see the city has now come alive. We see a corner with street vendors and a whole lot of ruckus. We head over there and it was really what I was hoping we would see here. It was as busy as 5th ave on black Friday except the most expensive thing was a 24 karat gold plated necklace that will turn your neck green after the 1st shower. I picked up a voodoo doll and a wrestling mask like any good american would. there were a few strange streets that would all sell the same items. 2 blocks of stationary stores, offset printing style. it would have been ok to see 1-2 stores but there were around 20 of them and they were all full. the next was holey ave. this was a street lined with crucifixes in all sorts of styles and sizes, some almost life size. After more oohh’s and ahh’s and Julie getting a few comments from the guys - to which are funny as hell, we decided to head back to the hotel to relax before dinner. We hire a private cab that takes you in an unmarked car and waits on you to come back. I kinda felt important except the car was a corolla or something of the sort. It was nice to see some of the city from a car. I am so glad we did not rent a car but more on that later. We go to this amazing place that has been around for 40 years. It was authentic peubla Mexican all over, aesthetically and food wise. I was very happy with our choice.

After dinner we grow some balls and decide to hit the town. Miguel seemed to know his shit and was pretty honest with us about what is safe and what’s not. We go to the zona rosa district and get dropped off for a few hours. We defiantly got the cold shoulder and gawked @ even more. This neighborhood was more affluent then where we were staying so there were lots of hot women and gel heads in designer clothes. The bars were kind of boring so we decide to go to the casino. After playing the slots for a while and starting to feel the effects of the tequila - we decide to head back to the hotel. That was a chore within it self. I felt a certain intimidation factor for sure. We speak very little Spanish, they don’t want to help you and the cops have machine guns. We tried to go to starbucks being it would be quiet but the cop with the mp5 guarding the door said we couldn’t go in. we find find a place, call Miguel and head back “home”.

overall the city is great. one street will have a very european influenced feel to it then you round a corner and its like new orleans. we have a few more days in the city then we head out to the outskirts and some smaller towns to see what we can find.

el gigante mini invade México con un entusiasta de jazz

i am embarking on another journey of fun- going to visit central mexico for a week with julie. Tomorrow i am driving up to atlanta, meeting her then we board the plane with goats and whatever else to mexico city. we will check out some ruins, surrounding cities and some heady pharmacies along the way. I can't leave out the best part of mexico- the food- i have a supply immodium, pepto and tumbs. i look fwd to sweating with each bite of a chili and washing it down with cheap beer. so check back as i update this with pictures and whatever else.

it starts where it ends

back in atlanta airport after my 8 hr flight from HI- i must say there is a temp diff already and i am not liking it- my last day on the big island was very refreshing- i went to waipio valley to hike and then on to billy's house to hang out. got to thhe valley and the trails were closed- i did have a spectacular view of the valley as i read for a few hours- and got some thinking done. the next day i headed back to maui- kassi had to work so i cruised with jay and as we rode around i was taking in my last sights of hawaii. costco, k mart and the mall were among them. that night we went and had some thai food @ this place we ate before- it is the best thai i have ever had- the squid salad made my taste buds explode with each bite. we made it an early night- sleeping on the sofa i was awaken with a nice warm wet tongue in the ear from the limp eared hoku- nothing like a big ole "wake up, its time to play" from such a sweet dog. she was way calmer this time around and i forgot she was there even a few times. the last few days were pretty uneventful but i had the urge to go home, sleep in my bed, take a shower and have some clothes that are not getting the musky funk from being in a bag for 3 weeks- after taking a shower i discover that i all the shirts i had looked like they were all wrinkled and under the bed for 2 weeks or had the smell- a quick wipe down with a fabric softener and i am good to go - after rocking some guitar hero for a hr or so it was time to head- to the other side of the island where the amex travel agent flew me out of the smallest airport. i take the dash 8 then jump on a 767- full flight they say- took a while to board but once i got on i was next to a girl in the army- she is crossin her legs- has all kinds of room and i am crammed in the seat trying to stay on my side- i felt like lifting the arm rest and having her lay on me so i could have some room- all i wanted was to be able to sleep for the hrs- i started to read and then the flight attendant comes by and asks these guys if they want to change with this couple b/c they have cats- 1st thing that crossed my mind is that there is some sort of litter box in that cage- next thing was who the fuck flys with cats- why not check em like dogs? what make that fur ball so special? so as she is talking to them she points out a free open row- i don't think the guys caught on- so i ask them what they are going to do- sort of ignoring what they are saying b/c i had my eye on the prize- the open row to myself- i could lay out, cross my legs and have plenty of room. so the plane reaches 10,000 feet and the buzzer goes off for the electronics- so i get up grab my shit and haul ass around the plane to the open row- they stop me and say the plane is still ascending and that i need to sit- they had not turned off th fasten seat best sign- i walk swiftly to th seats and sit- then comes along this old flight attendant telling me the situation with the cats and how they want to sit together blah blah blah- i thought to myself- "what is more important, a 6'5 customer hat has been flying delta for more then 10years or some fur all feline that is gonna make the plane smell like shit- if you don't have room for your cat then oh well- she said she was going to be back and that i may have to move- i find in the seat 4 pillows and 2 blankets- i made a real score here- i took all the pillows and lined every part of my body against he wall so i did not get cold- in the mean time i pass out in case they try and move me- 3 hrs later i wake up and am in a daze- i was very out it from the muscle relaxer and i was kind of "where am i" - i soon look for some pillows and i see that 2 are gone- they slipped down and were between th seat and the side of the plan- i go to take it and the guy behind me took one- he had it supporting his knee- i tried to take it and it woke him up- i just acted like i did not do anything- i passed back out to be woken up by the cabin lights- i slept the rest of the 5 hrs and was in atl when i awoke- it was a nice nap and i am hopefully going to be back on EST as soon as possible- so here i sit waiting for the flight to savannah- i will have to wait an hr or so after i get in b/c my mom had to get her nails done- i mean wtf-- she knew i was coming in and she had to have this done today? what is that- thank the lord i was able to sell her gifts i got her to a guy in the bathroom- b/c after a stunt like that i am not having it.

the trip as a whole was more then i could have expected- the "soul building" def happened, i saw some amazing things, met some wonderful people and this is the break that was much needed- i thought about work- well maybe 2 times on the trip- i knew my dad was holding it down just fine- as much as i did not want to leave i was ready to go home- i will be back there very soon- it is my kind of place- where ya cruise and not really worry about what day it is- just that you are alive and kickin it. my personal legend is being fulfilled, i learned many things about myself in many situations- it was many 1sts for me in many ways and even the bad that happened was not bad- it helped me grow as a person- i was very apprehensive about a solo travel before the trip and now i think it is something i will always want to do - to have some sam time- maybe not as long but i def think that it is something everyone should do- i left a sorta scared guy that had no idea what was going to happen to a more wise person that was able to me the best of the worst- go with the wind and learned the soul of the world and to trust my gut- no matter what- it is always right-

i have some more pics and when i run em all through photoshop i will post the link here to see them all- till the next "mini giant adventure" where ever that may be- aloooooooooooooha for now

the big Island

so i got here yesterday and stayed in kona- met up with jayson and his friend zach to go see some music- i went and ate @ this place across the street and had a few beers and watched some hotties run around with a outrigger canoe- jayson and zach met me when they were done flying and the night goes on- i never made it to the music- i drank a little too much and was praising the porcelain god by 7:00 or so- then went to my room and passed out- so once i bust my ass with him walking out of the bathroom then i yacked another time- so i need a puke bag and a sparing suit when i am with him i guess- this morn went and watched them fly and ate breakfast @ the place on the side of the hill overlooking the water- reminded me of that place i big sur but had some sick ass coffee- which i am not a fan, i like tea more, but i was in kona so...i also met a guy there while watching them fly that is a cranberry farmer- has 40 acres in oregon he works- an old hippie from cali- he lives on the coast and we got to talking about Hwy 1 up that way- he invited me to come stay with them if i am ever up that way- but what was even more exciting was he said if i come in october i can help them harvest- which i think would be bad ass- he says they do it the old school way with not many machines- so maybe i'll go for cranberry harvest some time- i am sure it is hard work but i think it would be pretty sweet to do it for a week or so- i just wanna walk in waders and corral cranberries like the guys on the ocean spray commercial- when that was all over i took the 2 hr trek to hilo- the drive was great- snow capped volcano on the left and 80 degrees with people on the beach on the right- i stopped @ black sand beach for a whileto take a break- it was pretty cool to see the lava flow and how they stopped- the winds were blowing a good 40 mph or so- the waves were crazy and crashing 10-15' in the air- sometimes higher- i dunno i was 200 yards away- so after being lost for an hr trying to find where i am staying i arrive to "fuck you" over and over- it is an adventure hostel- but it does not seem there are many adventure travelers- i do have my own room and bathroom- it is kinda ghetto- but i was not expecting the ritz- it is pretty much a guy that has a bunch of huts/houses (houses are weird here- they are boxes with not much character) all on the property- does not seem to be many people here- yet i get to go to mauna kea- the highest mtn in the world- 33,000 feet from the ocean floor- but only 10,000 above- 10,000' of water here is crazy to me being when it gets 100' on th depth finder that is deep- so i guess that is why i chose this place- they also do a guided hike for the lava flows- so i will give the lush hotel for the chance o do that and not have to worry about anything except showing up. get t tour the telescope and then do some star gazing while we are up there- i just hope it is not that cloudy- i want to see alpha cintauri in a scope- or any star for that matter- plus i am sure they have the filters for the moon and what not- either way my inner nerd in very excited about it.

tonight i had prob the worst meal ever- well 2nd worst after the chinese buffet in tampa that time- imagine denny's with hawaiian flavor- sea food that was not that good and i had a mouth full of capers that just did not taste right- it was ok but not that best- it was a rec from the lady here where i am staying- i will venture off on my own tomorrow.

Some rise, some fall, some climb, to get to terrapin.

so this post is more than a blog of this is what i did and here are some pictures, this is why i came to this place- today i found "my shangri-La" - there are certain events that happen in a persons life that they would consider momentous. this may happen 4-5 times in a lifetime. whether it be a personal achievement, a person you meet that changes your life or see something that rocks your soul so deep there are just no words to describe it. today for me, was one of those days in more ways then one. i decided last night that i would do the "nualolo/awaawapuhi adventure hike" 10.5 miles of the na pali coast. to be honest i was very apprehensive before this trip- the things that crossed my mind were the rain in a place that receives 435" a year, not to mention the fact that it was 10 miles- i don't know if i have ever done anything that was physically demanding for 5 hours except that 250 lb hooker I got my 1st night here(I keed, that was 6 hrs). this is all i could think about on the hr ride to the trail and it left a very uneasy feeling in my stomach. after driving back to the other side of the island by waimea canyon i reach the trail head, across the street from where the canyon hike i had taken a few days before. the sun was shining yet rain was off in the horizon. i start the hike and about 2 minutes in, i hit the 1st barrier- the trail just kind of ended(I think this is the point I lost my 3rd pair of sun glasses of the year)- this was the 1st sign of trailblazers gone wrong. after seeing the correct trail i am back on my way. after about a mile i come to a fork in the road. i could go either right or strait- being the park has great trail signage(there were no signs @ all) i go towards the coast. two miles had passed and i thought i had taken the scenic route and missed the correct trail until i see a sign that says i am going correct- the glazed surface was a nice ride down taking it step by step to not end up on my ass. after 2 miles i come to the point where the next trail is to be taken (it was a combination of 3 trails to make the 10 mile loop). being i was worried to run out of daylight i decided to skip the end of the 1st trail and move on to the second. after hiking a 1/2 mile on the 2nd trail something told me i needed to turn around- i had missed something and if i was going to put myself through 5 hrs of grueling switchbacks and an uphill battle i need to get the full benefit of the hike. i make a u turn and head back- i jump back on the nualolo and head toward the end. and this is when i realized "this is the place" after another 1/5 mile i break past the bushes and these sea oat-esq plants to the open coast- my 1st glimpse of the na pali coast. i was speechless and had a smile from ear to ear. i did not know what to do- this was the moment i was waiting for, the moment that left me breathless with no words to describe my feelings. i had chills that ran deep in my bones, through my soul and i felt i was meant to be here. as i hike the ridge trail to the end, the views were more exceptional with every step i took. as i approach the end i see the coast in all of its glory. the 4000' foot lush, green cliffs that end @ the sea, waterfalls and the years of ash that had a different color for each stage of eruption. there was a rainbow and i defiantly found the pot of gold. the sign @ the end said, in national park brown and yellow "end of nualolo trail" so wandered around for a few minutes and see a some of this and some of that. the winds were gusting @ 40 mph and not a cloud in the sky over me but a mile or so over it was raining. i take a few pictures and before i leave i see some etching on the sign. i look and i see "sam" on the bottom left corner, which was weathered and there for a while. could the return to this trail have been a simple twist of fate? i sit down for a while to soak up the view, do some thinking and move on. i return to the nualolo cliff trail i hike a few switchbacks along the coast. there were many trails to follow. again trailblazers decided to cut their own trails in the sea oats(not sure what they were but they were a pain in the ass towering 7' you could not see around them) i got to the second cliff and made it to the woods, back into the sea oats i get more views of the coast as i make my way back to the woods i start to notice a very familiar foot print, my own. i look @ my GPS and low and behold i just did a 1/2 mile circle on this ridge. after getting my bearing on where i am, i find the correct trail by seeing the picnic area ahead that was marked on the map. i make it to the picnic table and take a break- back on the trail i hear a waterfall ahead- this makes my stomach churn, or maybe it was the cliff bars- i seem to always find the jackass way across these and get boots full of water- this time it is just a trickle of water that needs to be crossed- all is well on the cliff trail. next comes a sign "trail narrows and washed out proceed @ own risk- so i did- i did not hike 5 miles so far to turn back- i was 1/2 way home @ this point and the sun was falling fast. After traversing 3-4 landslides and washed out parts of the trail i dip back into the woods- back on a decline i get a break from the elevation gain. i hear more water off in the distance, this time it sounds larger then before- i pass a guy(1st of the day) that had just come where I was going- i get to the stream and see fresh foot prints that go to the middle- so i follow suite- so here i am now standing in the middle of the river (this trip let me know how tall I was for sure) with no trail in sight. so i push forward and find myself in the middle of this tropical river valley - among to which are thorns about and inch long. after battling these for 10 minutes i make my way back to the side of the stream. i was 6.5 miles in and i was starting to feel fatigued. the 1st thing that crossed my mind were how the marines do something called the crucible @ the end of boot camp- i think that alone kept me level headed and kept going. I have seen video of this and it is 3 days of hell- i battled all of the negative thoughts and bitching to find the trail and i am back on my way- this is when the fun starts- all uphill from here. little did i know i started @ the low end of the trail @ 3400' and the peak of the trail was a little over 4000'. @ the end of the cliff trail i come to the next trail along with lots of day hikers- they are on a nice leisurely 2.5 mile hike to the other vista- it is only 3/10 of a mile to the vista from where I am so i head that way- by this time i have had a lot of time to think, think about how i must push on, how dr scholls needs to go back to school b/c his inner soles suck and how i want to be done- i stop for a minute to take a break and enjoy the less them impressive views of before- when i saw this i was glad that i took the harder trail b/c the reward was so much greater. i head back to the trail and have about 2.5 miles left then a mile back to the car on the road. i start the 2.5 miles back up the coast to 4000'. i took small steps and paced myself. after a mile i was starting to hurt allover. my feet, back and legs were screaming to stop but i kept on going. i must hike really fast b/c i had passed people hat left 20 minutes before me- i tried to slow down but it made it worse- i guess it is my long legs? step after step i was fanaticizing about a cold beer and a place i could stretch my back. i would pass people on their way to the vista and they would ask how long and i would give a look of "how the hell do i know" snot was running down my face, my shirt drenched from mist and sweat and i was in pain. i knew the good parts were over i just needed to get back to the car. i finally make it to the road and the rain starts coming down- on my walk i try and hitch a ride to which was unsuccessful- although a few of them almost hit me. hiking boots on the road suck- the soles do not flex much and all i wanted were a nice chacos on my feet- the boots were hot, the tape on my feet was starting to bunch and it just sucked. as i round the final corner i get another one of the breathless moments- i see the car off in the distance- when i get back i lay on the hood and just had to reflect for a second- i put on my chacos and pour myself into the drivers seat, lick my wounds and go about my way- i que up some tractor beam and head home- with the wiamea on my left and winding roads i push the malibu to the edge- I drove that rental car like need for speed, the brakes were hot the tires were screeching and it was some of the most fun i have had driving- ever- the best way to end a hike like this- some 150 bpm music and one hell of a view to the left- with my head bobbing like it has never before, air guitar in full force, knee on the wheel, i was one happy fool. i asked myself why i did this- was it to prove anything to anyone? No- I live my life how I want- so why impress? not even to prove anything to myself- it was for the love of nature, the love of walking, the love of solitude, for the love of the game- to clear my head and be one with nature in one of the most stunning places on earth. In the end after all the pain, this was a day that I will remember, for the views the agony and who I wished was with me. I have had other monumental days in my life but everything involved I think this may be @ the top

kauai loves me

as i was @ the molokai street fair i found a button that said "kauai loves you" i must admit that this s the most tropical island i have been to yet- including the rain in hanalei bay- so i do not get to enjoy the "most beautiful place on earth" in all of its beauty. good thing is i can go to the other side of the island and have no rain- the 1st day here i hiked "sleeping giant" from a distance it looks like a sleeping giant- the hike was 4 miles and had an elevation gain of about 1300'- it was great to get to the summit- met some nice people along the way and got my ass kicked by the giant. i slept well that night- yesterday i hit up waimea canyon- it was the most amazing thing i have ever seen- along the hike i started to hate myself yet i knew here was an even more spectacular view around the corner- the hike started @ 3200' so this sea level living boy was gasping @ the beginning- on the way back i decided to "skate" down some of the hills- and busted my ass- not bad- feet just came out from under me- the dirt here is like hard packed GA clay- yet slippery as ice- i pretty much had to use the poles to keep me up- without them i woulda ate it a lot- again- best purchase for this trip- i will never not hike with them again. last night again i slept like a baby- today i drove around and let my body heal some for a hike tomorrow- the mountains here have a very gloomy look to them- can be shinin on the coast and shit 10 feet to the left- weird- yet i like it- i cruised round and didn't do a whole lot- found a good burger place for lunch and bout to go grab some sushi- if i can get in tonight- went the 1st night, closed, 2nd night party, so i hope i can get in tonight- also got to watch some heady surfer brah's sip some wine last night @ this one place- i mean i like wine but not when you are you with your brah's- but they were on the prowl for some houley poon- kinda funny- i always get the "just one?" when i go eat- i have gotten lots of free beer from it- last night she hooked me up with a few- like she felt bad for me- the weather is blah again- so dunno what i am gonna do but i'll figure out as i go- also a comment on the food- i am no foodie but i love food- the food here is not that great- very bland- i had 2 meals in a row that i did not even want to eat- last night i found a good place and they actually used spices- maui has this place blown away when it comes to food- also "what day is it?" is a great thing- i have pretty much lost track of time here and it is great- this is my 1st vaca over 10 days that i was not ready to go home- usually after a week - 10 days i am ready to haul- but not here- i would def life this to be an annual trip if not more often- 9 days left and i have to leave- go back to the grind- i am not looking fwd to it- although i can work on my chevelle-

for the love of the game

so i have left molokai- i could not be more excited- the island it beautiful to say the least it is just so behind in the times- i think of the rest of HI was not americanized it is where the rest of the islands would be- it is was kinda trashy except the resorts- but it was good to get away- so the flight from molokai was on a cesnna caravan- which is pretty much a turbo propped 172- UPS mainly uses them to haul cargo- it was by far the best flight i have ever been on- they flew @ about 1500' the entire trip b/c of the fronts- there was storm from molokai to honolulu on the right aand you could see the rain falling and the wall of clouds- i was able to watch the instrument panel the whole time- i have not flown a plane since i soloed when i was 15 so it was kind of cool to see all that going on again- just watching the weather and being in a small plane feeling every bump- only cruising @ maybe 225 or so- was def a highlight of this trip- now to kauai where i will do 5-6 hikes in 6 days- the slackin is over and time to have some fun-

here is a link to all my pictures so far- along with some vids of things

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=189596656/a=115304689/t_=115304689

i love mother nature but hate the rain

so the rain is still falling and the island is not very big so i was not too anxious to do much- which was the plan for coming here- made a good breakfast and watched the beach from afar. i have been getting a lot of reading in- so i head out to see what is out there and i found much of nothing. i did find a pretty cool store that had lots of of heady handmade stuff here from this island- and the guy shipped the stuff for me so it eliminated me having to keep hand carved things from breaking- the owner of the store looked like tourettes guy's dad- and santa for that matter- so while walking around i hear the sounds of a sewing machine- it was going off like a chinease sweat shop before x mas- i find this small back room and an older lady making handmade kites- i watched in amazement for a while just watching her work her fingers to the bone- i picked up a few gifts for family and a few others- they did not have any dollar bill covered items and was kind of let down, but what ya gonna do? i guess that only comes in myrtle beach. they need to catch up on the new heady trends of the east coast i guess. so i came back to the condo, made some lunch and was sitting on the "lanai"- why can't they call it the back porch? why does it have to have this special name? is back porch too trailer park for these people? b/c the island overall is pretty much a trailer park(molokai) other then a few nice homes here and there- where i am is nice but no moaks round here. so while eating lunch these birds start coming in- i toss out a chip- then 5 come- toss out another then 20 come- then a red headed bird hopped right up on the table and tried to take a chip outta the bag- i moved too fast and they flew away- so while feeding these hawaiian pigeons i hear this comotion of the birds and 2 20-25 lb turkeys come waltzing around the corner- they all clear out and the turkeys start kickin ass and taking names- they want in on the chip action- so i give em some - the red headed birds finally came back for me to take some pics of- the food went away and so did the birds- the rain is still coming down and i am still in a battle for leeching internet from the neighbors- it makes me wonder if they get a message when i connect b/c i get booted soon after